Kæla, my Icelandic Sheepdog

In May, I brought home Kæla, a pure bred Icelandic Sheepdog. She is the sweetest, happiest, and loving animal I have ever known. On April 2nd, I happened to be curious on finding a local breeder on the ISAA website. The closest one I could find was a six hour drive away, but I emailed the breeder anyway. That night, she responded stating that her dog had just whelped puppies that day. Stunned by the coincidence, I took that as a sign that I belonged to one of those puppies. 

Eight weeks later I brought home the youngest, biggest and most beautiful female puppy of the litter. We struggled with what to name her, but kept the original name given by the breeder for formality (Keila). We call her Kæla (Ky-la) because it rhymes with Sæla, the Icelandic word for happiness and bliss, which she brings to anyone who comes in contact with her.

Her photo was published in the ISAA 2016 "Oceans of Love" calendar, and there she is displayed in February. My husband took the photo, and it captures her spark and beauty. So much in fact, I painted the photo on a 2 X 2 canvas. For this small painting, I used M. Graham gouache paints, and was not disappointed.