Pets on Your Checks

A dog may be man's best friend, but the fact is that animals of all kinds have been adored and immortalized because of their beauty, companionship, usefulness and even religious significance. In their Eastern religions, for example, the Chinese subscribe to the doctrine of reincarnation, and in that they included cats in that cycle of reemergence, believing them to be reincarnated souls and moving them one step closer towards Nirvana. Cats were also thought to possess godlike powers in the Egyptian religions, which immortalized them as goddesses and appeared in the tomb paintings. Perhaps this respect accorded to the cats was owing to their utility: they could eat rodents in granaries while leaving the grain itself preserved.

Surely one of the greatest and most elegant of animals celebrated for its awesome strength and beauty is the horse. They have won many races in competitions throughout history. The Chinese assembled over 5,000 horses with riders to be at the service of their emperor more than two thousand years ago. Horses have been a part of our mythical and religious folklore as well. The well known Greek beast centaur was made of part human and part horse, and played a powerful role in Greek mythology. There is no doubt that the human race adores and prizes horses as one of the chief of animals. Nonetheless their breed has been on the decline in the past few decades and so breeders have been actively worker to ensure these animals never go out of existence.

Finally we come to that most popular of pets, the modern day dog, which exists in hundreds of breeds and breed mixes. There are countless ways that dogs have earned their rightful trust of humans as indeed being our most cherished companions. They protect us, help us, can assist the disabled by serving as Seeing Eye dogs and even help police by serving as search dogs. Of course, they are the perfect pet as well. It doesn't matter the style or breed or temperament of dog, there is a dog to match every human personality and unique situation. Dogs have been elevated to their own roles in Greek mythology as well, serving as watchdogs to protect the gates of Hades.

Truly the human race has had a long standing love affair with animals, and this collective affection has made them a part of our family and we've ensured that they remain a part of our memorabilia as well. It is for this reason that we've emblazoned pictures of our beloved pets on our T-shirts, hats, mugs, plates and just about every other example of personal paraphernalia you can think of. Artists throughout history have carried on this tradition by including animals of all kinds in pictures and portraits alongside humans, both the great and the humble. One of the most well known and humorous of these is the "Dogs Playing Poker" painted by C.M. Coolidge in 1910. Pets, famously enough, have even been noted as being the beneficiaries of estates upon the benefactor's death so that the pet can continue to enjoy the "good life" when the master is gone!

With such a love affair with dogs, it's no wonder that people want their own portraits of their beloved pets to cherish as keepsakes for the rest of their lives. Some people are even prepared to spend extravagant sums of money to have these masterpieces done, anywhere from $150 to more than $1,000 for quality oil paintings. Some prefer other styles such as charcoal or pastel, or even prefer simply drawn sketch paintings instead. Pets pose their unique challenges for the artist, as some of them, like cats, can rarely sit still long for a painting. In these circumstances the painter can use a photo to base his painting on, or a mixture of a photo and some studio time as the best way create their finished product.

You have a variety of options to choose from if you want to immortalize your pet in this way, whether it's to stamp their image on personal trinkets or to create a full blown portrait. Ask around from professional photography and painting studios to learn about their options. And if you want to stylize your personal checks with images of your beloved dogs, you can't go wrong with Checks-For-Less and their line of dog breed checks. Their checks cost about half of what the banks charge and offer a whole range of design and customization options.

"Dogs Playing Poker" painted by C.M. Coolidge in 1910. Pets, famously enough, have even been noted as being the beneficiaries of estates upon the benefactor's death so that the pet can continue to enjoy the "good life" when the master is gone!

With such a love affair with dogs, it's no wonder that people want their own portraits of their beloved pets to cherish as keepsakes for the rest of their lives. Some people are even prepared to spend extravagant sums of money to have these masterpieces done, anywhere from $150 to more than $1,000 for quality oil paintings. Some prefer other styles such as charcoal or pastel, or even prefer simply drawn sketch paintings instead. Pets pose their unique challenges for the artist, as some of them, like cats, can rarely sit still long for a painting. In these circumstances the painter can use a photo to base his painting on, or a mixture of a photo and some studio time as the best way create their finished product.

You have a variety of options to choose from if you want to immortalize your pet in this way, whether it's to stamp their image on personal trinkets or to create a full blown portrait. Ask around from professional photography and painting studios to learn about their options. And if you want to stylize your personal checks with images of your beloved dogs, you can't go wrong with Checks-For-Less and their line of dog breed checks. Their checks cost about half of what the banks charge and offer a whole range of design and customization options.