Rosie, the diabetic dog

In 1993 I stayed with an English friend in London for a few weeks while sitting for a professional exam, and Rosie was her dog which she rescued from the pound.

The house in the TV set is her house and she's still living there.

Outside her house was a cherry tree in bloom, but I changed the flowers to Bauhinia , the HK flower , as a sort of link between HK and England , pre- 1997 .

For 3 weeks Rosie was my constant companion while my friend was out working , and I got to know everything about her.

Rosie LOVED food and would follow me closely, tail wagging, if she thinks there's any chance of a tip-bit, but totally ignores me when there's none .

Rosie developed diabetes and died of diabetic complications a few years later .

My friend was heart broken.

I painted Rosie in her favorite pose lying on her designated couch, which was permanently covered with a brown cloth so that her shredded hair would show up easily and be vacuumed off.

I had an enlarged photograph made of the painting and had it sent to my friend. To this day the picture is still hanging in her kitchen.