Van Gogh lost an ear, spent his early years as a bait dog in a fighting ring, and then waited months for an adoption application that never came. Peanut butter turned him into a painter.
Happily Furever After Rescue took him in and looked for a way to keep him busy and get him noticed. Founder Jaclyn Gartner put dabs of paint on a canvas, sealed the canvas inside a plastic bag, then smeared peanut butter on the outside. Van Gogh licked, the paint shifted under the plastic, and the result looked like abstract art.
His first gallery show drew two visitors. Television, newspapers, and podcasts found him later, and his paintings sold. Four years after the rescue first saw a photo of the injured dog, it has announced that Van Gogh has died. The cancer returned and spread beyond what surgery could treat.
What this means for your dog: enrichment does not have to be a toy. Plenty of dogs ignore squeakers and work happily for food, and a sealed bag of paint is really just a slow licking puzzle. You can build a safer version at home with dog-safe paint under plastic and a smear of peanut butter on the outside. Read the peanut butter label first, since some brands add xylitol, which is toxic to dogs, and stay close while your dog works so the bag never turns into a chew toy.
Van Gogh was far from the only rescue who waited a long time for a family, and cancer is one of the hardest diagnoses in older dogs. Hashbrown waited 1,502 days for his adoption, and researchers keep testing new options such as cancer vaccines.
His rescue’s full tribute: One-Eared Rescue Dog Van Gogh Painted His Way Into Thousands of Hearts.