🐾 Benson: The Dog Who Started It All
A small story I’d tell you if we were sitting together in my studio.
There’s a dog named Benson who lives far up north, right outside Albany, New York… while I’m here in warm, quiet Albany, Georgia.
We’ve never met, but I learned about him through his owner’s mom — the way someone talks about a dog who’s truly part of the family.
He wasn’t always theirs, though.
Benson was adopted from a shelter, given a second chance and a real home.
The kind of home every dog deserves.
The kind of home he held onto with his whole heart.
But his story took a difficult turn.
A neighbor complained about him — even though he never hurt anyone.
They took it to court, and somehow Benson ended up on probation… a shelter dog who had already worked so hard just to belong somewhere.
Hearing that made my heart sink.
Pit bulls already carry so many unfair judgments, and it felt like Benson was being punished for the way he looked, not who he was.
🎨 How Benson Became Mr. Pit Perfect
When I sat down to paint what eventually became Mr. Pit Perfect, I kept thinking about him — this gentle dog living hundreds of miles away, trying his best to just be loved and understood.
I didn’t want to paint “a pit bull.”
I wanted to paint Benson’s spirit:
💛 the soft heart he carried from his shelter days
💛 the loyalty he gave to the people who chose him
💛 the sweetness beneath his strong build
💛 the misunderstood bravery of a dog who only wanted to belong
That’s why I dressed him as a secret agent in the painting.
Not for the outfit, but for the message:
he’s a quiet hero in his own story —
strong, intelligent, gentle, and worthy of being seen for who he really is.
💛 Why Benson’s Story Stayed With Me
There are some dogs whose stories find you at the perfect moment.
Benson was one of those for me.
He reminded me why I paint pets in the first place —
not just to capture their faces, but to share their hearts.
To show the world the gentleness that lives beneath muscles, labels, and old assumptions.
Sometimes a shelter dog in New York ends up inspiring an artist in Georgia.
Sometimes that’s all it takes to change the direction of your art a little…
to make it softer, deeper, more intentional.
Benson did that for me.
🖼 If you want to see the piece he inspired…
Mr. Pit Perfect is my little love letter to dogs like Benson —
strong, gentle, loyal, misunderstood, and full of quiet courage.
