This is Aspen in her element: traipsing through cold snow near sunset in the backyard on Three Island Pond, abruptly halting as she spots bunnies to be stalked and chased.

Aspen was a beloved mixed breed dog (partly Husky, possibly part wolf), rescued as a puppy from Sheshashiu in Labrador by the SPCA in 2012.

She was fascinated by ducks, squirrels, birds, but most especially bunnies. As soon as she spotted one, she would halt and assess the scene before slowly and stealthily stalking it. But Aspen never caught one because the bunnies would sense her and run away. Also, she was normally on a leash. On the few occasions where she was loose, she could not match the top speed of a fleeing rabbit and its zig-zag escape maneuvers.

I use “bunnies” and “rabbits” loosely here; I know that these are properly called snowshoe hares, named for their characteristically large hind feet that keep them on top of snow. Their coats are brown in summer and white in winter, and usually there are several hare couples making their homes around the property. But to Aspen and the other dogs in the household, they were bunnies. All I had to do was announce “bunny!” or “bunnies!” and I’d hear a hasty scrabbling of claws on hardwood as all dogs in the house came running to stop and stare, mesmerized, at a bunny calmly eating grass outside the window. One of the photos below depicts such a scene in my den; the others show Aspen as a puppy on the day of her arrival and later as an adult.

Always vigilant, Aspen would lie in the bay window of my daughter’s bedroom, with one front leg tucked elegantly under her, while surveying the driveway and front property for signs of human intruders or wildlife. She’d smell moose well before they could be seen or heard. Her loud barking would alert us to strangers but she could also howl like a wolf. She didn’t like most men, thought by a dog expert to be the result of bad experiences in Labrador before she was rescued.

Aspen was almost 13 when she passed away earlier this year. She’d been slowed down by arthritis and her bunny chasing days had been over for some time. She is greatly missed by everyone, but especially by my daughter Caileigh. Aspen and Caileigh doted on each other.

Caileigh asked me to do this painting of Aspen, making use of a favorite sunset photo that she’d taken, plus several reference photos of Aspen, and various bunny photos that I’d taken. And so it is a very true to life scene, albeit with some artistic license to make the bunnies a bit larger for visibility. The painting is a companion to one I did for Caileigh in 2018, Where Skye Meets Ducks, which depicts another favorite dog, Skye.

I like to think this is Aspen in dog heaven, unleashed in snow, and now possessing a top speed to reach the bunnies at last. You go, girl!