At one point, he hoped to make a living by drawing dog portraits.

"But their dog portraits really meant something to them in a heartfelt way, which had a big impact on me."

The master bedroom, left, is adorned with dog portraits.

Each in a series of thin boxes displays a dog portrait and an actual syringe used for inserting identification microchips under the animal's skin.

Before that, dog portraits were the preserve of the rich and noble.

He said that dog portraits fall into three categories: sporting dogs, purebreds and pets.

Most dog portraits were painted for fun or profit.

Her earlier dog portraits, painted between 1880 and 1900, display a rich, naturalistic style.

Finally, she painted stylized dog portraits during the 1930s.

They became so popular that he was soon spending much of his free time painting commissioned dog portraits in his signature style for friends and fans.