Saving Lives One Pet Portrait at a Time
Tiffany Dnaka pairs with animal rescues across the country to create pet portraits that help special animals find their forever homes!
Every year, roughly 6.3 million companion animals go into shelters in the United States alone. While rescues and shelters try to find homes for every animal, unfortunately, some aren’t lucky enough to get adopted and are euthanized. Tiffany Dnaka is helping more animals get adopted! She donates her time making pet portraits that advertise the dogs who are looking for homes.
Turning the Loss of a Fur Baby Into an Opportunity
Dnaka is a self-taught artist, and art wasn’t always a part of her life. It all started when her beloved fur baby, Moxey, died. She wanted to commemorate him with a pet portrait. Not liking anything she found online, she decided to make her own memorial portrait of Moxey. She created a digital watercolor painting of the elderly chihuahua and enjoyed the process so much that she took up pet portraiture as a hobby. This became especially important when the COVID-19 lockdowns began. During the pandemic, Dnaka lost her job, so she turned her hobby into a business, Custom Pet Portraits by Tiffany Dnaka.
Creating Art to Help Save Lives
She started partnering with animal shelters, creating custom pet portraits of the animals that were available for adoption. The portraits advertise the dogs looking for forever homes, showcase the pups’ unique personalities, and connect dogs with their forever parents.
Moxey was part of Dnaka’s life for 17 years, and she’s been a dedicated animal lover since childhood. Knowing how many animals go into shelters every year, Dnaka wanted to do something to make a difference.
So far, Dnaka has worked with more than 20 shelters. In 2023, she’s partnering with one shelter every month to help increase adoptions and spread awareness about animals in need.
Pet Portraits for Animal Lovers
Custom pet portraits are popular gifts for dog and cat parents, and Dnaka uses her work to show the love between animals and their humans. Dnaka has also started selling clothing, luxury pet accessories, and other items to help grow her business and fund her efforts to help rescue animals around the country.