When New Zealand graphic artist and avid Dog Whisperer fan Graham Hoete (otherwise known as “Mr. G”) heard of Daddy’s passing, he decided to commemorate Cesar’s right-hand dog in a work of art.

Using only aerosol spray paints, Mr. G created a large-scale portrait of Daddy with the eventual hope of gifting the piece to Cesar in person. (Check out the video of him painting the piece here). “We were impacted by Daddy and I wanted to use my gift to honor him,” said Mr. G of his desire to paint the piece.

On Monday, January 31, Mr. G was able to present Cesar with the portrait and perform a traditional Maori Haka ceremony that his culture performs to commemorate special, momentous events in life, from welcoming a baby into the world and honoring a person of importance to final respects for the deceased. The haka is a combination of powerful body movements and stomping of the feet accompanied by a rhythymic series of chants and shouts.

“Thank you for letting me into your culture by sharing this ceremony with me and for honoring Daddy’s memory in such a beautiful way. This is going in my office!” responded Cesar.

But Daddy’s portrait is only one in a series underway. Mr. G’s initial interest in dog portraiture began when a coworker commissioned a painting of his recently deceased dog. After seeing the end result, Mr. G thought it would be a great opportunity to start using this talent to paint dog portraits for people around the world.

Since the inception of this project seven months ago, Mr. G has painted 56 portraits and plans to reach 100 by year’s end in what he has called the “Dogathon 100.” He also has plans to bring his artistic skills to the small screen, with a program centered on painting celebrity dogs and raising funds for various animal organizations around the world.

“Daddy and Cesar have truly inspired me to be the best calm and assertive dog owner I could be, as I had a mega energetic Staffordshire terrier named Kix,” said Mr. G. Although Kix recently passed away, Mr. G continues to honor those dogs that have made a powerful impact on their owners with his artwork.