Pay it 4Ward: Local artist paints portraits to honor K-9 officers

MUSTANG, Okla. (KFOR) — "It’s God given,” Rose Dobbins said. “ I give him all the praise for the gift that I have."

Rose Dobbins is a natural. Her parents saw that from an early age.

"Ever since I was about five years old, I've been drawing,” she said.

Her works not only include portraits of people, but also of man’s best friend that can be seen on the walls of police departments and the homes of law enforcement all over the country.

"I have a neighbor who is a K-9 officer, and his dog was retired, wasn't killed, and I did a painting of her for him,” Rose said. “And then I found out that there are a lot of K-9s, and dogs are something that I do lot of, that are killed annually. We lose about 25 K-9 dogs throughout the United States in a year."

So Rose signed up to get alerts when a K-9 officer is lost in the line of duty. She then contacts the department, gets a picture of the dog, and sends them a beautiful portrait to remember the fallen K-9 officer.

Rose shares her talents with so many, including fellow artists at the Mustang Senior Center where she and Danille Carter met.

Danille nominated Rose for Pay It 4Ward, but she had to make up quite the tale to get everyone together for the presentation.

"Class, there is something that I must tell you,” she said. “I lied to every one of you to get you here for a special reason. There is a special person in our class who does so much for all of us and for other people throughout the United States. Rose, I nominated you for Pay It Forward for all of the work that you do for the police officers, the people involved. I love you."

"I don't think I've ever been so surprised,” Rose said.

Though Rose may Pay It 4Ward by generously sharing her talents, she is equally touched by how graciously they are received.

"The feedback that I get from the departments is unbelievable. I got to personally deliver one in Lewisville, Texas, and he started crying, because he'd just recently lost his dog,” she said. “ "It has just rewarded me big time."

For more information about Rose’s work, visit her website.