TORRINGTON – It’s easy to see Julie Nighswonger, a local artist, loves dogs. 

When you visit, the first thing you see is her welcoming committee, which consists of three dogs of various sizes. They make a racket, one will have a ball and one will even try to climb inside your car – but they’re friendly beasts. They come from a loving home and they’re well cared for – but not all dogs are so lucky. 

That’s why Nighswonger recently took a break from her fine, intricate portraits of western life to paint a 36-inch, poly-resin molded dog to be auctioned off in support of Skipper’s Cupboard, a food pantry that serves responsible pet owners in the Wyobraska area who struggle to supply their animals with food on a regular basis. 

Skipper’s Cupboard was founded by Steve Morgheim and Becky Hale, and PAWS 4 PAWS was launched to help commemorate its 10th anniversary. Nighswonger will join more than 30 other artists in contributing their talents to the cause. The painted dogs, dubbed ‘The Painted Pack,’ will be on display at the Weborg 21 Centre in Gering, Neb., in May, and then the pieces will go on tour and make numerous public appearances at summer events before they’re auctioned in late July. 

The pieces, along with Nighswonger’s “Hallow, the Prayer Dog,” will be unveiled on April 25 at 6:30 p.m. at the Weborg 21 Centre. 

“You put so much time and effort into it,” Nighswonger said. “Selling all these dogs goes to food and care of animals.”

The cause is important for Nighswonger, who said she could tell when she picked up the blank dog, she was creating the piece for people who were passionate about dogs. 

“When I picked up the dog, what got me is that Steve said he’s going to pick up a real dog because the owner needed a kidney transplant in Texas,” she said. “What they do is donate food and find foster families for pets. He was going to take this guy’s dog, who’s getting a kidney transplant, and keep it fed until the guy was able to come back and help.”

‘Hallow, the Prayer Dog’ is unlike any other piece in Nighswonger’s portfolio. Her trademark cowboys and cattle are gone, replaced by swirling electric blues and eclectic patterns. ‘Hallow’ is inscribed with The Lord’s Prayer, and just like all of Nighswonger’s work, it’s all about the details. 

“I knew kind of how I wanted to do it, but I didn’t know for sure,” she said. “I wanted to hide the words, but not hide the words. I wanted people to know that it’s there. I wanted to be more of a doodle or tattoo type of thing.”

The Lord’s Prayer starts on the dog’s head and works its way down the back, culminating in the Bible verse that contains the prayer on the tail. 

“When I decided to put the prayer on, I had to figure how to incorporate it and make it not look like it was all written on there,” she said. “It’s totally different than I normally do. I have so many deadlines and show dates and so much traveling that I do, that was fun to do something different.”

Nighswonger, who holds a degree in veterinary technology, said she was inspired by the mission of Skipper’s Cupboard, and that’s how she arrived at her chosen theme. 

“When they asked me what I thought about what kind of theme or what colors I should do with the dog, I thought since what they do is so nice and everyone Is in need of prayers, he’s a prayer dog,” she said. 

Nighswonger said she hasn’t seen any of the other dogs that were painted for the event, but she’s looking forward to see what her fellow artists came up with – and to see how much they can raise for Skipper’s Cupboard. 

“I’m curious to see what they do because I haven’t seen any of the others,” she said.