We recently saw an amazing documentary: “Cave of Forgotten Dreams” by Werner Herzog. This film describes artwork created some 30,000 to 40,000 years ago at a time when woolly mammoths reigned. The depictions of animals, such as horses, rhinoceros, and lions, are incredibly sophisticated and the artist even employs animation methods to give the impression of movement. I take this as evidence that animals have long been a favored subject of artists, even when we were still cave dwellers.
During the Renaissance, Albrecht Durer (1471 – 1528) was a master artist famous for his prints. Beautifully detailed pictures of animals (and plants) testify to his love of nature. Interestingly Albrecht’s father was a goldsmith.
Shah Jahan, famous for building the Taj Mahal, had a fabulous statue of his falcon made. It is completely covered in precious jewels. I saw this piece in the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar, and have previously posted on this topic. So I take it that jewelry representing your favorite pet is an age-old thing!
I have a favorite pet too. My dog Kenda, a two year old german shepherd:
Kenda
I have studied her paws and her paw prints (such as her tracks in the snow):
Paw of German Shepherd
And here is an example of jewelry depicting her paw. This one is in Sterling silver with chocolate diamonds. It is a pendent about 3/4 inches in diameter and hangs on a silver chain:
Dog paw pendent with chocolate diamonds
This is a small silver plaque with paw prints etched on it. The idea came from my fantastic dog trainer, Gail Murphy. Kenda loves Gail more than anyone. You can have the name of your dog etched or hammered on to this plaque. This pendent was recommended by our local news e-media, the patch.com, as a Christmas gift.
Dog Paw Tracks
And here is an expensive dog tag with 40 little diamonds!
Diamond Dog Tag
For the equestrian horse enthusiasts, here is a horse shoe in Sterling silver with gold caps and diamond nails! Personal variations are quite in order. One customer ordered this item with blue sapphires to emulate the horse shoe symbol of the Baltimore Colts football team!
Horse Shoe Pendent
I would really love to hear from you, specially all of you with pets.
Maidstonejewelry's Blog 
Another informative post (I enjoyed that film too)… your work inspired by Kenda is quite compelling, made all the more effective by the photo of her paw!
Hey John, thanks
We just recently lost our 16 year old dog and I’ve been searching for a special piece of jewelry for my husband to commemorate him. Is this piece available and if so what is the cost? It’s perfect. Thank you.