In October we introduced you the finalists in the Dogster portrait contest, and today we announce the winner: Angus, a Mastiff whose face we still can’t get over. (We’ll show you the portrait by our illustrator, Nigel Sussman, in just a sec.)

We had so many deserving dogs enter, but Angus had the right combination of adorable mug, compelling story, and good photo. We wish we could have had more winners, but we have only one Nigel and lots of work to do.

Here’s a photo of Angus sent by one of his humans, Megan Spoonamore:

Here’s Angus’ story again, sent my Megan: “We drove four hours away to adopt Angus (then named Namath) last December. He was severely underweight and had the worst pressure wounds our vet had ever seen. We diligently dressed his wounds several times a day, and we gradually got that down to once per day. It was clear to see the pain in his eyes, but he always seemed grateful for our attention. It took well over six months to close up all the wounds, and he’s putting on weight each meal. 🙂 Angus has taught my daughters how to love and care for something. This level of compassion could not have been taught by just anyone. Angus came into our lives just at the moment when we needed. We are reminded by his expressive eyes just how much he needed us, but we remind him every day just how much we needed him in our hearts. Angus deserves to be immortalized, and although my daughter is quite the artist, I’m afraid her preschool portraits lack that certain something felt by Nigel’s work. :)”

As stated above, we had so many deserving dogs whose photos and stories we received. It really was a difficult decision, and everyone who sent us images and tales should be proud of their canines.

So, with that, here’s the portrait Nigel created for Angus:

A framed print of this digital piece is on its way to Dogster HQ for Nigel to sign, after which we’ll be shipping it to Megan. We wonder whether Angus will recognize himself dressed as a classic gentleman?