One-Eared Rescue Dog Becomes Master Painter VAN GOGH REINCARNATED?
When a one-eared shelter dog in Connecticut struggled to find a new family last year, one of his caretakers had a wild idea: Why not teach him to paint? With help from TikTok and peanut butter, the aptly named Van Gogh became a social media star. “I’d seen TikTok videos of other dogs creating paintings, so why not Van Gogh?” Jaclyn Gartner, the founder of Happily Furever After Rescue, told The Washington Post. “He certainly had the name and the ear for it.” To leverage what she calls Van Gogh’s “fast and creative tongue,” Gartner covered small canvases in dollops of paint, wrapped them in plastic wrap, and slathered them in peanut butter. Then, she presented the treats to the boxer-pit bull mix. He quickly licked the canvases clean, creating his “art” along the way. According to the Post, Van Gogh’s first few paintings flopped — just like the work of
the human artist Vincent Van Gogh, who didn’t become famous until after he died in 1890. This star rose thanks to Jo Van Gogh, the wife of his brother Theo, who advocated for his work after both Theo and Vincent passed away. You could say that Gartner was dog Van Gogh’s Jo because, like the original painter’s, the pup’s art staged a comeback! After his first “art show” drew just two guests, Gartner started auctioning off his paintings online. His abstract work like “Peacock Swirl” and a rendition of human Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” quickly raised more than $3,000 for Happily Furever After Rescue. As his reputation soared on social media, Van Gogh also found his forever home with shelter volunteer Jessica Starowitz. He now spends his days painting and lounging on the couch. You can follow his exploits on Instagram under the handle @officialvgdog.
THERE’S A PROBLEM WITH THE INSURANCE REFORMS IN FLORIDA
On Dec. 16, Senate Bill 2A was signed into law and repealed one-way attorney fees and
The Governor and Legislature are painting these reforms as a win for the average Floridian. They claim this will help bring down insurance costs, as Florida has been ranked the most expensive state for property and automobile insurance over the last two years. In truth, these reforms will make things more difficult for regular citizens. These changes will likely reduce the amount of insurance claims reported, which could potentially lower everyone’s insurance premiums, but there’s no guarantee of that. What is guaranteed is that fewer people will be able to sue their insurance companies if they fail to pay on a claim because they can’t afford to do so. Furthermore, cases with a lower projected payout will be less appealing for many lawyers, and they may become more selective about which cases they choose. It will take years to understand the full scope of how these changes will affect the average Floridian, but early estimates don’t look promising.
assignment-of-benefits agreements in property insurance claims. The one-way attorney fee law made it so that an insurance company would have to pay the legal bills of the policyholder if the policyholder successfully sued the insurance company who refused to pay a claim. Insurance companies claimed that this law encouraged individuals to sue their insurance companies for unnecessary reasons. In early 2023, Governor Ron DeSantis announced further comprehensive reforms that the government hopes will “decrease frivolous lawsuits and prevent predatory practices of trial attorneys that prey on hardworking Floridians.” DeSantis even went so far to say the legal system benefitted lawyers more than those injured. On March 24, DeSantis signed House Bill 837, which will make it more difficult, and more expensive, to sue insurance companies.
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