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Poorly Drawn Pets 2026

08.12.26 | WAIF Communications
Watercolor painting of a cat with yellow-green eyes lying on a brown surface against a teal background.

WAIF’s third annual Poorly Drawn Pets was our biggest one yet! Thank you to everyone who submitted photos of your pets, and to our volunteer artists who donated hours of their time to create these masterpieces. Due to the large volume of submissions we received—including a big influx at the last minute—completing all our drawings took a bit longer this year than usual, but our volunteer and staff artists stepped up and made it happen. We are thrilled that so many people wanted to join in on the fun!

The animals pictured here have families of their own—but our shelter animals are still waiting for theirs to find them. Each drawing helped raise critical funds that allow WAIF to care for them for as long as it takes to match them with their forever home.

Take a look at this year’s portraits below! Which one is your favorite?

Illustrated black dog with white muzzle on a white Polaroid frame, taped to a green wall beside a real photo of the dog on stairs.
Porter
Collage: a white dog wearing a red hat in a striped frame on the left, and a cartoonish fluffy dog with an orange hat in a matching striped frame on the right.
Sugar Bear
Collage with two dog images: a photo of a dog on a couch beside a pumpkin, and a painting of a dog on a pumpkin on orange background.
Callie
Round photo: two cats cuddled on a cozy blanket by a window, beside a hand-colored drawing of two cats in a frame on a lavender background.
Queso and Millie
Illustrated cat lounging on a mustard surface, taped to a beige background, with a real cat photo in a Polaroid on the right (collage style).
Moxie
Photo of a black-and-tan dog in a blue striped hammock outdoors, top left.
Anna
Two framed dog images on a blue background: a painted jumping black-and-tan dog with a ball, and a circular park photo of the same dog; leafy borders surround the frames.
Chester
Polaroid-style photo of a happy white dog with tongue out, taped to a peach collage background (smaller image).
Hestia Moon
Two dogs lying together on a wooden porch, wearing collars; a hand-drawn version of the scene is pasted on a teal collage background.
Indie and Bodhi
Collage with a Polaroid photo of a fluffy white dog on the left and a watercolor portrait of the same dog on the right.
Gracie
Two framed pictures of a cat: a real tabby lounging on a railing (left) and a pencil drawing of a cat on a tiled surface (right).
Trevor
Collage showing a white dog wearing a wide hat and smiling, plus a large colored drawing of the same dog with a big tongue, taped to a blue background
Riley
Polaroid-style collage: a hand-drawn portrait of a fluffy brown-and-white dog on the left and a real photo of a similar dog on the right, taped to a green background.
Ida
Collage with teal background: a large illustrated dog portrait in a pink gingham frame on the left and a small photo of the dog in a pink gingham frame on the right.
Mickey
Collage showing two patriotic dog images: a hand-drawn brown dog with a red‑white‑blue scarf and fireworks, and a photo of a black dog wearing a patriotic bandana on grass.
Porter
Collage: a black cat in a bright green circular scratching toy in the upper-left, with a colorful crayon drawing of a black cat in a green bowl on the right, on a pink background with a looping border.
Sammie
Collage showing a fluffy brown Pomeranian puppy on a blue blanket (left) and a pencil sketch of a similar dog on a bed (right) with decorative frames for each image.
Summer
Collage on a blue background: a real Siamese cat lounging on a couch and a colored pencil drawing of a cat on a sofa.
Wasabi
Collage on olive background with two gold-framed images: top right shows a sleeping light cat in a outdoor scene; bottom left shows a pastel drawing of a cat napping on a blue rug in a living room.
Theo
Decorative collage of three illustrated cats, each in a photo-like frame taped to a warm orange background.
Cleveland
Portraits of two dogs on a light blue background: a circular photo of a black-and-tan dog and a painted black-and-tan German Shepherd in a rectangular frame with decorative borders.
Chester
Collage on a blue background: a tilted Polaroid photo of two dogs on a couch above a watercolor painting of two dogs on a chair/sofa.
Indie and Bodhi
Two framed images of the same orange tabby cat: left is a pencil sketch with green eyes, right is a photo of the real cat on a bed.
Curry
Collage with a real fluffy tabby cat photo in the top left and a large illustrated brown cat on a white frame, on a pale green background.
Kitty
Collage: photo of two small dogs on a couch, and a watercolor illustration of two dogs in a royal throne scene.
Bella and Joey
Teal background with two framed images: a large drawing of an orange tabby cat on the left and a photo of a real tabby cat on the right, both with scalloped borders.
Trixie
Real photo of a black air compressor with hoses on a wooden floor, a black cat nearby.
Birdie
Whimsical painting of a small black‑and‑white dog sitting on a yellow seat and holding a steering wheel, framed with a decorative border on a teal background.
Bobo
Polaroid-style photo of a black and tan dog lying in a desert at sunset on a light-colored background (upper right).
Chester
Colorful drawing of a dog with a pink tongue and blue bandana, framed by a scalloped border on a pink background.
Toasty
Collage showing two dogs: a real photo of two dogs on grass and a sketch of two dogs, all on a green background.
Ash and Ember
Blue background with a decorative frame collage: a hand-drawn scene of two dogs on a bed (left) and a photo of a white dog and a brown dog resting together on a couch/bed (right). The frames have scalloped borders.
Augie and Arlo
Cartoon drawing of a black dog lying on its back on grass with a yellow ball in its mouth; a real photo inset shows a similar scene in top-right.
Harry
Collage of two cats: a real brown tabby lounging in the bottom-left frame and a hand-drawn brown tabby in the right frame on a green background.
Peanut
Collage: top shows a childlike drawing of two cats with blue eyes, framed in a gold border; bottom shows two real cats on a couch in a gold frame.
Kona
Two framed images on an olive background: a large illustration of a black dog with white muzzle, and a photo of a black dog on grass looking up with a leash.
Blaze
Hand-painted illustration of a brown dog with a pink tongue hanging out, wearing a blue collar and tag, framed in a gold border.
Amy
A black cat drawing with yellow eyes inside a decorative frame on a lavender background, plus a real black cat photo in a circular frame to the lower left, both framed by leafy borders organizada.
Obie
Left: sketch of a cat standing on hind legs with paws raised; right: photo of a tabby cat climbing a tree stump in a garden.
Woody
Two framed cat images on a teal background: top-left a real orange‑white cat with a collar; bottom-right a colored pencil drawing of an orange‑white cat wearing a blue collar.
Fabulous
Polaroid photo of a Papillon puppy in a mustard knit sweater sitting on steps, beside a large illustrated Papillon in an orange sweater.
Oskar
Drawing of a small dog wearing a birthday cake hat with candles, in a pastel striped frame; a second, smaller photo shows the real dog wearing the same hat framed nearby.
Bailee
Collage with a real fluffy black-and-white dog on a deck (left) and a pencil sketch of a hooded dog on the right, both framed with decorative borders on a teal background.
Barlow
Tilted pencil sketch of a cat on a drawn background taped to an orange surface, beside a real tabby cat photo in a white Polaroid frame.
Binx
Composite image: top-left photo of a fluffy gray dog sitting on a wooden deck; bottom-right watercolor shows a fluffy dog beside a hot dog stand with a 'Hot Dogs 50¢' sign.
Cloie
Two cats cuddled on a beige sofa with multicolored pillows in a living room setting.
Trevor and Theo
Black and white fluffy dog sitting on a tiled floor in front of a red round rug (photo). The scene is framed with a decorative border in the image layout.
Bromley
Colorful drawing of a dog with a pink scarf, mounted on a teal collage background with tape marks and a separate real photo of a dog in the corner of the image
Banjo
Collage with a sketch of a dog in an orange bed with toys, and a photo of a small dog in an orange bed with plush toys.
Smokey
Whimsical drawing of a dog wearing a brown cowboy hat and red bandana, outlined in dark blue, framed by a gold-bordered frame on a maroon background, plus a photo of a gray dog in an orange hat in the corner.
Blue
Two-panel collage: a real photo of a leashed dog standing on rocks outdoors, paired with a hand-drawn sketch of the same dog in a rocky, leafy scene.
Joy
Collage on pink background: a photo of a brown-and-white dog in a gold frame on the left and a brown dog sketch in a matching frame on the right.
Jon Jon
A teal collage with a real photo of a tabby cat in a Polaroid frame on the left and a hand-drawn cat portrait on the right, taped to the background.
Betty
Photograph of a tricolor dog (black, tan, white) looking up, framed with a scalloped border on a teal background.
Betty
Collage on an orange bulletin board: a tilted painting of a black-and-white dog and a small instant-photo of a smiling dog taped to the wall.
Little Sadie
Two framed images of a black and white cat: a circular stained-glass tulip background in the top-left frame with a gold textured frame, and a photo of the same cat sitting on a wooden table beside a vase of pink tulips in a sunny room, framed in gold.
Tito
Photo of a small fluffy white dog on a wooden floor, paired with a tilted brown-and-white sketch of the same dog on a mustard backdrop.
Tater Tot
Two framed dog portraits on a purple background: a tan dog photo on a wooden deck, and a child's drawing of a dog with a pink tongue on paper.
Hawk
Polaroid-style collage: a painted black dog standing on brown ground under a yellow sun on a blue background, with tape corners attaching the image.
Kita
Two framed pictures on a tan background: a large drawing of a yellow fluffy dog with a striped surface, and a smaller photo of a light-colored terrier resting on a zebra-patterned blanket.
Penny
Child's drawing of a gray cat with yellow eyes on a teal background, taped in place beside a photo.
Olive
Collage with a real Siamese kitten on the left and a pencil drawing of a cat on a bed on the right, both framed in gold on a blue background.
Smudge
Colorful collage featuring a hand-drawn trio of dogs on a couch, taped to a brown background, paired with a photo of three dogs resting on a sofa in a separate Polaroid frame.
Jupiter, Lily and Atlas
Photo of a gray tabby cat with green eyes sitting on a red patterned rug, framed by a gold border. In the bottom-right is a separate hand-drawn brown striped cat sketch.
Meo
Polaroid collage: a pencil sketch of a cat with pumpkins on a rug, taped to a brown background, next to a photo of a black cat with a pumpkin.
Trouble
Green collage with a hand-drawn cat sketch mounted at an angle and a small Polaroid photo of a real cat in the top-right corner, taped to the background.
Teddy
Decorative collage of three dog images: a black fluffy dog lying in grass in a gold-framed photo, a circular art piece of the same dog on green, and a green watercolor sketch of the dog in a gold frame.
Happy
Sketch of a cat with a rainbow across its eyes, taped to a wall, beside a Polaroid-style photo of a cat bathed in rainbow light.
Bagheera
Two framed images on a purple background: left a real Bernese Mountain Dog on a wooden deck; right a child’s cartoon dog drawing.
Abigale
Polaroid-style photo of a brown fluffy dog resting in a garden on a pink collage background.
Ziya
Two framed dog portraits on a pale green backdrop: a photo of a black-and-white dog with a blue bandana, and a stylized drawing of the same dog in a forest.
Lincoln
Polaroid-style photo of two black-and-white cats sitting on a wooden chair cushion with a window behind them (collage framing).
Franny and Zooey
Collage of a photo showing a white cat lounging on a wicker chair and a watercolor drawing of a white cat resting on an orange chair.
Kumi
Hand-drawn portrait of a dog with a friendly smile in a scalloped frame on a blue background
Sadie
Teal collage with a tilted white-framed photo of a black cat on the left and a colorful horse drawing on the right, taped to the background.
Ashton
Two framed images of a cat on a teal background: a pencil sketch with blue leaves and a photo of a tabby in a blanket, both with decorative borders.
Birdie
Two framed pictures of a black and white cat: a drawing with gold splash behind it on the left, and a real photo of the cat on the right.
Tucker
Polaroid photo of a smiling brown-and-white dog on a wooden floor, mounted in a scrapbook collage on a yellow background.
Yogi
Collage of two images: left a drawing of a brown dog with a 'PARTY ANIMAL' hat, right a living-room photo of the same dog wearing a party hat.
Rocket
Polaroid photo of two dogs sitting indoors, left; beside a tilted colorful drawing of two geometric dogs taped to a yellow background.
Whinnie and Henry
Collage of a dog photos: a small Polaroid-style portrait on the left and a tilted sketch of a dog with a red collar on the right.
Tipsy
Two framed dog images on a muted green background: a watercolor sketch of two dogs on the right and a small long-haired Chihuahua photo on the left.
Buzzy Bee
Collage of two cat images: a real tabby cat lounging on a brown leather couch (Polaroid-style) and a watercolor painting of a cat with yellow eyes on a teal background.
Bungus
Two framed dog portraits on a teal background: a photo of a brown-and-white husky on the left and a turquoise painting of a husky on the right, both with striped pastel frames.
Damon
Two framed pictures of a black-and-white cat—photograph on the left and a sketch on the right.
Ransom
Collage of two dog images on a blue background: a real tan dog photo in a white Polaroid frame and a painted orange dog portrait taped at the top and bottom corners.
Tallulah
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