You've heard of animal therapy and healing through art - now this woman has dulled her heartache by combining the two.

Eve Oatridge of Deal split with her partner during lockdown but has since become the owner of a dog and is producing a book and greetings cards of her pet paintings.

In what was already a lonely time for many, the break-up was an extra blow for the 43 year-old from Deal.

So she rehomed a pandemic puppy - one brought by previous owners through lockdown but who soon needed rehoming because the match was not right.

She said: "When my fiancée left I knew I needed a project and a good reason to go out.

"I love boxer dogs, have owned two before, so knew what I would be taking on if I got a boxer puppy. But it was actually a five month old boxer who caught my eye."

Rexie, now seven months, was "running rampage" when his former owner had to go back to work.

Ms Oatridge claims he had alopecia from the stress where he had been home alone barking in the garden all day.

She reasoned: "Yes, he was going to be hard work and we would have trouble with separation anxiety, but he needed a home, and I needed a companion."

The Kennel Club claims one in four people who bought a dog during lockdown admits to impulse buying their pet.

Where more than two in five bought a puppy to be their Covid-19 companion, two thirds of new owners agree that their dog was a ‘lifeline in lockdown’

But the welfare organisation discovered in its research one in five new owners who bought a puppy during the pandemic admit they hadn’t fully considered the long-term commitment or responsibility that comes with having a dog and 15 % agree in hindsight, they weren’t ready to get a puppy.

Rexie has undergone training with Ms Oatridge and is now responding to commands, taming the 'wild' behaviour he came with.

Having no understanding of the 'sit' instruction, the energetic feller is now sitting before crossing the road.

"I want to use Rexie as a medium through which to reach people, children and adults alike, to touch their hearts and to make them smile..."

The reward Rexie gets from his new owner is on par with the benefit she feels.

Previously she didn't have the time or inspiration to paint, but that has all changed now.

She added: "I’m an artist, and so began chronicling his daily crazy antics in painted cartoons.

"I set up rex.files on Instagram where I post a daily painting."

There are images drawn from photographs, like one of him sat in her armchair work station, and others showing him enjoying walks and football, and others show him having a cuddle with his new owner.

She plans to print greetings cards to sell, and is working with friend Harriet Thomas on a book featuring Rexie which promotes emotional well-being for children under the age of 10.

She said: "I want to use Rexie as a medium through which to reach people, children and adults alike, to touch their hearts and to make them smile, and I feel privileged to have been able to give Rexie a loving home where we are already devoted to one another."

Rexie now enjoys regular training. He has learnt some commands and is tackling his anxiety surrounding being left and car journeys.

Follow the progress of Rexie at rex.files on instagram.

For more information on the book and the greeting cards, follow the Insta account.

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