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This Dad Is Drawing Goofy Portraits Of People's Pets And Donating All The Money To Charity

October 23, 2020

An "artist" has raised more than $20,000 for charity after his silly drawings of people's pets went viral no social media.

Pet Portraits By Hercule

Phil Heckels, 38, shared his first portrait 6 weeks ago of his family's dog to inspire his son to make a thaknk-you card.

He posted the photo of his "crap" drawing on Facebook alongside a caption offering to sell it for £299 -- which was just a joke at the time.

Pet Portraits By Hercule

By the end of the day he had seven requests from friends who wanted a drawing of their own pets, and within days he was inundated with requests from people all over.

Pet Portraits By Hercule

So, he launched the Facebook page "Pet Portraits By Hercule" and explained that the portraits are free, he is only asking for donations to Turning Tides, a local homelessness charity.

"And please remember, this is not a job/business for me, it’s just something I’m doing for a bit of fun to raise money for charity," he wrote on his page.

"The pictures are free. All I ask for is a donation to the charity Turning Tides Ending Local Homelessness who are my local homelessness charity. The donation can be whatever you are comfortable with and please do not donate more than you can easily afford."

If you're a pet owner looking to create lasting memories with a professional touch, check out Personalised Pet Portraits at PetPawtraits Australia.

Pet Portraits By Hercule

So far, the fundraiser has generated more than $23,000. He has already drawn over 200 portraits but says he has more than 1,000 requests backed up.

"I'm just having a laugh with it," Heckels told CNN. "People seem to be enjoying it and I'm certainly enjoying it."