Chewy Gets Creative [Custom Pet Portraits for Customers]
If you have a pet, you might be familiar with Chewy.com. If not, well, let me introduce you. Chewy is one of the biggest pet supply companies on the internet. They are well known for their large selection of products serving a wide range of pets including cats, dogs, birds, reptiles, fish, and more. Today, however, Chewy is going viral for an entirely different reason.
The opinions stated below are my own, and I have not received any sponsorship or free products from the aforementioned manufacturers.
Facebook Frenzy
It was an otherwise normal Monday on Facebook when users started posting about completely unexpected packages that were arriving from Chewy.com. “I had no idea what it was because I knew I hadn’t ordered anything recently.” Folks were absolutely shocked at the content. A custom pet portrait of their dear sweet pets, meticulously hand-painted and delivered to their homes for free from Chewy. Within minutes, comments started flooding in sharing their own surprise packages. Pretty soon, my Facebook feed was covered in threads full of custom pet art and messages of absolute glee over these amazing, completely unexpected gifts from Chewy.
The Occasion
What was the occasion for such a thoughtful and generous gift? Depends on who you ask. For most folks? National Aquarium Month! Chewy has been celebrating Turtles, fish, axolotls, and all things aquatic by sending out these adorable portraits to customers alongside thank you notes for their support. One such note to Becky and her turtle, Speedy, reads:
“Hi Becky, It’s National Aquarium Month, so we wanted to shell-abrate and tank you for being in our Chewy family.”
XO, Your Chewy Family
But wait, there’s more…
It wasn’t all high tides and water works in the mail. Chewy portraits are also going out for National Adopt A Cat Day. Beautiful, handpainted portraits are being received right meow for lots of sweet fluffy fur balls. Of course, they are also getting thank you cards, but theirs read a little something like this:
“Hi Taylor, This National Adopt a Cat Month, we’re celebrating the meow-gical moment you and Suki became a family.
Furever yours, Your Chewy Family
Memories Emerge
Even folks who did not receive a portrait this time around are pouring into the comments to share precious memories of unbelievable acts of kindness from their favorite online pet store.
“They have unbelievable customer service. We just received flowers from them because our dog passed away. Coalbie was 15 1/2 and we miss him dearly!”
-Anne Marie
“They are just the best. Not only did they say the same to me when my Lab, Jack, passed away, they also sent me flowers and a sweet card. I cried so hard! Then they sent me a portrait when we got our new Lab, Hudson! They’re so amazing!”
-Alyssa
“I love Chewy! We use them for all of our pet needs. When my dog of 10 years passed away. Chewy sent me a beautiful flower arrangement that I was not expecting with a sympathy card and a certificate of a memorial tree being planted in my dogs name. It really meant a lot. I can’t say enough good things about them!”
-Stephanie
“Chewy is awesome! My friend fur baby passed away and chewy delivered a bouquet of flowers in a vase. The best company to get all your pet supplies.”
-Diane
“Chewy actually performed a wedding ceremony for two blind cats that had bonded at our shelter a few years ago. They painted the wedding couples’ portraits, brought the wedding cake, etc. The whole thing was filmed and made the evening news (Saving Sage Animal Rescue Foundation). Even better, after all of that attention, Jasmine & Scruffy were adopted together!”
-Carol
“They did one of my bunny, Willow, who had died just a month before that for national carrot day. I had yet to remove her from my Chewy account. I cried and still tear up when I see it. What a wonderful company!”
-Kathleen
Doing the Math
So how many pet portraits did Chewy send out this month? That’s a great question and I honestly do not know. I have personally seen nearly 100 posted across the groups I frequent, but Chewy would not share a guesstimate with me. Here was their official response: “At this time, I do not have an estimate of how many portraits have been sent out, only that we are sending portraits for National Aquarium Month and National Adopt a Cat Month. We have many artists that we commission for pet portraits.”
The Artists
Who is/are the talented artist (s) behind these paintings? No one seems to know. I reached out to Chewy and was told they couldn’t release the artists information at this time, but that they ” We “have many artists” that they commission for pet portraits. It kind of makes you think that eventually we might get the scoop, but who knows really. If you happen to have the inside track on who these mystery artists are (or how to become one), please drop the info in our comments below. I hope they will see this post and know just how much the internet loves their work! You did great work!
How can I get one?
How is Chewy picking who gets a portrait? Where are they finding pictures of our pets? I want one too! How can I get something like this? The comment sections are on fire with pleas to participate in this wonderful movement, and I’ve got the who, what, where, why and how for you.
As best as we can tell, the selection process of who gets a Chewy pet painting (outside of the bereavement gifts) is fairly random. We do not think it is based off of purchases or chewy.com activity, but rather some kind of lottery amongst folks who have downloaded the app and uploaded their pet’s picture(s). So how can you throw your pet’s hat in the ring?
- Download the Chewy app from your app store.
- Log into or create your Chewy account.
- Go to “My Pets” and add your pet’s information.
- Under the “Photo” section (not Profile Icon), click “Upload a Photo.”
- Take a photo or select one from your camera roll.
Congratulations! You have now upload your pet’s information and picture into Chewy.com. You will see the image both on your app and on their website, but it only seems possible to upload the image from the app. Does this mean you will definitely get a free pet portrait in the mail this year? Nope! But at least you have entered the lottery.
Is this a love letter?
I was so excited about all the art I was seeing in my favorite Facebook groups, I couldn’t wait to write this post and share it with everyone. The more I researched Chewy and their generous pet portrait gifts, the more awesome stories I found about them. I didn’t expect this to become some kind of love letter, but I think it may have? Ha!
We have used Chewy many times over the years for our pups, turtle, and fish. We even got several of the supplies for our DIY Basking Box and DIY Snuffle Ball from Chewy.com. I can report that we have always had really positive experiences with our orders, but I certainly had no idea about all the other amazing things they had been doing for customers and their pets.
I spent some time adding my pet’s pictures to their profiles yesterday. My fingers are crossed that someday we might be blessed with such a neat surprise in the mail, but in the meantime, I am really enjoying watching everyone else’s special deliveries and hearing such heartwarming stories.
Originally posted on June 06, 2023.
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2 thoughts on “Chewy Gets Creative [Custom Pet Portraits for Customers]”
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Hi, I'm Tania!
Thanks for stopping by DFW Craft Shows! Our blog is home to tons of creative inspiration, gift guides, tutorials, featured artists, and tips for small businesses trying to make their mark in the arts & crafts world.
This is so cool! I love that you can customize pet portraits for your customers!
I’m happy that you brought up the artists at the end. That is SO important!
I received a painting in the mail this week, but there was no mention of the artist or even a signature. I reached out to Chewy who replied “Our artist do not work for the recognition, They just enjoy making the paintings for our Chewy families so they do not wish to be identified”
As a pet portrait artist myself, that did not sound likely at all. So I shared that on my social media accounts. Lo and behold, current and past Chewy artists got in touch with me privately, saying that Chewy doesn’t allow them to share their work or take credit. The artists are being censored and that is HORRIBLE!
I’ve reached out to Chewy a few times, encouraging them to recognize the artists and to allow me to thank my artist. These are direct quotes from their artists:
“I fought constantly to be recognized for the work I did till I spoke too loud and was let go.”
“Chewy does not permit artists from signing their portraits, unfortunately! You are absolutely correct, they all very much do want to be recognized for their work.”
“…they grossly underpay while preventing artists from getting any recognition”
“…there are a lot of unhappy artists at the moment”
“Thanks for standing up for us”
Chewy needs to share the artists’ information. We, as customers, should be allowed to thank the artists and recognize their outstanding talent. PLEASE reach out to Chewy and demand that they credit their artists!