Jean, this turned out GREAT! You should be proud of yourself.
I love the dog also.
I can comment a little on the use of the designer house. I have done several in the past, the last one I did was a couple of years ago. I went after the designer that had the living room and she ended up putting a 30"x40" portrait of my son over the mantle. I couldn't have asked for better exposure, he was hard to miss and I was told by the various girls that manned the room that more people commented on that than any other thing in the room, at which point they would make it a point to tell them I, a local artist, had done it. I can't say that I know of a SPECIFIC commission that I got from that, but I do know that it made a lasting impression. I just met someone the other day and was introduced as the girl that did the portrait in the designer house a couple of years ago and she immediately made the connection. I have run into that often. The interesting thing is that I had two portraits in that house, that big one and a smaller one up in a bedroom. I don't recall anyone really noticing that one. So my point is, go after someone that will give you a very visible spot.
About those animals, it is a strange thing isn't it? I just did our dog and my husband took it to the office, they all just HAVE to have one of their pets. Aren't these the same poor people that couldn't afford charcoal sketches of their grandchildren?