Get it done!! I have portraits of my horses and my dogs and its the best thing I did. The artist did them from photos and they are incredible. I had a few photos of my Welsh Cob from when we started showing him and then I lost him very suddenly. Paul (the artist) knew how important ans special he was to me and so took great care to capture his beauty & strength - it's fantastic! I cried buckets when he handed it over, it was my Welsh boy perfectly. It has pride of place amongst my other portraits, I wouldn't be without it. Sometimes I'm sad when I look at him, but most of the time it is a surge of pride and good memories.
I got a portrait done for my friend's 40th of his Boxer, again from photos, as he'd lost him. He & his family think the portrait has captured his cheekiness and the portrait is displayed for all to see.
I understand why some ABers are sad over their pet portraits but I love mine and regret not having them done of pets I've lost and didn't have good enough photos of. Hope you make a decision that's best for you.