The Animal Rescue Center in the English city of Bristol has devised a way to enhance its financial capabilities to be able to accommodate the increasing number of dogs and cats abandoned by their owners, which is to hold a public auction in early December to sell paintings painted by these animals.
In the studio of the Animal Rescue Center in Bristol, western England, dogs Rosie and Alba are working hard on their paintings. There is no need for a brush, as the animal’s muzzle and feet are sufficient for the purpose, without any regard, of course, to usual drawing techniques.
There is no doubt that the result resembles a new type of abstract art, which may appear somewhat childish and chaotic, but the two dogs’ mission does not stop at the critics’ opinions of their work, because their goal is much more important.
Show related news
The number of abandoned animals in the United Kingdom has increased significantly, due to high inflation rates and increased interest rates, which has led to increased costs for repaying mortgages and rents.
“People are simply no longer able to afford insurance and veterinary care,” Bea Lawson, animal behavior specialist at the rescue center, noted in a statement to Agence France-Presse.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, an animal protection organization in the United Kingdom, expressed “grave concern” about the increase in cases of animal abandonment as winter approaches. Between the beginning of this year and the end of October, the association received 17,838 reports of abandoned animals in England and Wales.
The association expected the number of reports to increase from 16,000 in 2020 to 21,500 in 2023 if this trend continues. The association’s inspectorate commissioner, Dermot Murphy, said that “several rescue centers are now completely full” and no longer have the capacity to accommodate more animals, noting that they are next facing “a winter crisis the likes of which they have never witnessed before.”
More than $400
This situation has led the Centre, which belongs to the Royal Society but relies on private parties for its funding, to find innovative ways to secure income that will allow it to continue. The center’s employees came up with the idea of organizing an online “dog party” in early December, during which artwork produced by animals would be auctioned off.
The price of most of these works is about fifty pounds per painting, but prices reach up to 320 pounds ($405) for those painted by “Major,” a white husky dog.
Bee Lawson explained that drawing is an effective therapeutic technique for abandoned dogs, who often arrive at the center traumatized after their owners abandoned them and they were forced to live alone and without food on the streets.
She explained that “sniffing, licking, and chewing are actually beneficial behaviors for dogs because they act as a natural sedative for them.”
Show related news
To encourage the dogs to move forward from the canvas they are supposed to paint on, the center’s team uses peanut butter and cheese, which encourages the animals to smell, lick and create.
The center’s official, Judy Bennett, said: “We take a raw cloth or something similar, put non-toxic paint on it, cover the cloth and paint with nylon intended for covering food, and then put dogs’ favorite treats on top of the nylon.”
She added that “the dogs approach, lick and play” with the food. Some dogs walk on their canvas, while others use their entire body to draw. – The most famous “artists” – Judy Bennett reported that “Major”, the white husky dog, proved his ability to draw and gained great popularity, becoming one of the centre’s most famous “artists”.
She pointed out that his paintings “Excited 1” and “Excited 2” received great attention from critics and investors in the artistic field. She described his paintings as “bold,” concluding that they “reflect his personality.” She saw with complete seriousness that he was “a great emerging artist.”
As for the painting “Burning Man,” whose colors vary between yellow, orange, and red, it was created by a cat named “Cami,” who joined one of the drawing sessions without any prior imagination or design.
Show related news
Judy Bennett noted that the cat “used fiery colors, her favorite, because they resemble her fiery feminine nature.”
Bennett confirmed that she is “very proud” of these animals. “I can happily hang (her paintings) on my wall,” she said. She does not even rule out that, with some “training and effort,” these works could one day be displayed in the famous Tate Museum in London.
2023-11-28 13:20:44
#Animals #abandoned #owners #fund #British #rescue #centre
