Tag: Puppies Are Biodegradable

Oprah Dedicates Show to Sophie

Oprah and her Cocker Spaniels, Sophie and Solomon

Oprah Winfrey will dedicate her show tomorrow, Friday, April 4th, to investigating puppy mills in honor of her Cocker Spaniel, Sophie (bought from a breeder), who died last month from kidney failure. She says the show, featuring investigative reporter Lisa Ling, is "for anybody anywhere who loves a dog, has
ever loved a dog, or just cares about their basic right to humane
treatment."

Puppy Math by Daniel McCartney

The airing is timely, considering the Missouri Alliance for Animal Legislation is mounting their own Puppies Are Biodegradable Art Show from April 1st to April 8th in St. Louis, Kansas City, and Jefferson City. Inspired by the F.U.E.L. Collection’s highly publicized show of the same name last year, the artists and organizers aim to bring awareness to the atrocities of puppy mills and raise money to help prevent their proliferation across the heartland. New artworks will be featured this year along with some from the F.U.E.L. show. 50% of all sales will be donated to organizations devoted to puppy mill rescue. Here are some picks from last year’s exhibition.

Confucius by Noelle Nardone

Pile ’em Up by Alyssa Grenning

Good Will by Lauren E. Todd (Many puppy mills are in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where this charming Pennsylvania-Dutch style artwork is ubiquitous.)

Quickly! by Austin Lee

One Wish by Carlos Fernandez-Dieppa

I am going to try to watch this show, but I am sure it will be horrifying. Oprah commits herself to adopting only shelter dogs in the future, saying, "I am a changed woman after seeing this show." I am sure her viewers will feel the same way.

April 3, 2008
Needle Felted Soft Sculptures by Amelia

Amelia of AmeliaMakesArt was and is an avid painter, but one day she made a needle felted sculpture of a dog, and suddenly commissions for more poured in. One look at these charming likenesses and you can see why. A happy client calls her felted sculpture her “most prized possession — after the real thing of course.”

These guys look like Rhett, our family’s Wirehaired Dachshund. I just love them.

Sculptures are $74 each. Sizes range from 5″x5″ to 7″x8″ depending on the dog breed. Cats are 6″x6″. Perfect Christmas gifts. Order now!

Also, Amelia’s felted dogs are part of the Puppies Are Biodegradable show at F.U.E.L in Philadelphia, mounted to raise awareness of the horrors of puppy mills in Lancaster County and throughout the country. There are plans for the show to tour the states over the next few months. I will keep you posted.

August 7, 2007
Puppies Are Biodegradable: Exposing the Ugly Truth About Puppy Mills

F.U.E.L. Collection of Philadelphia is showing a harrowing exhibition this month to shed light on the dirty secret in bucolic Lancaster County: puppy mills. Gallery owner Jennifer Yaron mounted the show not just to expose the issue, but to educate and foster change. The month-long exhibit features the works of 30 artists, some of whom had never heard of puppy mills, but all who were compelled to become agents of change through their work.

The show’s sickening title comes from a mill owner in attendance at a Lancaster zoning board hearing. Responding to his neighbor’s concern about what happens to the dogs when they don’t sell, he replied, “Puppies are biodegradable.” — meaning they are used for fertilizer.

Learn more at the provocative and informative website puppiesarebiodegradable.com..

Puppy Mill Mommy (top) by Rachel Ogden.

Rejoyce (above) is the entryway floor covering depicting infamous puppy mill owner Joyce Stoltzfus. The image was created from pawprints of rescued dogs.

July 10, 2007