An Act of Dog

Lately I've been posting quite a number of posts about artists using their work to highlight the harm that is being done to non-human animals, or to force people to take action to save animals' lives.

Today's post features the work of Mark Barone, who is painting the portraits of 5,500 shelter dogs, all of whom have already been killed. The paintings will eventually be housed in a permanent memorial museum, and the funds raised from the project will be used to save animals from euthanasia. Find out more about the project here.

Landfill Dogs

Shannon Johnstone is a Louisiana photographer and animal advocate who uses her talents to bring attention to the tragedy of America's thrown away pets. She has documented companion animals before, during, and after their euthanasia in a project called Discarded Property, and her latest project, Landfill Dogs, involves taking dogs who have been at her local shelter for more than two weeks, and who will soon face euthanasia, to the landfill where their bodies will be buried, and photographing them where they play joyfully on what may be their last excursion outside in their lives. The great news is that thanks to her talent and courage, most of the dogs Johnstone has photographed have since found homes,  and have not ended up back at the landfill.