for the love of dog

I grew up with dogs in my parents' and grandparents' homes. When I was 5 years old, my dachshund died of strychnine poisoning. The only vet was out of town. I vowed there and then that I would be a vet, so that this would never happen again and in spite of scepticism and objections from family, teachers and friends over the years, never wavered in my resolve. So in a way I became a vet to avenge Woofy's cruel and senseless death.

What I never could foresee in those years was how many dogs I would have to kill in the course of my career - some to relieve suffering, but far too many were victims of "disposal dog syndrome", and were killed for the sake of their owners' convenience. Throughout the years I have struggled with the ethics and emotional issues. At times I am in tears and close to leaving the profession, at other times I manage to distance myself emotionally and rationalize - too many dogs, too few people to care, behavioural issues, disease or injury, which though treatable, exceeds the budgets of their owners. If I refused their owners would sometimes threaten to beat them to death, or shoot them or dump them by the side of the road. During a recent visit to the RSPCA someone brought in two 6 week old puppies that had been found tied shut in a bag and left in the hot sun in the bush. Some dogs I have saved and rehomed, but too many have died and are continuing to do so.

Veterinarians and veterinary nurses as a group have an unacceptably high suicide rate, which has often been related to the stress and distress caused by having to kill the very animals they dedicate their lives to saving.

Therefore I dedicate my paintings to the dogs that I and my colleagues have killed, and to my colleagues who suffer deeply every time this happens.

I have a dream to establish a no kill animal shelter, where all dogs will be welcome, and they will be rehabilitated and rehomed or housed and cared for until they die of old age. If I could become as famous and succesfull as Ron Burns,the artist who is my inspiration for this series, I will use the money to start a trust fund towards fulfilling this dream.
Tragically most existing animal shelters are compelled to kill vast numbers of unwanted pets as they are severely constrained by limited funds.

Dogs love their humans without holding back, with no guile or subterfuge and will often be loyal to the death, even throwing themselves at gun toting intruders and in the way of bullets as happened to a German Shepherd I treated in Sydney late last year. Their loyalty and devotion are technicolour bright, without shades of gray. Their love knows no compromise. All they desire is too please their owners. So I chose bright colours for my paintings, to reflect the bright bold technicolour love that dogs have for their owners, deserving or not.

These paintings have given me great pleasure and they are just the begining. I am inspired by my subject matter, their beautiful transparent eyes and the huge variety of shapes and characters they come in. I hope I can do justice to the love I have experienced from the dogs in my life, and in some way, maybe save a few lives, by making people appreciate dogs for the wonderful animals they truly are