Adoption party to kick off Dog Days of Summer project

January 29, 2009

Adoption party to kick off Dog Days of Summer project

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -

**Download photo**

The Greater Lafayette community can get its first look at the dog statues and some of the participating artists during a Dog Days of Summer adoption party from 2-4 p.m. Feb. 8 at Muinzer Moving and Storage, 1315 Ferry St., Lafayette.The adoption party is the kickoff for the upcoming Dog Days of Summer, a project that will place decorated, life-size dog statues throughout the area in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Purdue University of School of Veterinary Medicine and the 100th anniversary of the Art Museum of Greater Lafayette.

Artists from around the area will pick up their fiberglass dog forms at the party and will then have two months to decorate them. The decorated dogs will later be displayed from May to September in Lafayette, West Lafayette and on the Purdue campus. Project sponsors also will attend the event where they can meet the artists who will design the individual dogs. The event is free and open to the public, but those interested in attending are asked to RSVP by Monday (Feb. 2) to (765) 494-5032 or bhershey@purdue.edu.

The Dog Days of Summer project is inspired by the veterinary school's outdoor sculpture "Continuum" by Larry Anderson, which features a dog as part of its array of people and animals in a depiction of the enduring human-animal bond. The Dog Days of Summer follows similar projects Frog Follies and Hog Wild, which brought many people to the area, said Kendall Smith, executive director of the Art Museum of Greater Lafayette.

At the end of the exhibition, a few of the decorated dogs will go on the road as part of the School of Veterinary Medicine's traveling exhibit in celebration of its 50th anniversary. Other dogs will be auctioned off to the public on Oct. 4.

Proceeds from the project will benefit the School of Veterinary Medicine's 50th Anniversary Scholarship Endowment and its Good Samaritan Fund, and the Art Museum of Greater Lafayette's art education programs.

For information about the project or to become a sponsor, contact the art museum at (765) 742-1128.

Writer: Christy Jones, (765) 494-1089, christyjones@purdue.edu

Sources: Kevin Doerr, School of Veterinary Medicine director of alumni relations and public affairs, (765) 494-8216, doerrkr@purdue.edu

Kendall Smith, (765) 742-1128, ext. 103, ksmith@glmart.org

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

To the News Service home page