Paint for Paws provides a fun way to support dogs

Paint for Paws provides a fun way to support dogs
Submitted

Holmes County Dog Warden Jonathan Beam poses with a puppy and some of the artwork entered during last year's Paint for Paws contest.

                        

For the past three years Paint for Paws has been an ongoing effort to help generate funds for the Holmes County Dog Warden’s Office, and while it has been a way to raise funds, it also has been a good way to raise awareness as to what the organization is doing within the borders of Holmes County.

“This began as a way to help raise some funds, but we also wanted to paint a different picture of what our staff does here, and this opened up a whole new avenue for our community and especially some of our young people to get a sense of what we do here in the county,” Holmes County Dog Warden Jonathan Beam said. “We love the idea of getting the kids involved because kids love dogs and they love painting, so we felt it was a great way to promote the dog pound to the youth.”

The Paint for Paws contest includes three different age groups with prizes going to the winner of each division.

The divisions are kindergarten through fourth grade, fifth grade through eighth grade and an adult division.

While paint may be in the title of the contest, participants aren’t limited to just painting their pictures. Contestants may paint, use crayons, draw with colored pencils or charcoal, or use whatever medium they prefer to create their entry.

There is a $5 entry fee for each painting or drawing entered with the money being put toward a fund to help dogs in need of medical attention.

The contest will run through Jan. 31, and when all entries are received, they will be posted on the dog warden’s Facebook page, where the public can go and vote for their favorite entry. Winners will be chosen by the entry that received the most “like” votes on Facebook.

“We have seen some incredibly cute entries over the years. We have seen some very well-done entries and some that maybe weren’t as great artistically but had a fantastic message,” Beam said. “You don’t have to be a great artist to join in because this is about having fun while raising money for a good cause. When our community joins together like this and we help dogs in need of medical attention, it is a tremendous feeling knowing that they have done something to help these dogs. Last year someone painted a wonderful picture in honor of Jethro, a police canine dog that had died in the line of duty. It was a nice tribute because it was meaningful and a lot of thought went into it.”

After determining the winners from the Facebook vote, prizes will be presented to the winners.

In the k-4 division the winner will receive a free art session at the Holmes Center for the Arts. The winner of the grade 5-8 division will get an opportunity to paint a 24-by-28-inch poster that will be posted outside of the dog warden’s office building inside a poster case.

“This poster will display our cost and fees, but the design will be up to the artist,” Beam said. “They can be as creative as they want to be, and it should be exciting and fun to see what they come up with for something that will be on display for everyone to see.”

The winner of the adult category will receive a free painting session with local artist Laura McCartney.

“Laura is a gifted artist who presents classes, and the winner will get to sit in on one of her teaching sessions, which is pretty exciting,” Beam said.

In addition all the artwork entered will be displayed at the dog warden’s office building walls throughout the year as they pay tribute to those who took the time to participate.

“People’s artwork will help our department stay bright and happy and create a warm place,” Beam said. “We love to see the various artwork from people who care about dogs hanging on our walls.”

Several schools have gotten involved with the project in past years with art teachers taking the reins to create an opportunity to paint or draw in the classroom.

“We love that they are encouraging the kids to participate,” Beam said.

There are no size limitations for the contest, although Beam said they can’t take anything that is enormous, so entries may be produced on any size. Entries may be done on paper or canvas. If a school chooses to participate, members of the dog warden’s office will come out to pick up the entries.

Individuals can drop off their entries at the office during working hours or mail their entries to Holmes County Dog Warden, 5387 CR 349, Millersburg, OH 44654.

Beam said he expects to have the entries up on Facebook for the voting process sometime in the first two weeks of February. The voting period will be available for around one week.


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