This whole Shelter Dogs and Street Art project came about in part because of Salt Lake County Animal Services’ Hounds Around Town (HAT) program. The idea is that volunteers get dogs out of the kennels for a few hours, taking the dogs on adventures, letting them de-stress, and giving the volunteers (and the staff) a better sense of the dogs’ personalities. It’s a great program, and I’ve been lucky enough to be able to persuade some of the other volunteers to let me join in on some of the adventures.
When I went out with two volunteers and Jager last Saturday, we weren’t really sure how Jager was going to be; there weren’t very many notes on him, and he seemed a little stressed in the kennels (again, why the Hounds Around Program exists). Jager was really more interested in going on walkies and other adventures, than in posing for the camera. But he put up with me and my camera for a little while before heading off for a hike and a puppaccino.
The first place we went was a colorful mural.
Snacks? I heard there might be snacks involved in this. Actually, Jager wasn’t super-interested in my snacks. Silly boy!
Hai. I am going to kiss you!
I am far too handsome to just stand here!
Mural : Darling You Are a Work of Art
Location: 21 East Haven Ave, South Salt Lake City
Rian Kasner (@riankasner)
I’d say Jager was a work of art! And, we disovered that he walked well on a leash, liked giving kisses, and was generally an easy-going boy.
We then moved across the street to a mural celebrating workers. I couldn’t find an artist signature/tag on this, but I’m asking around to see if I can find who did this – if I find out, I’ll update the info here, as I like to recognize the artists whenever I can.
Jager wasn’t really interested in the camera, but he loved walking towards one of the volunteers, so we went with that!
Mural: Workers
Location: 2288 S. Main Street South Salt Lake City
Artist: No signature that I could find
The last place we went to was a different type of street art. The place is called Sugarpost, and they make metal artwork out of repurposed metal stuff. Jager was really ready to get on with the rest of his adventures at this point, so we didn’t stay super long, but I really want to go back when the place is open and see if we can get some photos of the amazing metal work they do. Their metal art is so cool, and so creative!
How cool is that octopus?
Stopping to check out the flowers!
For those of you Star Wars fans, notice the X wing and the TIE fighter on the top of the fence! Seriously, this place has AMAZING art. I really look forward to going back.
Location: 80 West Truman Ave, Salt Lake City, Utah
As an aside, Jager was adopted a couple of days after these photos were taken. I’m not surprised – he was such a sweet boy, and I’m glad that he found his fur-ever home!
Dogumentary Pet Photography
