Description
- “Loving Friends”
- A Commission sculpture in Bronze for the Humane Society Pet Center, of Preble County, Ohio by Anita Watts.
I was approached by a few animal lovers that wanted to honor their No Kill Animal Shelter with a Sculpture, showing how we are all connected with God’s Creations. From children to their pets and beyond, we can all have loving relationships with each other.
When I was commissioned to create this multiple piece sculpture, I decided to use the actual animals who had been rescued by this Humane Pet Center for my reference. So, I went to the Shelter with one of the ladies and played with dogs and cats and puppies and kittens. The keepers of the shelter showed me how they socialized the animals they had rescued, and how they developed them into wonderful pets that were ready to be adopted into family situations.
I did some research into the Animal Shelter where my sculptures were to be installed. I was very pleased to learn that this animal shelter has a 40+ year history and are run entirely on public donations, adoption fees, and membership fees. They do not receive any grants, or county funding whatsoever, and they work hard to put every dime into finding their awesome animals the homes they deserve! Since they are a no-kill facility, that means they keep the dogs they take in until they find their truly perfect-for-them family.
“Animals Are Our Mission” is the goal statement of this Shelter. They focus on producing a maximum positive effort. Their members and volunteers provide the momentum that helps them do good work. Using community driven models, they take actions that make a long-lasting difference. Their amazing team of regulars and part-time volunteers are committed to helping their animals. They take their convictions and turn them into action. I was very pleased to have my sculptures express this positive connection between animals and their human companions.
This is what I tried to express in my Sculpture of “Loving Friends”. God has created some wonderful animals to be our friends. We are responsible for their care after we adopt them, but they will give back ten times the amount of love we share with them.