Photo exhibit to benefit homeless animals

WAITING PATIENTLY—The Hogan Family Foundation and 4 Small Paws Dog Rescue Program are hosting an exhibit of photographs of homeless pets decked out in seasonal garb in hopes of finding them homes. The Hogan Family Foundation and 4 Small Paws Dog Rescue Program will present the “Home 4 the Holidays Shelter Dog Portrait Gallery” in the Resource Center of Gardens of the World in Thousand Oaks through Sun., Jan. 8. The exhibition may be viewed Tuesdays through Sundays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Twenty-three portraits of dogs from local shelters, including the Agoura Animal Shelter, HART Senior Dog Rescue and the 4 Small Paws Program, will be featured. Each animal is decked out for the holidays and all are looking for permanent homes. The dogs are available for adoption with contact information available at the Resource Center.

The photography was donated by Thousand Oaks photographer Forrest Frields. “It was a joy to participate in this great effort,” said Frields. “My wife and I are dog lovers and we fully understand the plight of these dogs in need.”

The show was the idea of Chris Hogan, foundation executive vice president, who founded the 4 Small Paws Program last year. “We have been active throughout the year taking small dogs from local shelters and finding them foster or permanent homes,” she said. “We wanted to draw attention to these wonderful four-legged friends.”

Home 4 the Holidays began in 1999 when the Helen Woodward Animal Center organized 14 San Diego area shelters and 2,563 orphaned pets found homes. Each pet “went home” with Iams pet food and a booklet of coupons redeemable at PETCO.

“Nobody wants to think about an orphaned pet waking up behind bars on a holiday morning. In the past some shelters have discouraged families from adopting pets during the holidays, forcing them to support the puppy mill industry. Home 4 the Holidays shelters work together to match the needs of the pets with the desires of the families. Everybody wins,” said Hogan.

For more information, please call (805) 557-1135 or visit www.gardensoftheworld.info or www.4smallpaws.org