Dinah, who has been looking for her forever home for two years, poses in front of her mural at the Holder dog park. Photo: ARF.
When it comes to finding the right home for its dogs, ACT Rescue and Foster (ARF) goes to great heights – most recently, about the size of a shipping container (or two).
To help publicise the ever-growing need for forever homes for ARF dogs, two containers at ARF Park, which the dog rescue group leases from the ACT Government at Holder, a portrait of one of its long-termers, Dinah, has been painted on one of the containers.
Dinah was chosen by Canberra region artist Houl from ARF’s online gallery of dogs needing homes.
“There was something strangely regal and stoic in the photos online,” Houl said.
“She holds herself with such poise. I think the fact that she’s been in foster a little longer, too, made me go with her in the end.
“I had the pleasure of meeting Dinah here as I painted a portrait of her for ARF last week. Dinah popped along mid-paint for the best interruption I could have asked for.”
ARF president Angharad Lodwick said the two new murals covering storage shipping containers were a great addition to the park, where volunteers train and exercise the dogs. It was also a visual reminder of the work of ARF.
“The containers had a bit of graffiti on them, so we thought it would be great to partner with a local artist to reclaim them. He was inspired by some of our long-term foster dogs, and we couldn’t think of a better subject than beautiful Dinah.”
Rescued as a stray from Batemans Bay more than two years ago, Dinah “sat” politely for the portrait, her foster carer Joanna Bartholomaeus of Wanniassa said.
“She is really a beautiful soul,” Joanna said. “She was picked up as a stray and faced euthanasia, but then we were approached to try to rehome her. She’s done lots of training with us, but she has a reactive issue with other dogs, and she’s very strong, so it’s been hard.”
Now that she’s “famous”, at least in the vicinity of Weston Creek, Joanna and everyone else at ARF are hopeful she will finally find her forever home.
Believed to be a bull arab and red heeler mix, Dinah will need her new humans to be experienced dealing with large dogs, ideally, someone who works from home so she has company, and has dealt with a reactive dog.
All rescue dog Dinah wants is someone to play with her. Photo: ARF.
“She will be well supported. She really is the most beautiful girl,” Joanna said.
“Our son sometimes gets panic attacks and she’s wonderful with him. If she sees it happening, she just puts her head in his lap. It’s a wonderful thing to see.”
Angharad said the artwork was also an opportunity to showcase the work of ARF, which has been rescuing and rehoming dogs in the ACT and surrounds for more than 20 years.
“ACT Rescue and Foster is committed to finding homes for local dogs who, through no fault of their own, find themselves without a home,” she said.
“We have dogs of all shapes and sizes and personalities and you can find them on our website.
“We are always looking for more foster carers for our dogs, and we support our families with mentoring, dog training, and all the food, gear and vet work the dog needs.
“We are grateful to the ACT Government for leasing ARF Park to us so we have somewhere to exercise, train, rehabilitate and socialise our dogs, and to our donors and supporters who help us help dogs.
“If anyone is passing by the park, they might see their next family member getting a workout with one of our trainers,” she said.
Anyone interested in adopting Dinah or any of the other ARF dogs in urgent need of a home can check the adoption list online.
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