Did you know that 5,500 dogs are killed every day at shelters?
Mark Barone and Marina Dervan are the Founders of An Act of Dog. When Mark and Marina were looking to adopt a new dog, they found out the staggering numbers of dogs and cats, that are killed in shelters every day. Upset by this, Mark painted 5,500 portraits of dogs to try to illustrate the stark reality of how many dogs are killed per day. Through their art, they are able to fund rescue groups across the nation, as well as work with children to show kids how to use their art for social change.
Key Takeaways:
[5:45] How did An Act of Dog get started?
[11:20] People say, ‘somebody needs to do something’, but then they don’t do anything. You are somebody!
[12:50] The numbers are easy to ignore, but the images are impossible to ignore.
[15:50] Who are Mark and Marina, and what do they do?
[20:30] How long did it take Mark to paint 5500 dog portraits?
[26:00] It is unfortunate that we’re cutting out so many creative programs in schools right now. The creative process is important even if the children never get into art.
[32:10] Mark and Marina have a PBS documentary coming out soon about them. How did that get started?
[36:25] Unfortunately, as Mark says, this stuff is not newsworthy. They had to do something big in order for them to get the attention they needed on this cause.
[37:30] How do Mark and Marina maintain their relationship with each other while they have an ‘all in’ mentality with An Act of Dog?
[45:00] It was tough painting 20 different dogs a day for Mark, but he knew he had to visually represent what was happening to these poor animals.
[50:30] Want to help support An Act of Dog? You can always start by calling your local PBS station and asking them to air Mark and Marina’s documentary in your local state or county!
Mentioned in This Episode:
Giving Back Podcast
An Act of Dog
Good Karma Puppy Rescue
Mark Barone
The Honesty Coach.com
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