Mark Barone and his partner Marina Dervan are the founders of An Act of Dog,=Museum of Compassion,  an incredible  non profit that uses ART as a means for social change.

While looking for a new dog f0r Mark to love, Marina learned that once a pet gets put into an animal shelter, they have on average about 72 hours left to live as opposed to a human whose life span averages out at 72 years.

Appalled at these statistics, the couple decided something needed to be done and so they have dedicated their lives in the pursuit of a dream, to TEACH the WORLD about Compassion , SAVE Shelter Animals, and leave a legacy of giving for the future when they are long gone.

PBS has been filming Mark and his extraordinary work and you can watch the trailer here.  Mark gave up 4 years of his “day job” to take on this project and to paint 5500 dog portraits, one for every dog killed daily in shelters around the USA.  These are real dogs who died in shelters and their story’s will break your heart, and they should. Humans have a responsibility to our pets and we all need to be conscious that killing them isn’t the solution.

The Museum will house his artwork and take up two football fields- a visual representation of what killing 5500 dogs a day looks like. Please visit www.anactofdog.org to support their work and purchase their fabulous nightlights, tshirts, and gicles. 100% of the proceeds from EVERY SALE goes to the 100 rescue organizations in our partner program (from all 50 states).  It’s dog art with heart!