Paws on Parade

Woof Dat Dawg

Artist: Lori Gomez

Two days ago, we introduced some of the Bead Dogs found around New Orleans and Metairie; today we continue the search.

Canine Carnival

Artist: Paulette Lizano

These dogs make up the public art celebration entitled Paws on Parade. The Louisiana SPCA has launched this program to raise funds to support efforts to insure animal welfare in the region.

Funky Art Dog

Artist: John Lamour-ranne

In our travels, we have come across similar community art projects in which small statues of an animal significant to that community are decorated and then auctioned off to raise money for a civic cause.

Pick Me.... Pick Me

Artist: Kathy Miller Stone

But the subject of this project seemed different. While buffalo or horses might represent animals important to the history of a community, the Bead Dogs tie in the historical and present life of New Orleans (see our April 25 entry). The Mardi Gras beads, classroom projects for generations of students, and a company that donated the mold for its Bead Dog logo combined to produce a figure that has touched the lives of the majority of the city's residents.

Where Y'at Dog

Artist: Caeser Meadows and Jeannie Detweiler

The topper is that these figures of a dog will be auctioned off this fall to raise funds to support animal welfare programs. To us, the program seemed to have all the ingredients of a successful fund-raiser.

Beware of Twisted Dog

Artist: Simon

One of the first dogs we saw on our drive along St. Charles Avenue was this one by Simon, an artist whose shop we had just visited and whose work we had admired and purchased.

Simon Hardeveld had created the WGNO News with a Twist set, and this photo shows a portion of the station's slogan. The visible letters (in capitals) on the dog's back (right) are: "NEWs WIth..." and on the tail "a tWIst."

Tiger Dawg

Arrtist : Lori Gomez

This was one of 45 dogs that were either on display around town or in stages of completion or repair during this period. And when we learned that there were 44 more...well, the search was on.

Radio Dog

Artist : Lori Gomez

I learned that the SPCA had a contest in which the first 20 people who submitted photographs of themselves with at least 10 of the Bead Dogs would win a small collection of bead dogs. The likelihood of the contest still being in effect was virtually zero, but the challenge of finding at least 10 of the Bead Dogs around the city was staring me in the face.

Hollywood South

Artist: Lori Gomez

So, armed with a set of images of the 45 sculptures, our GPS, and diagrams of about five different routes to cover five sections of the total array of dogs, we spent about five days collecting these photos.

Garden of Bead-en

Artist: Sara Gothard

Our Louisiana

Artist: Lori Gomez

Street Dogs

Artist: Rex Dingler

I find it very difficult to pass one of these Lucky Dog carts in the Quarter without getting at least one hot dog,

One Lucky Dog

Artist: David Poretto

so when I saw this dog (left) and its Lucky Dog wagon, I felt it was not necessary to continue the search for these beaded puppies.