The Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals announced today that it has received a $100,000 naming gift in honor of award-winning artist, illustrator and animal lover Betty M. Bowes, who died in 2007. This gift, in addition to $140,000 raised previously, will fully fund the Pennsylvania SPCA’s new dog park. It will be named the Betty M. Bowes Dog Park and is expected to open in spring 2010.
“The Betty M. Bowes Dog Park will undoubtedly play an integral role in our ongoing efforts to improve the mental and physical health of the dogs in our care,” said Susan Cosby, CEO of the Pennsylvania SPCA. “Thanks to Betty’s generous gift, thousands of dogs will have the opportunity to feel the warmth of the sun on their backs and the fresh air on their faces while they wait for their forever homes.”
The Pennsylvania SPCA’s Betty M. Bowes Dog Park will provide Philadelphia's abused, neglected and abandoned dogs with more than 18,000 square feet of space on which to run, play and socialize. The park will include individual dog yards as well as a communal play area. It will give every Pennsylvania SPCA dog, including those that must be held in protective custody for months while they await the criminal trial of their abusive owners, the opportunity for outside play time.
“Betty would have loved this,” said Drew Saunders, executor of Bowes’ estate. “She loved her dog Brownie, and she would be happy to know her love of animals lives on in this beautiful dog park.” Bowes will be honored with an artistic memorial bearing her name at the entrance to the park.
Bowes won more than a dozen prizes from the American Watercolor Society in New York, and in 1995, she received an “Achievement in the Arts” award from the Philadelphia Watercolor Club. She was a full member of the National Academy in New York and her paintings are in collections of several institutions, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.
Since 1867, the Pennsylvania SPCA, a non-profit 501(c)3 organization headquartered in Philadelphia, has been dedicated to rescuing animals from abuse and neglect, providing lifesaving care and treatment, and reducing pet-overpopulation through low-cost spay-and-neuter clinics and public awareness initiatives. Through these efforts, the Pennsylvania SPCA prevents cruelty toward animals and promotes respect for their welfare, thus enhancing the lives of people and their companion animals throughout the state of Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania SPCA operates adoption centers in Wellsboro, Centre Hall, Danville, and Montrose, Pennsylvania. The Philadelphia headquarters, located at 350 E. Erie Ave., houses a full-service animal hospital, obedience training academy, adoption facility, and the Pennsylvania SPCA Law Enforcement Department. Philadelphia’s Animal Care and Control Team (ACCT), powered by the Pennsylvania SPCA , is contracted by the city to perform animal control, as well as finding homes for Philadelphia's thousands of stray and surrendered animals via rescue, foster care, and adoption. For more information about adopting, donating or volunteering, please call 215.426.6300 or visit www.pspca.org.
