New art exhibit 'We Were Sheltered' showcases adopted animals from PAWS. Where to view it?

Devon Ravine, Northwest Florida Daily News
·2 min read
Candace Powell, manager of the Junkyard Dog thrift store in Cinco Bayou, poses with a painting of the two dogs she adopted from the Panhandle Animal Welfare Society in 2020. The painting is part of an outdoor exhibit at Junkyard Dog that features some of the animals adopted from PAWS.
Candace Powell, manager of the Junkyard Dog thrift store in Cinco Bayou, poses with a painting of the two dogs she adopted from the Panhandle Animal Welfare Society in 2020. The painting is part of an outdoor exhibit at Junkyard Dog that features some of the animals adopted from PAWS.
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CINCO BAYOU — Junkyard Dog Gift and Thrift store celebrated its 17th anniversary with a new art exhibit called “We Were Sheltered.”

Located at the corner of Eglin Parkway and Irwin Avenue, Junkyard Dog supports the Panhandle Animal Welfare Society’s mission of caring and finding homes for the thousands of animals that come through its doors every year.

The exhibit is a collection of nine paintings that line a small fence on the side of Junkyard Dog that feature some of the PAWS shelter animals that have been adopted. It is the third outside art installation the thrift store has done since it opened in 2005.

This painting of a cat adopted from the Panhandle Animal Welfare Society is part of an art exhibit entitled “We Were Sheltered,” which is on display at PAWS' thrift store, Junkyard Dog, in Cinco Bayou.
This painting of a cat adopted from the Panhandle Animal Welfare Society is part of an art exhibit entitled “We Were Sheltered,” which is on display at PAWS' thrift store, Junkyard Dog, in Cinco Bayou.

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“We’ve had a horse. We’ve had bunnies,” said Junkyard Dog Manager and longtime PAWS volunteer Candace Powell. “This time we have a donkey out there, as well as cats and dogs of course.”

Some of the paintings were done by the animals' owners and some are done by local artists including Toni Dineen, who painted her own dog Daisy as well a portrait of Powell’s two dogs, Sammie and Skye.

This painting of a dog adopted from the Panhandle Animal Welfare Society is part of an art exhibit entitled “We Were Sheltered,” which is on display at the PAWS thrift store, Junkyard Dog, in Fort Walton Beach.
This painting of a dog adopted from the Panhandle Animal Welfare Society is part of an art exhibit entitled “We Were Sheltered,” which is on display at the PAWS thrift store, Junkyard Dog, in Fort Walton Beach.

“Basically, it’s to celebrate rescues and adoptions,” Powell said. “They are all adopted animals that have found their way to their lifetime homes.”

Powell draws an analogy between the Junkyard Dog thrift store’s mission of taking in unwanted or unneeded items and finding new homes for them with the PAWS mission of taking in surrendered animals and finding them new families.

This painting of a dog adopted from the Panhandle Animal Welfare Society is part of an art exhibit titled “We Were Sheltered” on display at the PAWS thrift store, Junkyard Dog, in Cinco Bayou.
This painting of a dog adopted from the Panhandle Animal Welfare Society is part of an art exhibit titled “We Were Sheltered” on display at the PAWS thrift store, Junkyard Dog, in Cinco Bayou.

“Things change, families changes, circumstances change,” she said. “A lot of times there’s no blame to be put, so we just do the best we can to find homes for these animals.”

All the paintings are on sturdy plywood, and Powell said the exhibit will be up for about a month to give time for people to view it.

Junkyard Dog is at 179 Eglin Parkway N.E. Hours are 10 a.m. 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday. The Panhandle Animal Welfare Society shelter at 752 Lovejoy Road N.W. Adoption hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

For more information on adoption, fostering or volunteering call 850-243-1525.

This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: 'We Were Sheltered' art exhibit showcases animals adopted from PAWS