At this year’s Open House we are excited to launch our Tiles for Tails Fundraiser campaign focusing on raising funds to rebuild our 34-year old dog kennels. This campaign will not only allow you to support the project financially, it will also give you the opportunity to leave a lasting impression for everyone to see as each tile will become a permanent design element of the new structure.

Thanks to the generous support of Firefly Ceramics in Ventura, this will be the first of many ceramic- tile painting events. At our Open House, Firefly Ceramics will be present with supplies should you wish to create your tile right then and there. We will have design ideas available to trace, stamps to use, and even pictures to copy. There are even 3D ceramic additions that can be purchased for your designs.

Even your dog can leave his mark, so to speak, with a paw print in clay! Pet names or quotes can be added to the tile with a non-toxic paint. Want to add something more personal to our project? You can bring in your old dog tags and we will grout them into the finished panels for free. If you worry about the information on your tags, you can purchase a ID tag at our Ojai shelter for $5.

Don’t worry if you can’t make it to the event but still want to participate. You can purchase a voucher at anytime from our Ojai shelter, then at your convenience, head to Firefly Ceramics and begin painting your tile. Firefly Ceramics will then ‘fire’ the tile to make your art permanent and we will pick-up the finished product. This tile will then be placed on our new kennel buildings once they have been built.

These tiles are a great idea to give as gifts, painting parties, in memoriam, or even a long-lasting birthday surprise. The sizes and pricing currently available are 3” x 3” for $25, 3”x6”for $20, and 6” x 6” for $25. Specialized paw print tiles are also available for $25. If your design needs more space, multiple tiles can be purchased and arranged to create a larger art piece.

Director of Community Outreach, Margery Spielman, who has been heading the project says, “Please come and join us! Your tiles will make many future canine tails wag in appreciation of your continued support in helping us build our new kennels. Thanks again!”

For more information on our Tiles for Tails fundraising campaign please contact Margery Spielman at [email protected].