FOR A GOOD CAUSE -- Carole Akins

-- Story by Mathis Winkler; photo by Don Leach

Carole Akins has always had dogs in her life. The first one she bought

was Lucy, a funny little number with fuzzy red hair.

When the 50-year-old Lido Isle resident gave up interior designing

nine years ago to devote her life to painting, her barking companions

took over the canvas.

“It’s easy for me to paint dogs,” Akins said during a conversation in

her gallery on 31st Street, where she’s currently exhibiting her recent

work. “Much easier than anything else. I like their companionship. They

are kind of watching us, but you don’t know what they’re thinking.”

During a walk, Akins stumbled across a lost service dog for Canine

Companions, an organization that trains man’s best friend to assist

people with disabilities other than blindness. It was then that she

realized that she’d found her good cause.

“I decided that that was going to be my charity,” she said, adding

that part of the proceeds from sales of her paintings will benefit the

organization. “That this was something I was going to be committed to.

Personal freedom is one of the recurring themes in my paintings. And the

philosophy of Canine Companions is in keeping with it.”

The charity, which has a regional office in Oceanside, places dogs

with so-called “puppy raisers” that train them for 18 months. Once the

dogs are socialized and have learned up to 50 commands, Canine Companions

matches them with disabled people who need assistance.

In a training program lasting two to three weeks, dogs and humans grow

together as a team.

It costs between $20,000 and $30,000 to train and support the dogs

during their lifetime, said Yvonee Clothier, a spokeswoman for the

organization. She added that currently one dog receives training in

Newport Beach, while another one is placed with a disabled person in

Costa Mesa.

Back at the art gallery, Akin’s love for dogs is evident. Most of the

paintings --- depicting scenes at French street cafes, a lazy Sunday

morning in bed or a shopping spree at a Santa Barbara shoe store in

vibrant colors -- include at least one of her furry friends.

“They kind of appear in the underpainting,” she said, pointing to a

painting with several dogs holding their own “dinner conversation” under

a table. “They present themselves to me.”

Akins’ 11-year-old Welsh corgi, Winnie, didn’t model for any of the

paintings in her current show. Many of the dogs in her works come from

mental or photographic snapshots Akins takes on trips, she said.

FYI

For more information on Canine Companions, call (760) 754-3300 or log

on to o7 www.caninecompanions.orgf7