{"id":28281,"date":"2026-04-30T14:10:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T18:10:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fluvannareview.com\/?p=28281"},"modified":"2026-04-30T14:10:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T18:10:16","slug":"fluvanna-artists-work-to-benefit-service-dogs-of-virginia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fluvannareview.com\/2026\/04\/fluvanna-artists-work-to-benefit-service-dogs-of-virginia\/","title":{"rendered":"Fluvanna artist\u2019s work to benefit Service Dogs of Virginia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Page H. Gifford<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Combining her finesse as a painter with a deep-seated love for her four-legged subjects, Fluvanna Art Association member Susan Edginton creates striking, color-rich portraits of dogs that capture the eye and the heart.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Now, Edginton has used her artistic talent to design a fiberglass Labrador statue to benefit Service Dogs of Virginia’s Art Unleashed<\/em> fundraising project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dedicated to increasing independence for people with disabilities, Service Dogs of Virginia (SDV) is the only school in the state training medical alert dogs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Accredited by Assistance Dogs International, SDV places assistance and facility dogs across five program areas\u2014including Physical Assistance, Autism, and PTSD\u2014matching approximately ten new clients annually with life-changing partners while monitoring over 50 active teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To ensure accessibility for those in need, SDV never charges for its dogs, absorbing the $40,000 in training and placement costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe believe in the power of these dogs to change lives for the better. We are delighted to<\/p>\n\n\n\n

have artists partner with us for this public art event to help our fellow Virginians receive a highly<\/p>\n\n\n\n

trained dog who will improve their lives for years to come,\u201d said Executive Director and Founder<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peggy Law, who started the program in 2000. \u201cAt present, we are working on building a new<\/p>\n\n\n\n

facility so that we can double the number of dogs we place annually from ten dogs to twenty or<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cArt Unleashed<\/em> is where creativity meets compassion to train more dogs more efficiently to<\/p>\n\n\n\n

help more people in need and ensure our ability to create life-changing partnerships for<\/p>\n\n\n\n

generations to come,\u201d added Law. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This public art display and auction is designed to bring together artists, dog lovers, philanthropists, and the community to help SDV build a permanent home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Edginton and 19 other local artists were commissioned to transform life-sized fiberglass Labrador statues into unique, vibrant works of art. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These 20 statues each serve as a platform for storytelling and creative expression, while fostering a sense of community belonging. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thrilled to contribute to such a worthy cause, Edginton designed her Labrador statue with vibrant 1960s icons, featuring “flower power” motifs and peace signs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After securing sponsorships from individuals and businesses, the Labrador statues will be displayed throughout Charlottesville from July through October 2026, positioned outside sponsoring businesses and along sidewalks and street corners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each statue will feature a plaque with the artist\u2019s name and a QR code linking to their biography, and all works will be included on a public map highlighting their locations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project will culminate in an auction on October 24, 2026, where the statues will be sold to benefit Service Dogs of Virginia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Proceeds will support the construction of a new facility, allowing SDV to double the number of service dogs it places each year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more information, visit www.servicedogsva.org.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Page H. Gifford Combining her finesse as a painter with a deep-seated love for her four-legged subjects, Fluvanna Art Association member Susan Edginton creates striking, color-rich portraits of dogs that capture the eye and the heart. Now, Edginton has used her artistic talent to design a fiberglass Labrador statue to benefit Service Dogs of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":28283,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fluvannareview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28281"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fluvannareview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fluvannareview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fluvannareview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fluvannareview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28281"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/fluvannareview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28281\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28284,"href":"https:\/\/fluvannareview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28281\/revisions\/28284"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fluvannareview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28283"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fluvannareview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fluvannareview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fluvannareview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}