SMU alumna and Quality Art House owner Sara Beth Joyner has joined forces with the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in an effort to raise $15 million for the shelter’s move from Industrial Boulevard. Quality Art House and the SPCA are looking for local artists to submit works of dogs and cats for their competition to raise money.

In the fall of 2003, the Texas Department of Transportation launched the Trinity River Corridor Project has plans in the works to build a new highway interchange as part of. This will force the SPCA and other business on Industrial Blvd. to relocate. The move is estimated to cost the non-profit organization around $15 million, including renovations.

“We need all the help we can get,” said Lisa Shay, who has been with the SPCA as its Senior Vice President for Development for over 10 years. With roughly 210 animals and 65 people on any given day, she admits that more space is needed. “We’ve been tight on space for a while, but this has prompted us to finally do something about it.”

While the organization has issued a letter of intent to purchase a new building, nothing has been finalized yet. The new site is a dream come true for the crowded facility, boasting six acres of land and 72,000 sq. feet, more than twice the size of their current shelter.

“The new site would offer fantastic potential,” Shay said. Shay explained that the move would provide more land for the animals, giving them outdoor space to exercise and play.

The SPCA, along with the Quality Art House have launched a campaign, “Compassion Funds A New Home” to raise money for the move. Quality Art House is looking for donations by local artists to submit classical style paintings of cats and dogs.

The campaign Quality Art House, a well-known art publisher and dealer, formerly known as Art For Funds, is dedicated to raising money and creating awareness for local non-profit organizations, such as SPCA of Texas and Promise House.

SPCA is the leading animal welfare agency in the state, and has three shelters in Dallas, Colin County and The Colony. It is the only full-service animal care agency in the metroplex. Services include veterinary care, rescue, investigations and animal care.

SPCA also offers adoption and foster care programs for animals trying to find a new home. The organization relies mainly on donations from individuals, foundations and corporations to keep it’s facilities up and running.

Joyner and her husband Jerry have been long-time dog lovers, and became involved with SPCA through some mutual friends. In December of 2004, Quality Art House sponsored an open house silent auction benefiting SPCA.

Lisa Shay, Senior Vice President of Development of SPCA of Texas, attended the auction with a dog she brought from the shelter. The dog, which calmly lay down the throughout the auction, caught the attention and compassion of auctioneers. That night, the auction raised $300 in proceeds for SPCA. Seeing the success of the auction prompted the Joyner’s to become more involved with the organization.

The winner’s donated original will be displayed in the new SPCA facility, while Quality Art House will recreate 1,250 limited edition prints for sale. The reproduced prints are done by a relatively new method called giclée, (pronounced zhee-clay) which means “the spraying of ink” in French.

“It’s as close as you can possibly get to the original painting,” Joyner said. The recreations of the original winning piece are expected to cost $600, including a frame. They are printed on canvas to make them appear as similar as possible to the original.

“Help the SPCA Move” is the slogan for the contest, and Joyner hopes to sell the whole edition size, which will donate over 80 percent of the profits, $1.2 million to the SPCA. If all goes well, Joyner hopes to make the contest annual. So far, the SPCA has raised over a million dollars for their moving campaign.

A panel of local art dealers, dignitaries and public officials will judge the artwork, according to a recent press release, namely newly elected sheriff Lupe Valdez and Joyner.

Entries for the contest are due by April 18 and the winner will likely be announced in mid- to late May. Artists not interested in submitting their work in the contest can donate them for a future silent auction.

For more information, please visit www.spca.org.