By Kelley Gargiulo

I have been in the Graphic Design field for 14 years and decided to go back to school get my masters so that I can teach. This class I am taking is an original concepting class, where you create the concept and all the art. For my first project, I was certain that it would be on animal rights and our problems with the treatment of pets - specifically dogs in this case. Too often animals/pets are thought of as disposable.

The book is called "IF" . It talks about the importance of our actions upon others. What happens if we act. What if we get involved.
What happens if we take responsibility. It is the tale of a stray dog who was mistreated and disposed on an 8 lane interstate in Texas.
Also, there is supplemental text that talks about strays and abuse.
Many people don't want to get involved. Many people don't think about their actions or take responsibility for their decisions.

The book is told in the first person from Laurel's (the dog) perspective. Then, it switches to my voice, referring to her as "you". I have indicated this by the change in typeface and color of the typeface.

Laurel had been shot with a BB gun, her canine teeth had been knocked out. We think she was most likely used to fight Pit Bulls and then discarded when she was used up. She had horribly infected eyes and skin. I raised money for her three surgeries by collecting cell phones and recycling them. It covered about 1% of the surgery cost but it helped the environment and helped financially a little and this dog was just as important to me, as I to her. Fortunately, we were able to keep Laurel, as we had the room and she got along well with our other dog Riley. Not every dog is that lucky. As my husband says, our first dog won the jackpot, Laurel won the lifetime lottery.

One of the surgeries was to be spayed. The importance of spaying a dog is HUGE. How can we get that message out? If it was free, would people still have such aversion to it?

My feeling is that we need to start young to teach our children and teens what is right and wrong as far as how to treat and properly care for an animal. I feel this is happening more and more. And I guess it also wouldn't hurt to reach out to the adults. Well, I think everyone can always use a refresher course about compassion for all living beings.

So, that is how I came to have this loving, silly dog living with us.
I felt her story could provide insight to how a person tossed her aside and how another person stepped up to offer help. I am proud that I am the kind of person who takes action and does the right thing. Even if we might not have kept her, I would have gotten her to a safe no kill shelter. I look at her everyday and think what a blessing she is to be with us and I will do everything I can to give her a happy life.

*Please see Kelley's creation under our Resource section.