Artist to Paint World’s Longest Dachshund to Help Pets Affected by SNAP Cuts

Portland-based artist Mike Bennett is famous for his bold, colorful cartoon style that brightens locales around the city, from the Portland Aquarium to a mini golf course. Now, he is planning to paint the world’s longest Dachshund, a mural that will stretch around his studio building. While Bennett is a fan of Dachshunds and grew up with two, the upcoming project isn’t just about honoring his favorite breed. It’s also a community-wide fundraiser to help pet parents affected by the cut in SNAP benefits. 

Due to the ongoing government shutdown, currently the longest in United States history, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (known as SNAP) was put on hold on November 1. Approximently 42 million people across the country rely on SNAP to feed their families. While the administration has said that partial SNAP benefits will resume later this month, the relief will take some time and many families are already struggling to make ends meet. SNAP benefits can’t be used for pet food, but households that rely on them are being forced to dip into their budgets to feed themselves, leaving less money for pets.

So, on November 11, Portland residents — including kids who don’t have school thanks to the Veterans Day holiday — are invited out for the art event. Anyone who makes a donation to Pet Pack PDX, a Portland-based nonprofit in need of pet supplies, will receive a paintbrush and a sticker. Then they’ll be able to add to the massive painting. “There are no rules and no art skills required. Just a community art project doing good for our furry friends,” Bennett said in a video announcing the project.

“Any chance I have to give back in a graceful way, or a creative way, feels really important — and a responsibility,” Bennett told KGW8 News.

Darrin Dill, who works with Pet Pack PDX, told KGW8 that the demand for pet supplies is spiking. During the past two Sunday outreach events, Pet Pack PDX ran out of food bags. 

“[People] are going to feed their pets before they feed themselves, and that’s really sad if they’re older or have children — and many of our folks do have kids,” said Dill. “It’s sad. I hope we can put politics aside. Let’s decide to feed our people as we continue to feed our pets.”

The longest Dachshund mural event is just one of the many community-wide efforts to help families feed their pets amidst the SNAP cuts. From a coalition of animal shelters in Massachusetts coming together to launch pet food pantry pop ups to Chicago churches, animal rescues, and grocery stores handing out pet food, grocery vouchers, and more, the country is rallying to provide for people and their animals. 

In upstate New York, the Troy Animal Rescue project managed to secure funding to provide over 10,000 pounds of dog and cat food to people in need. And they’re working on getting more funds so they can help neighboring counties. 

“This truck was actually full when we started in Troy, and now it’s almost completely empty. We’ve had over 150 pets that we’ve helped just today. People are just so thankful because pets are truly part of people’s families, and they don’t want to watch them suffer. They don’t want to watch them be hungry,” Tiffany Howington, who works with the rescue, told WTVY.

One coffee shop in Beaverton, Oregon has created a 24-hour pet pantry to help families. Mutts Coffee Roasters already gives 25 percent of their proceeds to animal causes, but now they’re going a step further by providing donation tubs full of pet food and supplies outside their door.

Co-owner Mark Wilcox told Fox 12 that the shop’s customers came together quickly. “We made a post saying we need help, and over the weekend help just poured in, truckloads of it,” he said, adding that the shop got so many donations that they had to rearrange the tables to make room to store the supplies. "It’s really amazing when people come together."

If you’re looking to help families and their pets in your area, you can reach out to local animal shelters, food pantries, and charities to see if they’re in need of monetary or physical donations. And if you and your pets are being affected by SNAP cuts, reach out to an organization as soon as you’re able to.