Posted: August 4, 2008, 5 a.m. EDT
A British artist is recruiting a choir of “singing dogs” in Swansea, England, to pay tribute to a famous 1930’s dog who became an international hero after rescuing drowning swimmers along the Welsh town’s waterfront.
Artist Richard Higlett will audition local dogs to perform “A Song for Jack” to celebrate the famous Flat-Coated Retriever. Jack, who lived with his owner William Thomas near Swansea’s docks, would unfailingly respond to cries from the nearby water, and is credited with saving more than a dozen people during his lifetime. A memorial to Swansea Jack stands along the sea in his hometown.
The song will be performed at a special concert next month in Swansea, and recorded to raise money for local charities.
The work has been commissioned by Locws International, a visual-arts charity that works with artists to create temporary arts projects for public spaces around Wales.
“Dogs sing together instinctively as part of a pack, their sense of community,” said Richard Higlett. “In Swansea, there are so many breeds with different characters and voices and all have a relationship, like us, with the place in which they live. I felt it a fitting homage to Swansea Jack whose instinct was to be a hero,” Higlett told British newspaper New Wales.
“It is also about fun, a celebration,” he added.