"My little old dog: A heart-beat At my feet." - Edith Wharton

---

Ark Online

Magazine publisher Paige Powell escaped a life in New York City filled with glamour, art openings, dinners, ballet, numerous premieres and the never ending night life that included Harlem jazz bars and Tribeca after- hours clubs. Hanging with the rich and famous, she was an Urban career girl with attitude living in the fast lane. But toward the end of the 80's many people close to her started dying from AIDs, heroin overdoses or in the case of Andy Warhol, a hospital accident. These deaths left her spiritually and emotionally empty. Her pain started to heal only when she began helping animals, intuitively reaching out to those who couldn't help themselves.

"The novelist, Tama Janowitz, and I started a 30-minute cable access show on Manhattan and Long Island cable called "It's A Dog's Life" featuring, somewhat QVC-style, dogs and cats for adopting from various shelters," Powell relates. "We did this for 3 years. I adopted my dog Sherlock from a rescue worker in Queens. Sherlock had been physically badly abused and living off the streets."

"As I got more involved working with the animal rescue workers and the rescued animals, I became angry and disappointed with our society and wanted to do more. I was working at Interview magazine full time as the Associate Publisher and became frustrated that I couldn't work full time on behalf of the animals. I missed Oregon where I was born and raised so I decided to move back in the spring of 1994."

Powell, with the help of some friends, eventually created a dynamic website called "Ark Online." The site serves as a clearing house for information about efforts on the animal rights front. It features compelling photos of urgently adoptable animals, essays by topnotch writers such as Tama Janowitz, art from the likes of Robert Longo and Todd Oldham, music from Iggy Pop and even filmmaker Gus van Zandt. Visitors can submit nominations for outstanding vet of the month or learn about boycotts and other action to be taken on behalf of animals. Vegetarian recipes are sampled in the "Being Green" section with links to other environmentally conscious sites.

"The most critical issue facing dogs and cats," she says "is population control. In New York City, strays - including lost pets - get 48 hours before they are destroyed. Millions of healthy dogs and cats are killed every year just because they are unwanted. Mandatory laws should be made for neuter and spaying. People need to support and adopt from shelters and rescue groups and not breeders. There is a critical need for volunteers to help walk and socialize with the sheltered animals. The status of animals needs to be upgraded significantly in our society."

Mahatma Gandhi once said society's biggest fear should be facing the animal kingdom at the time of our passing.

We don't think Paige has anything to worry about.

-- Cleo Shannon