USA Have you ever looked at modern art and thought, "A child could have done that"? In Salisbury, Maryland, this idea is being taken a step further — at an academy for dogs. Here, the dogs learn how to help people in wheelchairs by taking off their socks or opening doors. This led Mary Stadelbacher of Shore Service Dogs to think: "Why shouldn't they make art to help pay for the school?"

"The painting part came because I was thinking: 'What can we do for fund-raising?'" Stadelbacher told The San Diego Union-Tribune. To get her dog to paint, she attaches a paintbrush to a toy that he can hold in his mouth. When she says, "Go paint, Sammy!", the dog moves the brush across a canvas until a doggy da Vinci is born.

Three of the school's dogs can now create paintings, one of which has been sold for serious money. "There are people who make a lot of money from paintings that aren't as intriguing as what these dogs have done," said Sandy Waller, who bought a "Sammy" for $350.

Link: www.shoreservicedogs.com