I’ve had people quoting the Bible at me, and saying I should die for what I’ve done...

Buy the calendar at PUPPYLOVE.IE, see more of Karol's work at KAROL-LIVER.COM, and find out more about ASH at ASHANIMALRESCUE.COM

A charity calendar full of pin-up pictures of girls with dogs has provoked mutt-erings of disgust, because it includes a photo of a model apparently breast-feeding a puppy.

All profits from sales of the Puppy Love calendar go to the Animal Sanctuary Hubasha (ASH) charity in Ireland, but the well-meaning people behind the project, model Melissa Hayward and photographer Adelheid Walsh, have been sent hate-mail and even death threats over the shot, which appears on the page for the month of March.

“Our intentions were good,” Melissa tells Bizarre. “We just wanted to raise some cash for ASH – the stray dogs’ home where I adopted my beloved pet Chicho from.”

But the calendar was slammed by the Daily Mail, slated by celebrity vet Pete Wedderburn on The Telegraph’s website, and criticised by other international publications.

“Since the negative press, people have emailed me to say that March’s photo ‘promotes bestiality’ and ‘abuses a tiny puppy for sexual enjoyment’, and that I’ve ‘used a poor, defenceless puppy for sick pleasure’ to ‘market a product designed for perverts and sickos’,” Melissa explains.

“I’ve also had people quoting the Bible at me, and saying I should die for what I’ve done. I’ve been contacted by folk who are worried that feeding human breast milk to dogs could be bad for them. But NO SUCKLING OCCURED! The model, Agata Dembiecka, is not pregnant or a mother, so could not have lactated for the photo.

"And the pup – a rescue animal borrowed from the ASH centre – was asleep when the snap was taken. The image is supposed to represent the idea of nurture, and to show that abandoned puppies are as defenceless, vulnerable and in need of care as babies. It’s got nothing to do with sex or bestiality.”

DOG-GONE SHAME

The photo in question was taken by Dublin-based photographer Karol Liver. She tells us, “I didn’t want people to think ‘OK, so here’s a beautiful model and a cute puppy next to her. Done.’ Instead, I wanted to engage the viewer, to make people think about the content. I combined classical portraiture with high-fashion and 1940s styling. It might have shocked a few people, but it also engaged a lot of others, and inspired them to get behind the calendar and its noble cause. I’d definitely do the same again.”

Sadly, the controversy caused by Karol’s image has meant that two of the project’s twelve sponsors have removed their support, and several of the veterinary clinics who had agreed to sell the calendar have now stated that they are no longer willing to stock it in their practices.

Yet a spokeswoman for ASH, Helena Le Mahieu, continues to defend the fundraising idea. She tells Bizarre, “People have mistakenly assumed that cruelty took place, but that puppy was happy, asleep in the model’s arms. I’m sure many lads would be jealous of it!

"I believe that people have lost their perspective, their sense of art, and their sense of humour. It’s obviously just a cheeky, thought-provoking image within the context of the calendar. I’d seen sample images before the whole thing went to print and thought they were great. Admittedly, I hadn’t previewed the March picture, and when I first saw it, I did think ‘Oooh, it’s a bit daring!’, but I never imagined it’d cause this outcry.”

Helena’s disappointed there isn’t the same level of public disgust about the fact that, in 2009, over 10,500 stray dogs were killed in government pounds in Ireland. “I find that far more worrying than an attractive model pulling a risqué pose to draw attention to a good cause,” she says.

Readers, what do you think? Should the calendar have received ruff reviews, or do you give thumbs up to the ‘puppies, plus sweater-puppies’ combo? Enter the debate on the forums at YourBizarre.com.

Buy the calendar at PUPPYLOVE.IE, see more of Karol's work at KAROL-LIVER.COM, and find out more about ASH at ASHANIMALRESCUE.COM

HALF-PRICE CALENDARS NOW AVAILABLE AT PUPPYLOVE.IE (5Euros plus 1Euro worldwide delivery)

Photo Credits:

JAN Photo by Stephen A Walsh, Model Vitalinka

FEB Photo by Tatiana G, model Hira Shah

MARCH Photo by Karol liver, model Agata Dembiecka

APRIL Photo Lisa McGee, model Mono Van Der Pol

MAY Photo by Maik Sinkovec, model Amy Kane

JUNE Photo by Paul Marconi, model Ciara Letita

JULY Photo by Lee Malone, model Alyson Boyle

AUG Photo by Natalie Herzer, model is Adelheid Walsh

SEPT Photo by Rick Taylor, model is Hannah Smyth

OCT Photo by Adelheid Walsh, model is Evelyn Susana Valdes Fuentes

NOV Photo by Carl Farmer, Model is Rachel Lally

DEC Photo by Angela Halpin, model is Melissa Hayward