COLUMBIA, South Carolina – Paintings featuring the brush strokes and paw prints of animals such as snow leopards and sea lions from zoos around the U.S. sold Tuesday for surprising amounts of money.

Just a few minutes into the auction, a painting by Cha Cha the lion already had sold for $550, while Pinto the pig’s masterpiece sold for $250.

The sale is part of an online auction at auctionnetwork.com to raise money for zoo conservation efforts. It is sponsored by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

Zookeepers have long used painting as a way to mentally stimulate animals. Animal artwork also has been sold for some time, but spokesman Steve Feldman said Tuesday marked the first collaborative effort by zoos.

“Art in some level is storytelling and there’s an amazing story to tell here about the great care that animals receive and the conservation programs that the sale of this art will support,” Feldman said.

Dog biscuit factory given historic status by NY panel

NEW YORK – Would that be 560 dog years?

An 80-year-old building that once housed a Milk Bone dog biscuit factory has been granted historic status by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.

The lower Manhattan factory was constructed by Wheatsworth Inc., a cracker and flour manufacturer that also invented Milk Bones.

The Wheatsworth building – by industrial bakery designer J. Edwin Hopkins – was completed in 1928.

It features a granite base, terra cotta pilasters etched with bundles of wheat stalks, and several bands of multicolored terra cotta friezes, which are typical of the Art Deco style.

The facade’s vertical piers and abstract sculptural forms are characteristic of the Viennese Secessionist style.