Train Ave

Towards the end of 2012, while scavenging through trash dumped along Train Avenue looking for items to repurpose into art, Cleveland tattoo and visual artist – Sean Jason Kelly, makes a gruesome discovery of a deceased dog found in a garbage bag along this forgotten road.

After continuously finding more, Sean began cremating them – to respect their life, so they don’t get picked up by the city and dumped in a landfill. As the jars of ashes accumulate, he decides to incorporate their ashes into his art as a living memory and way to tell their stories.

This documentary film, Train Ave, is a River Fire Films production, directed by Jeff Theman, which tells the story about an artist and his heartfelt act of compassion towards the dogs of Train Avenue, while also examining social issues in underserved parts of town “on the wrong side of the tracks”.

Sean Jason Kelly is a tattoo and visual artist living and working in Cleveland, Ohio. A tattooist by trade with over 15 years of experience, he works with variety of different canvases and materials to create his brand of art. 

Sean has participated in numerous community awareness and fundraising initiatives, including – St. Clair-Superior Development Corporation‘s “Year of the Zodiac Project“; Slavic Village Development‘s “Rooms To Let“; Friends of the Cleveland Kennel‘s (FOCK) “Art Fur Animals“; and more.

Follow him on Instagram: @seanjasonkellyart

WARNING: This is the only image we will display of an actual dog found along Train Avenue. In other words, this is as graphic as it’s going to get for this documentary film.

For any questions or comments pertaining to this film and/or the topics discussed in it, please use the below Contact Form with the appropriate reason in the drop down menu. We will get back to you within 48-72 hours:

Click image above to go to Neighborhood Pets.

The silver-lining to stumbling on such tragedy, a progressive initiative was born. Through Cleveland based non-profit – Friends of the Cleveland Kennel’s community outreach program, Neighborhood Pets, a fund called “The Dignity Endowment” was created to serve low-income residents living in Cleveland, Ohio, whose pets are near end of life, and need necessary veterinary services for the humane euthanasia of a terminally ill or aging animal.

For more information, or to donate, go here:
https://www.neighborhoodpetscle.org