Artist’s pet joins her to promote wildlife campaign.

a picture of an unusual tiger has been springing up around Honiton on a poster.

The ‘tiger’ is, in fact, well-known dog Mollie, often seen in the window of Honiton Sports.

She has joined her owner, acclaimed Honiton wildlife artist Emma Bowring, to promote the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation’s latest campaign, TigerTime.

The campaign aims to ban the trade in tiger parts and save the wild tiger from extinction.

Emma has donated an original oil painting of a tiger cub to help raise funds for TigerTime.

The painting will be featured in a tiger-themed art exhibition at the David Shepherd Gallery in Shalford, Surrey, between September 17 and October 8.

All money from the sale will go to TigerTime.

Emma is also making a donation from every tiger cub limited edition print and gift card sold to the campaign.

She said: “Whilst donations are obviously appreciated, what we are mainly hoping for is to get people to add their name to the on-line petition, calling for a ban of the tiger trade.

“People can add their names at www.tigertime.info or call into Honiton Sports and pick up a postcard giving all the details.

“Our dog, Mollie, is very well known in Honiton; she’s been in the shop with us for the last 10 years, but she was also very ill at the beginning of last year.

“She had a lot of support from people locally - all hoping she’d pull through.

“Thankfully, she is now doing well and she’s done her bit to support the tigers by letting us dress her up long enough to get a photo of her.”

Sixty years ago, 100,000 tigers roamed wild in Asia.

Today, it is estimated that fewer than 3,200 tigers survive in the wild.

Three species of tiger are already extinct and, if poaching continues at the current rate, some experts predict that tigers may be extinct in the wild within 20 years.

Prints of Emma’s oil painting can be bought from Honiton Sports, in High Street.