Celebs autograph 'dog bones' for charity

Academy Award nominee Jake Gyllenhaal is among 40 celebrities who have signed wooden 'dog bones' for a charity auction benefiting the Mississippi Animal Rescue League, as exhibited by Allison Nutt, a MARL board member and chairman of the Fur Ball event committee, at her home in Flora, Miss., Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2006.  (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

JACKSON, Miss. - Oprah Winfrey, Donald Trump, John Travolta and Jake Gyllenhaal are among 40 celebrities who have signed wooden "dog bones" for a charity auction benefiting the Mississippi Animal Rescue League.

The celeb-signed bones will be auctioned off Thursday at the organization's second annual Fur Ball event. Proceeds will go to constructing a new animal shelter, said Allison Nutt, a MARL board member and chairman of the Fur Ball event committee.

"It was time to find a location where we could grow for the future," said Debra Boswell, MARL director. The group currently operates one shelter, where dogs and cats are segregated but share the same room. The new facility would separate the animals and would include outdoors space as well.

The organization started sending out the wooden bones in February to celebrities along with a note explaining the cause. The first bone signed and returned was from Academy Award winner Morgan Freeman, who lives in Tallahatchie County in northern Mississippi.

Nutt said some celebrities included personal messages or photos with the bones.

Gyllenhaal has often be photographed walking his dogs, Atticus, a German Shepherd, and Boo Radley, a puggle. The actor's autograph was accompanied by his dogs' paw prints, Nutt said.

Mariah Carey signed the bone and added her pooch's name, Jack, as well.

Nutt said some celebrities painted the bones, including country singer

Brad Paisley and wife actress Kimberly Williams-Paisley. The couple decorated the bone with a barn scene with dogs and rolling hills.

Other celebrities who signed bones include Matthew McConaughey, James Caan, Leann Rimes, Betty White, Dr. Phil McGraw, Eric McCormack and "Dog Whisperer" Cesar Milan.

MARL cares for 16,000 animals a year, Boswell said. Last year's Fur Ball earned about $58,000, but with an estimated 500 attendees this year Nutt hopes the event will raise close to $75,000.