When a cigar becomes a whale, a sign becomes art

An Arlington County businessman has found a way around a strict county sign law that has bedeviled other businesses and this week forced the owner of a dog day care to paint over a giant mural of cartoon pooches.

County zoning officials had declared illegal the $1,000 mural of a man smoking a cigar painted on the exterior wall of Smokey Shope III in Crystal City. The painting amounted to a sign promoting the business and had to be removed, officials said.