Title: Saving Grace
Artist: Brandy Rustemeyer
Medium: Gouache
Dimensions: 16" x 20"
Animal Depicted: Saving Grace
A call came in about a dog in dire need of help. A man was on his bike when he saw her. He told us she was laying by an alley, still breathing but barely alive. We immediately jumped in the rescue Jeep and got there as quickly as we possibly could. When we pulled up and saw her, we knew she had passed away. She was alone on the street when she died, not knowing that help was on the way. If only she could have been with us, if only we were a few moments quicker, she would have died with people by her side, comforting her.
She was emaciated but also had a huge swollen leg, so we guessed she probably had cancer. We scanned her for a microchip so we could alert a family if she had one, but there was no chip. We loaded her body into the Jeep so we could take her back to Stray Rescue and have her cremated - dignity in death. Out of the corner of our eye, we noticed something else about ten feet from where we were standing. When we walked over, we saw it was ANOTHER deceased dog. The first was a grey mastiff-type of pup, and this one was a small white fluffy dog. Another female with no microchip, no collar, no tag. We could tell she had been hit by a car.
As we drove back to the shelter in silence, with both bodies in the back, our hearts felt incredibly heavy. Then we saw a scene unraveling before us.
Two people were on the side of the road, coaxing a dog to them. We pulled over, told them we were from Stray Rescue, and asked if they needed help. "Oh my god, we were just about to call you!!" they exclaimed. They had successfully lured this pup off the busy street and were trying to get her to come to them. She had mange and was in bad shape. We put a leash on her, and her tail began wagging. These people were sooo nice, so full of gratitude, telling us how much they love dogs, how their poor neighborhood was destroyed during the tornado, and they see stray dogs all the time. They were in tears when we told them about the two in the Jeep, and that she would need to ride up front with us. The man ran to his truck and grabbed a paint tarp for us to put on our lap and thanked us for all we did.
We drove back to the shelter, but this time with a sweet soul on our laps, sticking her lil tongue out any time we stopped petting her, making us smile. We could tell she was in so much discomfort. Her feet swollen, her irritable red skin flaking off, and yet she clung to us - full of gratitude. We told her we were going to soothe her skin. Soon she would feel beautiful and good as new. We named her "Saving Grace."
Status: Adopted
Shipping Available:
*If you are the winning bidder and are not in attendance to pick up your item(s) the night of the event at the Four Seasons Hotel, artwork will be available for pick up from the Pine Street Shelter starting Wednesday, August 19th through Thursday, September 3rd. Artwork will NOT be available to pick up before this (unless you are notified otherwise via email). If you are not local to the St. Louis Area, shipping is available for this item upon request (for an additional cost which will be calculated for each piece individually). All winning bidders will receive an email with more information once the auction has closed.
