Title: "Hope out of the Darkness"

Artist: Emma Fellows

Medium: Acrylic on Canvas

Dimensions:20" x 24"

Framed

Animals depicted: Fair Lady, Skyline, and Lamborghini

It was a typical hot day in July. A call had come in about a dog barking inside a burned house. The caller did not think it could get out. I pulled up in front of the house and saw a group of about fifteen neighborhood peeps hanging out. The rap music was loud, the smell of marijuana was strong and from the size of the pile of empty beer cans they had been out there for a while. I got out, one of the guys walked up to me and said he had made the call. We walked up to the house and heard the dog barking from the basement. It didn't look like there was going to be a way to get to him from the front. There was barely anything left to the top part of the house but burned boards. I could see down in to the basement but there was no sign of the dog. I made my way around the side to look for another way in. Through the brush, I spotted a couple openings at the foundation, the windows were no longer there. I knelt into the opening. The smell of trash and the dampness in the basement was strong. You could see up through the floor and out the top of the burned walls. I whistled and the barking started again. It was not just one dog, but three. They made their way out of the dark room at the back of the basement. They must have followed each other through this opening I was in but could not make the 5ft. jump to get back out. I had them interested in Vienna sausages for awhile but they retreated back in to the room. From the little bit of light going in that room I could see them lying on some old, dirty mattresses.

We needed to concentrate on getting these 3 out. The dogs were still not all that happy about us being there. Not knowing how the others would react if we leashed one, we just wanted to be cautious about our approach. And of course they would move from room to room in the basement.

The brindle female was definitely more motivated by food. She approached slowly, following the trail of sausages. Eventually getting close enough to get a slip lead on her. Thankfully, the other two didn't react. We used the discarded, old toilet under the window for one of us to climb out. Once one of us was out, the other lifted the dog and passed her out to freedom. We kept her in the air-conditioned vehicle while we went back for the other two.

The reddish colored female looked like a bigger version of the pup, most likely his mom. These two were more bonded and way more shy than their brindle friend. They huddled together and followed each other to keep avoiding rescue. Finally though, the place they decided to hide was one they could not escape us. We got leashes on both and each of us led our dog to the window. One by one they were handed out and put safely in a vehicle.

The party in the street still showed no signs of ending. They were surprised to see us come out with 3 dogs, not just the one they called us about. But they seemed genuinely happy to see them out of that burned house and going to a safe place.

Status: Adopted!

*If you are the winning bidder, artwork will be available for pick up from the Pine Street Shelter starting Thursday June 11th. If you are not local to the St. Louis Area, shipping will be an additional cost and will be calculated for each piece individually.