Urban Wanderers Grand Opening Tonight

Looking for something to do tonight in St. Louis? Something that is FREE? Come on down to Saint Louis University's Museum of Art for the kick-off of Urban Wanderers, an annual art exhibit and auction that benefits Stray Rescue of St. Louis.

Last year, Stray Rescue changed the event from a one-night art auction to a real exhibit at an art gallery with a concurrent online auction that goes through August 28th. All pieces are either painted by the dogs themselves or were donated by artists and photographers. And the best part? This year, the theme of the exhibit is bully breeds! All art and photographs will feature the most misunderstood dog breeds that get lumped into that "pit bull" category. The dog featured on the poster is Stracks, who has a very sad story with a happy ending. The founder of Stray Rescue, Randy Grim, was out rescuing one day and came across Stracks. This poor dog had been shot and his throat has been slashed. You can read his rescue story here. With a lot of love, care, and fantastic medical attention, Stracks has recovered and was adopted by Randy himself. Here is a video highlighting his recovery. You might need some tissues, just a warning.

So, this art auction will benefit dogs like Stracks. Unfortunately, it seems like Randy posts on Facebook far too often sad story after sad story. There are just so many neglected, abused animals in our city, and in every city. If you don't live in St. Louis, you can still look at the items for auction, which is not up at Blacktie Missouri. You can continue to visit the exhibit for free and bid online through 8/28. You may remember the painting party we had a few months ago in which Neptune and Caspian created their masterpieces. Remember how Neptune was over it right away, but Caspian seemed to really enjoy painting?

I can't wait to see Neptune's piece exhibited tonight! What a proud dog mom I will be. Please consider coming to the event or checking out the online auction. Since Stray Rescue was denied the $250,000 donated by city residents for the specific purpose of animal rescue in the city, they need the money more than ever. They do such great work and will always take heroic measures to save the lives of dogs like Stracks. As an added incentive? John Garcia from Best Friends and NatGeo's Dog Town is now a full-time employee at Stray Rescue. He will probably be at the event tonight and is as nice in person as he is on TV. Levi agrees.

So, maybe I'll see some of you St. Louis people at the event tonight! Don't even think about outbidding me on Neptune's art!

I am editing this post because Neptune's piece, "God of the Sea," is now up! Here's the description:

Bio: While searching for a dog in need of rescue, Donna caught a pitiful sight out of the corner of her eye in a vacant lot. There is where she found Neptune. It was obvious that he needed medical attention. Neptune was a sad sight; thin and covered with wounds all over his face which caused a softball size abscess on his jowl. With some TLC and antibiotics his abscess disappeared and the wounds all healed. Neptune did not spend a lot of time at the shelter and quickly used his sad face to lure in a foster parent. Now Neptune is treated like the God he should be in his adoptive home. His forever home is filled with love, compassion, canine friends and even feathered friends. Keep your eyes peeled because you might be able to catch this God of the Sea walking in Tower Grove Park or Forest Park! Status: Adopted Painting Technique: When presented with his canvass, Neptune made sure to pick out his colors to his liking, grabbing a bottle of paint and running off with it to the yard. After his colors were chosen, Neptune insisted that his servants bring the canvass to him as they dipped his paws into the paint. A few times the brush was requested and placed in his mouth where Neptune added the appropriate brush strokes. No extra energy was ever wasted during Neptune's creation.