5 for Good: Salem, Massachusetts, painter raises thousands for Amesbury dog rescue
Erica Meimei painted 60 pet portraits to benefit Rescue Inc
Erica Meimei painted 60 pet portraits to benefit Rescue Inc
Erica Meimei painted 60 pet portraits to benefit Rescue Inc
Salem-based artist Erica Meimei completed an ambitious project to benefit an Amesbury-based dog rescue organization.
"I love painting animals and things inspired by nature,” Meimei said. “I work with oil paints and oil pastels, colored pencils. I love working with really rich, vibrant pigments."
Meimei said her love for animals and her own rescue dog Ember, inspired her to paint 60 commissioned pet portraits. She donated all the proceeds, about $3,000, to Rescue Inc.
Adoption coordinator Danielle Stone said the volunteer-run rescue operation is focused on saving dogs from areas in need.
"The South is overrun with dogs without any homes, and they have a very high euthanasia rate at their shelters,” Stone said. “Most of the shelters are full and we work with organizations that don't have a lot of resources."
She said Rescue Inc. organizes transport, care, fostering and adoption. Part of the care volunteers provide is overseeing a two-day isolation period that’s required by the state.
Kate Favata is the isolation manager. She explained volunteers watch for any animals that appear tired or are coughing.
“Any type of medical thing,” Favata said. "It's just making sure that they're happy, healthy, interacting the right way and seem stable, so to speak."
Stone said the Rescue Inc. model stands out from others.
"You get to talk with people and find out exactly what kind of dog they're looking for and then talk to our partners in the south that know these dogs,” Stone said. “Then we're able to really match them in a really nice way that I didn't know existed before actually doing this."
Stone said donations like the one given by Meimei are vital.
"We are our all-volunteer organization, but that doesn't mean that we don't need funds to keep going,” she said. "Supplies and food and all of those things have to come from somewhere. We rely on any kind of outside funds. It's all donated money. So that's how we function."
Find information about Rescue Inc. here.