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Courtesy of the Saint Louis University Museum of Art
Urban Wanderers
“Mr. Red,” by Nortbert Mudd
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Courtesy of Stray Rescue
Cosette
Cosette, the "Urban Wanderers," 2014 Spokespup
When Randy Grim first started rescuing abandoned dogs more than 20 years ago, the city had only two shelters, and they both gassed animals by the thousands. He drove his van through St. Louis city and East St. Louis, Ill., trapping bone-thin dogs with mange, open wounds, and often a deep fear of humans; he got them medical care, restored their trust, found them homes. People called him “dog man”—or crazy. No more. Stray Rescue of St. Louis (2320 Pine, 314-771-6121, strayrescue.org) is now one of the most respected nonprofits in the city, operating two no-kill shelters with hundreds of volunteers. “I don’t get teased like I used to,” Grim says.
Stray Rescue’s annual art show, which it’s done for about a decade, has helped in telling the individual stories of those abandoned or feral dogs and cats. Though it’s a fundraiser, it has ultimately been more powerful as a consciousness-raiser. It began as Mad Arf, a one-day party and art auction at Mad Art Gallery that paired rescued dogs and cats with artists, who would paint, photograph, sculpt, or draw them. Renamed “Urban Wanderers” when it moved to Saint Louis University Museum of Art in 2010, the show now stays for several weeks, and the museum schedules “meet the artist” sessions, educational outreach, and a Tail End closing reception that brings in a well-known figure in the animal advocacy world.
The show has traditionally included art made by animals (“We get out canvases, and they all have different-colored feet by the time they’re done,” Grim says), as well as a “featured spokespup,” who serves as poster dog for the event. “It’s always a dog that has endured a lot of suffering and not just overcome that, but is living a happy, loving, fulfilling life now,” Grim says. For 2014, that’s Cosette, who arrived at Stray Rescue’s trauma center with a high fever and a face so mutilated, she could hardly open her eyes. “She looked so awful when we first rescued her, like hamburger meat through the entire head and face,” Grim says sadly. “Not even doggish.” In her after photo, though, Cosette’s eyes are clear and bright, looking into the camera with total calm; with her face healed, you can now see the lovely white blaze on her forehead.
“I won’t lie; there are some [stories] that didn’t have a happy ending,” Grim says of the animals in the show. “But I wanted people to think. The general public, they have their dog on the couch, and they don’t realize there’s this whole dark side to where these dogs come from and what they’ve had to go through. And I think unveiling that, pulling the curtain back and showing some of the reality, is the only way they’ll be changed.”
This year’s theme is “What Is Stray Rescue?” Ask most folks that, and they will probably describe the organization’s tireless work saving animals like Cosette, or last year’s spokesdog, O.P., who was shot 12 times and found in a dumpster with an electrical cord tied around his neck. (He survived and now lives with Grim.) But it operates dozens of programs both large and small, including “Abandoned, Not Forgotten,” a hotline for bankers, firemen, police officers, or real-estate agents who discover abandoned animals left behind at foreclosed or newly sold homes; walking and hiking programs that pair humans with shelter dogs who also need exercise; and “Families With Paws,” which provides free food, veterinary care, shots, and microchips to pets in underserved ZIP codes. (The group recently vaccinated, spayed, and neutered more than 600 dogs at Fairground Park.)
Grim himself makes an art piece every year (“I’m not artistic—it’s like stick figures—but people always bid on it,” he says) and says he’d love to attempt to portray the “Puppies for Parole” program, which pairs incarcerated men with rescue dogs, training the pets to become “canine good citizens,” certified to work as service animals. So far, more than 2,000 dogs have completed the training, and Grim says it’s been one of the most transformational programs for both the dogs and people involved. “The last time I was there, there was a guy who was in for life,” he says. “He’s probably 80 now. And when he got to pet one of the dogs, he started crying, because he hadn’t felt the fur of a dog in over 30 years.”
Grim says the art show is his favorite Stray Rescue event, and that the opening night is always a big deal, with food, a bar, and an appearance by the spokespup. Due to his social anxiety, though, Grim goes by the night before so he can look at the art and laugh or cry about it, without feeling self-conscious.
“I know the art is supposed to cause a reaction,” he says. “And this show causes all kinds of reactions—especially when you’ve rescued a lot of dogs.”
“Urban Wanderers” runs through Sunday, July 27, at Saint Louis University Museum of Art (3663 Lindell, 314-977-3399, slu.edu/sluma.xml). Gallery hours are 11 a.m.–4 p.m. Wed–Sun.
