Guests and guest painter at the gallery event. Photo Contributed
The Huckleberry Fine Art Gallery in Rockville provided a colorful backdrop for the Montgomery County Partners in Animal Well-Being (MCPAW) fund-raising art show, reception and raffle held Saturday evening, Oct. 27. The “Art for Paws” event featured artist Gavin Glakas demonstrating his painting style as well as the art works of Michael Cheval, J. Scot Nicol, Marilyn Borglum, Rob Gonsalves and other artists and sculptors. But the real stars of the show were Missy and Simon — two rescue dogs hoping to be chosen for a permanent family.
Gallery Director Kerilynn Vigneau immediately fell in love with Simon. When she lifted him up, he immediately cuddled his head under her chin. “I would love to take Simon home with me,” she said. “My boyfriend and I have been discussing getting a puppy for a long time.” Other guests expressed an interest in adopting Simon and Missy — and hopefully the two adorable puppies will soon be with a new loving family.
“I am really proud that we could host this event,” Vigneau said. “Everyone who works at the gallery loves animals and we all want to support MCPAW in their mission. When we assist MCPAW, we are helping the animals in Montgomery County.”
Allan Cohen, chairman of the MCPAW Board, was pleased with the turn-out. “I want to thank everyone for coming to support such a worthwhile cause,” he said. “MCPAW also thanks Boots Harris, the owner of Huckleberry Fine Art who opened his gallery for us and donated two outstanding works of art for our raffle.” MCPAW also raffled off three engraved bricks. These bricks can be purchased as a special gift to honor or remember a loved one or pet or to commemorate a special event.
Judith Woolley McKevitt of Potomac, who recently became a strong supporter of MCPAW, said, “When I learned about MCPAW a few months ago, I immediately purchased a brick in memory of my favorite cat, Whizzer White Woolley, named for Supreme Court Judge Byron “Whizzer” White. I now have a Russian Blue cat named Sasha.”
Among the many guests in attendance was Lisa Mandel-Trupp, who serves on the staff of Montgomery County Councilman Phil Andrews, chair of the Public Safety committee under which Animal Services falls. Both Andrews and Mandel-Trupp have been strong advocates of the new Animal Services and Adoption Center since the proposal to build it was first brought before the County Council.
Board member Ilissa Flamm, proud of the organization, said, “MCPAW was selected by Discovery’s 2012 Creating Change Initiative from hundreds of project requests from area non-profits. MCPAW’s passion and mission stood out to Discovery and resulted in the opportunity to work with their employee workforce. This project enables Discovery’s employees to give back to their community.
“As a board member of MCPAW and heading up the visual media committee, I will be working closely with one of their creative teams to create and produce a public service announcement that will raise the visibility of MCPAW, creating impact, while conveying MCPAW’S message and mission to increase awareness and raise additional critical funds for the construction and on-going support of a new state-of-the-art Animal Services and Adoption Center for Montgomery County.”