GROVES, Texas — An artist working with 'Mid county Paws of Hope,' an animal advocacy group, has just competed a mural on the side of a Groves Animal Shelter in dedication to two former surrendered pets.
The mural located on the City of Groves Animal Control building features two dogs, Lilly and Diesel, who were once at the shelter, according to Artist Valerie Simoneaux.
Simoneaux says Lilly roamed the street of Groves. When she found a home, she sadly died.
Diesel was left in the 100 degree sun and ended up with major burns, but survived.
"It was a major healing process for him, so they wanted to put him on the building to just speak against animal cruelty and to make more of a positive impact to the animals in this area," she said.
Simoneaux said the bright and vibrant colors of the mural are meant to "capture attention and make people wonder what's going on here."
"The building used to look very rundown, it just wasn't bright and vibrant. Whenever I first got here, and I saw how the building looked, I was like 'wow, this can be made into something creative' and I just hope that brings attention and hope when people see it," she said. "It just brings them some sort of like enjoyment and, hopefully, wants to bring people to come look at what they have here and, hopefully, you know, adopt some of these animals and bring them to loving homes."
Simoneaux hopes that the story behind the art will help fuel efforts against animal cruelty.
The shelter is open Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
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