HARLINGEN — A smiling sheltered dog or cat as well as people’s pets can be virtually oil painted to wish someone a happy Valentine’s Day.
The Humane Society of Harlingen has partnered up with artist Steff Antonocci who will be creating oil paint Valentine’s Day cards for people to purchase and send out.
Sara Cano, Communications Coordinator, said this is the first time the shelter has decided to do a project for Valentine’s Day.
All proceeds will go to the shelter. The cost of the Valentine’s Day card is $14.
“Steff does virtual oil paintings of pets and we will be putting messages such as ‘Life would be ruff without you’ and stuff like that,” Cano said.
“What is really cool is I can order one and send it to you but it can be your pet. We can also do it with shelter pets if they want to enrich one of the animals’ lives,” she said.
The shelter will be taking orders until Feb. 12. Cano said people have already showed an interest in the project.
“I think animals hold a special place in people’s hearts and lives. For me, my dog is my Valentine and now we do birthday parties for them or give them gifts and it is kind of special to be able to include them in something like Valentine’s Day,” she said.
The image is sent via e-mail and it can be used for more than Valentine’s Day purposes. Cano said an example would be a cell-phone screensaver.
“To be able to provide people with such unique art of their dog is amazing,” Antonocci said.
“To get to do it while raising money for such an amazing cause is even better. It’s honestly one of the best projects I’ve been a part of,” she said.
The Humane Society of Harlingen can be reached at (956) 425-7297.
