When Brian Harrington and his wife Kerrie’s shelter dog passed away in 2014, Harrington knew he had to do something in Otis’s memory. Dissatisfied with mere memorials, he decided to found Odie's Place Animal Rescue several months later to rescue as many neglected animals as possible.

Now, the foundation – which does not have a physical location and relies exclusively on donations – has rescued more than 100 animals, including animals with medical issues and animals whose owners are no longer able to care for them.

“We take in animals everyone else would turn away,” Harrington said, naming Rusty — a paralyzed dog that gets around using a donated wheelchair — as an example. Other dogs required costly cancer treatments.

Instead of relying strictly on donations, Harrington hosts unique fundraising events to both raise money and provide a little fun for donors. One of the most successful events was a recent “Paint your pet” night.

The couple collaborated with artist Charles Guay to attract 35 people on January 14. Prior to the event, Guay had drawn guests’ pets, and during the paint night, attendees tried to replicate the depiction.

The money supports medical care for rescue dogs. Once the dogs are healthy, they are taken care of by volunteer foster caregivers — like Cassandra Oliveira — until they can be adopted into new homes. Oliveira painted her six-year-old Chihuahua mix Kipper at the paint night. Kipper was the sixth dog she had taken in, but decided to formally adopt Kipper instead of giving her up.

“We do everything we can to get animals ready for adoption and prosper in new homes,” Harrington said.

With a tight marketing budget, Harrington makes use of social media. His Facebook page has over 11,000 followers, which Harrington uses to keep supporters in the loop on new animals – called "All Stars" upon their rescue – and fundraising events.

Odie's Place is always accepting foster and adoption applications as well as donations. It will also be hosting a comedy hypnosis show featuring Bruce James on March 31 at 7 p.m. in Swansea. For more information, visit the organization’s website at odiesplace.org.