RO3 Gallery teams with Humane Society of Greater Savannah to help Lonely Hearts find a home

No one will ever love you quite like a dog.

On Friday, Stephanie Forbes and the Humane Society for Greater Savannah are hoping to help you find your perfect pet with a new exhibition called “Lonely Hearts”.

Forbes opened RO3 Gallery, which stands for Rule of Three, on Oct. 14 in a small building at 915 Montgomery St. with an exhibition of her own work. Soon after, she came up with the idea to have an exhibition to benefit the dogs at the Humane Society for Greater Savannah. In 2018, before she had her gallery, Forbes had volunteered to paint portraits of dogs at the shelter deemed Lonely Hearts.

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“On average, we find a new home for our dogs within two and a half weeks, but a Lonely Heart dog has been with us for a month or longer,” said Sean Griffin, Executive Director for the Humane Society for Greater Savannah. These dogs called out to Forbes who said she started the portrait projects because she knew she couldn’t adopt them all.

“I had to figure out another way to help the animals without bringing them home,” Forbes said. She did end up adopting one dog; an older Husky with vision and hearing loss named Moose.

“I sobbed over him [at the shelter] and was like, I have to take you home.” Forbes said Moose was a blessing, and she valued the two years she was able to love him before he passed away.

When the pandemic hit in 2020, the portrait project came to an end because Forbes said dogs were being adopted quickly. Now that she has her own space, she wanted to share her success with the Lonely Hearts dogs again.

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The “Lonely Hearts” exhibition will run from Feb. 25 through March 18. One room of RO3 will be dedicated to portraits of 10 Lonely Hearts. Another room will have information on the Humane Society for Greater Savannah as well as a special section in memory of Forbes’ own Lonely Heart, Moose.

Griffin said the Humane Society is excited to see how the exhibition introduces people to their Lonely Heart dogs.

“Our staff and volunteers really get to know [the Lonely Hearts’] personalities and habits and can work with potential adopters to find the right fit. They are great dogs and just have one or two things going against them that can keep them from being adopted quickly. The entire adoption experience can have significantly more meaning when you adopt a Lonely Heart — knowing that you were the right person at the right time to give them a second chance.”

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Forbes added, “The Humane Society welcomed the idea with open arms, so it was really nice for me to have a way to feel like I was contributing. Dogs are so important to me.”

The opening reception is Friday from 6-9 p.m. in RO3 Gallery at 915 Montgomery St. Woof Gang Bakery is sponsoring the event and Bayou Café will have their food truck there for the opening. Forbes said some of the Lonely Hearts dogs will be at the gallery throughout the month-long run of the exhibit too. Any Lonely Heart dog that is adopted will get the dog’s portrait as well.

If you’re intrigued by the Lonely Hearts but can’t commit to adopting one, Griffin said you can still help the Humane Society for Greater Savannah.

“Follow us on social media, share the Lonely Hearts posts, and help us find the perfect home for them. We are always looking for volunteers in our foster and adoption ambassador programs too!”

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: RO3 Gallery hosts Lonely Hearts for Humane Society of Greater Savannah