Have you noticed something different at the Spanish Village Art Center? It\u2019s looking a lot more colorful.<\/p>\n
It all started with a woman, a paintbrush and a way to cope with losing her dog, Shilo.<\/p>\n
Amanda Moschella\u2019s pit bull, Shiloh, was by her side for 16 years.<\/p>\n
Toward the end of her life, Shiloh\u2019s health became more difficult.<\/p>\n
She underwent spinal surgery, ACL surgery and battled cancer five separate times.<\/p>\n
\u201cCancer didn’t take her out,\u201d Amanda says. \u201cShe was a warrior.\u201d<\/p>\n
The two had their routine at Balboa Park, walking, stopping by Spanish Village, and visiting their favorite coffee cart.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe would kind of sit under the tree and that’s where she would kind of people watch and allow us to kind of have our coffee for the morning.\u201d<\/p>\n
When Shilo passed, Amanda wanted to give something back to a place that had given them so many memories. So she picked up a paintbrush.<\/p>\n
\u201cI decided to volunteer our time and what started off as just a volunteer project for us dealing with grief, um, turned into an opportunity to invite others who were kind of processing the same thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Amanda put the invitation on social media: \u201cLet\u2019s create something beautiful together, one tile at a time.\u201d She shared on instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n It went viral, and soon, people showed up, bringing their own stories with them.<\/p>\n \u201cI lost my sister. It was an anniversary [of her death],\u201d Julie Ann San Juan, says \u201cI also lost my two dogs last year when she posted this\u2026 it’s amazing. The opportunity arose at the perfect time.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis is actually my first time seeing it in the daylight and I was like truly floored,\u201d Nina Lewis, another resident who came out to paint says. \u201cIt looks so incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n Amanda is working to create a foundation to financially support families with senior pets and create more spaces like this, where people can come together to grieve.<\/p>\n \u201cThere’s not really a lot of opportunities for that,\u201d Amanda says.<\/p>\n Shilo had a way of bringing people together while she was here.<\/p>\n \u201cAs people who might be a little bit more introverted and a little bit more to ourselves, she opened us up to so many beautiful people,\u201d Amanda says.<\/p>\n Now, she\u2019s finding a way to keep doing that, even after she\u2019s gone.<\/p>\n \u201cI’m really lucky that I got to be in her life and that she’s kind of brought so much to other people.\u201d<\/p>\n