‘A dog can always make someone happy’: B.C. senior paints 100 pet portraits on back-alley fence

Just as one man’s trash is another’s treasure, one person’s fence can be another’s blank slate.

NEW WESTMINSTER, B.C. — One of the first things Margaret Halsey did when she moved into her house was decorate the front entrance with paintings of her dogs.

“I wanted people to enjoy them,” Margaret says, pointing out a mural featuring a pack of pups on the side of the staircase, before revealing a trio of dogs painted across the steps leading up to her front door.

If you ask about pets helping to make house a home, Margaret will heartily reply, “They sure do!”

But years later, Margaret wasn’t so sure about the prospect of retiring.

“It was a grey period,” Margaret says. “I was kind of feeling a bit like, ‘What am I going to do now?’”

While she’d always made art as a hobby, it wasn’t until she was walking her dog along a back alley that Margaret found a new purpose.

“I saw this naked fence,” Margaret says.

It seemed like a blank canvas.

“Now, I knew what I was going to do. I was going to paint dogs on that fence.”

So, she contacted the fence’s owner and offered to paint a portrait of their pet on it. After the owner supported the plan and Margaret stared painting, people passing expressed their appreciation.

“And the dogs kept coming,” Margaret smiles.

Then cats too. And the more furry faces she painted for others, the more fulfilled Margaret felt herself.

“It’s just to share with the world,” Margaret smiles. “And when you’re doing that, you forget you were sad.”

And you see positive possibilities. Like when Margaret turned the project into a fundraiser, and donations from her pet portraits raised more than $8,000 to support training local guide dogs.

“We all have a skill, a talent,” Margaret says. “I think we can all benefit other people by sharing that passion.”

Now, more than a decade since she began the project, Margaret has painted more than 100 animals. She’s expanded the alley art gallery to include a second fence a block away, published a couple of books telling the stories behind each portrait, and ultimately connected the community through creativity.

“There’s lots of things that don’t make people happy in the world,” Margaret smiles. “I think a dog can always make someone happy.”