A shaggy dog named Sylvie is racking up some impressive credentials. She’s graced the cover of Dog’s Life magazine, been featured on Martha Stewart’s website, been the face on an adoption poster and bumper stickers for homeless pets.
And now, back by popular demand, her photo is featured once again on a new limited edition poster by renowned artist Shepard Fairey, who was named by Time magazine as the "Icon Maker" of the year.
And now with the latest poster, which features Sylvie and the word "Adopt," he’s turning her into an icon too. Her new poster was recently unveiled at the Sunset Gallery in Los Angeles.
Sylvie’s fame started with a casual photo shoot when Best Friends’ photographer Clay Myers caught Sylvie on a walk with her person, trainer Ann Allums, who works at the sanctuary. And a chance meeting with a fellow rescuer in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina led to Sylvie being the poster dog for Adopt-a-Pet.com, a pet adoption website, for its national campaign that seeks to shed light on the animals up for adoption at shelters across the country.
“Sylvie is one of the most photogenic dogs I’ve ever met,” Myers says. “She has that shaggy dog thing going on big-time, and she has a soulful look about her.”
And that’s why Fairey chose Sylvie’s photo out of nearly two dozen presented to him by Dr. Pia Salk, spokeswoman for Adopt-A-Pet. Salk was looking for representative photos for the national campaign ADOPT, so when she contacted him for photos, Myers sent her a bunch. The first poster, done in Fairey’s trademark blue-and-red, was dubbed “A Mutt Like Me.” The second phase of the campaign, with the new poster depicting Sylvie in gold, is titled “Lead by Example.”
“The ‘Lead By Example’ ADOPT image is a powerful one,” Fairey says, “and it is my hope that this new print will give people a way to advocate for these animals and show their support for pet adoption.”
At the time Myers offered the photos to Salk, he had no idea she was working with Fairey, known for Obama’s “Hope” campaign poster. “I was honored that he chose my photo of Sylvie as the inspiration for his poster,” Myers says. “It turns out, Sylvie reminded Shepard of a dog his family adopted when he was a child. Now, I’m thrilled again that he has created the ‘Lead By Example’ poster. These posters will be tremendous tools for helping homeless pets on a national level.”
Salk, in an interview about the poster with the Independent Mail newspaper, says, “People just love the image. I think it has really helped people realize that adoption is the humane way to bring an animal into their home.”
Allums agrees that Sylvie is a good representative for pets needing homes, because Sylvie was once homeless and scared too. She arrived at Best Friends sanctuary as one of several discarded dogs in her litter. She was adopted out to a three-generation home that proved to be too active for her, one she had difficulty adapting to. Sylvie came back to Best Friends as an adolescent pup, which is when Allums met her.
“She caught my eye when I was driving by the Garden [at Dogtown] one day,” she says. “I just had to stop and meet her right away. When I entered her run to say ‘hello,’ I couldn’t get within arm’s length of Sylvie. She was that fearful around unknown people.” Over the next few days, Allums continued visiting Sylvie. “We started to bond as she learned to trust me,” she says. “I recognized that she was very fearful and probably lacked socialization. I decided that she could get more help if I took her into my home to foster her. “
And that move basically sealed the deal for both Allums and Sylvie, that and taking Sylvie to work with her each day. “Fortunately, Best Friends is one of the best places to get socialization,” she says. “Every person you meet [here] is understanding and willing to help.” Sylvie also got lots of socialization with other dogs and exposure to new sounds and different environments.
It took about a year of counter-conditioning her around other people, Allums explains. Then, a wonderful thing happened: Sylvie began running up to greet people on her own. “I was so thrilled to see her natural friendliness overcoming her troubled past,” Allums says.
Today, Sylvie is a constant companion for Allums, who adopted her. She describes the dog she dubs her “poster child” as a “calm presence” and a “gentle dog” who is relaxed around other canines and now loves people, especially kids.
She earned her Canine Good Citizen certification in 2006 and her Therapy Dog certification this year and regularly visits residents at a local assisted-living home.
The poster, Myers says, represents so much more than a dog.
“For me, there is a back story to this, about networking and staying in touch with good people that lead to good things,” Myers says. “When I met Pia in the trenches of Katrina’s aftermath, I never could have imagined that she would one day take a portrait shot of a once homeless shaggy dog and turn that dog into a national campaign. Pretty cool.”
Written by Cathy Scott
Photos by Clay Myers
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