Catch a first glimpse of the new Smiley statue coming to Stouffville

YorkRegion.com
March 26, 2018
Simon Martin

The Smiley statue is one step closer to reality. Joanne George and her eight-year-old son, Shepherd, visited Salt Lake City, Utah, to see the clay sculpture by famous dog portrait artist Lena Toritch. It will be cast in bronze and placed in the new library where Smiley spent much of his time listening to children read.

George was impressed with Toritch’s work. “It’s him! It’s the paw and that face. He always looked like he was smiling. He had a very signature look,” she said.

Born without eyes and in a puppy mill, the golden retriever was rescued at age two and spent his life giving back and spreading the message to “see with your heart.”

Smiley’s fame spread through news stories in Canada and the U.S.A., a children’s book and Instagram where he has more than 214,000 followers. “It’s amazing the stories that I’ve heard. How a dog, through pictures and stories, and videos of what he was doing could touch so many,” George said. “He really changed people’s lives. He got people through really tough times.”

Smiley’s many social media friends and many of George’s friends in the Stouffville area donated funds to commission internationally known sculptor Lena Toritch of Young Fine Art to create a life-size statue. Toritch said she carefully captures the tiniest unique details that make the sculpture Smiley. “I was so touched to see Joanne’s reaction. They lost a family member and in this case, people all over the world miss Smiley. And now they have a chance to see him again,” she said.

Those who look closely at the statue will see something else: at the base are two tiny hearts, the initials J.G. and the name Shep. “Shepherd has been such a big part of what we’ve been doing. One day he will be an old man, a grandfather, and his name will be there on the statue forever. He can show it to his great-grand kids,” George said.

George said she plans to continue Smiley’s legacy of love and service with another puppy. On her way to Salt Lake City to see the clay model of the statue, George and Shepherd went to Oregon to pick up a puppy they named Sunny. He is a retriever mix who was rescued from Tijuana and born, like Smiley, without eyes. “We want to carry on Smiley’s legacy and lessons. We love doing what we’re doing. We promote adopting dogs with special needs vs. buying,” she said. “It just seemed right and everything fell together like it was meant to be.”

Artist Lena Toritch is a highly regarded portrait sculptor and known internationally for her dog statues. She recently sculpted a dog for Brisbane, Australia. Her clients include the U.S. army, marines, air force and the bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms and explosives. Her portfolio includes nearly every breed and varied kinds of dogs including therapy dogs, show dogs, dancing dogs, family pets, dogs from children’s books, dogs from history and college mascots.