Sally, a happy golden retriever adored by many in Barrie and a notable downtown celebrity, has been lovingly captured on canvas by a local artist, with the painting presented to her owner this week.
Not long ago, Cherin Harris Tuck, a local painter of animal portraits, stopped by Simcoe Print Solutions on Dunlop Street East as a customer, and to speak to the owner, Rob McCormack. That's when she first met Sally and instantly fell in love, as do most people who come across the lovable pooch.
“She gives everyone a lot of comfort and joy, and I thought I would give something back to Sally and to Rob,” she explained.
“I had to paint a dog for Kempenfest and I was looking for the right dog to paint; I thought this was a great match. She was a real pleasure to paint. She’s an icon for Barrie," says Harris Tuck.
Some people accidentally run across her, and some even plan their walking trips through downtown Barrie so they can give her a pat. Sally has an undeniable magnetism.
“She’s part of my life,” says McCormack. “She’s just a little piece of the furniture down here.”
Most days, Sally can be found relaxing on the sidewalk outside the shop in the sun waiting for the next pedestrian to fall in love with her.
McCormack regularly witnesses the emotional power a dog can have on people.
“I can see somebody walk around the corner, and they’re having the worst day, and next thing you know they’re bent over rubbing Sally,” he says. “People say to me she is a therapy dog, and I never really thought of it that way, but she is for me. She’s company for me.
"I have people in the middle of winter open the door and say ‘I’m just here for Sally.’”
She's constantly receiving gifts from her friends in the area, he says.
“There’s a lady that makes her cookies. There’s a lady that bought her that bed,” as he points to her designated spot at the large front window of the store looking out over Dunlop Street. “She gets toys and lots of stuff. She’s got some pretty good friends out there.”
Around Christmas, Sally was diagnosed with bladder cancer, but she’s doing remarkably well, McCormack says.
“Not many people know, because I didn’t want people to…”
His voice trails off, with his eyes welling up with emotion.
“She’s really doing well, her appetite’s there. Her vet says she’s doing good. Her spirit’s there, she plays with dogs, no pain. All good.”
Harris Tuck hands McCormack a paper-wrapped gift while at the shop.
He tears it open to reveal her painting of Sally.
McCormack holds it up and takes a good long look at it.
“Amazing. It’s unbelievable, actually,” he says with a big grin.
Harris Tuck calls the work The Angel of Dunlop Street.
McCormack immediately hangs it on the wall near the front door of his shop. A new customer walks into the store and notices Sally sitting by the door, quietly looking up to greet her, as she always does.
The young woman reaches down to pat Sally on the head and gives her a smile.
“She’s a special girl,” McCormack says. “She’s touched some hearts.”
