Lauren Gonzmart Schellman with Sophie and Alexander Schellman with Teddy. Photograph by Anna Cooke.


e


“He was just so small and cute,” Alexander told us about the little dog who caught his attention. “And daddy thought he looked like a little fox.” Alexander’s family already had a


dog at home. Her name is Sophie and she is, as Pugs go, the princess of the household. Realizing their son was smitten by the cute Pomeranian, both of Alexander’s parents were emphatic to his request to adopt him. “No!” they answered. When has the answer ‘no’ ever


stopped a determined child? Alexander was scheduled to walk


the runway alongside his cousin Amelia. Each would be paired with other adoptable dogs from the Humane Society of Tampa Bay. “I just couldn’t stop thinking


about the little dog,” he remembers. As it turns out, his mother, Lauren


Gonzmart Schellman, actually couldn’t stop thinking of the little dog either. “My sister Andrea and I started


The Soul of A Dog. The Heart of A Boy.


by Anna Cooke


There is a belief that dogs find us when we need them the most. During Tuxes and Tail, the annual


fundraiser for the Humane Society of Tampa Bay, a dog caught the eye and quickly stole the heart of a young boy.


40 THE NEW BARKER


texting back and forth, throughout the evening,” said Lauren. “I wanted to know whether or not the dog had been adopted.” Soon, the ballroom and Lauren’s


phone were buzzing from friends with inquiries, updates and questions, asking if they were going to adopt the Pomeranian known as Teddy. “We didn’t go to the event think-


ing we were going to bring a dog home,” said Lauren. “Although friends had been advising me that Sophie might want a companion dog.” Shelter volunteer Janet Robertson


was assigned to handle Teddy during the evening’s event.


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