Jill Whitley has done other artistic projects for the University of Georgia, one of the most notable being this mural in the NESPAL building lobby on the Tifton Campus, which depicts both the Tifton and Athens campuses, accompanied by Uga. Photo by Davis Cobb
“ I thought that’ s all there was to it [ the first two ]. And now, twenty or twenty-two Dawgs later, it’ s still going!”
Jill Whitley
A muralist by trade, Whitley was responsible for the mural depicting UGA’ s Athens and Tifton campuses in the NESPAL building lobby on the UGA Tifton Campus, as well as a mural for Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College’ s Agricultural Sciences Building. She was working on a mural for the Georgia Peanut Commission when UGA approached her regarding the statue program.
“ I thought that’ s all there was to it,” Whitley said.“ And now, twenty or twenty-two Dawgs later, it’ s still going!”
Indeed, after the first pair, UGA opened the initiative up to the Tiftarea community, inviting local businesses and organizations to purchase and personalize the statues to decorate their establishments and join the university’ s celebration.
After a statue is purchased, Whitley meets with the new owner to discuss what design they’ d like for the Dawg, from the colors of the fur and the style of clothes to special accessories like glasses, medals, and hats.
She makes sure to take every detail into consideration, especially if the client is basing the statue on a personal pet, striving to present the final product as accurately to their vision as possible.
“ The most personal ones are more challenging to me,” Whitley said.“ Because you’ ve got to get them just right.”
However, this diverse, creative input on behalf of the clientele has led to a wide and colorful spectrum of bulldogs dotting the map around Tifton, with no two being exactly alike.
Each Dawg sports its own name, usually referencing the place they’ ve been set up or the sponsor that brought them to Tifton.
Some still wear the red and black, but bear their own personal touches, like Downtown Tifton’ s Farm Dawg wearing overalls over his jersey or the Henry Tift Myers Airport’ s Pete donning a pair of pilot goggles.
10 TiftonScene | JULY 2025