At 7am, Shelton Street, nestled in the heart of Covent Garden, is usually a quiet and tranquil place, with commuters walking to the tube in the early morning sunshine, a couple of joggers pounding the pavements and coffee shops just opening up their shutters; however, here at PetLondon Models we knew this wouldn’t be the case as we were tasked in providing 25 dogs for the launch of Cath Kidston’s brand new 101 Dalmatian range in collaboration with Disney.

Our assignment was to provide 6 Dalmatians to be stars of the show, with 20 other dogs of varying sizes, ages and breeds to support them. Even though not close to the 101, it sure felt like it, as it was possibly a record number of dogs in one location at one time in recent history for PetLondon Models.

The 6 Dalmatian stars rose very early with their owners to get over to Covent Garden. For the participants it was a great experience. “We as owners, were a little nervous on arrival not really knowing what to expect!” said Celia, the owner of Suzy and Bebe. “We were put at ease immediately by the warm welcome to both ourselves and the dallies and was impressed with Adams professional handling of all the dogs.”

The Dalmatians came from near and far, very reminiscent of the film, to partake in the earlier part of shoot taking place in the store itself. Below from left to right we have the six superstars: Roo, Bebe, Suzy, Dolly, Mylo & Domino. We had a truly magical tear-jerking Disney moment, as Mylo & Domino found out they were siblings and have been reunited years later on this shoot. After the shoot was done, they were seen walking side-by-side to go for some brunch and a paw-to-heart.

 

The goal of the shoot was to get some amazing shots of the Dalmatians in store and outside the store in some fun and candid setups. This included Bebe placing her paws on the counter pretending to pay for her goods, Roo walking out the shop happy as can be with a shopping bag in this mouth and a couple of the models sniffing around the shop itself looking at the Dalmatian emblazoned merchandise.

The Disney range itself is very varied with different designs and motives across a wide range of products; from tote bags to umbrellas, purses to socks, pyjamas to aprons each is classically Dalmatian themed, both for adults and kids alike. The range is available across all stores and online for the UK, and in selected international outlets. Please check here.

 

Whilst this was taking place, in a courtyard just around the corner, the rest of the supporting cast and crew arrived. Not only did we have twenty dogs, but also one human model for every animal. The cast included a range of typical dogs seen out shopping on your local high-street, so we had a varied collection of supporting cast including: Poodles, French bulldogs, Pugs, Jack Russell, Sausage Dogs, Spaniels and a lot more aside! The models were to each have a canine companion for the duration of the shoot. The dogs definitely chose their new pet parent for that morning and after a lot tail wagging and sniffing , we were ready to start the second part of the shoot taking place outside the store.

The aesthetic was to line them up along the shop front with the Dalmatians at the front of the line, with each dog and their model forming a somewhat orderly queue behind. It was a very high energy set with so many models both human and canine together, but some amazing shots were taken. Lots of squeaking, clapping, barking and cheering to get the attention of the dogs. After some readjustments and repositioning of certain dogs, the camera team was able to snap some fantastic shots.

The hallmark of any successful job is finishing early, and this assignment finished a full 60 minutes ahead of schedule. All the dogs were pawfectly awesome and were as good as gold considering all the excitement.