TIFTON — Artist Jill Whitley is leaving her mark on University of Georgia bulldog statues that have been unleashed across Tift County.

Whitley is helping decorate different bulldogs — which represent the university’s beloved mascot, Uga — as part of an initiative by UGA Tifton campus student clubs to raise community awareness of academic programs offered on the campus. Area businesses sponsor bulldog statues and work with Whitley to come up with a unique design for each bulldog.

“I talk to the business owner and we come up with ideas between each other,” said Whitely, a native of nearby Berrien County. “Usually, they’re painted to represent the sponsoring family business.”

Funds generated by the sponsorships go towards the UGA-Tifton Agribusiness Club and Collegiate Future Farmers of America chapter. Students use the funds to travel to meetings and for other professional development activities.

Whitley’s artwork can be viewed at the UGA Tifton campus, Quailwood Animal Hospital, Chick-fil-A, Tifton Apartments and in downtown Tifton, where the Prince Automotive Group and Bowen Family Farms bulldog statues are displayed.

Exact locations can be found by searching for “Dawg” on Google Maps.  Several more bulldogs are in the works and will be unleashed in 2019.

Of the statues she’s completed so far, Whitley finds the bulldog at Quailwood, “Q-Dawg,” to be the most unique, as it is painted in the likeness of the owners’ family canine.

“He’s brown and white and he’s totally different than the rest of them,” she said.

Two bulldog states can be found on the UGA Tifton campus. One, named “Tuga,” sits at the front of the campus dressed in traditional red and black. The other, named “Pal,” is dressed like a graduate and sits at the entrance to the National Environmentally Sound Production Agriculture Laboratory (NESPAL) – the building that houses the campus’ academic programs.

The Bowen Family Farms’ “Farm Dawg” is dressed in overalls, while Chick-fil-A’s “Nugget” is dressed in a red jersey over blue jeans.

“Jill takes pride in her work and has a flare for bringing each bulldog to life in its own unique way. This initiative would not have been nearly as successful without her artistic talent. Her work is what attracts people to the bulldogs,” said George Vellidis, director of academic programs on the UGA Tifton campus, who enlisted Whitley’s help for this initiative.

The most recent addition to the bulldog statue family is “TDawg,” sponsored by Tifton Apartments. It can be seen at the intersection of Carpenter Road and Oak Point Avenue in front of Tifton Apartments.

The bulldogs aren’t Whitley’s only pieces of art that can be seen around Tifton. She recently decorated the windows at the entrance to the NESPAL South building on the UGA Tifton campus to help UGA students and employees get in the holiday spirit. The design shows Uga sitting in front of a Christmas tree and also standing under the university’s historic arch. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year are written in some of the many languages represented on the UGA Tifton campus.