Photography by Danny Fulgencio
For Wally, fame is on the horizon. One of his YouTube videos has more than 50,000 views, and other videos are rising to similar numbers. Wally has his own store with T-shirts and stickers bearing his face. He also has more than 5,000 followers on Instagram, where he tours Dallas neighborhoods and poses with Ferraris, Lamborghinis, McLarens and other hot rods.
Wally’s Instagram has more to it than cars that belong in pop songs. The captions are filled with personal accounts of owner Brian Sullivan’s struggles with mental health, alcoholism and depression.
“Depression doesn’t discriminate. If you have a friend, co- worker or loved one that’s struggling, reach out to them,” Sullivan says in a post. “You never know when your help might save someone from themself.”
Through his posts, Sullivan hopes to make a difference. “We live in a kind of glamorous society where people don’t want to show their flaws,” Sullivan says. “My page was a soft opening to me telling my story to the world.”
A crucial part to that story was Wally Wiggles.
“At the end of my drinking, I thought about jumping in front of a train three out of five days a week,” Sullivan says. “Getting Wally in my life, spending this time together and finding purpose again— to wake up and not want to jump in front of a train — that’s a victory right there. I want to pass this on in some way.”
Followers find joy and inspiration from the account. Comments range from, “Looking good Wally! Nothing better than a gorgeous bulldog next to a beautiful car” to “I need Wally to come speak to my students!”
Maybe one day, Wally will. Sullivan hopes that he and Wally can be motivational speakers. He wants to start that journey by taking Wally to nursing homes.
“He’s a gregarious and loving dog,” Sullivan says.
This bulldog is ready for his close-up.