CARLINVILLE – A four-legged celebrity will make a special appearance at the Carlinville Public Library on Saturday, Sept. 28 at 10 a.m.
Leila, a three-year-old chocolate Labrador retriever who has become a social media star and model for Purina dog treats, will be part of a Meet and Greet for adults and children. She will also perform some tricks for the audience.
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Her owner, Kaylie Devlin, will also read a new book she’s written, Leila: The Chocolate Chunk, which is just the latest part of Leila’s fast-growing stardom.
“Kaylie will also talk about all of the cool things that Leila has done,” said Hannah Miller, the director of the Carlinville Public Library. “We’re so excited here at the library to meet this talented and special dog.”
Leila is also a social media star, with 30,000 followers on her Instagram account. She even has an agent in Michigan.
Bred in Missouri, Leila found a home as a puppy in early 2022 with Devlin, a registered nurse at the Greene County Health Department in Carrollton, and her husband, Tyler. The couple and their one-year-old son live in Bluffs with their other dog, Molly, a twelve-year-old border collie and Australian shepherd mix.
Though she’s young, Leila made an instant splash. She served as the “backup dog” in her first photo shoot with Purina at the tender age of one, and impressed the company. That helped Leila land an agent in Michigan to further her stardom.
She then became the “hero dog” in two packaging shoots, starring in a video on the Purina app on dog training. Leila also had a bit part in a commercial for ProPlan Veterinary Diet food that aired early this year.
Leila is currently the featured dog on bags of Purina DentaLife ActivFresh dog treats, which are sold in grocery stores and pet stores nationwide. She’s worked modeling shoots in Cincinnati, Chicago, and St. Louis, and her likeness is expected to appear on cans of more national-brand dog foods in the near-future.
As if that wasn’t enough, Leila is also a decorated dog athlete. She qualified for the North America Diving Dogs regional competition at the Amana Colonies in Iowa in September in dock diving after a personal-best of nineteen feet, seven inches.
In addition, Leila has a personal best of 26.01 miles per hour in a category called fast cat, where dogs run a 100-year dash while chasing a plastic lure. She also competes in the barn hunt, a relatively new competition where dogs are expected to locate hidden live rats in tubes across a barn.
Not surprisingly, Leila has earned Master B status, the highest level of barn hunt, after obtaining her first rat master title.
It’s all part of the rising celebrity of Leila, who will look to make more friends at the Carlinville library. For more information, contact the library at 217-854-3505 or mail@carlinvillelibrary.org.
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