Phantom Billstickers have a distinctively canine logo. But the Phantom bulldog isn’t just any graphic design. It’s modelled on a real dog – the one and only Raymond Louis.
Sadly, Ray left for his kennel in the sky a few weeks back. He’s very sadly missed, but not forgotten.
To commemorate his life, Phantom asked Jim and Kelly Wilson – the chief companions of Ray – to share a few reminiscences.
Kelly, how did Raymond Louis come to be part of the Phantom family?
“Ray arrived as a wee puppy into our earthquake-damaged rental on Jim’s 60th birthday in 2011. He was a cheeky little man and we brought him to the office in Christchurch every day while we planned moving the company headquarters to Auckland. He drove with us from Christchurch to Auckland making friends and influencing people all along the trail.”
How would you describe his personality?
“Ray, like Phantom, never backed down from a bigger dog and he always looked out for the little guys…although puppies yapping while he was trying to enjoy a gig pushed him to the end of his tether.
“He was always up for a selfie with a Phantom guest, unless they wanted to push some peculiar political agenda. Ray had zero tolerance for moralising bastards.”
Any plans to commemorate him on a poster?
“Lester Hall has already created one. It went up on walls all around New Zealand.”
Raymond Louis also lives on in the Phantom Billstickers website, where he’s listed as Top Dog in Phantom’s executive team.
Fun Fact: Phantom still get letters addressed to Ray as their CEO, even though his picture shows him to be a bulldog and is titled ‘An Actual Dog.’
Rest in peace, old fella.
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