LARRY Animal Rescue & Rehabilitation and You!

Blake Carlton is a lifetime animal lover. Growing up in Cayce, SC, he lived within city limits, yet his family had geese, ducks, chickens, a dog, a cat, and gerbils on their property. Blake also rode and owned horses throughout his adolescence, though they were kept offsite. Members of Blake’s family are or were animal lovers as well. To honor Blake’s late Uncle Larry, an avid animal-lover who died in 2015, Blake created LARRY - Larry (Carlton) Animal Rescue, Rehabiliation, and You!, through which Blake seeks out ways to improve the lives of dogs and other animals.

In October 2025, Blake held the inaugural Pawlenciaga Larry Carlton hybrid Fashion-&-Dog benefit show. The show featured six dogs from the Columbia Animal Services shelter, one of which was adopted at the show. Proceeds from donations, ticket sales, and garment sales will be donated to the shelter.

We experienced several debuts at the show! Not only was this the first edition of Pawlenciaga, but it was also designer Arami Couture's first fashion show. Additionally, it was the first time three models walked the runway, and it was, if I'm not mistaken, the first time most, if not all, the shelter's dog walkers walked the runway as well! Host Lolita Frazier/Strut Talk Runway Therapy also pulled a handful of folks out of the crowd to introduce them to, and coach them on, walking the runway with confidence.

Arami Couture showed off her line by dressing 13 models - one of whom had never walked the runway, plus 4 models she works with outside of Pawlenciaga, plus 3 more models who joined last minute - a first-time runway walker who came to watch the show, a first-time runway walker who was serving as a volunteer at the show, and Melanie Ray, a model who runs her own charity fashion show, Victoria's Place, which benefits children with Down Syndrome. And then Arami Couture doubled her exposure by having those models walk the runway a second time, but with entirely different looks!