The story behind the British bulldog overlooking the Decarie Expressway

Montreal is full of murals that honour historic figures — from Leonard Cohen to René Lévesque but there's one that turns a lot of heads.

Her name is Tilly, the city's most famous British bulldog.

"When people ask me where I work, I say Almar appliance on Decarie. You know, where the mural of the dog, Tilly, is," one woman said.

Sitting tall and proud, Tilly watches over the Decarie Expressway as Montrealers marvel at her.

"It's super cute and kind of nice to have street art in the neighbourhood and it really enhances the building," another passerby said.

Tilly, a British bulldog, died at the age of six. (Submitted photo)

The mural was created by Kevin Ledo, the same artist responsible for Cohen's mural on St-Laurent Boulevard. Though the artist usually sticks to portraits of humans, he says he was glad to lend a hand to Tilly’s story.

"I knew how much joy it would bring to a lot of children. I thought about being a kid, driving by and being, like, there's the dog," Ledo said.

He was commissioned by Tilly's owner who asked to remain anonymous. But he told us losing Tilly was like losing a member of the family. He said tilly was warm, loving and astute.

Kevin Ledo in front of a mural for the late Leonard Cohen. (Anastasia Dextrene/CTV News)

Tilly died at the age of six while in the care of a dog-walker. To this day, her owner still gets tears talking about her, which is why this mural brings him comfort.

"My work is kind of a celebration of life and often of diversity. One of the reasons why I wanted to do it was because it would bring so much colour and fun. It's a very nice way if you have the means to commemorate somebody that you love," Ledo said.

Thanks to Ledo, Tilly’s legacy lives on and now the entire city has a best friend looking down at them.