This model, like Gisele or Kate, goes by just one name: “Rhett.”
His strikingly long legs dominate conversation at West Village wine tastings. When he walks into a room, women can’t resist running their fingers through his silky hair. It was just a few years ago that Rhett finally found his sugar daddy, a millionaire eye surgeon and one of NYC’s “most eligible bachelors..” Life has not been the same since.
Lucky dog!
Rhett refuses to let this good fortune go to his head. Later this month the Russian wolfhound, also known as a borzoi, plans to give back by starring in a fundraiser where a dog groomer will shave off the iconic fur that landed him in the pages of “Women’s Health Magazine” and “Vogue” as well as in a photoshoot for Valentino.
Fans of the “Insta-famous” borzoi (@RhettBorzoi) can purchase a lock of his famous fur for any amount they wish — and all proceeds will go to the National Borzoi Rescue Foundation (www.NBRF.org). If you’re lucky, you may even get a lock of pink fur — leftover from when he was dyed (with a special vegan hair dye) for a benefit for breast cancer.
To reward and encourage people to donate generously, www.ParkAvenueLASEK.com will credit DOUBLE the amount you donate to your own LASEK! So if you donate $500 to Borzoi Rescue, you will get $1,000 off your non-cutting LASEK procedure — which is safer than the older LASIK procedure, with better vision and no dry eyes or night glare!
The event runs from noon — 2PM outside of Park Avenue Safe LASEK at the SE corner of Park Avenue South & East 25th St. Look out for the 6' tall promo model — and look inside their All-Glass Operating Room — the only one of it’s kind in the country (to demonstrate the safety of LASEK over LASIK)!
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At the office, Rhett rubs and leans against Camilla, Dr. Chynn’s personal assistant from France, before dropping down to the cool floor. Summer is here and he’s overheating (borzois were bred for hunting wolves in the snowy Russian winter) so Rhett’s looking forward to the event, too! He follows his master the famous eye surgeon around the office, looking up innocently for a quick pat on the head.
“He is such a sweet dog,” Chynn says.
Rhett isn’t just your average model — he is also a certified Therapy Dog. A sandwich board outside the office advertises his services (you can borrow him for therapy for $1/minute). Rhett has visited hospitals and nursing homes, and sometimes is “rented” by people who just love dogs, but cannot keep a dog of their own in NYC. He’s raised over $3,000 for charity just with his therapy work (to go along with $4,000 raised by his modeling work)!
Rhett was the subject of controversy on an episode of Millionaire Matchmaker, where host Patti Stanger accused Dr. Chynn, one of NYC’s eligible bachelors, of being “in love” with Rhett.
“That just shows that Patty isn’t a dog person, or an animal lover,” Chynn explains. “Like a small child, a dog loves you unconditionally, so it’s easy to love fully back. In a dating relationship, one thing that sometimes prevents the relationship from progressing is that one or both parties ‘hold back’ for fear of getting hurt. Dogs can thus teach us a lot about letting go, and loving fully.”
Chynn has been featured in media as diverse as the NY Post and CNN about his dating life, so often gets approached in public. In situations like these, he’s found Rhett to come in handy.
“Rhett’s really very intuitive, and in less than a minute seems to like or not like someone,” explains Chynn. “I think it’s true that dogs have a ‘sixth sense’ about people. He’s so sweet that if he’s uncomfortable with someone, it’s really a red flag. On the other hand, anyone who’s ever gotten a tail wag from Rhett has eventually proved themselves to be exceptionally genuine and kind” says Chynn.
Carol Backers, Director of the National Borzoi Rescue foundation, explained in a phone interview that, as the former court dog of the Russian czars, borzois are known to the general public for their “regal good looks.” However, to those who know them better, they’re better known for their “human-like qualities.”
“I don’t believe they’re really dogs,” she said. “They’re that intuitive — the most ‘tuned in’ to people’s moods of any breed I know.”
The Russian czars bred them for the hunt, and for centuries borzois could not be purchased by “commoners” — only gifted by a member of the royal family. Dr. Chynn “rescued” Rhett from an ex-girlfriend 5 years ago, who could not keep such a large dog with it’s innate need to run freely off-leash.
“I borrowed Rhett when my last dog, Hershey, a corgi, died” explained Chynn. My ex-girlfriend “loaned” Rhett to me to cheer me up, and for me to play with, because she didn’t have time for him, as the owner of her own small fashion company. Shortly after I returned Rhett, Cherie called me up and said I had to pick him up. “Why, is he sick?” I asked. “No, he’s been lying by the front door for the past three days, whining,” Cherie said, “I think he wants to be with you!”
“So Rhett adopted me, I didn’t adopt him,” Chynn said. “But we’ve been best friends ever since.”
Dr. Chynn is also planning on performing the first non-human LASEK on Rhett later this year. Rhett is apparently hyperopic or farsighted, so while he can see far away well, he cannot see things close-up.
“We tested Rhett’s prescription objectively with a machine we have that reads prescriptions, then put in contact lenses with that prescription,” Chynn explained. “We’re going to put up 2 videos on YouTube — one with and one without the contacts, and have people “like” the one where he can find an object up-close better. If many more people vote on the video with the contacts in (we won’t say in advance which one this is) this is objective proof he will have a functional benefit from LASEK,” Chynn said.
“Dogs have always been used in studies of medical devices and drugs — but with no benefit to them,” Chynn explained. “I want to help a dog see better with LASEK, and then this would expand the procedure to be able too help other animals, like race horses, for example!”
If you cannot attend the “Shave Rhett for the Summer” fundraiser, please call Park Avenue LASEK at(212) 741–8628 to donate, or you can call Borzoi Rescue toll-free at (844) NBR-FZOI
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