Trans, queer people and their dogs subjects of Toronto photo exhibit

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The bond between queer and trans people and their rescue dogs is an intense one, says Lucas Silveira, a trans man and former leader of Toronto alt-rock band The Cliks.

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Silveira, a solo music artist since 2016, and his Chihuahua-mix, Marcy, are among those photographed in a new exhibit, Don’t You Want Me, which highlights that bond.

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“A lot of trans folks and queer folks, they don’t have a lot of access to family, or they have a lot of people that reject them and a lot of them find solace and companionship in animals,” said Silveira, who has just self-released solo effort, The Goddamn Flowers.

“I think whether it’s cats or dogs or guinea pigs, I know a lot of trans folks and queer folks who lived in the world alone and all they had was a pet as a companion,” he added. “So, I really see them as life-saving little fur balls. The suicide rate in the trans community is really, really high, and I see them as a source of love and something that can help trans people, maybe give them hope, and a reason to stick around.”

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The exhibition, by dog photographer Jack Jackson, will be on display at the Toronto Humane Society (THS), on River St., until the end of the year.

Silveira came out as a trans man in 2006 (the year he became the first openly trans man to be signed to a major label) and started hormone replacement therapy in 2009. Unlike a lot of others in his community, he had an accepting Portuguese family.

“My family is a miracle,” he said. “It is very, very rare to have a family that raised me Christian and is Portuguese, old school, but my parents have always been incredible and very, very different from any other parents that I knew.

“I knew a lot of Portuguese parents who would have just kicked me out of their family, their house,” he added. “I would have been shunned. But, no. I came out when I was 17 as a lesbian and then again as a trans man when I was 32, and they didn’t bat an eye. They were just like, ”We love you. You’re our kid.’”

Still, Marcy — a special needs dog with epilepsy that Silveira got six years ago from a stressed-out friend — is a really important part of his life.

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“She is my emotional support,” said Silveira, who has previously rescued three dogs from the THS. “It’s incredible what a dog can do for your life.”

Jackson, also a trans man, is interviewing and photographing more trans and queer people and their rescue dogs during December and is working towards a book and documentary.