Adorable local pups react to red giant appearing on their favourite seawall walk, and the photos are hilarious...
A new giant red statue appeared along Yaletown seawall last weekend, and it's got everyone talking.
While the 5.5 metre tall statue certainly took locals by surprise, the new installation also captured the attention of the many unsuspecting Vancouver pups on their usual daily walks.
The statue, dubbed 'The Proud Youth', was created by Chinese sculptor Chen Wenling as part of the Vancouver Biennale’s 6-month extension to its re-IMAGE-n exhibition.
The unique sculpture, which can be found at the South End of Drake St. along Yaletown Seawall, is supposed to invite viewers to embrace their inner child, according to the festival website.
For local dogs though, it had somewhat varying reactions. But whether it was met with curiosity, fear, or indifference from Vancouver pups, it made for some great photos!
"Didn't give it much attention at first'
"Ruslan and his friend Tilly Pomsky went to see the red guy as soon as it was installed," explains Ruslan's owner. "To be honest Ruslan didn’t give him much attention first because he had a doggy date with Tilly by the sculpture. When first asked to jump on the reflective shiny pedestal, he considered it but refused, so the dogs had to be lifted and placed between the feet of the red giant. Both immediately went into down position, because they found the surface slippery or too polished to grab to!"
"The photo you see of Ruslan staring at The Proud Youth (above) is a photoshop trick. However, Ruslan surprised us with an attempt to jump on the metal pedestal himself! His feet slipped but he climbed up with little help from my side. He would go far for treats and praise!"
"Fine until he saw his reflection!"
"I totally thought that Remy would bark at the statue itself as soon as he saw it, but he was surprisingly fine with it, and I was able to get him to sit for the photo!", shares Remy's owner. "It was when we went up a little closer and he saw his reflection that he started barking like crazy!", she laughs.
"Very sceptical and didn't move!"
"I think Duke's reaction when he saw the statue would be 'Cowabunga! Where did ya come from?!'", laughs his owner.
"He looked very sceptical when he first saw it. He starred at it for a few minutes and didn't move, that's how I got the photo of him!"
"Lambo loves to imitate art!"
"Lambo, my goldendoodle says 'I love to imitate art!', and Murci, my little one says ,'We have a new guardian in front of our favourite grass patch on the seawall!', laughs Janet, their owner when describing her pups' reactions to the statue.
"They were super curious and wanted to get closer to it, Lambo even pooped right behind it, oops! "They weren’t scared at all though, and we go there almost everyday because they like to hang out on the grass patch behind it!"
Has your pup visited 'The Proud Youth' yet? We love to see your photos, so don't forget to use #pawswapapp when sharing your photos on social media!