I was up in Confederation Park a couple of times this past weekend, and took shots of this pair of monuments. The one on the left, of course, is the Animals In War monument, the newest military monument in the park. The one on the right is the oldest in the park, honouring veterans of the South African War, or Boer War, from 1899-1902.
When I took this second shot of the dog statue late on Sunday afternoon, I put the camera away. Which was when a bulldog came steamrolling right towards the statue, towing his owners behind, sniffing the statue, and then looking entirely pleased with himself to confirm that no, this was not a real dog. I didn't think of taking the camera back out until after the fact.
A lovely statue. Funny about the bulldog.
ReplyDeleteI've had so many "doh" moments like this when my camera should have been in my hand. If I had ever doubted it, your banner photo tells me Spring has definitely arrived in Ottowa. Lovely.
ReplyDeleteI like that our canine friends are honored in this memorial. :)
ReplyDeleteNo wonder what he did the bulldog because it looks like a real dog.
ReplyDeleteTomás.
Nice one but you should have gotten one of the bulldog sniffing the statue.
ReplyDeletePriceless! Once I was given a ceramic cat, which I placed on the floor. Kitty had a hissing fit!
ReplyDeleteALOHA from Honolulu,
ComfortSpiral
=^..^=
I like this monument, particularly its canine part, and your story about it is very funny!
ReplyDeleteI like the dog's monument, funny another dog went to the statue, thinking it was real.
ReplyDeleteI love the dog monument, and I love your story about a dog going up to the statue.
ReplyDeleteHmm, probably NOT a dog I would want to mess with if he was real. :-)
ReplyDeleteI love the dog statue!
ReplyDeleteHa! We all get distracted from time to time. That's life. Let's enjoy it. Not everything needs documentation.
ReplyDeleteWilliam, the dog statue beside the monument is priceless. Thanks for sharing this, and have a great weekend.
ReplyDeleteThese are great! Beautiful park.
ReplyDeletea cute interaction. :)
ReplyDeleteI rather like the monument...I love that animals have been recognised!
ReplyDeleteJane x
What a great monument!
ReplyDeletewhat a wonderful thing to do for those brave animals.
ReplyDeleteHorses are usually the first thing we think about when we mention animals in war. However many other animals were used. I didn't know there was a statue honoring animals in war.
ReplyDelete@Denise: if I had to pick a favourite breed of dog, it would be a bulldog.
ReplyDelete@Oakland: I'm still waiting on the tulips, but some of them are showing. I'll be starting to take pictures over the weekend.
@Halcyon: the artist really thought the concept out well.
@Tomas: it does look like a real dog, which I'm sure he thought, but with dogs having such a good sense of smell, even at a distance he must have been thinking something wasn't quite right.
@Bill: ah, retrospect can be cruel!
@Cloudia: I have seen some dogs react to this as if they're very uncomfortable with it. Other dogs, like this one, seem fine.
@VP: it is a monument I enjoy photographing in different seasons and in different light.
@Marianne: I would have liked to know what that dog was thinking walking up.
@Linda: once he gave it a good sniffing, he was content.
@Revrunner: quite a formidable breed of dog, but the statue looks friendly.
ReplyDelete@Hilary: many people do!
@Birdman: quite true!
@Linda: thank you!
@Luis: it is a beautiful park, with several military monuments. I would have thought the War of 1812 monument should have been placed here.
@Tex: most definitely.
@Jane and Chris: it was wise to do so.
@Jackie: and I particularly appreciate that it's also placed by the South African memorial.
@Gill: very much so.
@Red: the three plaques making up the background do mention the horses, and of course if you look at the second pic, the imprint of dog tracks and horse shoes have been made in the cement around the dog.
Both sculptures are neat. I always think of the dogs of war. Maybe the bulldog was honoring his counterpart of war. MB
ReplyDeleteIt's a neat statue of the dog so I cannot blame the bulldog for wanting to check it out!
ReplyDeleteThat must have been a funny thing to see!
ReplyDeleteThey are beautiful monuments. That must have been very cute scene with bulldog sniffing the dog statue :-)
ReplyDeleteLove the bulldog story! They are such social creatures and get excited when they see another dog.
ReplyDeleteHappens to me all of the time, but I'm have a good time visualizing their meeting after reading about it and seeing the close-up of the K9 soldier. Way to go, William!
ReplyDeleteNice story to complement the photos!
ReplyDelete@MB: maybe!
ReplyDelete@EG: I find myself wondering what the park squirrels think of it.
@Marleen: it was!
@Tamago: definitely.
@RedPat: bulldogs are adorable.
@Lynette: thank you!
@Ciel: thanks!
Lovely that the old and new are so close together, shame about the bulldog but I happens to us all..
ReplyDeleteSo nice to pay tribute to ALL our war heroes!
ReplyDeleteWonderful memorial. That bulldog scene must have been great.
ReplyDeleteYou didn't picture the bulldog encounter but your words painted it nicely.
ReplyDeleteGreat picture. Life can surprise even an experienced photographer.
ReplyDeleteWhat a sweet monument to the animals.
ReplyDeleteToo bad about missing the other dog, in the photo. But then, I am always up for dog posts.
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend and boogie boogie.
Nothing like a statue to get us thinking about history!
ReplyDeleteJanis
GDP
Beautiful dog and a great story!
ReplyDeleteI don't hink I have ever seen a memorial that honours aninmals in war. Yet stories tell that they were heavily involved. Loved your extra tale of the bulldog.
ReplyDeleteWould have made a fab shot William :) What a super tribute to the animals, funnily enough I was just looking at our memorial to the South African soldiers in Kings Park today.
ReplyDeleteI wish we had such a memorial here....
ReplyDeleteFar away, the dog looks real.
ReplyDeleteThe loyalty of some dogs is legendary. Nice that a loyal dog was included in this statue.
ReplyDelete@Geoff: occasionally I see other dogs around this statue.
ReplyDelete@Cheryl: it is.
@Sharon: it was.
@Kay: that dog was quite pleased.
@Mari: that is true.
@Lois: it really is.
@Whisk: thank you.
@Janis: that's true.
@Linda: thanks!
@Gemma: this memorial was a very good idea.
@Grace: I haven't photographed this pair of memorials in awhile.
@Norma: this was the initiative of a veteran, as I recall.
@Shelly: it does.
@Jack: it was the right touch.