After weeks of vandalism, the ceramic pups have been located to safer spots to avoid further damage.

By Danni Graham

The Snoopy sculpture project was created 8th April, titled “A Dog’s Trail” and was procured by the Dog’s Trust, with the hope of raising awareness regarding an increased need for support and housing of abandoned dogs following the pandemic, and to celebrate the creation of a new rehoming centre coming to Cardiff. All the sculptures are sponsored by businesses or individuals; some of whom may have a surprise for you if you pop the unique 4 digit code into the app!

The trail app has seen thousands uploading images of their support to the cause, with nearly 200 thousand people visiting the sculptures set across Cardiff, Caerphilly and Penarth.

As well as public support, it is hoped that at the end of the 8 weeks, all the larger Snoopy’s will be auctioned off to raise more money for the Dog’s Trust. The 75 smaller sculptures however, will return to the individual schools that put their talent, time and love into painting them.

The ‘A Dog’s Trail’ Shop in Mermaid Quay also has plenty of memorabilia available to purchase to help the cause.

Whilst many of the beautiful sculptures, created by local artists, have been met with admiration and respect; a few of them have been severely damaged over the last few weeks around the city centre of Cardiff and Caerphilly, including the following sculptures; ‘Welsh Wildflowers’, ‘Tally’, ‘Peek a Boop’, ‘A Dog’s Dream’ and ‘Bore Dar Snoopy’.

Though a number of the larger sculptures have been affected, the smaller ones have been left largely untouched due to their placement; all of which are safely inside in groups.

Many may have seen the images of the aforementioned larger Snoopy’s left headless, ripped off their stands or with parts of them missing; as such the decision was made on the 28th of April to repair and ‘rehome’ the dogs for good, so that they can be enjoyed by the public in more secure locations.

19 of the sculptures have been moved to new locations in the following areas;

• Roath Park
• Capitol Centre
• Queen’s Arcade
• Cardiff Castle

The trail has been described as “A true celebration of Wales” By Rebecca Standen, project manager for a Dog’s Trail, and despite some of the sculptures suffering weather damage or vandalism, she has stressed that the Dog’s Trust have been “overwhelmed by the support of people and their dogs” As such, she has stressed that it is paramount that the people of Wales can continue to enjoy the figures in their “forever homes” over the coming weeks.

Whilst a few of the beloved sculptures are still under repair, it is hoped that all the statues will return in these locations until the end of the trail on 5th June 2022.

You can find out more information about the Dog’s Trail here; https://adogstrail.org.uk/ , or download the free app ‘A Dog’s Trail’