[MSN] $35,000 bronze dog stolen

[Museum Security Network Mailinglist]

$35,000 bronze dog stolen
JOE FRIESEN 

It's the heaviest, most expensive lost dog in the city, and its owner fears
it may have been melted down and sold for scrap.

Bitch Pack #1, a 68-kilogram bronze sculpture by artist Tom Dean, was stolen
from a King Street courtyard on Valentine's Day. It belongs to a larger work
shown at the prestigious Venice Biennale in 1999.

Mr. Dean said the distinctive dog, valued at $35,000, would be almost
impossible to sell in the art world now that it has been reported stolen.
That leaves the possibility that it was taken as a prank, or more worrying,
that thieves will sell it for the value of the bronze.

"It's hard to understand," he said. "It just doesn't make sense. It would be
a shame if this piece was lost for a few hundred dollars of bronze."

The piece was on display in a private courtyard near the Brassai restaurant
along with four other of Mr. Dean's bronze dogs. No other piece was taken.

The thieves apparently struck during the night, managing to cut clean
through the steel rods, anchored in cement, that fixed the sculpture to the
ground. 

Many large bronzes have been stolen in Britain recently and British police
believe million-dollar works are being melted down for a few hundred dollars
worth of metal. As many as 20 bronzes have gone missing around London in the
past year.

Mr. Dean, a recipient of a Governor-General's Award for visual arts, said he
is hoping Bitch Pack #1 is in the clutches of a prankster rather than a
scrap dealer. The work is of great value to him because it was part of
Canada's official entry at Venice in 1999 and its loss leaves the collection
incomplete. Three other members of the Bitch Pack, as the dogs are known,
will soon be removed from the courtyard to guard against another heist.

For his part, Mr. Dean said if Bitch Pack #1 is turned over to authorities
he would welcome her back with open arms, no questions asked. A reward may
be offered for the dog's safe return.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/