Richard Green and his one-eared dog

Image: © Natasha Ceridwen de Chroustchoff Taken: 26 Jun 2008

Richard Green, see Image, is shown with his Newfoundland dog, Hector, at his feet. Close examination reveals that part of Hector's right ear is missing. In 1967, when the public baths, in front of which the statue is located, were still in use, according to a newspaper report "[10 year old Patrick Heneghan] hit the headlines when a trip to the swimming baths ended with him being trapped by a dog. Patrick’s friends had thrown his swimming trunks onto the statue. He climbed up to rescue them and his leg became trapped between the stone dog and the ship owner. Firemen were called to the scene but they couldn’t budge Patrick, then of Huddart Street, Bow. He was finally freed after firemen cut an ear off the dog." (It should be noted that the statue is in fact made of bronze, not stone.)

Images are licensed for reuse under creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0