Dog statue outside Millvale Community Library vandalized
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — The dog statue outside the Millvale Community Library was vandalized.
In an Instagram post on Tuesday, the Millvale Community Library said the beloved statue was vandalized on Jan. 20 at around midnight. The post said a police report has been filed and the library has "some leads."
Library officials are asking anyone with information to contact the Millvale Borough Police Department or talk to Melissa at the Millvale Community Library.
"We are hoping the person(s) responsible do the right thing and turn themselves in," the post said.
Millvale Police Chief Tim Komoroski told KDKA-TV's Chris DeRose that the department is tracking several leads and the vandalism is being felt by the entire borough.
"This irritates me," Komoroski said. "We have had a couple of these over the nine years I've been here, and we have made arrests on every one of them because we take it personally."
The 3-foot dog statue, known as "Pages," sits in front of the library right next to the front doors. The statue depicts a dog balancing a stack of books on its forehead, and it greets everyone who stops by.
The Instagram post said the statue was named by a group of third-grade students from Reserve Primary School in the Shaler Area School District. Pages was designed by Pittsburgh artist James Simon.
It has been around since the library opened in 2013 and has seen "many of our local kids grow up over the years, and lasted through extreme weather, construction and lots of Community changes," the post said.
"Millvale is a tight-knit Community and we are confident we will get to the bottom of this!" the post went on to say.
But do not worry, Pages will be back "soon." The post closed by asking people to share their memories of Pages in the comment section. Click here to see the post.
Komoroski told KDKA-TV that the library is a safe space, and he and his fellow officers are working to keep it that way. He added that whoever is responsible should do the right thing and turn themselves in before things get worse.
"We know who you are," Komoroski said. "And once we get a photo array put together, you're going to be hearing from us. So, it would be beneficial for you to get a hold of us before we get a hold of you."
KDKA-TV briefly spoke to Simon on Wednesday. He feels confident that he can repair any vandalism done to his artwork.