Cleckheaton Snowdog sculpture back on The Kirkwood’s art trail after vandalism

By Jessica Barton
Published 25th Oct 2022, 20:00 BST
Updated 26th Oct 2022, 12:14 BST
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Two of the Snowdogs sculptures featured on The Kirkwood's Support Life Art Trail - which were removed for repairs due to vandalism - are now back in place.

One of the Snowdogs in Cleckheaton town centre, called ‘Day of the Dog’, was temporarily taken off the trail last month whilst the Kirklees-based hospice team assessed the extent of the damage and looked for a way to repair the sculpture.

A Snowdog, called ‘Together We Are One’, was also removed from Huddersfield town centre, due to vandalism.

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Now, four weeks after the sculptures were taken away, The Kirkwood has announced that both of the large colourful art works are now back on the trail after receiving generous support from the community.

Flashback: Visitor Michael Burton admires the Kirkwood's ‘Day of the Dog' sculpture in Cleckheaton before it was vandalised.Flashback: Visitor Michael Burton admires the Kirkwood's ‘Day of the Dog' sculpture in Cleckheaton before it was vandalised.
Flashback: Visitor Michael Burton admires the Kirkwood's ‘Day of the Dog' sculpture in Cleckheaton before it was vandalised.

A spokesperson from The Kirkwood said: “We want to take a moment to say very special thank you to everyone who showed their support in helping us get our two damaged Snowdogs back out in the community as quickly and swiftly as possible. Thanks to your efforts, going above and beyond to support this community project, we have now welcomed Day of the Dog and Together We Are One back to the trail.

One local business who helped get these sculptures back on the trail was Elland-based builders Brierstone, which donated £200 towards the material repair costs of the two damaged Snowdogs.

John Catling, managing director at Brierstone, said: “We like to support our local community and when we heard about the damage that was done to the two Snowdogs, we wanted to help to get them back out on the trail as soon as possible to allow everyone to enjoy them!”

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The Kirkwood also received support from Emley-based fibreglass specialists, Victoria Mouldings, who carried out the manual work on the Snowdogs for free; Martin Shaw, who reattached Together We Are One to its plinth; Illingworth and Gregory, a construction firm also in Elland, which helped to reinstall Day of the Dog, and Myers Group in Huddersfield which helped to relocate one of the sculptures into a new position.

The Kirkwood's 'Day of the Dog' Snowdog art work with staff members from Elland company Illingworth and Gregory, who helped to reinstall the sculpture off Cheapside in Cleckheaton.The Kirkwood's 'Day of the Dog' Snowdog art work with staff members from Elland company Illingworth and Gregory, who helped to reinstall the sculpture off Cheapside in Cleckheaton.
The Kirkwood's 'Day of the Dog' Snowdog art work with staff members from Elland company Illingworth and Gregory, who helped to reinstall the sculpture off Cheapside in Cleckheaton.

You can find Day of the Dog in its original place, just off Cheapside in Cleckheaton, but Together We Are One now has a new home on New Street in Huddersfield town centre.

To find out more about The Kirkwood’s mission to Support Life across Kirklees, please visitthekirkwood.org.uk

Related topics:CleckheatonKirkleesHuddersfield