This labrador Service Dog is a memorial for Randall Storms Jr., whose father was the headmaster of Wichita Collegiate School (WCS) in Wichita, KS from its inception til the 1980′s. Randall attended WCS and remained active with the school throughout his life, serving as the Alumni Chair among other duties. He was injured in a diving accident while a summer camp counselor and never walked again. He and his wife and his service dog all died in a single auto crash at low speed in Wichita, KS in early 2013. WCS’ 50th Anniversary fell in the same year, and his loss is deeply felt by students and alumni. The sculpture resides on school grounds as the centerpiece of a small memorial plaza, completed for WCS’ 50th Anniversary in October of 2013.
The memorial plaza includes the brick semicircle under the tree, the benches, garden, sculpture, and memorial plaque. The framed image on the bench (photo right) is the architect plan for the site, on view for the WCS 50th Anniversary.
Young children at the school pat the dog's head and say "Good doggie."
At the studio after patina.
At the studio after welding and chasing.
To see the process of adding the service vest in wax, welding the bronze and finishing the sculpture out link over to the blog here http://dangerhart.wordpress.com/category/patron-art/service-dog/
To see more of the process of creating the service dog go to http://dangerhart.wordpress.com/category/patron-art/service-dog/