A bronze dog statue has gone missing from Rotorua after 15 years, with only a plaque and two paws left at the site.
Immortalising Harawene, a stray terrier-cross who lived in the area and became a popular sight, the statue sat on Te Ngae Rd and was cherished by locals.
Rotorua local Fiona Cairns led the fundraising committee for the statue and says the theft was a massive shame.
Speaking to Breakfast this morning, she said the news came as a shock to the community and impacted a lot of people.
"It's very disappointing, I just can't believe that she's sat there all this time and now somebody's decided that maybe they can get a few dollars for some scrap metal. Unbelievable."
Cairns said it would be worth very little because the statue wasn't solid.
"She was known not only in Rotorua, it was worldwide, which we discovered when we were doing the fundraising for her. People from Canada, the States, the UK, a lot of them knew of her."
Cairns said she didn't know what the replacement cost would be, but $10,000 was raised to install the statue.
SHARE ME