Police dogs, while being unbelievably cute, are also unbelievably courageous animals. They risk their lives everyday chasing down criminals and checking suspicious packages. To celebrate their bravery, artists came together to create over 100 German shepherd sculptures in their honor around Chicago.
Located mainly on Michigan Avenue, these statues are part of a campaign called K9s for Cops. This campaign covers a wide variety of issues, such as paying tribute to the K9 unit, honoring fallen police officers, giving financial assistance to those affected by officers wounded or killed in the line of duty, and raising money for rescue group PAWS Chicago.
Each statue is sponsored by a company or individual. They each have a unique design that highlights a different aspect of Chicago popular culture. One features Chance the Rapper, while another pays tribute to local NHL team the Chicago Blackhawks.
These pieces will be up until Labor Day, when they will be auctioned off on eBay. K9s for Cops hopes to raise $250,000. 70 percent of the proceeds will go towards the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation, and the rest will go towards spay and neuter programs from PAWS Chicago.
“Right now, across the country, is a difficult time for law enforcement. When tragedies happen, it takes the whole city really to get behind those police officers, and the memorial foundation has done a fabulous job in supporting the police department,” Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson told the Chicago Tribune. “It’s a humbling thought for us to know that the residents of Chicago and this great foundation will stand with us in times of need.”
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