‘For the love of Luna’

OMAGH artist creates cement sculpture to raise awareness of recusing homeless animals.

It was Lee Cheung’s love for his rescue dog, Luna, and drive to raising awareness about the importance of adopting a homeless animal, rather than purchasing them from a breeder, that inspired him to make a sculpture of his special pet.

A project which took the Omagh man four-to-six weeks to complete, the adorable piece of the ‘loving’ and ‘energetic’ Siberian Husky was sculpted meticulously using cement and paint knives.

A video of her creation is currently view-able on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram, and it features the powerful message that adopting a homeless animal could also save them from being put to sleep.

“There are more than one million dogs and cats waiting to be adopted and re homed all over the world,” Lee, who adopted Luna eight years ago, said. “The number of euthanised animals could be reduced dramatically if more people adopted pets instead of buying them.

“When you adopt, you save a loving animal by making them part of your family, and open up shelter space for another animal who might desperately need it.”

He added, “But if you must buy a dog, please be careful that you are not getting a dog from a puppy mill. Puppy mills are factory-style breeding facilities that put profit above the welfare of dogs.

“Animals from puppy mills are housed in shockingly poor conditions, with improper medical care.”

Lee began making sculptures of animals and people using cement when lock-down began.

And though the medium normally takes from four-to-six weeks to dry, Lee was not going to put his paws up in surrender to the challenge during Luna’s creation.

“I tried using materials such as wood and clay, but I found cement to be what I was looking for – but I was working against gravity!” he said. “I didn’t want to make the texture of Luna too realistic-looking, especially her fur, so I mainly used paint knives. I’m quite happy with the result – but there is still a lot of room for improvement!”

Lee concluded with a emotional request to animal lovers: “If you are thinking about getting a dog, please adopt a dog,” he pleaded.

“Please give them a new home, and a second chance at happiness.”