The Monumento al perro callejero (lit. transl. "Monument to the Stray Dog"), also known as Peluso, is an outdoor bronze sculpture installed along Insurgentes Sur Avenue, in the southern borough of Tlalpan, in Mexico City. The statue was unveiled in July 2008 and was dedicated to the free-ranging dogs of the city.
It was sculpted by Girasol Botello[a] and its model was Peluso, a former stray dog that was adopted by Patricia España, founder of Milagros Caninos, a non-governmental dog shelter. The shelter collected money and paid for the sculpture in order to raise awareness about the large population of free-ranging dogs in the city. Since its establishment, the monument has been neglected, vandalized and defaced.
The Monumento al perro callejero depicts Peluso, a sad-looking and severely underweight stray dog, thin to the bones, with his tail between his legs and one injured hind leg. The statue is made of bronze, it is 1.3 meters (4.3 ft) high[1] and weighs around 85 kilograms (187 lb).[2][3] The sculpture was created by Patricia España (née Ruiz), founder of Milagros Caninos, a non-governmental dog shelter. It was sculpted by Girasol Botello[a] and it was cast by Germán Michel.[4] It cost Mex$130,000[1] and Milagros Caninos paid it with the contributions of private donations in order to raise awareness about the high population of free-ranging dogs in the city.[5]
Inscription (in Spanish):Mi único delito fue nacer y vivir en las calles o ser abandonado. Yo no pedí nacer y a pesar de tu indiferencia y de tus golpes, lo único que te pido es lo que sobra de tu amor. ¡Ya no quiero sufrir, sobrevivir al mundo es solo una cuestión de horror! ¡Ayúdame, ayúdame por favor!—Peluso.
Literal translation:My only crime was to be born and live in the streets or to be abandoned, I did not ask to be born and despite your indifference and your blows, all I ask for is what is left of your love. I no longer want to suffer, surviving the world is only a matter of horror! Help me, help me please!—Peluso.
Jorge Castro said for Local.mx that the plaque symbolizes what stray dogs would say if they could talk.[5]