Today is the start of the Chinese New Year — the Year of the Dog. Seen here is The Sentinel, executed in 1851 by artist Thomas Frederick Hoppin and cast at Gorham. The piece won an award at the Crystal Palace Exhibition in London.
According to “Hidden Treasure: Public Sculpture in Providence” by Robert Freeman and Vivienne Lasky,
The statue commemorates Hoppin’s wife’s family dog, whose barking had saved several members of her family during an extensive fire in 1849. Hoppin built the imposing house at 383 Benefit Street in the early 1850s on the site of the burned house and this statue was placed on the front lawn.
The Sentinel was donated to the city in 1896 and moved to Roger Williams Park where children have been rubbing its nose ever since.
383 Benefit Street