Tony Returns!

Community buys back its favourite horse

by Brandon Mayer

Not all stories have h appy endings, but North Dundas residents can now safely beam with pride after a successful campaign to buy back the beloved “Horse Tony” statue that sat at the corner of County Roads 43 and 3 for decades. On June 15, the Times reported that Horse Tony had been sold in anticipation of the sale of Shirley Fawcett’s home, where the statue had resided since it was purchased by the late Roy Fawcett, Shirley’s husband. It didn’t take long for the North Dundas community to make it very clear just how important Tony was as a symbol of local history and pride.

Resident Janet Smith then took the initiative on a campaign that many North Dundas locals were likely hoping would get underway. She set forth with a public effort to buy back the horse, after a local veterinary clinic – Dundas Veterinary Services – offered a permanent home for the statue on their property alongside County Road 31.

In a move that can be relatively rare for small com-