Dogs Find Relief With Trump ‘Pee On Me’ Statues Across Brooklyn
- Funny
- Offensive
Doggie Showers
October 11th, 2018 – The infamous pee tape may indeed be real, folks. That is, if you snag a video of dogs peeing on a bust of Donald Trump in Brooklyn. Statues of the 45th president began popping up in Park Slope over the weekend with a pretty direct message to four-legged friends taking a stroll around the neighborhood: “PEE ON ME.”
The art piece/doggy service comes from the mind of Phil Gable, who gave a shoutout to his brand content company, Porcupine Armadillo, on the front of the statue. He placed the first version at the intersection of Union and 7th and heard positive responses before it was, unsurprisingly, swiped later in the day.
Gable told Gothamist that the statues were part cathartic expression and part public service. He’s hoping that neighbors who might not like his dig at Donald appreciate his attempt to train dogs to pee in a designated areas as opposed to flower beds.
“As a dog owner, I know people get understandably annoyed when dogs pee on their flower beds. But a dog’s instinct to pee where another dog has previously peed is quite strong. They need positive places to pee. So I sprayed the whole thing down with a dog potty-training aid to make it attractive to initial users.”
Gable went on to say that he’s thankful he could combine the practicality with an outlet for his disdain for Trump. He finds himself turning to humor and satire when things in D.C. get a little too disturbing.
“It was largely just a personal expression of my own disdain for Donald Trump, both as a President and a human being. I find it cathartic anytime I can express disdain through comedy, especially if it’s related to politics. And this case, it’s both funny and useful, which makes me happy,” he said.
“I know this isn’t a grand gesture of protest. He’s not going to hear about dogs peeing on a tiny statue of him and just say ‘That’s it. Now, I’m stepping down.’ But everybody has their own way of dealing with things. For some it’s marching. For me, it’s humor and satire. Sometimes it’s a video, sometimes it’s on stage, and this time it happened to be a weird little art project. And I felt like this week was a particularly disturbing one in the ongoing shit show that is the 45th Presidency, so it seemed like a good time to find a new, funny way to express the disgust that so many of us feel.”
In crafting the statue, Gable used a 1980s aged Trump face, because that’s how he believes the president sees himself. No matter which decade he chose, locals have thanked him for creating the presidential receptacle. A mother came by with her daughters while Gable was setting a statue and took photos before telling him “This is the kind of thing that makes me love Brooklyn.”
“I wanted to see how people reacted, and the reaction has been really great so far—I mean really great, probably some of the greatest reactions anyone has ever had to anything, ever,” he said channeling his best Trump impression.
Dogs across Brooklyn will have more opportunities to relieve themselves on the president. Gable placed additional statues across the neighborhood – this time with a plan to deter people from swiping them for their home bathrooms. The new ones are anchored down with cables, so we’ll see how long they last.
