Pink snow elephant puts focus on animal cruelty
BUTLER TWP — A pair of township residents used Monday's snowfall to build a statement against animal cruelty.
Oliver Snow and his cousin, Rusty Nye, who live at 371 Whitestown Road, created two snowy figures Monday — one pink, the other white.
Nye built a large snowman, while Snow spent two hours crafting a pink elephant complete with a trunk, a pair of big ears and green bottle caps for eyes.
Snow said he colored the elephant with pink food coloring.
“Pink kind of reminds me of people that need something, that need help,” he said. “Animals need help too.”
The elephant, Snow said, is a statement against animal cruelty.
“I'm totally against (animal cruelty,)” he said. “I'm an animal lover.”
Snow said he chose the figure of an elephant because of an international consciousness surrounding the poaching of the animal.
“You see on TV, a lot of people are killing elephants and taking their tusks,” he said.
But, Snow said, he also wanted the snow sculpture to stand for animals everywhere, including those close to home.
“I walked by certain houses, and I actually saw dogs chained up in the cold,” he said. “Bring your animals in.”
He said the issue of animal cruelty became personal after a recent event crippled their dog, Isabelle, who played alongside them throughout the build.
Isabelle was hit by a car a couple months ago. Nye said he was there when it happened.
“The (person) hit her and kind of kept going,” he said. “I ran right in the middle of the road to go get her.”
Nye said that while Snow worked on the elephant, he gave his cousin some company outside, building a large snowman and sending snowballs into the distance for Isabelle to chase.
Nye said he left work on the elephant to Snow, who approached the project as a fun way to convey a serious message.
“He spent a lot of time working on that,” he said.
Snow said he is considering volunteering at an animal shelter, and he hopes others find the time to do the same.
