The tale of a beloved life-size, fiberglass cow that was stolen has a happy ending.
The cow is part of CowParade La Jolla, a public art project comprised of nearly 40 cows designed and painted by local artists.
“Unfortunately, these thieves have not just stolen a fiberglass cow,” Bill Trumpfheller, president of CowParade La Jolla said shortly after the theft. “They are also taking money right out of the hands of two worthy organizations.”
The “Werc Cow,” designed and painted by San Diego artist Werc Alvarez, was disconnected from the steel plates attached to its base and removed from 7535 Girard Ave. in La Jolla in late April. On Wednesday, the cow was back at the site -- the details of who returned it are as mysterious as its disappearance -- and the artwork was reattached and cleaned the same day.
CowParade La Jolla has 33 cows on sidewalks and plazas in downtown La Jolla, as well as five at the Westfield UTC shopping center and one at Rady Children’s Hospital.
The fiberglass bovine will now join the herd and be auctioned off July 11 to benefit Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego and the Zoological Society of San Diego on July 11. The missing cow is estimated to raise between $5,000 and $10,000. The cows will be auctioned off at the Robert Paine Scripps Forum at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
