Molly the Marble Dog

Ocala, Florida

Statues of dogs are fairly common, but we can't recall a dog 1) carved out of pricey Carrara marble by 2) a sculptor whose work is also in Washington's National Statuary Hall. That sculptor would be Nilda Comas, and the dog is Molly, who became the unofficial mascot of Ocala after her owner stabbed and beat her in 2014. The owner was sent to prison, and Molly became the namesake of Molly's Law, a registry of animal abusers.

Molly died in February 2023 and, since Comas had known Molly, the statue was carved and unveiled only four months later. Speaking at the unveiling, Ocala mayor Kent Guinn had a warning for anyone who damaged the statue: "We will hunt you down like a dog." That was not the appropriate thing to say about this particular sculpture, but everyone tactfully overlooked it.