Two proud WeHo traditions — public art and public protests — collided when Dean Decent, donning an orange dress and adopting the character name ReRe Duce’, used the giant dog statues (and the base of the dog that was stolen over Pride weekend) to stage a “performance protest” with an environmental message.
“The basic gist is, I saw these dogs and read that they were about climate change,” he said. “I thought the message was good and since one dog was missing, I thought that pedestal was perfect to do a performance on.
“I am so bothered that people drive one person per car and that they pay no attention to the fact that they litter carbon dioxide to the tune of five tons per car … and yet they get so upset if somebody throws a gum wrapper on the ground. I thought CO2 needed a reframe.”
Decent said there was no real reason for wearing the orange dress, but he’s always admired drag queens and seen them as “on the forefront.” The character name ReRe Duce’ alludes to his message of reducing CO2 emissions.
The protest, which included throwing litter on the ground, began at about 4 p.m. on Friday. Decent estimates that it went on for about 40 minutes before law enforcement showed up. Given the choice between cleaning up and being hauled off to the doghouse, Decent decided it was time to call it a day.
