It might seem like a strange request to have a veterinarian ask a welder to fix his dog, but that’s just what Dr. Toby Atkinson asked of William Merrill.

Merrill, who owns Wilco Welding, said that the metal dog, which is a long-time part of Atkinson’s practice, needed some love and care.

“The back was completely crumbled from them sitting a flower pot on it,” he said. “The right rear foot was missing. When you put a potted plan on, acid messed it up.”

The dog is an unusual one.

Its ears and face are made from metal leaves, as is the tail.

Merrill said it took him about two hours to fix the statue.

“I couldn’t figure out how to fix the toes and I finally used some carriage bolts,” he said.

Merrill said he thought it was funny that Atkinson asked him to fix a dog.

On Friday, Merrill was getting the dog ready to go back to its home.

“We keep it on the back porch,” Atkinson said. “We’ve probably had it about 15 years. We got it at a small garden shop, and everyone loves it.”

Merrill said it’s one of the cutest things he’s had the opportunity to work on.