Dinosaurs are alive, but not kicking

EVANSTON, Ill., Aug. 13 (UPI) -- An Evanston, Ill., couple needed urgent care to repair flaking skin on their dinosaur -- well, their statue of a dinosaur -- Gertie.

The five-foot sculpture made of concrete and metal -- characterized by sunken eyes, a snarl and thin, misshapen body -- was given to John Robinson by his wife as a 60th birthday present last November, the Chicago Tribune reported Sunday. Just months after the statue was delivered, the rust-colored patina that forms Gertie's skin began flaking off, and by August, large parts of the dinosaur's back were missing.

Robinson's wife, Mary, said she paid $5,000 for the sculpture and was told it would withstand the elements. She called the artist, Michael Toner, repeatedly during the last three months, she said, asking him to fix Gertie and permanently secure the artwork in the ground.

After several missed calls and appointments, Toner eventually got around to fixing Gertie.

Robinson named the artwork after "Gertie the Dinosaur," one of the first animated movies. The original Gertie, a cartoon diplodocus, debuted in Chicago in 1914.

Soon, the dinosaur will be complete.

"I like the way it looks now," he said. "It looks dinosaurish."