Adams Fu Dog Loses Right Ear

Adams House residents say respect for some house property has gone to the dogs--the Fu dogs, that is.

One of Adams' Chinese "Fu dogs," large Eastern art pieces adorning the house's dining hall, was stolen, damaged and then returned in the midst of a party last weekend, house residents said yesterday.

The pilfered pup now has a foot-long hole in place of its right ear, which broke off when the dog-nappers dropped the Fu dog upon being apprehended, Adams resident and former house committee chair Daniel C. DiCicco '93 said.

But much to the relief of house residents, the severed ear has been recovered and will be reattached at the expense of the thieves, a University of Massachusetts student and a Harvard student, according to Adams House resident Jonathan R. Funke '93.

"Beneath the sly gaze of three security guards, it was motored out," said Funke, who added that he thought that neither students nor the guards hired to provide security for the party saw the students remove the object from the house.

Harvard police, who were called by students who discovered the theft, apprehended the suspect carrying the Fu dog, DiCiccio said. Harvard police spokesperson Lt. Charles A. Schwab could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Students Interviewed yesterday would not release the names of the two students involved in the Fu dog heist.

Students moved the Fu dog across the dining hall by telling party organizers that someone had urinated on it, according to Shiuan Liu '95, an Adams resident who helped organize the party during which the object was taken.

The dog-nappers, after moving the Fu dog near a back door of the house, sent house residents scurrying across the campus on a wild-goose chase, Liu said. "First we ran to Dunster, then they said Mather."

Meanwhile, the perpetrators were busying stashing the Fu dog on the Adams House roof between the dining hall and B-entry, DiCiccio said.

When search did not turn up the dog, DiCiccio and other party-goers returned to Adams, only to find the suspected thieves, who had removed the Fu dog from the roof, running with the object down DeWolfe street, students said.

DiCiccio said he then caught up with the student with the Fu dog, who by then had already dropped the object.

Adams residents said they were relieved merely to have the object returned, the broken car notwithstanding.

"These are the only fiberglass works of, their kind, which makes them singularly valuable," Funke said.

Funke said the damaged Fu dog, which students said was purchased within the last two years for around $3000, is irreplaceable.

According to Curator of Chinese Art in the Harvard University Art Museums Robert D. Mowry, "the Fu dog is a physical manifestation, an suspicious emblem without specific meaning."

"Fu" means "Buddhist dog" in English, he said.

"I'm appalled at the lack of respect"--the perpetrators showed for house property Scarlet J. Marquette '93, an Adams resident, said, "People noticed it immediately--it's shameful."

"This is an abhorrent crime, a visceral abomination," Funke said

Harvard police, who were called by students who discovered the theft, apprehended the suspect carrying the Fu dog, DiCiccio said. Harvard police spokesperson Lt. Charles A. Schwab could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Students Interviewed yesterday would not release the names of the two students involved in the Fu dog heist.

Students moved the Fu dog across the dining hall by telling party organizers that someone had urinated on it, according to Shiuan Liu '95, an Adams resident who helped organize the party during which the object was taken.

The dog-nappers, after moving the Fu dog near a back door of the house, sent house residents scurrying across the campus on a wild-goose chase, Liu said. "First we ran to Dunster, then they said Mather."

Meanwhile, the perpetrators were busying stashing the Fu dog on the Adams House roof between the dining hall and B-entry, DiCiccio said.

When search did not turn up the dog, DiCiccio and other party-goers returned to Adams, only to find the suspected thieves, who had removed the Fu dog from the roof, running with the object down DeWolfe street, students said.

DiCiccio said he then caught up with the student with the Fu dog, who by then had already dropped the object.

Adams residents said they were relieved merely to have the object returned, the broken car notwithstanding.

"These are the only fiberglass works of, their kind, which makes them singularly valuable," Funke said.

Funke said the damaged Fu dog, which students said was purchased within the last two years for around $3000, is irreplaceable.

According to Curator of Chinese Art in the Harvard University Art Museums Robert D. Mowry, "the Fu dog is a physical manifestation, an suspicious emblem without specific meaning."

"Fu" means "Buddhist dog" in English, he said.

"I'm appalled at the lack of respect"--the perpetrators showed for house property Scarlet J. Marquette '93, an Adams resident, said, "People noticed it immediately--it's shameful."

"This is an abhorrent crime, a visceral abomination," Funke said