Antwerp, Belgium: Nello and Patrache Statue

This is a boy and his dog story, with something of a twist.

Ouida wrote the novella, "A Dog of Flanders." It's about an orphan (who likes to paint) and his dog, and was published in 1872. In the book, the story ends when Nello is are wrongly accused of causing a fire, and he goes to Antwerp to see the work of idol Paul Rubens. 

Alas, he runs out of money, and has to sleep in a cathedral on Christmas Eve. The next day, the boy and his dog are found frozen to death under a Rubens painting. 

Now the story takes a twist. The book wasn't exactly iconic back in the Netherlands. However, a television series was made about Nello and Patrache that was shown in Japan and Korea. The story's popularity grew quickly, to the point where people from that region traveled to Antwerp. 

They needed to have something to see. Eventually, this unusual sculpture was placed in front of a cathedral in the 1980. It marks the last happy moments together of Nello and Patrache. Batist Vermeulen gets to take a bow for the public artwork. 

This figured to be a neat story when it popped up on a walking tour of Antwerp. Indeed it was.