The women of Kappa Kappa Gamma were relieved when the painted bulldog statue that stands in front of their house was recovered unharmed, after being stolen stolen during winter break.
The bulldog was returned Jan. 5 after Butler alumnus Brian Rochford discovered it in an alley behind his home.
A BUPD officer retrieved the statue and delivered it back to the Kappa house.
Since it had been left outside in snowy weather, no latent fingerprints that could be used to link someone to the theft were found on the bulldog.
Ben Hunter, director of public safety, said the theft appears to have been an “unfortunate prank,” since the statue was retrieved close to campus.
The bulldog was bolted to the concrete and senior Stephanie Tutterow said that it probably would have taken a group of people with tools and possibly a truck to remove it.
“When [sorority members] heard news about it being stolen, it was chaos,” she said. “Everyone was on break so it was difficult to gather the Butler community to help us look.
“The members were texting back and forth a lot to figure things out, but it was kind of impossible.”
Tutterow said she understands the idea of campus pranks, but that stealing the bulldog went too far.
“It’s one thing to take a sorority’s or fraternity’s composition picture and decorate it for them,” she said. “It’s another thing to take a massive object that is special to a chapter, any chapter.”
The bulldog was especially popular among visiting Kappa alumni and during last year’s NCAA Tournament.
Tutterow said that when current members and alumni heard of the theft, they banded together to brainstorm how to replace it, since the bulldog has become such a prominent symbol for the house.
“When other Kappa alumni and active members who did not go to Butler visit the Mu Chapter, they think that it’s really a great addition to the house and shows how much pride the members have for the university and chapter,” she said.
While it may have been meant as a joke, Tutterow said she doesn’t want to believe that anyone on campus would steal the bulldog and purposely cause stress and sadness for her house or any other group on campus.
“Pranks are supposed to be fun for everyone involved.”