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Paula Fox poses with Deano on her property northwest of Christopher Lake. (Submitted photo)
Dino-mite attraction

A labour of love: Christopher Lake woman welcomes public to visit ‘Deano’

Apr 17, 2021 | 10:00 AM

Is it a birdie? Is it an eagle? No, it’s a dinosaur that came out of a golf course.

After around a year of restoration work, a Christopher Lake woman is ready to welcome the public to the area’s latest roadside attraction.

“Come and see a dinosaur in Saskatchewan,” Paula Fox says. “I’m sure he’ll get a few smiles… hopefully some people get a little bit of happiness.”

If visitors enjoy the reptile half as much as Fox does, it appears they’re in for a treat.

She explains she first locked eyes with the creature she calls “Deano” a few years ago at a local golf course, Lazy K Golf.

“He was out of the bush, sitting there and I completely fell in love with him,” she told paNOW.

“The tallness of him, the way he looked out over the golf course, he’s so huge that’s what made me love him.”

Visitors are asked not to sit on, climb, or ride the dinosaur. (Submitted photo)

A few years later, when the course closed down, she asked the owner if she could take him home.

“I just saw him sitting there rotting away and I knew he needed to be fixed,” she says.

Deano was in bad shape, full of holes with legs missing.

Fox and her husband tried several different techniques to restore him but ultimately found fiberglass to be the most effective, giving him a fresh new paint job as a final step.

Fox describes the feeling of completing the project last week as ”amazing.”

“He makes me smile, he’s beautiful,” she says. “He feels alive.”

Deano is now sitting on a rock path the couple has constructed for him at their property on Beaton Road, northwest of Christopher Lake. She explained the 10-foot-tall, 15-foot-long sentinel is visible from the road. Paleontological-enthusiasts should look on their right if driving north.

Fox and her husband are also looking to improve their Jurassic friend’s space with a bench, along with tiki lights and other prehistoric paraphernalia to “make it look more dinosaur-ish.”

Fox emphasized while visitors are encouraged to take photos with Deano, they should not sit on, climb, or ride the dinosaur.

alison.sandstrom@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @alisandstrom

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