Olympic Legacy: doggy style

I finally discovered something positive that has come out of the Olympics. These dogs guard an entrance into Victoria Park, Hackney. I first saw them in 2004, and photographed them.

This is what they looked like when I first saw them in 2004:

I don't understand why billions of pounds of Olympics money was required to get simple stuff like this done, but nevertheless, pleased that these have been restored. However, whether there is provision to prevent their decline in the coming decades, I very much doubt. Let's hope we get another Olympics just in time to save them again....