The original wooden sculpture, made by Monty MacMillan, It was installed in 2001 for
Dorchester's inaugural "Dorchester Sandpiper Festival" event held annually, serving as the "festival and village
mascot". The name
Shep was chosen as an entrant in the "Name the Sandpiper Contest" and was officially announced in 2002. and was referred to as "the world's largest sandpiper".
Shep was later repainted in preparation for the 2016 event. In 2020, the Dorchester village council approved funding for repairs to
Shep and for the construction of a viewing platform for it. The sculpture was removed so that MacMillan could make the repairs. In 2021, MacMillan discovered that the wooden sculpture had started
rotting. Later in the year, all of his tools were stolen, further delaying the repairs. MacMillan referred Dorchester mayor Debbie Wiggins-Colwell to
French Lake-based artist Robin Hanson, who was subsequently commissioned to create a new steel, fibreglass, and epoxy version of
Shep, at a cost of . On January 1, 2023, as a result of the
2023 New Brunswick local governance reform, Dorchester was amalgamated with
Sackville into the newly formed town of
Tantramar. The new town council considered paying Hanson to be a lower priority, causing individuals and organizations to attempt to raise funds themselves to cover the cost of the replacement sculpture. On April 8, 2023, the new version of
Shep was transported to Dorchester and installed by local volunteers—not by municipal officials. but caused controversy within the new council. Wiggins-Colwell supported the installation of the new sculpture, while other officials, such as Tantramar mayor Andrew Black, considered it to be an insurance and liability risk to the municipality. After complaints of violations of the municipal
code of conduct were made against Wiggins-Colwell, Former Dorchester deputy mayor Kara Becker criticized the investigation, calling it a "witch hunt" and "an embarrassment for the municipality". == See also ==