Ever Heard of the Texas Woofus?

Texas Woofus Steve Rainwater/CC BY-SA 2.0

The Texas Woofus is a mythological chimera made up of the main staples of Texas livestock. Originally created in 1936 for the Texas Centennial Exposition in Dallas, the Woofus features the mane and neck of a horse, a turkey tail, pig body, duck wings, a sheep’s head, and of course, a pair of Texas longhorns.

A decorated strip of blanket hangs over each side of the Texas Woofus, which can be seen spouting water from its nozzle on the side of the Swine Building in Dallas’ Fair Park today.

This Woofus is a re-creation, however. When the original statue, created by sculptor Lawrence Tenney Stevens, was damaged in 1941, it was taken away and mysteriously disappeared. Some suspect a local Christian group thought it was too pagan and destroyed it.

In 1998 a replacement Woofus was made by David Newton at the behest of the Friends of Fair Park. The fate of the original remains a mystery.

Know Before You Go

Accessible when Fair Park is open to the public. It is outside the Livestock Building No. 2 right near the intersection of Martin Luther King Boulevard and Admiral Nimitz Circle.