Grace the Huskie has been stolen from We Care Pregnancy Center, 403 N. Fifth St.

Grace, one of several Huskie statues created for the 2008 Huskies on Parade program, was taken from the center sometime between 5 p.m. Thursday and 5 p.m. Friday.

According to an email from clinic Executive Director Katie Mehne, information regarding the theft is to be directed to either the DeKalb Police Department at 815-748-8400 or the clinic at 815-748-4242.

“It saddens us that someone would think it is a prank to take Grace,” Mehne said in the email. “We, and the DeKalb Police, are taking this theft very seriously.”

Grace was created by NIU alumna Lauren Meranda. The Huskie is composed of a mosaic of broken pieces of china and pottery collected throughout DeKalb. It is meant to symbolize how something broken and wounded can come together to form something beautiful, Mehne said in the email.

According to Mehne, the dog weighs several hundred pounds, and it is not easily moved or hidden.

“All we want is for Grace to be returned,” Mehne said in the email. “No questions asked, we just want her back.”