It wasn't a prize-winning piece of the Parksville Sandsculpting Competition 2018, but this sand sculpture had struck a chord with me when I spotted it.
Later, 2019 and 2020, the true story of Jupiter, the "kissing lion" who would embrace and kiss Ana Julia Torres (the woman who had saved his life twenty years earlier), went viral on Internet.
Jupiter was famously rescued by Ana Julia Torres from a circus in Colombia when he was a cub, where he had been subjected to abuse. Even his claws had been removed.
Ana Julia Torres became a caregiver for Jupiter, treating him with love, like a baby.
He lived at the Villa Lorena animal refuge for many years, where he became a symbol of the bond between humans and animals.
That true story had a very sad ending. The Colombian government forcefully transferred Jupiter to the Bogotá Zoo, where he could no longer see his "human mother."
He refused to eat, lost most of his weight. He was diagnosed with liver cancer.
Ana Julia Torres flew across the country for an emotional, tearful reunion, where the weakened lion clearly recognized her and gently leaned into her touch for a final goodbye.
Soon after that, Jupiter died.