When we purchased our 1925 bungalow Palo Alto home, we promised the prior home owners that we would keep this fountain.
Although we are not religious, this garden Saint makes us remember to love and protect the environment and the animals. We even get to admire birds taking a bath in the water almost every morning.
Of course, you can always go very traditional and use a more conventional sculpture as the foundation for your water feature. (Although I'd personally like a garden guardian with more of a smile on his face!)