Updated

It wasn't an asteroid that threatened this T-Rex with extinction — it was vandals.

A massive fiberglass dinosaur that has stood watch for nearly half a century over the Route 1 Miniature Golf and Batting Cages in Saugus was knocked off its feet last week by the vandals. Owner Diana Fay said they apparently rocked the lizard so hard that it snapped at the ankles.

"He's withstood hurricanes, blizzards. This is the worst thing that's ever happened to him," Fay said of the tyrannosaurus, which stood at least 12 feet high and had been a landmark on the highway north of Boston for years.

Fay told the Boston Herald her late uncle placed the dinosaur at the mini-golf course in 1960 to intimidate putters on the sixth hole.

Despite the attack on the lovable lizard, the establishment opened for the season Saturday.

Fay and her husband hope to restore T-Rex, but repairs will be expensive and a crane will likely be needed to lift it back on to its feet.

"Once they get him up, we have to see how extensive the damage is so he's not a danger to someone out on the course," she said.