Gun Dog Forum

In my yard I have a special spot dedicated to all the pets we have had in our family in our entire lives. It started out as the "noah" memorial. Noah was a free spirit.I was a kid and I rescued noah from a party where he was just there. Someone said they picked him up at a super market and he had been hanging around this house in the woods with no real home. No place to hang his collar. I took him ~ got him an education at the local firehouse from a trainer. He graduated 2nd in a class of 12 and that earned him a scholarship to free advanced off leash training. We didn't follow up. We drove cross country in a 1972 vw micro~bus . He was a hippie dog. Enough talk on noah. As family members call they all end the conversation with : did you plant the memorial ? A couple weeks ago I raked it out and planted some begonias. The critters will not eat begonias.

I don't know if anyone else has such a place in their yrd to reflect on our past friends and if so please post them as I would love to see them. It can be a healing place for those who may have had to say good bye to a dear friend. I always feel good when I am there and judging by the rest of my family they feel good about it also.
Here are some pic's of our special place.
The canopy overhead

not in the yard but in my heart but thats a good thought

setterpoint wrote:not in the yard but in my heart but thats a good thought

I agree with you 100%. I brought this up as a result of some recent posts on another favorite site of mine. Some folks had to say good-bye. I stood out there yesterday morning with a cup of coffee and my little heal shiner & I must say a smile and some good feelings came over me. A nice place to reflect on those fond memories.

I've got all my dog's from the past 30+ yrs buried here at home, each grave marked.

I have 30 years of dogs buried in the back yard. 1 elkhound earned a spot in the front yard. He layed above a wall looking out over the place. That's where he got buried. Now marked by the bird bath.

Growing up in a family with sisters a mom & dad and always a dog & usually a cat . When it was time to say good-bye ~ to the vet we went . Cried and said our good bye's. Having said that the bond we have with these animals( little athletes) takes it to the next level. I guess because we put so much into them. I say this to try and help those that may have had to make the tuff decision to let one go or possibly lost a friend in an untimely manor. Greg Jacobs very nice . I like the bird bath addition .I will see where I can add one. Don F I like the marker idea. Jax my first bird dog (my current dog is my 2nd) has a head stone marker that sit's next to my woodstove and his ash's above on the mantel. Been meaning to get them outside.

The current trend now is cremation. I have one buried in our wild garden, and the remains of two more in boxes waiting for the ground. The last one is still following me around and looks to have another 10 or 12 years in him. By then, we should both be ready to be buried.