Pet Salon Building Rainbow Bridge Memorial

(KNSI) – A central Minnesota business is aiming to create a memorial that could become a healing spot for grieving pet owners from across the country.

Muddy Pawz Salon Owner Samantha Sams lost two dogs earlier this year and was touched when she heard about the rainbow bridge site being destroyed by flooding in North Carolina after Hurricane Helene. She is looking to recreate it in Milaca. Sams hopes visitors will add their own touches once it is built.

“The idea would be to actually build an arched bridge that I’m going to paint in rainbow colors. We’re going to have a couple railings on it that we’re going to allow people to hang memorialized items, collars, halters, things like that, of pets they lost.”

The Rainbow Bridge poem describes a place where pets wait to be reunited with their owners after they die. When the time is right, they walk towards heaven together. This idea has inspired memorials around the globe.

Sams says the project is a labor of love. “It is mainly me and my husband. We’ve had a client show some interest in helping out with certain features of it. We have a couple local companies we may be utilizing for things like the bridge, but most of it is going to be done by us here at the salon.”

Sams has set up an online fundraiser to help pay for the cost of building the memorial. Once it is up and running, it will be available for everyone to visit.

To make a donation, click here.

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