(KNSI) – A pet owner is turning her loss into action by asking the City of St. Cloud to add a place for people to remember their pets.
Laura Ellavsky is the founder and organizer of the St. Cloud Rainbow Bridge Memorial Garden. She told KNSI News that Mozzie, her pug-Boston Terrier mix, died last March, leaving her devastated. “I got him in college, so he was with me through college, through dating, through meeting my husband and having my kids. We had been through a lot of life together, and that loss was really hard for me.”
During her online search for support, she heard of a bridge garden in North Carolina, inspired by the famous Rainbow Bridge poem, and thought it would be helpful to people here. Ellavsky believes it would help people cope with a type of death that isn’t widely discussed. “I think that pet loss is a grief that’s often unseen, and people sit and struggle with that quietly. It’s called disenfranchised grief, which is grief that’s not widely accepted or recognized in society. And still creating a space where people are seen and heard and understood helps them process grief and work through it.”
St. Cloud Rainbow Bridge Memorial Garden/Facebook
A potential site for the memorial garden is Talahi Woods, a park frequented by dog walkers and adjacent to Riverside Park. Ellavsky explained her vision. “It’s just a memorial space. So not a burial ground, not a place to spread ashes, but kind of peaceful garden setting with an enclosed fence with this rainbow bridge as a focal, maybe going over a water feature, like a stream or a pond, with garden beds throughout.”
People would be invited to hang collars to honor their pets along the bridge and purchase memorial stones or plaques. The design and fundraising details are still in the works. Ellavsky is also an end-of-life companion animal doula and would love to host grief support groups in the garden. She envisions other community events leveraging the space.
While there are no official figures, Ellavsky figures the bridge itself would be about $10,000.
She has been in contact with the city since January and plans to formally pitch the idea at the Parks and Recreation Board meeting on April 1st at 6:00 p.m. The meeting will take place inside the municipal building at Eastman Park. Anyone who wants to show their support or speak about the project can attend.
To keep up with the latest on the project, follow their Facebook page by clicking here.
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