This memorial hangs atop a gravesite at the pet cemetery east of Bismarck, on the grounds of the McDowell Dam recreation area. There are two large sections of the pet cemetery there…many with the standard concrete grave marker, others with hand made memorials such as this one, and some with both.

I’ll admit it…I was out there to inquire about a place for Scooter some day. Alas, they are no longer taking in any more critters…the place is full. So if you’d like to have a memorial for the special furry, finned, or feathered friend in your life, you’ll have to find other options. I don’t know the details on the cemetery next to Pioneer Park, but that’s another possible option.

Obviously the Bible doesn’t indicate that animals even have an afterlife, but let’s face it…we have funerals and memorials and markers for the living. For many people, their relationship with their pet is as deep and meaningful as their relationships with most people. While I’m blessed to say I’ve got friends as true as any guy could ask, I also have a bird that has been faithfully by my side for almost nine years. In fact, his birthday (hatch day?) is coming up in exactly one week. So while I have no other reason than for my own closure, I’ll likely have a memorial to him somewhere to remember all the good times and friendship. Hopefully God gives our family several more years with Scooter, but the awful fact is that we won’t always have him. Then he’ll be remembered in a memorial like this one.