A Place Where People & Their Pets Can Rest In Peace Together.
–by Anna Cooke T
Trudy and Walter MacDonald moved to Florida in 1974 from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Pets have always been part of their lives. “I always loved Yorkies. We had two,
Chocolate Puddin’ who lived 16 years and Chocolate Candy who lived to be 17. But since Walter loved Poodles so much, that’s all we had after the Yorkies,” said Trudy. Peaches ‘n Creme, a white Poodle, is now 15
years old. Sweet Pumpkin Pie lived to be 12. And Pepper, a Cockatiel, is still chirping away at the young age of 28. Trudy likes to be prepared, so she and Walter
had already purchased two plots at Curlew Hills Memory Gardens for themselves. But after Walter passed away almost seven years ago, she realized they should have done a little more pre-planning with the actual funeral arrangements. “There was just so much to think about and deal with. I didn’t want my children to go through what I went through when Walter died,” said Trudy. The first thing she did was make pre-
arrangements for herself. Trudy’s other concern was what would happen to her pets, should she die before them? She went back to Curlew Hills Memory Gardens to make pre-arrangements for Peaches ‘n Creme, Pumpkin Pie and Pepper. “The people at Curlew Hills made it all
very easy and comfortable for me. They under- stood how I feel about my pets. That I consider them part of my family. The rest of my family have been very supportive of my efforts and wishes too.” Trudy has written detailed instructions in a
journal on what she would like her family to do for each pet when she passes. She has no doubt that her family will take care of her pets for the rest of their lives when she dies. “I just wanted to be sure my pets would be taken care of after I was gone.” Sweet Pumpkin Pie died in October of
“Pets are very special. They give us years of pleasure and companionship. When they are no longer with us, it’s nice to have a place we can visit to remember them and bring back some of those happy memories. I come to Curlew Hills to remember both Walter and Pumpkin Pie,” said Trudy, shown here with Peaches ‘n Cream, her 15-year-old Poodle. They are sitting in the Gazebo at Curlew Hills Memory Gardens Pet Cemetery, over- looking Pumpkin Pie’s gravesite. Photograph by Anna Cooke.
46 THE NEW BARKER
2010. “I’ll never forget it. I was cleaning my house and she was in her bed. She just let out a scream. I ran to pick her up, and she died in my arms.” As a retired nurse, Trudy immediately knew the dog was gone, and that there was nothing more she could do. Trudy remembers Sweet Pumpkin Pie’s ceremony at Curlew Hills Memory Gardens.
www.TheNewBarker.com
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