Memorial garden offers place to honor beloved pets
RIVERVIEW, Fla. - Jeannette Green has laid three loved ones to rest in the beautiful memorial garden at St. Matthews Anglican Church in Riverview.
"They are just part of your family from the beginning to the end," she said.
The family members laid to rest here were her beloved pets.
The pet memorial garden gives owners a place to honor their pets.
"They just form a bond with you that just can’t be broken," added Green.
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All three dogs, Alfie, Nikki, and Maggie, were rescues.
"When you adopt a pet from a rescue situation, it just fills you with twice as much love and warmth that you were able to do something for that little animal," explained Jeannette.
Green's pets now have a place to be honored.
She got the idea for the pet memorial garden at St. Matthews when she had three sets of pet ashes and nowhere to put them. Jeannette knew she wanted them placed somewhere in the ground where they would be respected.
"I had plenty of time to look around, but there just wasn’t anything available that I saw," she recalled.
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Jeannette's idea started to gain momentum in the church. Church Pastor Kenneth Bailey Jr. said the memorial garden falls right in line with the church's values.
Jeannette Green got the ides for the memorial garden at St. Matthews Anglican Church.
"From a Christian perspective, we were called to have dominion over the world. And what that means is we are supposed to care for the animals and the plants and love them. And having pets is part of what we are supposed to be," he shared.
Jeannette said she will always remember the day she finally got to lay her adored pets to rest.
"It was a sad day, but it was a glorious day too," she recalled.
Saint Matthews offers pet memorial services to accommodate people of all faiths. Plots are available to the public, and the sale of them pays for the maintenance of the memorial garden.