Hi! My name is Pierce Sullivan and I am a Madison Parks Foundation (MPF) board member and veterinarian in Madison. For the past year, I have been trying to brainstorm creative ways that I could help the Madison off-leash dog parks. There were many discussions and ideas between the MPF board and the city’s Parks Division. Amid all this, my family had to say “goodbye” to Moose, our beloved fourteen-year-old rescue pup. It’s tough losing a pet because they are not just a pet. They are family.
Pet lovers will unfortunately go through this process many times in life and with it comes decisions on how to honor and memorialize our lost loved one. I decided what the dog parks really need is a sculpture for both the loved ones we have in our lives and the ones we have said goodbye to. I wanted to make sure this site was unique and that it would be viewed as a piece of art. We worked with a local metal company, Custom Metals Inc, to design a wonderful sculpture of two dogs playing tug-a-war. The sculpture allows for personalized dog tags, which we are calling Furever Tags, to be permanently attached to the piece.
This is the first of its kind in the city and we are thrilled to provide a place where people can come and see their dog’s name on a Furever Tag. Maybe you will visit with your new dog or maybe you will come alone, but regardless it will be a place where people can laugh, smile and maybe cry a little over the memories. The other wonderful part of this tribute and memorial is that all proceeds go directly back to enhancing and expanding our off-leash dog parks, thanks to Pet Supplies Plus in Fitchburg and their generous donation of the tags.
Furever Tags can be purchased at madisonparksfoundation.org/dogparks for $100 each. For more information about Madison Parks Foundation and other initiatives, visit madisonparksfoundation.org or feel free to contact me at jpiercesullivan@gmail.com.