A Pass through Pender Park

Date: 3/09/2010

Pender Park is an outdoor enclave for pets being treated at our various animal care centers and their owners to enjoy on our grounds in Fair Oaks. Each and every work of art reflects the compassionate care of the veterinarians, pet owners and caregivers of the Pender community. The park is especially popular with staff and pet owners who want to spend time outdoors with their pets, or who just simply want to take a few moments for personal reflection. Susan Troemmler echoes these sentiments below:

The Story of Pender Park, by Susan Troemmler:

“There is a jewel located in the Fair Oaks area of Virginia known as the Pender Veterinary Centre. A special facet of this jewel is the newly-created dog park and memorial walkway.

The park, complete with gazebo and bronze statues, is like an outdoor multi-purpose room. Dogs who are boarders or patients at the Centre are taken for daily walks there by Pender staff. Convalescing dogs that are not well enough to go home yet can spend some meaningful time outdoors with their caring owners. For those who want an extended walk, there’s an asphalt trail around the property.

The park is a lovely place to rest awhile, to reminisce, to take in a beautiful day. It is also a place to reflect on precious memories of past pets or to mourn and cry over the recent loss of a treasured companion.

The park walkway, winding through a beautifully-landscaped area, is paved with specially engraved bricks that pay tribute to individual animals. Wrapped up in every brick are cherished memories – happy, sad, funny, rewarding, heartbreaking – many unforgettable moments.

Behind each brick are human hearts overflowing with love for each special companion who enriched so many lives. When their time on earth comes to an end, the pain is almost more than we can bear. But the passage of time helps to heal those wounds and soften the pain until all that remains is the beauty and the memories…and of course, the love. In the end, it is this love that is the real meaning of each memorial brick.

Give yourself ample time one day to take a thoughtful stroll through this Park of Love. In the midst of nature’s beauty reflect on the rich sentiments represented there. Whether the names of our pets are lovingly engraved on the bricks or memorialized deep in our hearts, it the love we have for our animals that permeates this special park.”

At Pender, we understand that veterinary medicine extends beyond the puppy classes, veterinary visits and long after your companion animal recuperates and returns home after receiving treatment. Pender Park is a place to contemplate the compassion that goes into animal care, be it from a lifelong animal lover or a child taking his puppy for a walk for the first time.

Hoping to commemorate the loss of your special pet in Memorial Park? Contact us today for more information on cost estimates and additional details on Memorial Bricks.