All the usual stuff like roads, bridges, drainage systems, public buildings, boat landings, public beach accesses, a public library, and public parks. You know, like "normal" things.
But we also have super cool things like our Equestrian Center where we do horse shows and show jumper competitions along with Rodeos. We also have nifty stuff like an archery range where you can learn to shoot a cross bow like John Rambo did or a standard, long or compound bow like Katniss Everdeen did---- if you want to. We've even got a model airplane park where RC aviation enthusiasts can fly their models--even some that are miniature jets with scaled-down jet engines that are as loud as some real jets--just ask the nearby neighbors that built their houses very close to this flying field!
Yes, we have all of that and more.
But how many of you honestly knew that we're also the home of the Escambia County's only "official" Pet Cemetery?? I mean, I am a dog-lover, still in mourning over the 2019 death of my best 4-legged friend and Goldendoodle, "Rocky", (still pondering what to do with his ashes) and even I must admit---I was several years into my tenure as a County Commissioner before I found out we had one! Most folks probably don't know this is a thing that exists here.
But yes, this is a real thing. No, it's not like the Stephen King horror show "Pet Sematary"--but rather an actual, real life pet cemetery. Where dogs and cats are buried. It sits right on a major road in D1, just catecorner to the area's Dollar General and across from a filling station.
And lately, sadly, it has fallen into a dilapidated state of disrepair.
I hadn't visited it before, so on Saturday I came out in the cold rain and drove down Pine Forest Road, where-- nestled between an assited living/elder care facility and a high-end RV campground across from a few homes--sits the county's pet cemetery. I wanted to see it, I wanted to walk through it. Yes, Escambia's Pet Cemetery needs some serious TLC.
The first thing I noticed was there are no more plots unclaimed. The cemetery is full. Cats and dogs from the 1950's onward have found this location as their final resting place. Interesting, heartfelt nameplates, some with cute sayings on them and even some famous community names you would know adorn the plots of multiple pets buried here. Some owners are obviously still visiting, as several of the pet burial sites had ornate decorations, flags, and even a chew-toy on one plot. Some have elaborate landscaping with rocks and marble headstones. Look, I get it--some people's pets are like their family. I get that. These particular plots I saw yesterday are obvioulsy the ones that someone has been visiting and looking after.
What once, apparently, was a segregated (utilizing white picket fencing) area for deceased Law Enforcement Canine Officers is overgrown and the fencing is busted and destroyed. four of the plots containing deceased LEO canine officers had flags neatly placed in front. But at least 8 of these sites didn't--and were in a terrible state of upkeep. Canine Officers Thor and Spike--I wonder how their lives went? I wonder about the great things they did, and how many bad guys these two canine officers helped to capture? In an odd, perhaps prescient, Nostradamus-esque turn--there is even a LEO Canine officer buried there named "Morgan"--who's time of service and ultimate death apparently occurred prior to the beginning of the tenure of our former human Sheriff Morgan (2009-2021). Kind of weird I thought. Maybe that is a common name for a dog? Who knows?
But "Morgan's" grave site's a wreck though. His and many others. Untidy, disheveled, and unkempt.
So I have now, very recently, been contacted by the nonprofit entity that currently owns this property. They are asking for and wanting to turn this property over to the county so the site can receive better maintenance and upkeep and so the fencing can be repaired and the landscaping cleaned up. I'm working out a way to make this happen because I think those sites deserve to be maintained and preserved. Those animals are/were very special to the owners who buried them there. The canine officers deserve the dignity and respect of a clean and orderly, well maintained site.
So I'll be bringing this for discussion to an upcoming meeting in December. If necessary to gain support for the county taking on this property/maintenance responsibility--I'll be pledging to utilize D1 discretionary to get the fencing repaired and the site cleaned up.
I believe this is the least we can do for those animals and for the families (and Law Enforcement Agencies) that buried these animals here.
Look for the discussion to come, and check out the photos, below.
2 comments:
We all love our pets, but this seems to be a situation in which private volunteers and private donations might be more appropriate.
Public resources are finite. Unfortunately, citizens who request public funds and county services are often denied.
I would think that any citizen who has been denied services or funding might justifiably resent our finite county resources being devoted to this project.
The fact that law enforcement canines are located there changes the paradigm a bit. But if I were in law enforcement, I would lobby to have deceased canine officers interred on the grounds of my precinct.
When I was compelled to euthanize my two sixteen year old fur babies, I buried them in a sunny place on my property. I think about them often, and I am certain that they would have wanted to be near me on familiar ground. I would not have it any other way.
I think keeping gravesites marked for humans and animals should be relegated as an ancient archaic practice.
Ashes to Ashes
Dust to Dust.
Compost.
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