Two weeks ago we said goodbye to our beautiful dogs, Elvis and Priscilla. After being part of our family and home for the past 13 years we decided the best way for us all to deal with our loss and to remember them was to make something to remember them by in the very place they called home ­– the back yard. 

A family project was the perfect way to celebrate our doggies. So we put together and decorated some stepping stones and made a special place for them under my grandfather’s peach tree – another little garden reminder of someone we loved.

'A dog is the only being on earth that loves you more than he loves himself'. Josh Billings Priscilla

Our pets are our family.  Priscilla and Elvis were 13 years old, both suffering from the many physical and health problems that come with being old dogs. We brought them both home at the same time as puppies, just 2 weeks apart in age from different breeders and they were our children before the children came along – and remained a special part of our family until their very last day.  Elvis

'...owning a dog always ended with this sadness because dogs just don't live as long as people do'. John Grogan, Marley and Me

We have had them with us during the most important years in our lives. In the background during all our major events, always happy to see us, always there, waiting for our love and company.

'Dogs' lives are too short. Their only fault, really'. Agnes Sligh Turnbull

After putting it off a year, because we weren’t quite ready to say good bye and watching them go downhill in health and spirit, the day came when we finally gathered the courage to make the decision ­– it was time to put them to rest. Elvis was not going to live through the next hot days and Priscilla with ailments of her own would not survive the sadness that would come with her losing her best mate. They came to us together and we thought the best thing was to let them go… together.

The kids took it quite well, each of them understood in their own way what it meant to have them as pets, how much we loved them and how much we would miss them.

The backyard was left with scatterings of their things, scattered fur, bowls, old toys, their kennels. That heavy feeling in our hearts whenever we went outside and no longer felt those familiar wet noses sniffing our legs or tails tapping against us. So the best thing we thought to do was make something special. Build a special place in the garden that we could remember them by.

See below for photos of the stepping stones project ...
(note: these are mainly 'action' photos taken with my phone so the quality is not 100% ;) )