Even before Bobbie Ruth Langley began her Life Cycle Pet Cremation service, she knew it wouldn’t be enough. “It’s incredibly valuable for people emotionally to memorialize their pet,” Langley said. So each fall for the past two years, Langley has held the Floating Lantern Pet Memorial, set for Sept. 10 this year at Bloedel Donovan Park.
Pet owners grieving pets lost yesterday or years ago have the chance to write something or include a photo, set it on their lantern, and release it into the waters of Lake Whatcom. The lanterns are later picked up and can be used again next year.
The ceremony, which will for the first time include a processional, drew about 100 people in 2016, Langley said.
“It’s an opportunity for closure, and also an opportunity to keep a pet’s life going or keep the memory of the pet strong,” Langley said. “It’s to honor the pet’s life, or the pet and the pet’s parent together. It gives (people) a physical way to do it with other people who are maybe grieving the same way.”
