A local woman with five deceased pets comes to Toledo Memorial Park desperately seeking help. Two of the pets belong to her, while three belong to her sister.

“What do I do with all of these? Help me.”

Pet owners feel responsible for their animals, even after they pass, because of the love they shared, and that includes finding a dignified final resting place. That’s what Toledo Memorial Park seeks to provide with Reflections Garden pet cemetery, which opened this summer.

Laura Kronmann, who owns Image Focus, the cemetery’s ad agency, said the woman who was desperate for help was relieved when Reflections Garden took the pets off her hands.

Someone who opts for Reflections Garden can choose from a variety of grave sizes for their pets. A black granite grave marker can be inscribed with the pet’s name, birth and death dates, and picture.

Jeff Clegg, president and CEO of Toledo Memorial Park and Reflections Garden Pet Cemetery, said the idea of the pet cemetery had been talked about for two years.      

“When we decided we were going to do it, we found some property that we could split off of the cemetery,” he said. “Then we had a few hurdles we had to cross with zoning and title work.”

The pet cemetery became a priority after Clegg said realized how underserved the market was. The closest pet cemetery to Toledo is in Ypsilanti and 450 pets are cremated a month in the Toledo area by veterinarians.

Just like Toledo Memorial Park has a 75-foot tower to honor our veterans, Reflections Garden has plans for an either granite or bronze feature paying tribute to service, military and police dogs, Clegg said.

“They save lives and help people and when they pass, we feel they should have a dignified resting place as well,” he said. “So we thought maybe we would build a feature highlighting the service those animals have given our community.”
 

Tester’s Take:

I’ve always loved the water, and Dex seemed to enjoy the pool last year (when he was just a few months old), so it seemed like a no-brainer to sign him up for swim lessons this year. I heard numerous horror stories from friends and acquaintances about near-drowning incidents (and then there was that article circulating on Facebook), so I figured the sooner I could teach him how to keep his head above water, the better. I registered my 14 month old for the 2-week session in July, assuming that the weather would be hot and humid–perfect for the pool. My friend, Karen, suggested that it might be better to attend indoor classes in case the weather turned sour, but I couldn’t imagine anything other than an occasional rainy day ruining our planned swim lessons. I was wrong.

Goal:

To teach babies and toddlers how to paddle and swim to safety

Age range:

0-3 years

Cost:

$18 for YMCA/JCC max members; $50 for associate members.

Time:

10:00-10:30, but class times vary depending on the YMCA/JCC.

Things to consider:

I should have listened to my friend and picked an indoor pool. The pool was not heated, and surprisingly, the July weather never went above 74 degrees for the entire two weeks. An indoor pool also would have helped contain my active son while drying off and changing. I ended up chasing his naked little behind around the pool, lugging our bags and dropping things as I tried to scoop him up.
Additional benefits: If the chilly weather had not prevented us from attending most of the lessons, then theoretically Dex would have learned how to swim back to the edge of the pool if he fell in.

What It’s Like:

Since we only came to one lesson due to the unusually chilly July weather, and as the pool was freezing cold when we did attend, we unfortunately did not learn much, other than how to blow bubbles in the water. However, Dex thinks blowing bubbles is hilarious, so that trick has helped us out, so I guess the lessons were helpful for that alone. During the lesson, the instructor encouraged the toddlers to kick, which Dex already knew how to do, but it was so cold that he refused to loosen his grip on my shoulders. Overall, I’m sure the lessons would have been wonderful, but the chilly weather and frigid pool overshadowed most benefits.

Life lesson:

If your child is under the age of 6, swim lessons inside would probably be best.

YMCA/JCC, Toledo. 419.729.8135. YMCAtoledo.org.