My sweet Rick passed away on April 15th 2026. He was such a big part of my life and I already miss him tremendously. As Holly Springs reaches 55k citizens, I know others in the community feel the same way about their pets as I do with Rick. I have reached out to Mayor Mike Kondratick and the Director of Parks & Recreation via email and they have been receptive of the idea of a pet memorial however, I would love more support to show how much this is wanted in our community.

Currently, Holly Springs provides a Memorial Gift Program that involves planting trees and adding benches, however I would like to do more specifically for our furry friends. Apex has a Rainbow Bridge where you can honor your loved pets. I would like a place dedicated for our loved pets in Holly Springs as we grow into a larger community. I thought the perfect place for a pet memorial would be at Sugg Farm, as there is a dog park there. There's plenty of space, it's filled with nature, and overall a lovely place to honor our pets. Collars are bulky and with the weather, the wear and tear could add up. I've been looking for low cost and low maintenance ways to honor our pets.
 
Here are some of my ideas I’ve suggested and have personally volunteered to make this happen in Holly Springs:
 
Pet Remembrance Patio - installation of personalized bricks as a pathway around the trail at the new sugg farm nature play area. 
 
Metal Sculpture with tags and plaques - installation of a metal sculpture where citizens could add pet tags of their loved furry friends and an option to buy a plaque added below.
 
Trees with stones - dedicated trees with the option to add (BYOS) painted stones or stepping stones of your loved furry friends
 
Cable wire fence with tags and plaques - installation of a cable wire fence to hang pet tags with the option to buy plaques the fence posts. I was thinking adding the fencing around the parking area in the field
 
Dedicated wildflower garden with garden plaques - add a wildflower garden to a part of Sugg Farm and add personalized plaques and possibly personalized stepping stones as a pathway
 
If you’ve ever loved a pet as much as I love Rick, please sign this petition to honor and commemorate not only his life, but your own furry friend. I am deeply grateful that you have taken the time to support both Rick and I.