Crystal. Roxie Girl. Brinkly. Ching-A-Ling.
Those are the names of beloved pets who have passed on but will have a permanent place of honor at the MacArthur Park Dog Park in downtown Little Rock.
Keep Little Rock Beautiful, in conjunction with the MacArthur Park Group and the city's Parks and Recreation Department, dedicated its "rainbow bridge" Thursday. The wooden footbridge will be a way for pet owners to commemorate their deceased pets.
The idea comes from a popular anonymous poem about pets crossing into the next life, where "there are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together."
Owners seeking to remember their pets can purchase pet tags engraved with their animal's names and years of life. Proceeds from tag sales benefit Keep Little Rock Beautiful, a nonprofit that works on city beautification, litter prevention, recycling, environmental programs and dog parks.
"We're really excited about this," said Stephanie Lopez, beautification committee chairman for Keep Little Rock Beautiful. "It's an opportunity for kids and adults to come and memorialize their pets."
Tags are $25 each and can be purchased by visiting klrb.org. Little Rock business Custom Trophies is making the tags.
Little Rock Parks and Recreation Director John Eckart said MacArthur Park and the dog park were a collaborative effort between the city and groups of residents.
"This whole park has been an effort that's been spurred by public input and public contribution," Eckart said Thursday.
Lopez said she was looking into putting "rainbow bridges" in the city's other dog parks. She said any type of animal's name can be on a tag, not just dogs.
The MacArthur Park Group is a volunteer group that has raised nearly $3 million for the park bordered by East Ninth Street and Pulaski County Lane.
Metro on 05/03/2019