A place to remember: Millcreek woman's vision leads to creation of spot to honor lost pets

Millcreek Township's park system provides a variety of recreational offerings for township residents and visitors, including playgrounds, ballfields, basketball courts, picnic areas and walking trails.

But thanks to a township woman's vision, as a way to honor her late mother, one of Millcreek's 29 parks and green spaces is about to feature something the park system has never really had before, said Ashley Marsteller, Millcreek's director of parks and recreation.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony is expected to take place sometime in October in Scott Park for the Erie Rainbow Bridge Pet Memorial Garden, a passive space where people can come and reflect on the lives of their departed pets in a quiet setting. It will feature a colorful version of the symbolic Rainbow Bridge that animals cross when they pass away, surrounded by a brick patio and landscaped garden areas, according to information on the Erie Rainbow Bridge website.

The Erie Rainbow Bridge Pet Memorial Garden, the brainchild of Millcreek Township resident Debbie Garcia, will be installed in Scott Park in the township as a space where pet owners can come and honor their departed and living animals. Designed and to be built by LM Wander & Sons Landscaping, the site will feature memorial bricks that pet ownners can purchase and personalize.

The patio will feature memorial bricks that people can purchase to honor their departed and living pets, with information on purchasing a personalized brick on the website. Debbie Garcia, the creator and driving force of the memorial garden project, has set an Aug. 17 deadline for purchasing a brick to be installed during the project's first phase and in place for the October grand opening.

"The brick sales are going well. We have great sponsorships, upwards of 200-plus sponsorships," Garcia said Aug. 12.

Bricks will continue to be sold after the Aug. 17 deadline and will be installed at the site as the project continues to advance toward completion, Garcia said.

Proceeds from the brick sale and from donations received for the project will go to the A.N.N.A. Shelter in Erie.

What led to the memorial garden's creation?

Garcia said she was always into doing something with animal rescues. When her mother, Gerri Randolph, died in August 2024, Garcia said she wanted to do something to honor her, as her mother had a lifelong love of and compassion for animals.

Having heard of Rainbow Bridge projects and after visiting one on Erie's east side, Garcia said she began developing plans for her project and reached out to Millcreek Township officials, then called Ruth Thompson, executive director of the A.N.N.A. Shelter.

"She right away said, 'Let's do it,'" Garcia said.

They went to work on the plan, creating the website and a Facebook page while securing a site for the garden and having plans drawn up for it.

Marsteller said it made sense to have the memorial garden in the 108-acre Scott Park, off West Sixth Street near Peninsula Drive, as it is one of the township's most traveled parks by animal owners including dog walkers.

The memorial garden, she said, will be of great benefit to township residents and visitors as it will provide them a place of reflection to remember their beloved pets.

"It's just a more serene area, a more peaceful area," Marsteller said. "It's something we haven't offered in our other parks, so I think it's a great opportunity for our residents."

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: A place to remember: Millcreek woman's vision leads to creation of spot to honor lost pets