A grieving pet owner is creating a memorial to honor the thousands of dogs and cats that died or became seriously ill during the 2007 melamine-tainted pet food recall.
The Oklahoma woman and her husband, who lost six pets in the recall that nuked their lives, have donated five acres of land near Keystone Lake in Tulsa for the sanctuary theyve named Vindication.
The memorial is scheduled to open on June 12, 2010.
The animals that were lost or are still suffering need to be counted and acknowledged, says the woman, who wants to remain anonymous. I want people to feel like their animals did matter. This memorial is to honor the bond between animals and humans.
Creating the memorial is also the donors way of helping pet owners deal with heartbreaking loss of their beloved dogs and cats.
Such a loss can shatter someones life, she says. It devastated hers.
She and her husband lost two dogs and four cats because of melamine-tainted food.
By March 17, one day after Menu announced its recall, I had three dead animals and three who were dying slowly, the woman says. I have cleaned vomit and bloody urine and know what happens when pets die of catastrophic kidney failure. And I cant tell you how it hurts me to open my door and walk into an empty house.
But this (memorial) isnt about my loss, she adds. Its about the thousands and thousands of pet owners out who are being stabbed in the backs. There is no justice or mercy for them or their pets. And there are no safer pet foods out there. Im doing this as one grieving pet family to the rest of those out there. And I honestly feel this will help their hearts heal.
The donor plans to transform the five acres of Oklahomas ancient Cross Timbers -- covered with 500-year-old oak trees -- into a memorial garden that will feature cascading pathways lined with flowers, park benches, and handmade stones. Each stone will bear the name of a dog or cat that died or is still sick because of the contaminated pet food, the donor says.
I will make all the stones at no cost to pet owners, she told ConsumerAffairs.com. I expect I will be overwhelmed, but I felt compelled to do this for the pet people. Its time somebody did something right for them.
Remembered 16
At the memorials entrance, the donor plans to create what she calls the Remembered 16 Circle. Shes making 16 stones to represent each of the animals that died during Menu Foods feed tests more than a month before the company announced the 2007 recall, the largest in United States history.
I gave them each a name, the donor says. They deserve to be honored. We need to lay their ghosts to rest.
The memorial will be divided into two areas -- one to honor the pets that died during the recall and the other for the dogs and cats that continue to suffer from the effects of the melamine-laced food.
Were going to show the names of the dead and tell the truth about what it costs to feed poison, the donor says. The dead wont lie; they died because of the pet food.
The donor also wants to honor the thousands of pets whose bodies are ravaged from the tainted food and the families who still struggle financially to care for their ailing dogs and cats.
Why were there no provisions made for the pets that are still sick in the lawsuits (filed in the wake of the recall)? the donor asks. Do you know the cost people are still paying for kidney failure in their animals? Its a staggering expense. Were going to collect stories about the economic devastation caused by the recall. Its costing pet owners hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The donor is all too familiar with the exorbitant costs of caring for pets with melamine-related illnesses. She and her husband planned to build a house and retire on the five acres they donated for the Vindication memorial.
But we cant afford to do that, not after all our (veterinary) expenses, she says. I guess the universe had different plans for us.
She adds: When I told my husband what I wanted to do, he said, Fine, lets do it for all the pet owners. And then he bought me a chainsaw.
Sorrow and anger
Traces of sorrow and anger are still etched in the donors voice when she talks about the heartache her family endured because of the melamine-tainted pet food.
Were still grieving, she says. It was unbearable to watch my husband hold our babies (pets) as they died. And it happened again and again.
She's furious that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) didnt do more to prevent this unbelievable nightmare.
The FDA can say all they want about how they didnt know what was going on, but theyre lying through their teeth, the donor says. The FDA has intentionally inflicted pain on us.they knew melamine was flooding into the country.
The cruelties have been done to pets and their owners, she adds. The last three years have been an unbelievable nightmare for them.
The donor, however, doesnt want to continue waging a verbal battle with the FDA and others involved in the recall. Shes chosen an unconventional war tactic to address her concerns and help grieving pet owners nationwide.
Im not talking anymore, she says. Im going to be gardening. Im an unusually gifted gardener and one determined person. And Ive found peace doing this for others.
The donors generosity has already given a grieving pet owner in Rhode Island a sense of peace.
This is a gift to all the pets who suffered, says Carol V., who lost two cats because of the tainted food. It shows how many pets suffered. It makes them count for something. It means theyre not forgotten.
Carols beloved cats will never be forgotten by her family or other pet owners who tour Vindication.
The donor has finished a memorial stone for one of Carols cats, a Calico named Smudge. The 13-year-old feline died in December 2008 of renal failure.
I cried like a baby when I saw Smudges stone, Carol told us. It made me feel like shes part of something bigger.
I think she (the donor) understands the depths of sadness pet owners have endured and had to do something. And it gives me a personal sense of peace that Smudge is now part of this memorial.
Pet advocate Susan Thixton, who runs www.TruthaboutPetFood.com, also applauds the donors action and generosity.
This gift has been given to us because the donors wanted all the innocent pets to be remembered, says Thixton, the spokesperson for the anonymous donor and her husband. They wanted no one to forget why these pets died or became ill, and they wanted pet owners to have something that can never be taken away.
The donors are leaving the five acres in a trust and have set aside money in their estate to maintain the property, Thixton says. They wanted this (memorial) to go to all pet owners.
The donors are not independently wealthy people. Thixton says. They are an average family that has been shattered by pet food. They recognized that we (pet owners) have been crushed time and time again. No laws have changed, no lawsuits have been settled, (and) none responsible have been jailed.
Now, thanks to this compassionate family, all these pets will be remembered; why they died will be remembered.
Pet owners whod like their deceased or ailing dogs or cats memorialized at Vindication can fill out a form on Thixtons Web site.
God bless these pet owners, the donor says. Everything thats been done to them in the past three years dishonors them. This (memorial) is to honor them and their petsI hope it makes them feel better.
