Heartfelt advocacy for dog memorial at Coot Lake

Randy Bare can often be found sitting on a bench next to the community-built dog companion memorial with his dog, Mia, at Coot Lake in Gunbarrel. Many refer to him as "the mayor of Coot Lake." Bare knows most of the dogs that enjoy Coot Lake and many of their owners/guardians.

Coot Lake and the trail surrounding it is well known as dog friendly, beautiful, and accessible. Located on 63rd Street between the Diagonal and Monarch Road across from IBM, it is enjoyed as a "dog playground."

Bare, a retired contractor and home inspector, comes to Coot Lake nearly every day with Mia from Lafayette. He calls the area a "community" where people know each other and come for exercise and camaraderie. Bare said he even picks up after people's dogs if necessary because "this is my backyard and I like to keep my backyard clean."

The memorial began "at least 12 years ago," Bare said, as a small heart shape on the ground lined with stones. Soon, others would put "spirit stones" or rocks marked with pet names in the heart.

The City of Boulder then unceremoniously dismantled the memorial. It was rebuilt, but the city dismantled it again. Bare said he has seen the heart-shaped stone memorial be built and destroyed nearly 20 times since January. "The memorial would be destroyed in the morning and rebuilt by the afternoon," he said.

Bare said that each time it was rebuilt by community members, it would get slightly larger "because they were pissed off." Bare spoke with Regina Elsner, Senior Manager of Natural Resources at the City of Boulder Department of Parks and Recreation several times since mid-January regarding the destruction of the memorial, but obtained no resolution. Bare said, "She implied it was an eyesore."

Bare and others presented the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board with a petition of over 400 signatures asking that the memorial remain. Bare told Elsner, "How do you not have the funding to fix the broken foot bridge but you have the funding to send people to Coot Lake over 20 times to dismantle a dog memorial?"

Bare has been an outspoken advocate for the memorial, stating that "these aren't just pets, they are family, best friends, [and] dearly loved companions."

Elsner has suggested a meeting at the beginning of April.

Catherine McCall, a Niwot resident who regularly walks her dog at Coot Lake, said, "It is heartbreaking that they keep removing the memorial. It (the memorial) is such a sweet thing. What kind of culture are we if we can't express our love for our animals in a community space?"

McCall added, "Can you explain why memorial benches, made of metal or stone, in memory of humans are allowed all around Coot Lake, yet a natural stone outline of a heart on the ground is not?"

Sage Hamilton and Christopher Sassano, regular visitors to Coot Lake along with their dogs, Sati and Blue, echoed the sentiment. Hamilton said, "Why do we endorse neutral separation which has no heart? We should be true to our hearts."

Bare compared the removal of memorial stones with removing a loved ones' headstone. Bare, who placed one of the first stones in the memorial in memory of his dog Tasha, said, "Each time they take the stones away, you have to relive the loss."

Jonathan Thornton, City of Boulder Communications Senior Program Manager, responded, "This area is a natural space sanctioned and managed by Parks and Recreation for the good of the entire Boulder community. It's city policy to remove items that are placed in parks that are not sanctioned by the city. Something like this needs to fit into the space's aesthetics and we need to plan for its care and maintenance so, as has happened with this memorial, it doesn't grow in size and possibly become unmanageable.

We also need to manage our public spaces so the community doesn't start additional memorials or other community creations, which could start to become significant in size and number in these public spaces." Thornton also said, "We posted a sign informing community members that we can return the memorial rocks to those community members who placed them there."

Thornton added that the City will consider community proposals for a "sanctioned memorial."

With respect to the damaged foot bridge, Thornton said, "We are working on the design, permitting and scheduling the construction for the bridge. We don't have a timeline yet, but will let our community know when we do."

Elsner told Bare she will meet with community members in early April.