Pet Memorials
Pet Memorials
For many of us, animals are our closest companions and more – they are cherished members of our families. When a companion animal passes on, regardless of circumstances, we may experience a loss that is difficult to process. While how to best honor the life of an animal is a personal choice, creating a memorial to celebrate the life of our friend and family member can help to ease the grief that death causes. The Society offers you the opportunity to create a tribute to your companion animal, to make a memorial donation in your animal’s honor, and to invite others to share in the tribute.
Pet Name: HarlieDate of Birth: March 7, 2013
Date of Passing: March 22, 2023
Our girl Harlie was more human than dog . She was my companion, my best friend. She was very chatty, and held her own in a conversation. She loved to sneak up on you to scare you and was also very protective of her family and would always lay by the door when I would be away from home. When I walked through the door she would actually smile and her eyes lit up and especially when my son came home from college. She was also daddy’s girl; she loved to play rough and tumble around and mommy would have to break them up. She was just our whole world and left us so suddenly without warning in a heartbeat and we are so devastated and miss her so much. Life is very lonely without our girl. Ten years of joy wasn’t long enough but we’d do it again.
Pet Name: Minnie StroussDate of Passing: January 2023
Beloved cat.
Pet Name: Zoe
Date of Birth: September 1, 2008
Date of Passing: August 8, 2022
Zoe was a rescued mixed breed dog originally from Arkansas. She lived with me and loved all the seasons in Maine for more than 12 years. Zoe made a lot of human, canine, and feline friends and was the gentlest dog I ever knew. She is greatly missed.
Date of Passing: May 31, 2022
Belle was an older, gentle draft horse who came to the MSSPA after a hard life. Meris Bickford adopted her, and she had five years of excellent care and a very good life at the MSSPA farm.
Date of Passing: April 2022
Owen was beloved by Leah and David Hyler, and their feline family. He unexpectedly passed due to heart failure.
Date of Passing: March 22, 2022
Ava was a wonderful, gentle, friendly cat found as a stray. She liked people, dogs, and other cats and enjoyed her life very much.
Date of Passing: September 15, 2021
Lili was laid to rest this afternoon, one day after her 36th birthday. She was a beautiful girl, inside and out. Our lives were richer by having her in our barn. She will forever be missed by us and her equine companion, Jori. Rest in peace Miss Lili. You were such a joy to us.
-Phyllis and Rob Flint
Junior was a longtime companion and dear friend to Sarah Strouss, a friend to cats everywhere.
-Meris Bickford and Windy River
“George Cooney” was a Maine coon cat adopted from the Animal Refuge League after his mother and litter were fostered. He was a magnificent, smart, very friendly companion for over 17 years.
-Alice Persons
Duchy was a beautiful girl, inside and out. She was a typical GSP with lots of energy, a bit of a drama queen, and the best cuddler on the planet. She loved tennis balls, had a loud & proud bark, and is sorely missed. She passed away tragically in relation to a recent diagnosis of DISH.
-Megan Stiles
Mr. Grayson was a stray who came to the MSSPA when it cared for cats. He was adopted, but eventually his kind owner died and he was returned to the farm. Meris adopted him and he had a good “second life” with her. Mr. Grayson was a magnificent cat who weighed as much as 25 pounds. He was dignified, loving and handsome and is much missed.
-Alice Persons
Sweet Baby James was a beautiful Maine coon owned by my friend Anne. He was a wonderful cat and will always be missed.
-Alice Persons
Fiona came to the MSSPA as a stray in 2007 back when they still took in cats and dogs. She brought me nothing but joy for 11 years. She was the sweetest, gentlest, most lady-like cat I have ever had. She is gone now, and very much missed, but will never be forgotten.
-Alice Persons
She was a devoted and loving sheltie for over 15 years, and she is greatly missed.
-Ray Monahan
My Great Aunt Juliette was a horse lover; she died in May 2018. This is a photo of her that appeared in a magazine article about Derby Day. The horse is Twyla. Juliette Persons Doster lived in Anniston, Alabama.
-Alice Persons
Prince Charles was a bay mini gelding, somewhere in his 30’s when he was euthanized in October. He was one of those ‘pass along’ horses; he lived with me the last 3 years of his life. By the time I got him, he had untreated Cushings, arthritis, and bad laminitis and was about 100 pounds overweight, having been dropped in a pasture while his owner and the pasture owner argued over whether he was a free-lease or a boarder. I bought him for $1. Rumor is, he was once a ‘champion cart horse’ in the Pacific NW before he fetched up in Maine. I was probably the 7th or 8th person to have him here. I miss the old fellow; He had the most beautiful eyes and he deserved better.
-Andrea St. George Jones
Pet Name: Mocha (and Manny)She and her brother, Manny were the most lovable and tender Siamese! Mocha loved to snuggle, loved playing fetch with a tiny wad of paper and loved playing hide and seek. We miss her and her brother Manny like crazy.
-Deb and Pete Gellerson
Pet Name: NewmanA tiny kitten, Newman was rescued from a road in rural Maine by Meris Bickford, CEO of MSSPA. He grew to be a 20-pound behemoth. He was a neighborhood character and fierce hunter. Newman lived with diabetes and other health issues; he mellowed into a calm indoor cat in his last years. A poem about him was read by Garrison Keillor on The Writer’s Almanac on NPR: “To My Cat With An Eating Disorder.” Newman was one of a kind.
-Alice Persons
Pet Name: DieselDiesel was my constant companion. He spent every day with me on the farm and shared every meal. I spoiled him but what he gave back to me was priceless. It’s hard to imagine my life without him. I know he is in a better place after his struggle with pancreatic cancer and he watches me every day. You were a good dog, D.
-Marie Fisk
Pet Name: OliviaOlivia was a rescued cat who lived to be almost 20. She was a tiny, dirty, frightened, abused kitten when I adopted her. She would not let me pet her for about 6 months. Little Olivia never got any bigger than about 7 pounds, but she was lightning quick, very sweet and grateful for her life as an indoor cat. She loved to eat, sleep in the sun, and gentle stroking. I miss her.
-Alice Persons
I first fell in love with Trixie at the age of nine, on the day she was born on a neighbors farm. She became mine on Easter morning of 1980 and for the next twenty-five years she was my best friend, alter-ego, and confidant. Her unconditional love and acceptance gave me the strength to set goals, believe in myself, and to stand strong against my father’s psychological cruelties and demeaning attitude. By example, Trixie showed me how to become the type of person I wanted to be, one capable of love, compassion, and generosity.
-Kimberly Sue McLaughlin