Celebration of loved animals takes next step

Last Friday, members of Sonoma Valley Dog Owners and Guardians (“DOG”) met with Assistant City Manager Carol Giovanatto to discuss their idea for a memorial for pets and to receive guidance from city staff as to what they might be facing in terms of maintenance, liability, and possible location.
“At this point, we don’t have anything concrete,” said Giovanatto, “Within the next three weeks, we’ll be looking at sites on publicly owned property, and will lay out options for Sonoma Valley DOG as to what might be possible.” She was careful not to “plant” any conceptual ideas at this time, since it is important to those proposing the idea that the design and concept be created in collaboration with the community. Also, before the design can be imagined, the proper location needs to be selected, and the city will now begin looking at possibilities. “They want something the public wants and would be involved in,” said Giovanatto.
Once a site is selected, the proponents of the idea visualize launching a community art project to work out a design. “What we’d like to do is go out and solicit a design concept,” said Joan Tillman, a DOG founder. “From that point we’d then be working with the arts commission and other established groups to look at those designs. We see it may take a long time for this to happen, and It would be nice to do something ninety-nine percent of people can feel good about. We’re just trying to create a sense of community around something which it seems is of growing importance in people’s lives.”