Nearly five dozen bricks memorializing deceased pets were stolen from a park in St. Louis, according to the Humane Society of Missouri.
Representatives of the nonprofit said Tuesday that someone overnight pried up and took 54 bronze plaques from the Carol Gates Throop Memorial Park on Macklind Avenue.
“We are devastated that this peaceful space, which welcomes countless people and pets, has been so mistreated,” the humane society posted on its Instagram page. “Moments like this remind us why spaces of remembrance matter so deeply.”
The park is on the site of the original humane aociety location. In 1997, the organization moved to its new headquarters across the street.
Pet owners can buy plaques or bricks to remember their animals, and the park includes a columbarium for cremated pets’ ashes. Volunteers frequently walk pets available for adoption at the site, which also contains a dog run.
The bronze plaques are personalized and set into a walkway that circles the park. No other parts of the site appear to be disturbed, officials said.
It’s possible the thieves struck over multiple nights, said communications officer Laura Keller. Humane society volunteers this week noticed someone had dug up the ground.
“Initially, the thought from some of the volunteers is that they thought we were just kind of replacing some, and [they] didn't realize that they were actually stolen,” she said.
“It’s unfortunate for us, it’s unfortunate for the person who feels as though [it’s] valuable enough to steal from a memorial park. It’s just a sad situation, really.”
Keller said the organization will replace the bricks — at a cost of about $19,000.
The society has records of who bought each brick and how they were personalized, she said. Examining which bricks are left will enable deducing which ones are missing.
“We definitely have an accounting of who has bought memorials and what they said, because we obviously order them on their behalf,” she said. “Hopefully we will put them back in the exact same place that they were, but we'll be working with the families to ensure that they're satisfied with the replacement.”
Police have placed a mobile surveillance unit outside the park on the off chance the thieves return, Keller said.
