MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL (June 15, 2009) - On Tuesday, June 16, army specialist Gwen Beberg will be a guest speaker at the College of Veterinary Medicine’s annual Nestle Purina Memories Garden ceremony. Clients and friends of the College will pay special tribute to the loss of their companion animals and dedicate new bricks in their memory, which are permanently placed in the garden. The event begins at 6:30 p.m. and is open to the public.
Beberg was serving with the U.S. Army in Iraq when she rescued a stray puppy, Ratchet, from a pile of burning trash. Deciding to adopt the puppy and determined to bring him home to the United States, Gwen and her friends from Operation Baghdad Pups secured Ratchet’s homecoming -- a process that took several months and was covered in the news. Gwen now resides in Spring Lake Park, Minnesota, with Ratchet at her side.
Dave Runkle will also be a guest speaker at the ceremony. Runkle and his wife, Luanna, are longtime members of the Greater Twin Cities Golden Retriever Club. The loss of their beloved William, as well as many other cherished goldens, inspired the Will-Power Fund, which will support the research of Dr. Jaime Modiano in his cancer studies with humans and dogs.
The Nestle Purina Memories Garden was established in 2002 to provide a private, outdoor place for pet owners to spend quiet time with pets being treated at the Veterinary Medical Center. It is supported by individual donors who purchase bricks engraved with inscriptions to honor their pets. Since inception, more than 100 people have purchased bricks and donated them to the Memories Garden. New bricks are dedicated each year at the Memories Garden ceremony, where people share pictures, poems and memories of their companion animals.
For more information about the Memories Garden, contact Shirley De la Torre at 612-624-6146 or
delat010@umn.edu.
