June 27, 2022

WOW Story: Bark Park Memorial

Barbara Carrillo, Community Manager, Experience Leader
Coles Crossing, Cypress, TX 
Employee since 2016

The Opportunity

Jay and his wife Janet have been residents at Venterra’s Coles Crossing community since 2011. During their time at the property, they had 2 furry family members who were whippets, a fast and intelligent type of dog breed. They had Brittany when they first moved in and she was with them for 11 years. After she passed, they decided to get another whippet and they named him Ace. Ace was friendly and loved throughout the community. Unfortunately, Ace passed in April of this year after 3 wonderful years with the Spiegels.

The Epiphany

As a dog owner herself, Barbara could see the pain and sadness in the resident’s eyes whenever he came in the office in the following month and a half after losing Ace. Jay still was visiting Bark Park every day and sitting on the park bench to chat with other dog owners and remember the good times he had with his dogs in the space. This is when Barbara knew she had to do something to honor his dogs and the memories they shared at the Bark Park.

The Wow Moment

The landscapers installed a tree and the memorial stone in the Bark Park. Jay went on his daily walk to the Bark Park to sit at the park bench, where saw the newly planted tree and went over to investigate what the sign at the base of the tree said. He said he lost it when he saw that the stone was in memory of his beloved dogs Brittany and Ace. He came in the office two days in a row to say how thoughtful this was and how grateful and touched he and his wife were by this memorial of their sweet furry family members.

The Result