It's a way to remember man's best friend and memorialize our pets that mean so much to us.Lynn Byrd started something called ‘The Little Pet Chapel Project' just a few years ago.She and her husband build and paint small chapels that the city of Winston-Salem then install in parks across the Piedmont Triad.The small spaces are filled with a whole lot of love. “I open the doors, and love just pours out,” Byrd said. “It's so fantastic.”The chapels are filled with hundreds of Post-it notes remembering our special pets that have passed on and left us with so many meaningful memories.”Ninety-nine percent of what goes in a chapel is pure love from somebody's heart,” Byrd said.”It's sacred,” she added. “And it's to honor something sacred.”A myriad of memories memorializing man's best friend.”To read the journal entries is amazing,” Byrd said. “People pour their hearts out and write stories — they put photos of their animals.”The concept of doing something to remember the pets we've loved, and memorializing them once they've been lost, is something she thought of doing years ago.”It humbles me,” she said. “This whole project is humbling.”Byrd first launched the project in 2020, and since then, it has continued to expand. “I lost both of my horses, my parents, my dog and my best friend all in the same year,” Byrd said. “And then it just snowballed — and I'm not alone. People grieve huge losses all the time, but it was so much, and I knew I needed something for myself.”Since launching the project, Lynn's husband builds the chapels, she paints them, and the city installs them.”Some of the notes are short, some are done by children,” Byrd said. “But they're all filled with love– and that's what this is about.”From journal entries to post-it notes to photos and everything in between, these are sanctified sentiments, to a sacred slice of our lives, we lost much too soon. “Animals are here to teach us how to love– that's their main job,” Byrd said. “To show us how to love each other and take care of each other and take care of them– and sometimes, they leave us too soon.”Byrd checks in on what's inside the pet chapels at least once every two weeks.There are sometimes even post-it notes to remember people as well.The little pet chapels are funded through donations and through Byrd's art sales.You can learn more about the pet chapel project by clicking here.
It's a way to remember man's best friend and memorialize our pets that mean so much to us.
Lynn Byrd started something called ‘The Little Pet Chapel Project' just a few years ago.
She and her husband build and paint small chapels that the city of Winston-Salem then install in parks across the Piedmont Triad.
The small spaces are filled with a whole lot of love.
“I open the doors, and love just pours out,” Byrd said. “It's so fantastic.”
The chapels are filled with hundreds of Post-it notes remembering our special pets that have passed on and left us with so many meaningful memories.
“Ninety-nine percent of what goes in a chapel is pure love from somebody's heart,” Byrd said.
“It's sacred,” she added. “And it's to honor something sacred.”
A myriad of memories memorializing man's best friend.
“To read the journal entries is amazing,” Byrd said. “People pour their hearts out and write stories — they put photos of their animals.”
The concept of doing something to remember the pets we've loved, and memorializing them once they've been lost, is something she thought of doing years ago.
“It humbles me,” she said. “This whole project is humbling.”
Byrd first launched the project in 2020, and since then, it has continued to expand.
“I lost both of my horses, my parents, my dog and my best friend all in the same year,” Byrd said. “And then it just snowballed — and I'm not alone. People grieve huge losses all the time, but it was so much, and I knew I needed something for myself.”
Since launching the project, Lynn's husband builds the chapels, she paints them, and the city installs them.
“Some of the notes are short, some are done by children,” Byrd said. “But they're all filled with love– and that's what this is about.”
From journal entries to post-it notes to photos and everything in between, these are sanctified sentiments, to a sacred slice of our lives, we lost much too soon.
“Animals are here to teach us how to love– that's their main job,” Byrd said. “To show us how to love each other and take care of each other and take care of them– and sometimes, they leave us too soon.”
Byrd checks in on what's inside the pet chapels at least once every two weeks.
There are sometimes even post-it notes to remember people as well.
The little pet chapels are funded through donations and through Byrd's art sales.
You can learn more about the pet chapel project by clicking here.