City to take out pet memorial rocks from Fiesta Island

A pet memorial at the dog park on Fiesta Island has been tagged for removal by the city after a concerned citizen reported someone burying a dog nearby.

“What I was told by a park ranger (who is a user of the island and devastated) is that someone buried a dog about 15 feet west of the memorial. They feel removing the memorial will discourage this apparently illegal act in the future. I suggested a sign posting this illegality, removal of the poor dog, and leaving the cherished memorial,” Ocean Beach local Katy Mahy told me.

Accompanied by her Cattle Dog, an Australian Shepherd and a neighbor's Terrier-mix, Mahy walked us through the dog park, south of the center trees, and down the center island path to the commemorative.

“There was a basset hound that this guy brought every day, I believe he had two, but his name was Otis, he was just the sweetest old dog,” Mahy says. “After Otis passed away there was a post put up and a little blurb about the dogs, and as people lost pets they would color a rock in their memory and leave it here, it’s the joy of remembering them, the serenity that goes with that, community support, and making new friends.”

Carolyn Chase, president of Fiesta Island Dog Owners (FIDO) said they would love to have a permanent landmark installed.

“What FIDO has been trying to do is convince the city that the memorial is not related to the burial, they have a similar memorial up at Kate Sessions Park, so we’ve argued to the management at Mission Bay Park that these are just rocks, there is no reason to remove them. The memorial and the burial are not related. It’s just a sad situation all around and I have not been able to speak with anyone from the city.”

And the fate of the painted commemorative stones?

“We made an announcement about the notice to remove, so hopefully the people are paying attention and were able to retrieve their stone,” Chase told us. “I don’t know if the memorial started with Otis, I don’t know, it spontaneously sprang up, people love it and FIDO would like to formalize the ability for people to memorialize their pets on bricks or stones or rocks.”

The removal date on the notice had been listed as March 27, 2022. However, a representative from the city said a date hasn’t been determined.

“The memorial has not been removed and the city is determining when staff will be able to remove the memorial and any animal remains at the site,” Tim Graham, supervising public information officer for the city of San Diego told us.

“The stones and other memorial items will be collected and kept with Mission Bay staff. Members of the public who wish to retrieve their items can call 858-581-7602 to arrange a time to pick them up. After consulting with the San Diego Humane Society, the city will remove the remains.”