Winston -Salem’s “Small Domestic Chapels” provides an output for grief – WFDD

When you pass through one of the many Winston-Salem parks, you can find a box that resembles one of those small free libraries where people share books with neighbors. But when you open the box, instead of finding books, you will see a collection of notes, photos, memories and yes, valentines dedicated to departed pets. They are part of the Small Pets project, the birth of local author and artist Lin Bird.

Bird has experience in veterinary medicine and animal monitoring. She spends much of her time these days in maintaining the chapels and finding paths to expand the project.

WFDD’s Neil Chanoff recently sat down with Lynn Bird to talk about the small chapel pets.

Interview accents

To build chapels:

“My husband builds them, I paint them, and the city installs them. There is no exchange of money for this project. It is just a love gift we give to the city, and the city in return gives us the workpiece to do what we need to We do to install them.

Regarding plans for future chapels (currently there are chapels in Long Creek Park, Miller Park, Hathaway Park and Trailhead Muddy Creek):

“Forsyth’s Human Society will have a chapel on the spot, probably again in their garden area. And the second chapel we work on is probably entering Park Washington. So we are always looking for help to build these chapels. We could really use Some volunteers who have carpentry skills to help us build these chapels so that we can get more about the public.

Why the project for a little pets has resonated with the public:

“Those animals we love we love are placed on the planet to teach us how to love. The end of history. This is their main job. So when they die, we never overcome it .