City response puts memorial project on hold for victims of Saskatoon kennel tragedy

A memorial project for 14 dogs that died at a Saskatoon kennel this fall has reached a roadblock.

Alix Tumback wanted to honour the families still mourning the loss of their beloved pets after a heating system malfunctioned at Playful Paws Pet Center on Sept. 10.

“It’s important to make sure that we don’t forget – this is the first way to do it,” she said.

Tumback is an active member of Saskatoon’s dog rescue community and was moved to create special plaques to remember the animals.

The deaths resonated with pet owners in Saskatoon and intensified efforts to change kennel regulations in the province.  

“I thought creating these memorials that we could put in places that dog-minded folks would go – like dog parks – would be a great idea,” she said.

Tumback received positive feedback on her first design and a grassroots fundraising effort quickly got underway to pay for 10 plaques – eight for the city’s existing dog parks and two upcoming spaces.

The markers are no bigger than an A4-sized piece of paper and are durable enough to withstand Saskatchewan weather.

The project hit a snag, however, when Tumback called the city about how to get the plaques into the parks.

“It started with having to make a business case and telling them how we would maintain these monuments – and was there a difference between monuments and plaques.”

Tumback said the conversation ended with a plan to connect her with someone from the city who could provide the necessary information to move forward with the project.

She has yet to hear back since that call at the end of September.

“They have it in theory what they want from us, but they haven’t been able to articulate the process to us,” she said.

Now, Tumback is hoping for a response from the city to better explain what happens next. All of this at a time when the families are preparing for their first holiday season without their beloved pets.  

“The idea of these plaques has been brought up for months now and I’d love to see it come to fruition specifically for these people to help them grieve,” Tumback said.