My 43-year-old daughter passed away in March. She is buried at the Varney Cemetery in Brunswick. My husband and I visit daily and are comforted by what a nice and peaceful spot it is for her final resting place.

Today however, we saw something that was very troubling to us. A middle-aged woman was walking her two dogs in the cemetery. I realize that people do that frequently, but this woman let her dogs off their leash, and they were running all over the grass and gravestones in opposite directions.

She ran after one while the other one came close to my daughter’s grave and relieved himself. When she finally recovered both dogs, my husband mentioned to her that he hoped she wasn’t letting her dogs relieve themselves on the gravestones. She was a little put out and said that she was working toward that. I got the feeling that she wasn’t really concerned about it. I wonder if it was her child or other loved one if she would have done things differently.

I feel that she was very disrespectful to allow her dogs to run all over the cemetery. There are plenty of places in the town of Brunswick to let your dogs run free, but I do not feel that a sacred place like a cemetery is one of them.

I came away feeling very sad and troubled that someone would show such disrespect towards my daughter and all the others buried there.
I would ask that when people are walking thru a cemetery that they show respect for both the people buried there and the ones left behind who are grieving them. Please keep your dogs on a leash and walk them on the road, not on the grass and gravestones.

Diane Sanoski,
Brunswick