b'winter parkHEALTHLTFITNESSFUNLOVECentral Floridas mos most experienced hydrotherapy facility forCentral Floridas most experienced hydrotherapy facility forhip/elbow dysplasia, arthritis, ACL injury, pre-/post-operative conditioning,y, pre-/post-operative conditioning,geriatric wellness, athletic fitness and performance.Rover reporting and Photography by Joyce McCombs.3rd Annual Canine Floating of the Lanterns Memorial was held HIP DOGApril 25th at Lake Baldwin in Winter Park Florida. This was a CANINE HYDROTHERAPY & FITNESSPAfirst for me, and I had no idea how emotional it would be. I WINTER PARK, FL 32792walked around snapping pictures of the various sitesthe wall 407-760-1484 of dog tags, posters and pictures of lost loved petsunder theassumption that I was simply covering an event forThe New Barker. As I observed people of all ages creatingbeautiful lanterns by handmany christened with teardropsit became much more. After a procession down to the dock, the lanterns wereplaced into canoes and taken out to the lake to be released.HIPDOG.NETSeveral people stepped up FACEBOOK.COM/HIPDOGK9HYDROTHERAPYto the mic to say a fewwords about the impactthat their pet had made intheir lives. One youngboy, about 11 or 12 yearsold made a particularlyemotional speech. Hetalked about the games and activities he and his best friendhad so much fun sharing, including the quiet snugglymoments. He brought the entire crowd to tears. One couple I met made it especially difficult for me to holdback the tears. The young lady did not want to be pho-tographed as she was deeply emo-tional over the loss of her two petsbut she wanted to speak aboutthem. They were sick and she vol-unteered to foster them, givingthem a home for the short timethey had left to live. That was when I understood theimportance of this event, wherepeople of all ages can come andhave a moment to grieve the lossand celebrate the little lives thatCheryl Scripter:The event make such a deep impact on ourallowed me to remember my hearts. Sharing a bond with othersbeloved Oscar, Deedles who understand the grief of losingand Rocky. a pet is a healthy way to cope andFloatingLanternMemorials.com allow the healing to begin. www.TheNewBarker.com Summer/Fall ~ 2015 THE NEW BARKER 81'