We’d just left an amazing view of an amazing landscape on an amazingly beautiful Vermont day in June.  Wait, dagdvm said as I drove us east on Route 2 towards our next geocache.  I just saw a sign for Dog Mountain.  It’s supposed to be a very special place.  We should go have a look.

Dog Mountain, rising high above St. Johnsbury, is dog lover Stephen Huneck’s legacy of joyous art, remembrance, and love.   There’s also plenty of space for all, canines and their loved ones of all species, to romp and run and play.

He created a gallery there to display his hand-crafted dogs-as-love creations, sculptures and paintings and more, all in celebration of life.

Huneck’s pieces speak of his love for dogs and their points of view.  His art encourages us to revel in our own lives.

He built Dog Chapel, a non-denominational refuge for the celebration of our loved ones, especially our canine loved ones.

We enjoyed standing on the threshold of a space that encouraged us to step inside with nothing but love in our hearts.

The chapel anteroom’s  walls were covered with hundreds upon hundreds of notes and photos left by previous visitors in memory of their loved ones, and also in memory of Stephen Huneck himself, who died in 2010.

What apparently started as one remembrance wall had turned into a whole chapel of cherished memories, one note and one picture at a time.  We were alone but we felt the collective presence of everyone who’d ever been there.

The effect of Dog Chapel’s warm embrace, stained glass and canine choir and doggie pews, was  magnified by the tangible evidence of love its visitors left behind.

If you find an opportunity to visit Stephen Huneck’s Dog Mountain please do go.   Dog Mountain can open your heart and put you in touch with what’s most important.  And it’s a lot of fun, too.