Dogs are considered man’s best friend. But many pooch enthusiasts believe that the bond runs much deeper than that.
In fact, it can feel almost spiritual.
Stephen and Gwen Huneck is a couple that wholeheartedly believed that there is something otherworldly about the love they felt — and received — from their black Labrador named Sally.
In fact, in 1995, shortly after the couple bought their dream home on 150 acres of Vermont wilderness, tragedy struck. Stephen, an artist and sculptor, fell down a flight of stairs. The spill resulted in adult respiratory distress syndrome, which caused him to fall into a coma for two months.
His doctors had little hope for my recovery, but he felt the strong energy from those that loved him, and finally awoke. Yet the healing process was not easy.
“I had to learn to walk, write, and carve all over again,” he wrote on his website Dog Mountain.
His recovery was long and hard. Yet, the healing process was made a bit less strenuous by the aid of Gwen and sweet Sally who offered him her love, loyalty, and compassion. To him, Sally felt like more than a dog, she was family — and that’s when he got a crazy idea…
During his recovery, while he was still grasping for the skills he lost and surrounded by reminders of his life before his accident, he began to think about death and its rituals. “Since dogs are family members, too, I thought it would be wonderful if we could create a ritual space to help achieve closure and lessen the pain when we lose a beloved dog.”
He was walking through his home, in a walker, “because my muscles had atrophied, moving with difficulty from one room” when he was struck with an idea to make his finest piece of art, which was inspired by his love for Sally.
“As I placed the walker over the threshold of the room a thought flooded my head: Build a dog chapel.”
His initial reaction was excitement, but then reality set in. He thought: “'Geez, with what I owe in medical bills I'd be lucky to build a little dog house.'” But the thought kept haunting him.
“Although I had no money, I didn't let that stop me,” said Stephen. “I put the word out to some people I knew who tear down antique buildings. I told them I was looking for stained-glass windows for my dog chapel.”
Then one day he got a call. A man he knew who had just torn down an old church in upstate New York said he had some stained-glass windows that would be perfect. There was only one problem: They were $6,000. He couldn’t afford it.
As he hung up the phone heartbroken, an elderly couple that had overheard his half of the conversation asked him about it. "I explained my vision of building a dog chapel. They did not say to me, 'You're crazy,' which was the typical response. Being dog lovers themselves, they thought my idea of a dog chapel made perfect sense.” They made him a deal. If they made him a table, they’d give him the money on the spot.
“Of course I told them we had a deal!” he said. He ran over to look at the windows and they were perfect…especially when he added his own details.
“With that purchase, the dog chapel started to seem like a reality,” said Stephen.
“Three years and a lot of work later I completed the Dog Chapel.”
“I spared no expense or labor to make it just as beautiful as I possibly could.”
Located on their 150 acres in Vermont, Dog Mountain includes forests, trails, a pond, and of course the chapel.
The site is always open to dogs and their humans. Dog Mountain allows pooches to romp off-leash and to play in the wilderness.
The property boasts many of Stephen’s sculptures.
Some are hauntingly beautiful.
Stephen believed that the chapel was the greatest and most personal artwork of his life. “[The chapel is] a place where people can go and celebrate the spiritual bond they have with their dogs.”
The chapel serves as a place for people of all faiths, or no faith, to reflect on and celebrate dogs that have passed on.
Visitors have wallpapered the building’s walls with notes and photos that pay tribute to the bond between humans and dogs.
“It is a very moving experience – sad, certainly, but also uplifting – to see how much everyone cherishes his or her dog. Grieving for a lost dog is one aspect of the Dog Chapel, but equally important is celebrating the joy of living and the bond between dogs and their owners,” said Stephen.
Unfortunately, in 2010 and 2013, Stephan and Gwen passed, respectively.
The former general manager of Dog Mountain, Amanda Brown, now devotes her energy to keeping the doors of Dog Chapel open in their memory.
She’s created new books based off of Stephen’s writings about Sally and sells many of his paintings like this one:
Dog Mountain also hosts several dog parties that bring in hundreds of people.
Amanda wouldn’t trade it for anything.
“One of my favorite things to hear is how when people who are returning to [Dog Mountain] turn on to our dirt road they say their sleepy dog perks up and becomes all alert,” she said.
“Once the mountain is in sight and the smells hit their noses, the pups get so excited. It warms my heart to know that the mountain brings so much joy to dogs.”
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