'Please leave Dexter's Legacy alone' - Fleetwood dog owner devastated after beloved ball memorial ransacked
“It’s so sad, I can’t understand it.”
Heartless yobs targeting a special ‘legacy box’ set up with tennis balls to bring joy to dogs when walking with their owners has been ransacked - three times.
Courtney Turner was determined to make sure her beloved Labrador Dexter’s memory lived on in a positive way, after he died in December 2024.
The 10 and half-year-old pet was Courtney’s best friend and she is still grieving his loss - but she decided to do something special in a bid to keep his memory alive.
She placed a basket full of tennis balls at Fleetwood Nature Reserve and pinned posters to the fence to explain to dog owners what it was for - to play throw and fetch. A Facebook page was set up where dog owners could share photos of their pets chasing and catching the balls on their daily walks.
Courtney, 22, a veterinary nurse chose Dexter’s birthday - July 23 - to launch ‘Dexter’s Legacy’ but is devastated by what has happened since.
“Two weeks after I put the box there, I saw on a friend’s video that the balls had been stolen and replaced with rocks,” she said. “The laminated signs were nowhere to be seen.
“So I re-did it, this time pinning the signs to the fence, I put a lot of effort into it but they were damaged again.
“And then it happened again. It’s so sad, I can’t understand it.”
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“It’s just disrespectful for someone who is grieving. People don’t have to use it, if anyone doesn’t like it, my email is on the Facebook page, just tell me.
“The picture of Dexter on the posters show him swimming in the pond - it was his favourite place to be - I could never get him out of there.
“I know dogs aren’t allowed to swim there anymore but they can be exercised and play with the balls.
“He was an embodiment of love and happiness and I want keep that going for other dogs.”
Fleetwood Nature Reserve is a popular dog walking spot, overlooking the River Wyre.
Courtney is pleading with owners to keep an eye out with hopes the menacing will stop and leave Dexter’s Legacy in peace.