The story behind that box of tennis balls at a Hilton Head beach | Opinion
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It takes your breath away to consider the death of a pet.
And not just your own.
I was reminded of this over the weekend on a walk at Folly Field Beach on Hilton Head Island.
At the end of the boardwalk, there is a sign — “In Loving Memory of Molly” — along with a box of tennis balls.
There, in front of both, I found myself with a hitch in the throat, suddenly mourning the loss of a dog I never knew, and feeling profound sadness for a person I had never met.
But, as anyone who’s ever owned a dog can tell you, strangers don’t stay that way for long.
“I’m so happy,” Suzanne Brown, Molly’s owner, said over the phone Tuesday. “I can’t tell you happy I am to know it’s still there and it’s still working.”
The story behind the memorial might break your heart.
But then it will mend it.
Here is that story:
Brown lived 48 years without a dog.
Then she fixed that.
On a trip to Vermont seven years ago, she encountered neighbors who had a yellow lab puppy.
“Where did you get this dog?” Brown asked. “It’s so beautiful.”
From a breeder in Pennsylvania, they told her.
The puppy, it turned out, had two sisters that were still available.
So Brown, a graphic designer who lives in Westchester County, N.Y., and is a frequent Hilton Head visitor, drove to Pennsylvania with her cousin.
The cousin brought home one.
And Brown brought home the other.
“It was the best, best decision of my life,” she said.
Immediately, Brown’s life changed.
“She taught me it was OK to step out of my comfort zone,” Brown said of Molly.
Where her owner was sort of shy and reserved, Molly was a people person.
Where Brown saw daily grind, Molly saw adventure.
Molly’s love of mud puddles and dirty paw prints forced Brown to abandon some of her more Type A tendencies.
The two spent every day together.
They went on early morning hikes. They played. And they traveled.
“I got the dog that was meant for me,” Brown said Tuesday. “She was perfect.”
Molly brought so much laughter to her days that, in 2017, Brown felt inspired to share the good humor with others and created an Instagram account just for her dog.
There, at @iammollygirl, Brown posted hundreds of photos and videos of a “ball obsessed human trapped in the body of a dog” swimming and snuggling and goofing around.
In a field. On a dock. At the beach.
In costume. Out of costume.
With friends.
Sleeping.
Staring into the camera.
“I didn’t have enough time with her,” Brown said.
At the end of September, Molly, just 7, died unexpectedly of acute pancreatitis. It hit her hard, and she went quickly.
Now, the photos on Molly’s Instagram are of the small memorials Brown leaves to mark their favorite spots — yellow flowers near a lake, painted stones on a trail, and lots of balls for other dogs to enjoy.
“I told you I would come each day, and I do,” a caption reads under a photo of a tennis ball tucked among fallen leaves.
On Hilton Head, whenever she was in town, Brown would take Molly to the beach in the mornings and again in the evenings.
As they traveled down the boardwalk, Molly would pull on her leash.
“She was like a sled dog,” Brown said. “She could not wait. She wanted to get there and see something.”
Molly gravitated toward people. They remembered her name.
Kids would come up to her to say hi.
She’d tire herself out running after whatever ball was thrown for her.
“She had no fears,” Brown said. “She just loved every second of life.”
Brown wanted to pay these moments and that spirit forward.
The memorial urges passersby to take or contribute balls so that dogs can play on the beach as Molly had.
“We hope that you live each day just like Molly did — filled with unconditional love, loyalty and joy,” the sign reads.
Brown set up the memorial on Oct. 22.
Afterward, she hung back silently.
She watched people’s reactions as they walked by.
“That dog died?” she heard a child say.
She saw one person cry.
And she saw people take balls for their dogs.
“I wanted to do something to honor her,” Brown said.
And she did.
