A legendary local dog lover of the highest order has had his name permanently enshrined within the play-haven and community connection hub he helped create.
A memorial plaque honouring Norm Sigmund was unveiled at Ucluelet’s Dog Park on August 19.
“He loved all dogs and Most people,” the plaque reads, in part. “We will miss your stories Norm.”
It was unveiled by Sigmund’s daughters Norannda, Natalee and Nicole in front of a large crowd of dogs and their owners who had gathered at the park to honour him and share fond memories of the impact he had on them.
“The dog park was such a special place for my dad,” Norannda told the Westerly News during the special event. “He always wanted to be here and the people who spent time with him at the dog park meant so much to him. So, for everyone to come together and celebrate in his honour and to put in the effort to have this space always here for him is just so moving for us and to have a plaque and a place for us to come and think about all of our fond memories is really special. We’re so grateful.”
She added her dad and his dog Honey, 11, loved interacting at the park.
“He loved people and connection and community and this gave him that. It was a place for him and his best friend, his dog, to meet other friends and dogs and share stories. Stories were huge for him, just talking and hearing people, listening and sharing,” she said.
“Be generous with your love and kindness. That is the legacy he wanted to leave.”
Honey attended the ceremony, which was co-organized by Bruce Faith and Deb Kelleher.
“Norm was one of the members of the Dog Park family who was instrumental in creating all of this,” Faith told the Westerly News at the event. “It was very inspiring to see somebody so dedicated to the community and wanting to have a spot like this for everybody in the community…Norm was fun. He was a good guy, he had all sorts of great stories to tell us and he’d do anything for you.”
He explained that Sigmund would hang out at the park, but also put work in on maintenance and beautification.
“He did a lot. Under his health conditions, it was amazing what he came in and did for us at the dog park…He cared about the community. He just really cared. He wanted this spot,” he said. “Norm just wanted a place that was a great, relaxing, social area for the owners but, more importantly, the dogs. He loved the dogs. He loved the park. He loved the people,”
He added the park is a testament to Sigmund’s legacy.
“It’s brought together dogs and people for a nice, social, calm atmosphere. People come here to socialize and bring their dogs and the dogs of course love it more than the people do,” he said.
Deb Kelleher said she had been friends with Sigmund for about 35 years and she was heartened to see such a large turnout attend to honour him.
“There’s a lot of people here to remember Norm and I’m really happy about it because Norm meant a lot to a lot of us. This dog park wouldn’t be like this if it wasn’t for Norm,” she said.
“For him, it would just warm his heart completely up because I don’t think he knew how much he meant to everybody that knew him. I don’t think he knew how much he meant to everybody standing right here, right now. I don’t think he had a clue. I wish he did because he was just a huge, special presence. I miss him.”
She recalled the laughter Sigmund brought wherever he went.
“A lot of people laughed really hard because of Norm. I think he brought a lot of joy into people’s lives just with a short little visit, a stop on the sidewalk or whatever,” she said.
“He made us laugh. I’ve never laughed as hard in my life as I’ve laughed with Norm. I hope I do again sometime…He was always grateful no matter what and found joy in every little thing. The last year of Norm’s life, we spent a lot of time together and it was real special times. I won’t ever forget it.”
She added that Sigmund set out to and accomplished making the dog park “the most welcoming place in town” with an always friendly vibe.
“He loved dogs more than he loved people, but he loved people a lot,” she said. “He loved dogs more than anything. To him they were the purest form of love and he wanted a place where they could just come and be that. And he did. That’s what this place is because of him.”
The off-leash park, located at Tugwell Fields, helped dog owner and artist Susan Wright connect to her new Ucluelet community, which she moved to full time about two years ago.
“It’s my community,” Wright, who painted the mural at the park’s entrance, told the Westerly News. “If it weren’t for the dog park, I wouldn’t really know anybody…Look all over the world, community is the most important thing in so many cultures. I think we forget about that in North America and the Western World. When you have a dog, you talk to strangers. Your dogs meet and you’re not going to stand there staring at the dogs, you start talking to the owner and you meet people that way. It’s a dog owner community.”
