Marley the chocolate lab loved the beach.
In 2017, after 15 years of being Kimby Yarborough's best friend, she passed away.
"I was devastated," said Yarborough, "She was my everything. She was there for college, boyfriends, jobs, when I came to Jacksonville from South Carolina, she's been there through everything."
Pets are part of our family and they're only around to brighten our lives for a short time.
"I wasn't expecting it to hit me like it did," she said.
But on the one year anniversary of her passing, Yarborough took a basket of tennis balls out to Atlantic Beach with a sign that read:
Help me celebrate my beloved Marley! She was a wonderful girl who adored this beach and most of all playing fetch. In honor or my sweet, loving girl whose life was taken too soon... play with your pup and remember this day. Take a ball, share a ball, have a ball. Much love to you and your pup, Marley's mom.
"She was so full of life and love. I wanted other people to enjoy it too," said Yarborough. "I did it a little for me, because it made me happy to do something for her."
She posted the photos to social media and she did not expect the response. She said others who are going through loss have loved the idea and considered doing something similar.
Though Yarborough said she couldn't have asked for a better dog in Marley she has gotten a new pup and found that it has helped her outlook on life. Like many of us, being a single working young person can be lonely and she said Finley, a white lab gifted to her by her parents makes her laugh every day.
Ultimately Yarborough hoped the tennis balls and message served as a fun way for people to play with their dogs and remember that time with them is short but treasured.
"If I can help any other dog be happy, I'm going to," she said.
