Blog Post

World's First Dog Chapel, world record in St. Johnsbury, Vermont

May 14, 2024

St. Johnsbury, Vermont, United States--The Dog Chapel, created by Artist/author/dog lover Stephen Huneck, was introduced to the world as a symbol of peace, love, and remembrance; situated three miles from downtown St. Johnsbury,VT, just a frisbee toss from the Fairbank’s Scales factory on Route 2, The Dog Chapel receives tens of thousands of visitors annually and sets the world record for being the World's First Dog Chapel, according to the WORLD RECORD ACADEMY.

"In 2000, the Dog Chapel was introduced to the world as a symbol of peace, love, and remembrance. In the more than 20 years since, it has been transformed into a living piece of communal art and history, ever-evolving with each new note and photo pinned to the overflowing walls. The Chapel has become a unique and moving physical embodiment of the unending love people have to give," the official website says.

"Several times a year, the Stephen Huneck Gallery on Dog Mountain hosts unforgettable Dog Parties. Hundreds of people with hundreds of dogs attend these festivities. Dogs are free to play, swim, greet one another, and of course sit by the food tables and ask for food (which we provide in abundance with food trucks for the dogs and their people). Everyone has a ball!

"When you visit the Dog Chapel you are totally enveloped with messages of love. 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."

"It has been said that all dogs go to heaven, and no one believed this more than artist Stephen Huneck. Huneck went so far as to build a chapel for dogs in St. Johnsbury where dogs are celebrated and remembered in this unique setting," the Only In Your State says.

"Stephen Huneck was an American wood carving artist, furniture maker, painter and author. Most of his artwork revolved around dogs and his main character was modeled after his black Labrador Retriever named Sally.

"Huneck was living in Rochester, Vermont as an antiques dealer when his work was first discovered. A man found one of Huneck’s wood carvings, an angel, in the back of his pickup truck. Not thinking the man would pay a high amount, Huneck quoted a price tag of $1,000. Not only did the man buy it, he was an art dealer from Manhattan."

"As you walk into the chapel, you are bathed in the light of the stained glass windows, with images of dogs pieced into them, and surrounded by dog carvings. The interior walls are covered in handwritten notes and photographs of dogs and other animals that have passed on, and the tables offer treats for canine visitors," the Atlas Obscura says.

"Scattered around Dog Mountain are various dog sculptures such as a row of canine heads mounted on pillars and a small man in a business suit walking his dog. A sign outside of the chapel reads: “Welcome all creeds, all breeds. No dogmas allowed.”

"In January of 2010, the Dog Chapel and Huneck’s other galleries were hit hard by the economic downturn and Huneck was forced to lay off most of his employees. He passed away a week later. His wife Gwen continued to run the chapel, until she herself passed in the summer of 2013. However, the staff continues to maintain the vision of the founders and Dog Mountain remains free and open to the public."

"Dog Mountain, home of the world’s only dog chapel, is situated three miles from downtown St. Johnsbury,VT, just a frisbee toss from the Fairbank’s Scales factory on Route 2," the NewEngland.com says.

"Though the chapel is petite, the size of a rural post office, it feels like a sacred space, complete with pews and stained glass.

"Perched on a hill amid 150 rolling acres, the chapel is just one part of a property designed with dogs at the fore, free and open to the public, fully appointed with hiking trails, a pond, an dog agility course and one of the last remaining galleries of Stephen Huneck’s humorous, colorful, dog -oriented art."

"While not technically historic (yet), The Dog Chapel, built in 2000 by the world-renowned Vermont artist, Stephen Huneck, is widely considered the artist’s masterpiece," the Preservation Trust of Vermont says.

"It is located on the Dog Mountain Campus, an area that contains a number of historic barns and is one of the most culturally significant sites in the Northeast Kingdom. Constructed in the style of a small New England Chapel, every inch is touched by the artist’s hand, from the dog-themed, stained-glass windows, and pews, to the hand carved doorknobs and fixtures.

"The Dog Chapel receives tens of thousands of visitors annually and they have covered the walls from floor to ceiling in hundreds of thousands of notes and remembrances to passed pets, transforming the Dog Chapel into a living piece of communal art and history, ever evolving, with each new note pinned to the overflowing walls."

"All manner of dog, human, animal are welcome here; our dogs (or any dog) would be so happy to run through the quiet, forested, muddy Vermont fields of grass and snow. It must be so beautiful in the summer. This makes it the perfect place to have a place of memorial for people’s departed pets. Perhaps it is dog heaven," the wend.ca says.

"There’s a sign on the entrance to the chapel that says, Please leave no ashes, framed photos, large memorials because we can’t guarantee their safety. This is the first indication that the chapel is very special to people who have lost their pets.

"That genius is Stephen Huneck, who styled the building like an 1820 Vermont village church and pieced it together using materials from deconstructed buildings and churches. And, judging by the number of memorials pinned to the walls, others appreciate his work and effort. Simply by creating the chapel, he has helped countless people gain closure and find peace."

"A sign in front of the chapel reads, “Welcome all creeds, all breeds, no dogmas allowed.” Inside, gorgeous stained-glass windows compliment hand-carved wooden pews, all created by Huneck to honor canines. There’s even custom-designed, hand-casted doorknobs and a special dog door—naturally," the Curbed says.

"The chapel’s centerpiece is a winged Sally dog—of picture book fame—that sits on a pedestal, surrounded by notes. When the Dog Chapel opened to the public, Huneck encouraged people to “put up a photo of their departed dog and to write a few sentences about what their dog meant to them.” The “Remembrance Wall” contains post-its, letters, and photos from people all over the world.

"Today, the room is covered in notes, a touching tribute both to the love of pets and to the artist who created the chapel. "When you visit the Dog Chapel you are totally enveloped with messages of love,” said Huneck. “It is a very moving experience—sad, certainly, but also uplifting—to see how much everyone cherishes his or her dog.”

"Artist/author/dog lover Stephen Huneck started building his masterpiece in 1997, after a near-death experience brought him face-to-snout with a mysterious half-canine apparition," The Washington Post says.

"The encounter inspired him to create a work of art as homage to man's best friend. (The apparition didn't actually mention a chapel; that part was Huneck's idea.) Today, visitors from all over creation descend each year on Dog Mountain, the 375-acre homestead of Huneck and his wife, Gwen.

"The pews are flanked by sitting dogs. Carved wooden dogs of all breeds, plus a few stray cats, perch everywhere. Stained-glass windows depict dogs licking ice cream cones, playing with balls and getting petted by human hands. A dog door permits pooches to enter on their own terms (dogs are more than welcome here, as they are everywhere on Dog Mountain)."

"If Dog Mountain were just a joyful place where dogs can run around, or plop into a nice pond, it would still be pretty special – 150 dog-friendly acres in the scenic hills of northern Vermont. But there is much, much more to this story. It's actually a real tear jerker, sweet but sad," the CBS News says.

"It began in 1994, when artist Stephen Huneck was injured falling down a flight of stairs, his injury causing him to develop a rare, often-fatal lung condition. "I was dead for, like, five minutes, not breathing," he said in 2009, reliving the nightmare. "I was in a coma for over two months. They pretty much wrote me off."

"His dogs became the subjects of the now-famous woodcuts he was finally strong enough to make. His black lab, Sally, was featured in a series of bestselling children's books he wrote and illustrated. And then came his vision: "I remember the moment perfectly where I had this idea pop into my mind: build a chapel for dogs, and for people," he said."

Photos: Facebook/Stephen Huneck Gallery at Dog Mountain