Missouri Student Association dedicates memorial bench for Harlan the dog in Peace Park

Roger McKinney, Columbia Daily Tribune
·2 min read
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Cris and Linda Wood with Luna on a bench in Peace Park dedicated Friday to the memory of Harlan, the beloved Great Pyrenees that died in February at age 11. Luna is Harlan's niece, owned by Jason Furrer. MU chancellor and system president Mun Choi observes.
Cris and Linda Wood with Luna on a bench in Peace Park dedicated Friday to the memory of Harlan, the beloved Great Pyrenees that died in February at age 11. Luna is Harlan's niece, owned by Jason Furrer. MU chancellor and system president Mun Choi observes.

A white metal bench in Peace Park at the University of Missouri on Friday was dedicated "in memory of Harlan, a friend to all," as the plaque reads.

The Missouri Students Association and the chancellor's office donated the bench, dedicated to the late Great Pyrenees well-known to the campus community, in a brief ceremony attended by around 50 or so people.

The bench is meant to remind students and the campus community of Harlan, but a more tangible reminder might have been Luna, a Great Pyrenees and Harlan's 2 1/2-year-old niece, owned by Jason Furrer, an associate teaching professor at MU.

The first photo he took as an MU employee was of him with Harlan at the True/False Film Fest, said Mun Choi, MU chancellor and system president.

There was an effort to establish a statue of Harlan, but Choi said statues are hard to get and it wouldn't do Harlan justice.

"Getting a statue is hard work," Choi said.

Dedicating the bench to Harlan's memory is one of the more special and important moments of his time at MU, said Josiah Mendoza, departing president of the Missouri Students Association.

Harlan was a comfort and a source of joy when she arrived at MU, said Molly Miller, departing vice president of the Missouri Students Association.

Harlan's owners, Cris and Linda Wood, participated in the dedication.

"Now that I don't have a dog, I realize how many smiles they put on people's faces," Cris Wood said. "He had a 10-year run of coming up and making people happy."

"I just want to say thank you so much for being part of Harlan's experience," Linda Wood said.

Their other Great Pyrenees, Harry, died in 2016.

Harlan would sometimes start at the front of MU's Homecoming Parade, but stop to be petted by everyone so that he would wind up at the end of the parade.

Luna received a lot of attention at the ceremony.

Luna, Harlan's 2 ½ year-old niece, received a lot of attention Friday at the dedication of a bench in Peace Park in memory of the beloved Great Pyrenees, who died in February at age 11.
Luna, Harlan's 2 ½ year-old niece, received a lot of attention Friday at the dedication of a bench in Peace Park in memory of the beloved Great Pyrenees, who died in February at age 11.

"You better get used to this, Luna," Linda Wood said as people took photographs.

He was introducing Luna to the campus, but Harlan was a legend, Furrer said.

"Someone needs to carry on the tradition," Furrer said. "We're not here to replace. You can't replace a legend."

He didn't know Luna's lineage until he bought her, Furrer said.

The breeder of Luna, Harlan and Harry, Connie Gober of Mokane, was there.

Great Pyrenees are just friendly dogs, Gober said.

"It's very validating for what I do," Gober said.

Roger McKinney is the Tribune's education reporter. You can reach him at rmckinney@columbiatribune.com or 573-815-1719. He's on Twitter at @rmckinney9, where he has never had a blue check mark.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Luna, Harlan's niece, is introduced to Mizzou campus during dedication