Although people with land have always buried their pets, the first urban pet cemetery was founded in London in 1881 when a distraught family asked if they could bury their small dog Cherry in the garden of the gatekeeper's house at Hyde Park. The gatekeeper, Mr. Winbridge, agreed, and soon other people asked for the same dignified rites. The pet cemetery at Hyde Park is still there today. But the US has many more pet cemeteries, and there are others sporting gravestones and memorials all over the world. Historian, photographer, and author Paul Koudounaris visited many of those cemeteries over the last ten years, taking photographs and talking to grieving pet owners for his new book Faithful Unto Death: Pet Cemeteries, Animal Graves and Eternal Devotion.
Koudounaris even worked for a time as a grief counselor for pet owners to gain insight into the love people have for their pets. After all, the memorials they use to honor those pets aren't so much about the pets themselves, but about our memories of them and the love and appreciation that continues after death. Read about the book and the many memorials for beloved pets at Smithsonian. And get a preview of Koudounaris' book by clicking to the right on both images above.
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