By Chuck Woodbury
ROADSIDE JOURNAL
I was going through some back issues of my “on the road” newspaper Out West. I published it quarterly for about 10 years beginning in 1988. I traveled the rural American West half the year in a tiny motorhome, gathering and writing stories about whatever I found interesting (often offbeat). It was pretty much a “blog” in print: The word blog had not yet been invented.
One of the earlier stories I did was about a pet cemetery in Carson City, Nevada, which at the time was the only municipally owned pet cemetery in the United States.
It’s fascinating to visit a pet cemetery. It resembles a human cemetery except the gravesites are smaller and the names on the headstone are along the lines of Fluffy, Rover — pet kinda names. A couple of unusual ones in Carson City were Propwash Hoke and Nasty Poindexter.
The director of the cemetery, Mike Conklin, said that people brought many different animals. “One man hired a hearse to bring his dead horse 450 miles from Los Angeles,” he told me. A woman, he said, drove from San Francisco to bury her small turtles — the little green ones then popular.
“Urns and caskets were available from about $55 to $200,” said Conklin, but he noted that he could order a $2,000 casket if someone wanted to go first class. He said the average funeral was between $250 and $350.
I don’t think the cemetery is still there.
Most of the pets I owned were euthanized by a veterinarian. In all my travels around the USA I don’t recall seeing more than a few pet cemeteries. I wonder if they’re harder to find these days.
Did you every bury a pet in a pet cemetery? Please leave a comment and let us know about it.
I answered no to the above but the next best thing did come my way. My white German shepherd and I had been RVing the West together for seven years. She suddenly passed away in the RV at two o’clock in the morning. We were at a lovely campground in Montana on a working ranch. Upon hearing my sad story, the owner dug a grave for her in his backyard among his pets from over the years. In a light rain, we buried her there where I could visit as I continued my travels….
Judy, it’s so hard to lose a dog. What a wonderful story about the kindness shown to you. Thanks for sharing.
I have only buried my dogs in the back yard. Probably illegal. There is a pet cemetery and crematory a few miles from me. It has been in operation for decades.
Yes; I do cremate my faithful dogs and then bury them in a pet cemetery. We have a dedicated local pet cemetery . It has been here since 1919. Among the family dogs and cats buried there are former circus elephants, race horses, and military “runner” dog veterans from WW I.
If you are in the area perhaps you might enjoy a visit to the Pine Rest Pet Cemetery.
http://www.pinerestpetcemeteryinc.com/index.php/our-history/
Buried 3 horses and a mule in their pasture (not all at the same time !), innumerable cats and dogs, a duck and even a pet turkey in the yard but now that we’re full-timers, our deceased pets “travel” with us in their own special urns.
I have a backhoe and 160 acres, so don’t tick me off. I have buried innumerable cows, horses, donkeys and dogs over the years. I have to be very careful anymore in choosing my spots. Nothing ever leaves our place, it seems to be a retirement home.
Lucky You. I had to rent a backhoe 3 times for the horses. The sheep just got dragged into the woods for vulture food.
There is a pet cemetery in the Rochester, NY area.
http://www.rushinterpetcemetery.com/location/
Over the years, we buried 4 pets in our “pet cemetery”. There was no cost involved! We wrapped each in a blanket and buried them under a large bush in our back yard.
I answered “no” to the survey – however, we do have pet cemetery in our yard. Final resting place for my Dalmatian, Dachhund, bird and a cat. It is a maintained area with white marble rock and small statues (from Pet Smart). So, I guess my answer should have been yes!
I want my pets buried with me as does the rest of my family so I now have my own graveyard on my property. We have more pets than people in there but do have five people so far. The wrought iron sign reads St Francis Garden.