Historic accolade for US pets' final resting place
Source: Agencies |
October 1, 2012, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
ANOTHER cemetery has been added to the US National Register of Historic Places, but this one's a little different. It has dogs, cats, iguanas and even a lion cub.
The 116-year-old Hartsdale Pet Cemetery in the New York City suburbs is the first animal burial ground to win the honor.
The designation "is a fitting way to recognize the longstanding and significant role pets have played in our national history and culture," said Carol Shull, interim Keeper of the National Register.
Kevin Moriarty, a historian for the register, said Hartsdale was the only pet cemetery among the 2,698 cemeteries on the register and was notable because it marked a sharp change in how humans related to animals.
"It was in the early 20th century that pets began to be considered family members rather than livestock," he said. "Before then, a dead animal was likely to go out with the garbage."
The cemetery became popular with artists and celebrities - actor George Raft and singer Mariah Carey have buried pets there.
About 75,000 animals and 700 pet owners are buried at the cemetery, which is about 30 kilometers north of Manhattan.
Its many evocative markers often draw tourists.
One, written by a man about his cat, says: "Here we sleep forever, I and my beloved Bibi, my loving companion for fourteen years."
In 2008, a travel guide listed the cemetery among the world's 10 best places to be entombed - along with the Taj Mahal and the Great Pyramids.
The 116-year-old Hartsdale Pet Cemetery in the New York City suburbs is the first animal burial ground to win the honor.
The designation "is a fitting way to recognize the longstanding and significant role pets have played in our national history and culture," said Carol Shull, interim Keeper of the National Register.
Kevin Moriarty, a historian for the register, said Hartsdale was the only pet cemetery among the 2,698 cemeteries on the register and was notable because it marked a sharp change in how humans related to animals.
"It was in the early 20th century that pets began to be considered family members rather than livestock," he said. "Before then, a dead animal was likely to go out with the garbage."
The cemetery became popular with artists and celebrities - actor George Raft and singer Mariah Carey have buried pets there.
About 75,000 animals and 700 pet owners are buried at the cemetery, which is about 30 kilometers north of Manhattan.
Its many evocative markers often draw tourists.
One, written by a man about his cat, says: "Here we sleep forever, I and my beloved Bibi, my loving companion for fourteen years."
In 2008, a travel guide listed the cemetery among the world's 10 best places to be entombed - along with the Taj Mahal and the Great Pyramids.
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