Forgotten Pet Cemeteries

by M.P. Pellicer | Stranger Than Fiction Stories
Long forgotten, mostly hidden in corners of old cemeteries are memorials to the most beloved of companions. No doubt by now, these pets have been reunited with those who grieved over their tiny graves so many years ago.

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Hyde Park Pet Cemetery c.1927-1937

HYDE PARK
Behind the perimeter of Hyde Park Cemetery’s gate on Bayswater Road, hidden by bushes in Victoria Gate Lodge is a small plot of land memorializing the smallest companions. It all started with a kindness by Mr. Windbridge, the lodgekeepr in 1881. Cherry a Maltese terrier, who belonged to the Barned children who lived at 10 Cambridge Square, died of old age. The family were already acquainted with the Victoria Lodge gatekeeper. The family asked to bury her inside the park, and a tombstone was placed over her tiny grave inscribed with "Poor Cherry. Died April 28, 1881."

​The Barneds went on to bury two other dogs there, Kaiser in April 1886, and Zoe whose inscription read, "Alas Poor Zoe. Born October 1, 1879. Died August 13, 1892. As deeply mourned as ever dog was mourned, for friendship rare by her adorned."

​Many of the pets were victims of the horses and carriages that frequented the park. After Cherry, the second pet was one who lost his life this way. His name was Prince, a Yorkshire terrier belonging to Louisa Fairbrother, wife of Prince George, Duke of Cambridge. Soon other burials followed and Mr. Winbridge made sure to lay out the graves in neat rows, where the family would come later and decorate them with flowers. It ended in 1903, with over 300 graves nestled in the little corner of the park.

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Dog statue memorial at Cimetière des Chiens et Autres Animaux Domestiques

Cimetière des Chiens et Autres Animaux Domestiques
The Cemetery of Dogs and Other Domestic Animals opened in 1899 at 4 Pont de Clichy on Île des Ravageurs, a suburb of Paris. The creation of the necropolis started when Paris declared that pets had to be interred in graves at least 100 meters from the nearest dwelling. Prior to this animal carcasses were being dumped in the Seine or the household trash.

Journalist Marguerite Duran and attorney George Harmois, both animal lovers, came up with the idea of the pet cemetery in what was then the outskirts of Paris. Marguerite's pet lion was eventually buried there.

Fast forward 125 years, and 40,000 animals found their final resting place in this cemetery. It's not only dogs and cats, but horses, hamsters, birds, fish, a lion, a monkey among others. It catered to elite pet owners who memorialized their pets with ornate sculptures.

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Lee Duncan with the pup Rin Tin Tin which he saved from the trenches in France c.1915-1918

Rin Tin Tin died in 1932, and was buried at Cimetière des Chiens et Autres Animaux Domestiques. He was rescued as a shell-shocked pup found in the French trenches during World War I by Corporal Lee Duncan, an American soldier who called him "Rinty."

In September, 1918 Duncan arrived in the French village of Flirey to find out if the area would be suitable as a flying field. The place had been bombed and hit by artillery fire. He found a damaged kennel where German Shepherd dogs bred for the Imperial German Army were kept. Inside was a starving mother with a just delivered litter of pups. He brought them back to his unit the 135th Aero Squadron.

Once weaned he gave the mother to an officer, and three of the litter to other soldiers, but kept a male, Rin Tin Tin and female Nanette, for himself. He considered them good luck, based on the story told to soldiers that Rintintin and Nenette were lucky lovers who survived bomb attacks.

In 1919, after the war Duncan sneaked the dogs aboard a ship and arrived in Long Island, New York. Nanette contracted pneumonia and died. Duncan left to California with Rinty and Nanette II, who he got to replace the original Nanette.

His first starring role was in 1923's Where The North Begins. This film was a huge success and has often been credited with saving Warner Brothers from bankruptcy. He went on to star in 27 Hollywood films. 

Duncan was so devoted to his dog that his wife filed for divorce naming Rin Tin Tin as co-respondent. The published report stated her feeling that Duncan loved the dog more than he loved her. The case was later dropped and the divorce not granted.

Rin Tin Tin's descendants went on to star in many films.

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Memorial to Barry

At the park entrance is a monument to Barry der Menschenretter (which means "people rescuer" in German). At this time Barry was not recognized as a St. Bernard, but instead as an Alpine mastiff and weighed about 100 pounds. He worked as a rescue dog in Switzerland and Italy for the Great St. Bernard Hospice. One of his most notable rescues involved finding a lost child and warming him up by licking his face and hands, before carrying the boy on his back to safety. He saved more than 40 people, and was fourteen years old when he died in 1814. Contrary to legends that he was killed during his last rescue, in truth he was retired to Bern, Switzerland two years before he died. A taxidermist preserved him, and he is on display at the Natural History Museum of Bern. Barry's stuffed remains were restored in 1923.

At the hospice, one dog is always named Barry in his honor. Dogs were being used at the hospice at least since 1707, when a mention was found in records that stated, "A dog was buried by us." They were originally introduced to the monastery some time after 1660 as watchdogs. Examination of old skulls show that two types of dogs were kept, but by 1800 a special breed was being used for rescue work.

​France classified the cemetery as a historical monument in 1987.

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