Pet cemetery

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the Stephen King book and films, see Pet Sematary, Pet Sematary II.

A pet cemetery is a cemetery for animals.

Soldiers' dog cemetery at Edinburgh Castle

In addition to burying human remains, many human cultures also regularly bury animal remains. This is often necessary for hygienic reasons when the body cannot be disposed of in another way.

Pets and other animals of emotional significance are often ceremonially buried. Most families bury deceased pets on their own properties, mainly in a yard, with a shoe box or any other type of container served as a coffin. The Ancient Egyptians are known to have mummified and buried cats, which they considered deities.

The Romans had very similar ways of dealing with pet loss. Expansive parcels of land would be set aside for large stone monuments dedicated to the owner’s pet. Alexander the Great, a famous pet lover of his time, dealt with the loss of his pets in this way.^{[citation needed]}

The Cimetière des Chiens in Asnières-sur-Seine in Paris, is an elaborate, sculpted pet cemetery believed to be the first zoological necropolis in the world.

In 1980, filmmaker Errol Morris directed a film about pet cemeteries called Gates of Heaven.

[edit] Burial options

A private burial

For private burial, typically both single or multiple plots options are available. A specially designed pet casket would be used and possibly a vault depending on the strength of the casket structure.

In cremation, the animal would be placed in the crematory alone. Only and all of the pet's cremated remains are returned to the owner. The cremains can be saved in an urn, buried, or scattered.

In a memorial cremation, several pets are cremated together. The resulting cremated remains are then scattered on the cemetery grounds.

In most cases pet cemeteries will have a chapel, and there will be facilities to hold either a non-denominational Christian or, alternatively, a non-religious ceremony.