The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-10-19
DOG AND CAT CEMETERY.
New York now has a Place to Bury Its
Dead Pets.
IN. Y. San. }

| It's own. 1t was high time. The London
one has been rather overworked.9 Return.
ing tourists have way of dropping con-
sciences at sea as if they were afraid the
| customs officers would confseate Thorn,
but they never fail to bring in an impor-
taton of large tales of Travelled, and the
London dog graveyard has been favorite
| theme for these tales.
The new canine cemetery out at Harris
dale cannot hope to rival the London
cemetery for some time to come. In
the first place. 1t is too young an institu.
ton. In the second place, Hartsaals is SO
much nearer than London. 1t is too easy
for the curious reader to.jump ION sub
urban train and, in half an hour, find out
that he has been bamboozled. Fake
stories, like views, need distance to lend
them enchantment However, if theen W
cemetery keeps on as it has begun, it Will
be interesting enough without the help
of the imagination.
The Hartsdale dog graveyard is said to
be the only one in this country. 1t has
been In existence only few months, but
already there have been more than dozen
interments. The credit of the scheme is
due to three persons. Firs to the Super
intendent of the Society for thePrevention
of Crulty to Animals, for it was he who
urged the plan; second, to the head of the
New York Veterinary Hospital, for it
was he who adopted the idea, and, last, to
woman OF wealth, living near Harris
dale, for 1t was she who made the ceme-
terry an accomplished fact. She set aside
three acres of land for the purpose and
placed the veterinary hospital IN control.
The graveyard has got along so far
without any name. The agents call it
the canine cemetery, and let it go at that.
As soon as they shall have made the
place more attractive ~ carrying out GER
tain plans for its improvement they mean
| to give ii some romantic and appropriate
title. This really ought to be done. 1t
is almost an insult to the memory of any
self-respecting tabby to bury her in
"canine cemetery" Cats are just as
eligible to graves at Hartsdale as dogs,
and, in fact, three cats of very high degree
are already buried there. No goblin
scratching matches have been reported
but it is too much to expect of cat to
slumber peacefully in a place labelled
"canine cemetery"
The graveyard is not potter's field
where an animal can be slowed away
without money and Without price. 1t
costs something to get ones deceased pet
laid decently at rest out there. The prices
are IS for a single interment for cats and
small dogs, IS for large dogs, $40 for a
small grave and S1b for large grave.
When the grave Is purchased outright the
owner can bury several pets in the same
place. Up to date there have been pugs.
poodles, spaniels and St. Bernards buried in
the cemetery. the numbers of each species
ranging in the order given. Of these all
exc emit the St Demands came under the
head Of small dogs and were inferred at
the S. rate. There Is vagueness about
this size limit which may cause dissension
in the future when some medium sized and
not too much lamented dog becomes a
candidate for grave.
Most of the animals are SO loved by their
ow ners that the latter gladly pay what iss
asked and are thankful for the chance.
1t was never pleasant thought to any
one who had grown to love pet that the
loyal, If dumb companion OF SO many
| hours, should be dumped with other city
refuse on Barren Island. And yet any
other disposal of the body was almost i'm
pc ssible to persons of ordinary means.
Before the dog cemetery was esta blished
it often cost SIS and almost endless
trouble to have an animal taken to the
country and buried. Under the present
rkaxS, FL, ~ no ntouv no
the body at the hospital, prepare it for
shipment, send it by express to Hartsdale.
where the 'tsexton" of the dog graveyard
buries it. Each grave Is numbered and a
stonecutter is now filling orders for sew
eral monuments to be erected by beraved
mistresses. If you ask the cemetery agent
whether thesesowners of pets really grieve
deeply when an animal dies he will give
you look that speaks louder than words.
"Do they care?' he repeated the other
day. "Well, If you should come in here
sometimes you'd think 1t was bedlam
broke loose. Why, the women cry sosthey
set all the dogs in(the cages here to how
ling their heads off. There WAS woman
came in not long ago with sick parrot
and when the parrot keeled over and died
she carried on so we had to keep her here
for an hour before she looked fit to go out
on the street. As for the dogs and cats
that are brought here to be buried, we'll
| tell you some of them are fixed. up pretty
fine. We furnish plain wooden box for
them at the rate Of vi for small animals
or S8 for large ones. But plain box
isn't good enough for some of them.
81 hear that some one said there was
dog. buried out there in $50 coffin" Well
don't know about that. | haven't seen
the bills for any of the boxes that we did
not furnish, and $50 is g good deal OF
money. But may be it was so. Some OF
the bodies were in polished wood Baskets,
upholstered inside with tne cloth. We
bur led beautiful white Angora cat out
here and it was in box all lined with
white. And flowers! Well, they just
cover the bodies with the most expensive
flowers to be had.
They often attend the funeral, Frrtoo.
we never allow body to be sent direct
from the house. Every one of them has
to come to the hospital and go from here.
You see, we're obliged to know the con-
tents of box before We ship 1t out to the
agent there. When body is brough to
us we inject embalming fluid if the ami
NAL Is small, or thoroughly embalm it if
1T is large. l tell you it has to be done
properly, too Sometimes the friends
want to see the body out at the graveyard.
i,1St to]