The Washington times., 1901-08-18
A CEMETERY FOR ANIMALS
The Establishment of a Place for
the Interment Of Pets.
Fnvorite Dogs md Cats Saved From
the Revolving Fertilizer Process
After pcath-HeaIth Authorities
Offer No Objections to the Plan.


After pentI,-HeaIth Authorities
Offer No objections to the Plan.
on the Bladensburg Road, little
beyond the cemeteries, has been es-
tablished place of interment for pet
animals. "A present it consists of about
an acre of land on the farm of b l..
Palmer ard there are not perhaps, in
ALL more than half-a-dozen graves in
the inclosure There is, in fact, some
question with the municipal authori
ties as 10 whether the bodies of dead
animals can, under existing laws, be
carried through the streets to the ceue-
terry, the sole privilege Of disposing of
such remains being granted to tire
Washington Fertilizer Company. Tie
disposition made Of the carcasses by
the latter organizato is, as may be
imagined, shockingly at variance with
the regard and affectionate regret en-
tertained by sensitive master or mis-
tress for d beloved dog or cat
The very thought that poor, dear
Fido'' should be thrown in vat and
boiled and ground up for industrial
purposes is repugnant TO degree. ana
so it usually happens that the deceased
four footed darling is quietly and sur
reptitiously laid to rest in the garden
in violation of the solemn DEGREES OF
the District ordinances.
1t has therefore occurred to D. L.
Buckingham and b. l.. Palmer, the
former a veterinarian, that the cene-
terry on the Bladensburg Road would
be welcome to the legal authorities as
preventing. to a large extent, the pre-
vaiIing practice of Illicit burial of dogs
and cats in front and back yards. The
point concerning the transporting OF
the bodies through the streets, Dr.
buckingham hopes to set over by pro-
yiding coffins for the remains, as well
as by using a covered wagon or hearse,
thus imparting to the Objectionable
proceeding a kind of funeral dignity
which. under the present conditions, Il
ncticeably lacking.
Apart from the possible infringing
upon the rights and privileges of the
Washington Fertilizer Company. the
Health Department does not seem dis
posed to urge any objection to the es-
enlistment of the cemetery. DR.. W.
c, Woodward. Health Officer of the
District. has thus reported upon the
matter:
$50 far as this department is INFORM
ed no permit is necessary for the es-
Establishment of burying ground for
pet animals Inspection has been made
of the site of TIE proposed burying
ground and It would appear that there
is no reason, from sanitary point OF
view, for undertaking to prevent the
use ot the site named for that purpose
Attention is invited, however. to the
fact that the existing laws regulating
the transportation of dead animals
through the streets may render 1t i'm
possible to carry the animals to this
land for burial.
1t will thus be seen that the latter
clause presents the only difficulty, but
as 1t seems to cover ground which 1t
is rather difficult to get over, it will
perhaps prove something of an obsta-
Gle though DR.. buckingham is quite
confident of the efficacy of his plan for
collins, and more seemly conveyance
than the present hideous dead animal
wagons"
The desire on the part of lovers of
pets for such a cemetery as that es
tablished, and their qualification at its
probable success, have been expressed
to DR.. Buckingham by his clients, or
rather, perhaps, it should be said, the
owners of his clients, verbally and
through the medium of the mail A
letter has just been received by the
doctor from a lady, who stated that
she was the owner of a highly priced
dog. the spectacle of whose declining
years had been rendered doubly dis
tressing by the reflection on the I'M
certainty of the disposition Of his NOR
tai remains. The writer expressed the
consolation afforded her. In an antfci-
pated loss, by the thought that her pet
would be laid TO rest in a pretty spot,
and that the danger Of q nondeseript
fate was averted.
Although every kind of pet animal
may be inferred in the cemetery, from
a horse to a canary bird" in the Ian
guage OF, DIR. Buckingham, it is expect
ed that dogs and cats will prepondcr
ate The ground comprised by the
cemetery has been laid of in lots, and
an outside fence is in process of cree
ton. All the funeral expenses CT a
small dog or cat will be covered by
a payment of IS, for larger dogs more
money is demanded, the scale of
charges being graded in proportion to
the size of the animal. The institution
is the only one of its kind south of New
York. Indeed, so far as known, Tarry-
town, on the Hudson. boasts the caly
cemetery for pet animals in this coun-
try. There is very famous one out
side Paris, and London also has one.
These burying grounds devoted to
soulless beings, some of whom have
been known to give their lives TO save
those they love. whose intelligence is
often of the highest order, cannot fa!l
to be of interest. They show that the
devotion of dumb creatures Is not for
gotten by those on whom IL has been
lavished, when the former have, much
as human beings have. much as human
beings shall continue to 10, departed
for that bourne from whalce no trav-
eler returns"
nrcyrDEn YTc