The Peaceable Kingdom of the Hartsdale Pet Cemetery.

After nearly 30 years of passing the Hartsdale Pet Cemetery I decided to pay a visit not really knowing exactly what would meet me. Walking into any cemetery has always brought me such angst that I avoid them at all costs. So why now? Why on this chilly October morning would I want to go through the front gate off a busy road in Northern Westchester?

There are so many reasons we get dogs, sometimes we pick them and other times they pick us yet in that brief span of time they grow with us while filling our lives with friendship, loyality, trust and love. This past year I’ve looked at all sorts of dogs stories filled with adventure, joy, playful silliness, illness and loss. The one thread that ties all these stories together is just how devoted and loving a relationship people have with the four pawed family member. Thinking about it – how could any place that is filled with the light of love for a beloved pet be dark or scary? What I found here was further from what I had ever expected. This lovingly cared for resting place sits on just under four acres of land with roughly 75,000 pets having been buried over the past hundred years by devoted pet owners paying their last tribute to their beloved pets.

This Pet Cemetery is the only pet cemetery listed on the National Register of historical places and is also the oldest operating pet cemetery in the world. In 1896 Veterinarian Doctor Samuel Johnson offered his apple orchard to serve as a burial plot for a bereaved friends dog. Doctor Johnsons compassion set into motion what would become America’s first and most prestigious cemetery for pets in the country.

The Peaceable Kingdom (as it is become known by) is just that.

Walking the paths one can’t help but stop to read the names and loving sentiments carved into stone by the people whose lives were changed by these companions that weren’t human but may as well have been. Reading the names of dogs, cats, parrots, rabbits, turtles and even a lion along with the dates they lived one can’t help but reflect upon how important they were to the people who shared their lives with them.

Dogs are the bringers of laughter, filling us with an abundance of joy, while bringing us on an adventure we would have never planned and leaving us with stories to share along the way. It’s when we are faced with their passing and the inevitable heartbreak that fills us do we feel just how dogs have shaped us into far softer and somewhat better human beings in the end. These headstones shine a little light on our love of dogs over time by those whose devotion brought them to a Peaceable Kingdom for an eternal rest.
Bless these gentle creatures who lay here and offer such peace to all who step in here.

M.Foxmoore for DogsOutsideTheRing

Thank you to Edward C. Martin, III for taking time to speak with me.
The Cemetery is locate at 75 North Central Park Avenue, Hartsdale, New Your 10530 and is open daily except on New Years Day.