If you have a pet, it’s likely they are a much-loved friend and companion, great as stress busters, good at helping you make contact with others when you are out walking, and nowadays largely accepted as an aid to your all-round health.
So it can be very distressing when they die, and for some owners part of the grieving process is having a peaceful and compassionate burial setting which they can visit and remember the times of companionship.
A secret cemetery
There are some very famous pet graveyards in England. One of the most intriguing is the ‘secret’ cemetery in the heart of our capital city London, tucked away behind the railings of Hyde Park. The first burial there in 1881 was Cherry, a Maltese terrier, who the gatekeeper allowed to be interred rather informally in the back garden of Victoria Lodge. Soon this became the place where fashionable London society buried its pets, and when it closed in 1903 it held 300-strong cats, dogs, birds and even monkeys.
At a world-renowned pet cemetery in North Wales, it you wish your ashes to be buried alongside your pet, that is now possible. And you can even enjoy a cup of tea there when you visit.
Pet Funeral Services near Holywell, has an area where human ashes can be interred alongside their beloved pets, which owners John and Theresa Ward have found has helped many people.
The Wards have also been able to accommodate a dog from Hong Kong laid to rest in a kimono, run a pet-friendly tea room, and have founded the National Military Working Dogs Memorial charity to honour military dogs who have served their country.
Armed forces memorial
The memorial, to be built on land donated to the charity near the cemetery, will include bronze statues of four famous military dogs – each representing the branches of the UK’s Armed Forces.
This started when they heard the story of Buster, an English Springer Spaniel credited with saving a thousand lives, both military and civilian, through his service with the RAF, working in Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Also being honoured is Judy, the only dog to be officially registered as a Prisoner of War.
Ilford Animal Cemetery in London includes military working animals among its 3,000 burials.
Founded in the 1920s, it became badly neglected but re-opened in 2007 after restoration with a grant from the National Lottery, and is now run by the PDSA.
The reopening must rank as one of the most unusual ever: it included a performance of the Last Post, a pigeon fly-past, and was attended by two holders of the PDSA Gold Medal, Jake, an explosives detection dog, and Endal, an assistance dog.
HMS Amethyst’s heroic wartime cat, Simon, is buried at Ilford, and there just isn’t space here to write about this cheeky character and his rat-catching exploits. But do read more on Wikipedia, it will make you smile!
Thirteen recipients of the Dickin Medal for bravery (the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross) are buried at Ilford, which also has an area specifically dedicated to bird burials, and a Pet Tribute Garden designed by the well-known TV and radio expert on gardening Bob Flowerdew.
Naturally there is a burial ground for royal pets, including the beloved Corgis of her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
It was created on the Sandringham estate in Norfolk by Queen Victoria in 1887 after the death of Noble, her Collie. Queen Elizabeth, who was given her first Corgi Susan on her 18th birthday by her father King George VI, revived the use of the plot in 1959. Susan’s gravestone is inscribed with the words ‘the faithful companion of the Queen’.
Candy, a Labrador which belonged to Prince Philip, is also among the pets buried there. The most recent interment of a Royal canine is Monty, who starred with Her Majesty in the James Bond sketch for the Olympics opening ceremony in 2012 – but he lies peacefully at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, where he died.
Some useful details
- You need to be aware of the law in the UK about pet burials. You can bury animals in your own garden as long as you own the site. (When I moved into my own home in South Yorkshire 25 years ago we found a large stone in the garden under which were buried the remains of the previous owner’s much-mourned Alsatian.) It is illegal, however, to bury a pet anywhere except the home where they lived, or at a registered pet cemetery. Please check with your vet or an animal charity about any details if you are concerned – it comes under the ‘Animal By-Products Regulations 2013’.
- Hyde Park’s pet cemetery is not open to the general public, but special one-hour viewings can be arranged by contacting The Royal Parks.
- The cemetery is behind the PDSA centre on Woodford Bridge Road, Redbridge, Ilford.
- If you are in need of emotional or practical help when a pet passes, the Pet Bereavement Support Service provides a confidential telephone and email service throughout the UK on 0800 096 6606 or send them an email.
Image of a statue of a dogs at a cemetary by jenniferva from Pixabay
