ANIMAL CEMETERIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2804, 11 December 1907, Page 82

ANIMAL CEMETERIES.

By Constahce Clyde.

In the young countries (America excepted) the cult of pet animal -worship isstill unknown, nor has the State or any j private bedy made dividends by _leacin,g out land as dog and oat cemeteries. lVm- i don, however, has its public burial ground ' for these four-footed friends, a reserve at ' Hyde Park showing' the simple memorials ' raised over the resting-place of Mayfair , darlings. Scotland, again, is not guilders of this foible, though in accordance with ,ihe sterner national character the en- j closure near Edinburgh is reserved for , heroes' dogs only, and pathetic is it to see the old soldier taking his .evening j walk by the monument beneath which rests . his brave comrade. France, however, shows I the cult of animal worship in its most ' ! elaborate form. This is apparent as we open ' I the white gates of the Asniers Cemetaire, ' near Pari6, and beneath a carved dog enter the pretty enclosure where some hundreds of cats, dogs, and birds ,have been laid beneath elaborate tombs. j The cemetaire is patronised only by the rich or noble classes, but as the State : has decreed that no monument resembling those used, for ordinary burial grounds shell be ' permitted, the Absurdities for j which idle women are noted are not so '• noticeable, as one might expect. In spite ) of this mandate, however, I notice that most pathetic of human memorials, a broken column, here used to signify that poor Berger's canine life was cut short, presumably when bis career of rat-catdhing was ' at its zenith. Furtlfer down, again, one comes upon another dog tombstone shaped like a shrine, adorned with flowerjs^ and trailing ivy, behind which is the photo of Fifinej let into the stone, as was the passing fashion in human graveyards _ come years ago. These, however, are quite exceptional. Most of the monuments are shaped like kennele, while here ( and there, even as the dead warrior's horse carried his spurs to the graveside, j 60 over these hutches is sometimes hung the collar which le pauvre chien shall wear . no more. For the birds a stone cage is the favourite decoration, while pussy is symbolised by a representation of the bas- ' ket in which she enjoyed many a sunny nap. Only one mourner is present as we ' pace along the well-kept walks that slope down to the gleaming river's edge. A reepectful servant in the rear, she pauses betade a stone that 'has, in common with) some' others, a family crest beneath the j motto which states that "this little one j was his mistress's sole friend and com- j panion." .A flower drops from her hand on j the mound, and fine takes her departure. ] It cannot be said that these high-born { French dames show much sense of decorative art. The nwnuments are mosfclyjof a bluish colour with tinselled decorations and small gilt balls. Very frequently there is a bas-relief of the deceased, one of a pink mongrel so evil of feature and expression ome could only feel relieved that "chere Kosetta" was safe among the shades. Bead flowers and eimalar atrocities ' hanig from the kennel monuments, while the mounds for cats are adorned with china representations of the feline tribe which do not flatter either figure or countenance. At the end of the cemetery is a small workshop where cat and dog monuments are fashioned to any design required. Georges Harmois, of the French Anticruelty to Animale' Society, is the originator of this institution, which is now financed by a private company. There was a time when the rules concerning the burial animals were not very^ strict, the French folk, whose olfactory nerves feem less sensitive than ours, very frequently considering a neighbour's cellar a good place of interment, being still happier, however, if they could block up a sewer with the deceased. This cemetery, of course, hardly rectifies this failing, as it ie patronised "only by the rich. Nevertheless, as an object lesson it may perhaps have some good points, as showing that it is better to bury one's pet pu^ with honours than to permit him to become a source pf danger to the community. In other respects it jars somewhat upon the taete, even as do the dog parties of London and American society, not because money is lavished upon animals that should go to the support of out poor — for money is lavished upon objects more ridiculous than these — but because there is more than injury — there is insult — to our fellow-humans in those freaks that place the animal world above them. To injure the poor is pardonable : to insult them should be beyond forgiveness ! _^___^____