Most days, Mark Lindenberg passes by or walks to visit Boots, his beloved cat who died in August 2020 at the age of 17. The New York man had his black and white tuxedo cat buried at Hartsdale Pet. Cemetery, a picturesque place with grassy hills near the main road.
The epitaph on Boots’ headstone reads: “You taught me how to love and be loved.”
Other tombstones are engraved with phrases such as “A truer friend than we ever had” and “Our beloved queen.”
“Human cemeteries are sad,” says Lindenberg. “It’s one of the happiest places. When you look at the love behind every plot here – the sayings, the toys, the pinwheels – it’s just, I can’t think of a better place.
Hartsdale is the oldest operating pet cemetery in the United States and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2012. Lindenberg says he paid about $7,000 to bury Boots in Hartsdale. These costs include the land, casket, headstone, burial and maintenance of the site in perpetuity.
“Why did I work if I’m not doing the things that matter most, and that’s what mattered most,” Lindenberg says. “I got instant closure the day I decided I was going to bury him here.”
Pet burials began in Hartsdale in 1896 when veterinarian Samuel Johnson allowed a client to bury her dog in his apple orchard, a hillside location about 20 miles north of New York City. Since then, around 70,000 animals have been buried in the 2-hectare cemetery. Most of the animals buried at Hartsdale are cats and dogs, but there are a few more exotic animals.
“There are reptiles buried here. Smile,” says Edward Martin III, vice president of Hartsdale Pet Cemetery. “There is a lion cub that was buried here in 1912 by a Russian princess. There are the ashes of Ming, a Bengal tiger buried here a few years ago. There are monkeys.
There’s also Hudson the horse, some birds and singer Mariah Carey’s cat, Clarence. The oldest tombstone, dating from 1898, commemorates the life of a dog named Joke.
Martin runs the place alongside his father, Edward Martin Jr., who purchased the cemetery in 1974. The younger Martin is an attorney and CPA, who eventually chose to help oversee the cemetery, where he worked when he was a teenager.
“I’ve seen what people are going through, they’re losing their pets, and I feel like I’m in a good position to help them,” he said. “And I helped them, and that makes me want to keep helping them.”
Between 250 and 300 burials take place in Hartsdale each year. The cemetery never runs out of space because not all graves are permanent. People can pay a one-time maintenance fee of $3,500 or an annual fee of $105. If the annual subscription ceases to be paid, this tomb is finally offered for sale.
“The animal in the grave will be removed from this plot so that someone else who wishes to can pay for the upkeep. And the animals are removed, cremated and don’t leave the cemetery,” says Martin Jr., Hartsdale’s president. “Their remains are scattered on the grass of the cemetery.”
The centerpiece of the cemetery is the Dogs of War Memorial, located atop a hill. Dedicated in 1923, the monument was originally dedicated to service dogs of the First World War. But these days, the memorial honors service dogs of all kinds.
Although Hartsdale is primarily a resting place for animals, the cremated remains of approximately 800 humans are buried here along with their pets. There is even a Martin family plot, where the eldest Martin plans to eventually be laid to rest with other members of his family.
“I must be buried somewhere. And why would I go anywhere other than this? he said. “My mother, my father, and my mother-in-law or father-in-law are buried here, and so that’s a good reason in itself to do it. »
Lindenberg also likes the idea. He has already made arrangements to be cremated and buried alongside Boots when the time comes.
“I’m single. I don’t know if I’ll ever get married and I can’t imagine a better place,” he says. “I lived with my cat every day for almost 17 years. Why stop now ?
Meanwhile, Lindenberg, who lives a 10-minute walk away, will continue to visit his old friend almost daily.
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