pet cemetery
Hunter
Domestic Feline
“Hunter, very on the nose for a 4-year-old naming what my parents said would be an outdoor-cat (a life ultimately split 50/50 between coach dozing and sun-bathing).
At risk of sounding biased, you’d be hard fought to find a cat as sweethearted as him. Once when taking him to the vet for routine checkup, I watched the vet seemingly struggle with something before laughing to himself. The vet ushered an assistant forward who upon taking out their stethoscope and attempting too, seemed delightfully baffled when confirming. Neither of them could hear Hunter’s heartbeat because of how loudly he was purring. My sweet guy was in a new and potentially scary place, surrounded by strangers and weirder smells, and he was purring.
I think maybe the vet couldn't find his heart as he was too busy being mine.
He was with me 17 years, how honored I was for him to be my cat. Watching his nose freckle over the years was my favorite, alongside kisses to the top of his head. He was engaging, playful, a cuddle bug, familiar, sweet, and my first friend. He taught me patience and gentleness, showed me love every single day, and was so strong. He never gave up, tenacity is a curious trait to find in a cat, yet he was full of it. He faced multiple hurdles, but was so strong in the face of it all and always showed what a fighter he was.
He gets to rest now, body buried in a shaded patch beneath our hydrangeas, and skull held in my hand kissing his head once more.”
-Ella P.
Esme
Domestic Feline
Mulder
Domestic Canine, Shiba Inu
Lucy
Domestic Feline, Sphynx
“Lucy was a super sweet, sneaky and spunky little cat. The moment we got her as a kitten we fell deeply in love. She enjoyed sitting by the heater, scratching her face on beards, trying to sneak chicken nuggets and cuddle all day and night.
In her youth her favorite thing to do was run around and get into trouble with her hairless sister, Lola. There was never a dull moment with those two! In her twilight years her favorite thing to do was cuddle on the couch under a blanket and watch tv with the family.
We were lucky enough to have sweet little Lucy in our lives for 15 wonderful years. She brought so much joy, comfort and love to our family. I called her my security blanket and best dose of an antidepressant ever! She will be forever missed but always in our hearts. RIP sweet chicken.”
-Allie H. & family
Snicklefritz
Domestic Feline
“Snicklefritz was a distinguished gentleman and polite menace who kept his moms' hearts full for 15 long years. He had a soft nature but a sharp wit. He loved lap time during work from home hours, and playing with his lifetime mate, a tuxedo cat named Carlos. Daily snuggles and his little peeps will be deeply missed, but he is still remembered with every tuft of fur left in his place. His moms hope to keep his spirit around indefinitely as they carry him with them.”
-Leah V. & Alli D.
Toy Poodle
Jackalope
“Jackalope spent years by my side. He was a part of me. The minute I met him he climbed into my lap and from then on he never wanted to leave. His job was to love and be loved, and he excelled in his career. He spent his last days in my arms, and on his last evening when he could barely lift his head, he mustered up all his strength to push himself up nearly to standing trying to close the short distance between us to be in my lap again.
I hold his leg bones and think of how he bounded - when in college I would take him to lay out in the sun on the quad, when he would bound through the grass right up to students who came to say hi, where he got the attention and affection he craved while they got the comfort of him standing in for the little white dogs they grew up with at home far away, when he was so overflowing with a desire for affection I couldn't keep it all to myself.
I hold his pelvis and think of how when I was out in the yard with him, I'd grab his waist when another dog passed by so he couldn't run up and bark in their face while sneaking sniffs if they turned away, and how his hips fit perfectly in my hand.
I hold his tiny toe bones and think of how he'd put a paw on me to ask for something, or how he'd put out his paw to show me my spot and demand I sit down on the couch with him, or how even though he hated having his paws touched, sometimes, if he was sleepy enough, he'd let me hold hands with him.
I learn how his vertebrae fit together and move and I think of when he first came home with me he hunched his back and gradually eased as he settled in, and how when he lost mobility in his old age he began to hunch again, or how he looked curled up to sleep.
I kiss the top of his skull goodnight. I rest it in my hands and remember how it felt to rub his big fluffy ears. I remember what the groove between his eyes felt like. I look at his toothless jaws and remember how long ago he had a signature snaggletooth before getting the few teeth he had left when I adopted him taken out. I rest it on my thigh and think about how often he rested his chin on me to sleep. I lean my forehead against his, which for years grounded me, and I can still feel my entire body and soul relax.
It means even more to know his bones were prepared with so much work and care by someone who has heard about him and of what he meant. Thank you again.”
-Isabel D.