Family pets are truly a member of the family. When their time eventually comes and they pass away, many families go to great lengths to ensure that the animal’s memory lives on for years to come. Some people get the pet cremated and then disperse the ashes in the pet’s favorite park, while others find a gravesite and bury the animal remains, so they have a consistent place to return to year after year to pay tribute to the pet that brought so much love into the family home.
Zach Medlin was walking through Kiroli Park in West Monroe, Louisiana, with his dog when he happened upon a gravestone that caught his attention. He let his dog, Serena, a Staffordshire terrier, off her leash and allowed her to harass the ducks in the nearby lake. While she busied herself with the challenge of chasing down the wild animals and trying to catch one or two for her owner, Medlin took a moment to take a closer look at the gravestone that he happened to find in the middle of the woods in the public park.
“The inscription was covered by some pine straw,” Medlin told The Dodo. “So I had to move the pine straw out of the way to read what the grave marker had to say.”
So what did the inscription on the gravestone say? Well, according to a photo published online by Medlin, it said: “Buddie, 1928 — 1941. Born a dog / Died a gentleman.”
The pubic park spans 160 acres and is welcome to all in the community. Medlin could not help but wonder why Buddie, a beloved pet, would have been buried in the park all alone, away from his favorite person in the world – his master. Perhaps, Buddie loved the park above all else and would have delighted in being there forever after.