Have a dignified pet funeral officiated by a Rabbi for pet owners and their families.
In the first book of Moses, Genesis, many species of animals were created by God. In the story of Noah, God commanded Noah to build an ark with specific dimensions to protect the animals.
Our pets are part of our family. We interact with them daily as our family members. When they are sick, we are worried. When we leave our home for work, errands, or vacation, we miss them. When they pass on, it hurts and that hurt becomes a terrible loss.
From the time we are children, we learn to care and be responsible for another life. Dealing with death is not taught or passed on from generation to generation. Our feelings and the pain of loss is real. Our pets are missed, our hearts hurt from that loss. We do all that we can when they alive when they are sick. We go to great lengths caring for our pets, but when they die, they are often not given a proper goodbye, a proper pet funeral. The Veterinary office takes care of their remains or an area in the backyard becomes the place for burial without a marker, without a pet funeral. The hardest task of all, taking them to the crematory and having their ashes placed in an urn that becomes part of the home’s decor. Let’s not even mention what we do with our pet fish!
In the book titled, “Dr. Johnson’s Apple Orchard”, written by the current Cemetery Director, Edward C. Martin Jr., along with his family, depicts the history of the first pet cemetery in the United States of America, the Hartsdale Pet Cemetery. Dr. Samuel Johnson, a renowned veterinarian in New York City, the 1890s, and founder of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals became remembered for this first-ever pet cemetery. A woman came to Dr. Johnson’s office distraught over the death of her dog. She wanted to give it a proper burial only to be told by the doctor that legally it could not take place in the City of New York. He arrived at a solution and offered his permission to bury her beloved pet in his apple orchard located in Hartsdale, New York. A reporter stumbled on the story and published it. Hundreds of requests looking for a dignified and protected burial ground, a proper pet funeral, for their departed companions evolved at
Hartsdale Pet Cemetery
As the book states, “The Hartsdale Canine Cemetery is now the resting place for pets of every description, from parakeets to a lion cub, from the loyal dog of a blind newsman to the pampered pets of famous celebrities and a former vice president of the United States.” The first memorial for canines that served in our military was erected in 1923.
Hartsdale Pet Cemetery web site – for proper pet funerals
Being a pet owner since childhood, it was only fitting for me to contact the cemetery and offer my rabbinical services for those requesting a rabbi leading a proper funeral for a beloved pet. The cemetery is Non-denominational.
Pet Memories
See below to see contributions from other visitors to this page…
My Beloved Pet Beta Fish
Thanks for giving me the chance to memorialize my pet beta fish, who passed away yesterday, Mon 10.04.10. I didn’t really know what I could do in his honor, …
Rabbi Andrea wrote a beautiful Pet Funeral for me.
Words cannot describe what Rabbi Andrea did for me. I chose to lay to rest my precious Jadey in a New Jersey Pet Cemetery.
She was unable to officiate …
In Memory of Princey
Princey the no breed family dog was so loving and not ordinary at all.
He lived until he was 16 years old. There are so many memories of him, but …
Use the above form to submit your own.
“Pets are our family members and deserve a proper goodbye”