Tearful animal lovers gathered to mourn fallen non-human companions at The Tomb of The Unknown Pets.
The tribute to stray and abused pets that die anonymously every year was unveiled Tuesday at Bonheur Memorial Park.It consists of a 3-foot-wide bronze plaque that reads: "The Unknown Pets. For the Millions of Lost and Abandoned Pets A Final Resting Place. The Bonheur Family." A fountain spritzes behind the plaque.
The tomb signifies "all the tears these pet owners have shed for their loved ones," said Jerry Rosenbaum, operator of the pet cemetery.
He said the ceremony was staged to coincide with Be Kind To Animals Month.
Pet owners like Mary Nelson who buried animals at Bonheur attended the ceremony. Her champion boxer Casey was buried there in August under a rose-colored marble headstone.
"He was born in my hands and he died in my hands. He was truly my best friend," Nelson said tearfully.
Bonheur, named after 19th century artist and sculptor Rosa Bonheur, has been in existence since 1935. Bonheur often chose animals as her subjects.
Pets of all sorts have been buried in the 12-acre cemetery, including goldfish, police dogs, horses and Mary Ann, an elephant given to the nearby city of Baltimore in 1925.
"Pets are strictly buried for love," Rosenbaum said.
Inscriptions on gravestones prove his point. They include notes like "Our precious baby" and "A gift from God. We will always miss you."
The cemetery was dotted with flowers, squeaky toys and statues of dogs and cats.
The first human interment was permitted at Bonheur in 1977 and about 100 plots for people wanting to be buried near their pets have been reserved, Rosenbaum said.
Elizabeth Kirk, president of the local chapter of the Animal Welfare League, has buried 18 pets at the cemetery and has reserved a place among them for herself.
"People just don't seem to realize that animals and children are alike. They trust in the larger human to take care of them and not abuse them," Kirk said.
She came to the ceremony with recent adoptees Charlie, a mutt who had been abused, and Suzie, a dog born without a front paw that would have been euthanized because no one else wanted her.