In 1896, Dr. Samuel Johnson, a New York veterinarian, established Hartsdale, the first pet cemetery in the United States of America. Still in operation, it is the final resting place for over 70,000 pets.
In classical Greece society, where dogs were greatly appreciated, poets wrote epitaphs which were inscribed on markers over pet graves. The poet Tymnes penned this in 300 BC:
"The stone tells that it (the grave) contains, here the white Milesian dog, Eumelos' faithful guardian. They called him 'Bull' while he still lived, but now the silent paths of night possess his voice."
In ancient Egypt, cats were buried at Luxor by the Pharoahs at the time of the Old Testament was being written.
At ashkelon in Israel, a dog cemetery dating back to the 5th century BC was uncovered during the excavation of the ancient site.
Early Chinese Emperors buried their dogs at a cemetery in Peking with tombstones of ivory, marble, lapis lazuli, silver and gold.
Queen Victoria buried her dogs in a cemetery on The Isle of Wight and for centuries there has been a pet cemetery in Paris on an island in The River Seine.
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