The Mohawk Hudson Humane Society plans to breathe new life into its decades-old pet cemetery.
It opened 75 years ago on October 21, 1948, but has been largely forgotten for years until now.
MHHS wants to restore it and renew the promises made to the people whose pets are buried there.
“We want to move forward and reopen the cemetery and show new people that we are committed to taking care of it,” said Melanie Stevenson, special events coordinator for MHHS.
Stevenson said there are between 2,500 and 3,000 pets buried in the cemetery, but since it was closed years ago, many of the stones are barely visible.
Some notable animals are buried there, including Cecelia, the Hudson River harbor seal.
She explained that the cemetery closed sometime in the late ’60s or early ’70s after pet cremations became more popular.
“It reopened in 1986 for a period of about 10 years where people were using it again, but as the trends changed, it wasn’t needed anymore,” she said. “What we’ve found now is that people are interested again, and there’s been a resurgence of interest in people using the services.”
Unfortunately, the humane society said some records have been lost over the years, so as part of the restoration effort, they’re hoping to find the people whose pets are buried there to hear their stories and help piece together the cemetery’s history.
Stevenson said volunteers will be behind much of the work to revive the pet cemetery. As for a timeline, she said she’s not sure how long the project will take.
“Every time we get into one part of it, something else comes up, so it’s a lot of different elements. It’s also something that we need a lot of help with, so volunteers coming in and helping us will speed that up, but right now, until we get the word out, it’s pretty slow going,” Stevenson said.
Last year, MHHS created a memorial walkway – a place where people can bury their pets in stones.
