Faithful unto Death

Description

Tells the remarkable stories of famous, unusual, and heroic pets memorialized in pet cemeteries around the world, accompanied by evocative archival photos and the author's stunning, atmospheric images of their gravestones. *Faithful unto Death* reveals how pet cemeteries started―and why―through the stories of the people and animals that were integral to their development. These stories are illuminated by high-quality, original photographs of gravestones and memorials from North and South America, Europe, Australia, and Asia, together with contextual illustrations of sites, rituals, and the pets themselves when they were alive. Combined, they reveal similarities in the way we mourn animal companions as well as stunning cultural diversity. Centuries of tradition that hold human beings to be spiritually and morally superior have conspired to ensure that in western culture pets have never been allowed to die like a family member. There are no set rituals to provide closure when a pet dies, and there is the sense of taboo that it is somehow socially incorrect to mourn the loss of a pet as one would a person. *Faithful unto Death* confronts this taboo while telling the stories of people who have memorialized their pets in celebration of their beloved animals. The book addresses prejudices that have historically surrounded animals, and reveals how in the nineteenth century a movement started that aimed to treat pets with dignity even in death. It is a fight that is far from over, but the triumphs that are revealed as the book unfolds, found in cemeteries small to grand and on monuments humble to huge, possess the power to touch everyone who has ever cared for an animal. From Charlie Chaplin's canine costar in *A Dog's Life* to the "forever faithful" Shep, this is a history filled with inspiration, wild eccentricity, and eternal love.

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