The Dog Cemetery of Asnières - kerouac2

[Deleted]

Ever since I first heard about the dog cemetery of Asnières – before I was even an adult – I knew I had to see it someday. I have no idea why it took me so long, but today was the day. Actually, one thing about cemeteries is that nothing about them is urgent – they will always be there waiting for you. However, this one almost disappeared in 1987 before being saved at the last minute. But I’ll get back to that.

Pets have existed to a certain extent even since humans had an extra scrap of food to give them, but the concept of a domestic animal being a family member, even if it was not used to hunt vermin or to protect people, didn’t really happen until the 19th century. The RSPCA was founded in 1824 in England, but the French SPA (Society for the Protection of Animals) was not created until 1845, after the Count of Grammont was outraged by the way horses were being treated. (The American SPCA was founded in 1866.)

While the fate of living animals was supposedly improved, there wasn’t much to be said for dead animals. According to French law, dead animals were supposed to be brought to the “équarisseur” within 24 hours. I had no idea what the translation of this was in English so I looked it up: “knacker.” I have never heard this word before, but my education is far from perfect. Anyway, an équarisseur is basically just a butcher who cuts up dead animals – not all that useful regarding dogs and cats, but I suppose they were supposed to have some sort of rubbish bin for making compost, glue, fish food or perhaps an exquisite liqueur.

In practice, most pets went out with the trash, and I’m sure that is still quite common in the 21st century.

In 1898, French law changed to say that domestic animals “may be buried at least 100 meters from any dwelling if possible and covered by at least one meter of dirt.” This law permitted the creation of a pet cemetery and the very next year this one opened, operated by the “French Company for a Dog Cemetery and Other Domestic Animals.”

I remembered from reading guidebooks long ago that this cemetery was on an island, but this is no longer true. The island was attached to the nearby bank in 1975 and is just on the other side of the Pont de Clichy.

Anyway, I don’t know who was running the place (clearly not the original company), but in 1986 they announced that they wanted to close it once and for all. This is prime riverfront real estate, and I can easily imagine the plans that they had. Naturally, pet lovers were up in arms, particularly the ones who had a faithful companion buried there, and the plan was blocked by having the site classified as a national site worthy of being saved due to its “picturesque, artistic, historical and legendary interest.” The city of Asnières officially acquired the cemetery and has been running it directly since 1997. It costs 3.50€ to visit, but it is of course free to anybody with a concession and two guests.

I walked there from the metro station "Mairie de Clichy" so I saw it as I crossed the Pont de Clichy.



The entrance was nicer than a lot of cemeteries for human beings.





When you enter, the first thing you see is the monument to Barry, a Saint Bernard.



"He saved the lives of 40 people and was killed by the 41st."



It's not hard to imagine the sort of tombs that one will see.













Mommy's heart is broken!

[onlymark]

A knacker is a person in the trade of rendering animals (especially horses) that are unfit for human consumption, such as horses that can no longer work. This leads to the slang expression "knackered" meaning very tired, or "ready for the knacker’s yard", where old horses are slaughtered and made into dog food and glue. A knacker's yard or knackery is different from a slaughterhouse, where animals are slaughtered for human consumption.

Common usage in the UK but easily enough missed by anyone else I should think.

[Deleted]

Thanks, Mark. The rest of us have often heard the expression (at least in British movies and series) "I'm completely knackered," but I never really thought what the origin might be.

*-*

All cemeteries around Paris are full of cats, but here they are official, have their own cat house and are fed by a cat society. Therefore they seemed considerably less wild than in places like Père Lachaise or the Montmartre cemetery.

And the dogs don't scare them.

[bixaorellana]

This is absolutely charming, although I was shocked to hear that the felines "have their own cat house". You French ~~ so worldly!

Re: disposal of deceased creatures ~~ New Orleans used to have a listing (maybe still does) in the phone directory of a city department called "dead animal on street".

I'm getting ready to put a cemetery report in Post Cards. You've rather stolen my thunder with these super pictures & great commentary.

Gotta go put this on my fb page so all the animalistas can see it!

[Deleted]

Quack quack!





This monument honours all police and fire dogs.



More is better!



"You gave me all the love since I never had children..." Very true.



My brochure tells me that this willow tree is remarkable. I agree.







Cat still on patrol...



This cemetery is really quite big!

[mich64]

It is quite amazing that this exists and that it is being preserved. I love that some of the headstones show that the grave holds more than one beloved pet.

The mentioning of by-laws piqued my interest as we have buried our Jacob near the house, under a deck facing the lake. Now I am wondering if we have broken any laws? I will look into this, I will not move him, but I will abide to any laws when Jebidiah passes.

It will be a very sad day if we do move back into town for this reason.

[Deleted]

The most famous dog in the world, who has his own star on Hollywood Boulevard, is buried here, but he doesn't have one of the most impressive graves.

Rin Tin Tin was found in a bombed out kennel on 15 September 1918 by American corporal Lee Duncan. Actually, he found a German shepherd who had just given birth to a litter of 5 puppies. The troops adopted them, and Lee Duncan kept two of them, whom he named Rin Tin Tin and Nénette, after the names of traditional dolls of Lorraine. A few months later, out of the six dogs, his were the only ones who survived. He managed to bring his dogs back to America, but Nénette got sick and died during the trip. Back home in Hollywood, Rin Tin Tin was trained and participated in a number of dog shows. That's where film producer and director Daryll Zanuck noticed him... and the rest is history.

Rin Tin Tin made 26 movies and it was his fame that saved Warner Brothers from bankruptcy and allowed it to become one of the "majors." Rin Tin Tin had his own limousine and his own phone number in the Los Angeles telephone directory.

He died in 1932 in Jean Harlow's arms (no, they were not having an affair). Lee Duncan had him buried in France, at the cemetery in Asnières. The dog that most of us saw on television with his faithful companion Rusty was a descendant of Rin Tin Tin.

[bixaorellana]

This just got better and better and, I must say, very moving.

Next time I'm in Texas, I'll see if I can find my pictures of the Key West cemetery, which has a family section which includes all their pets.

Your photos are wonderful.

Is everything so green and mossy because of being close to the river?

[Deleted]

Nature is always so much more noticeable in cemeteries for some reason.















I must be heartless, but this tomb cracks me up more and more: the little posts with chains....

[lugg]

Fascinating report and great photos.

Hmmmmm..... pet cemeteries. Not for me but then neither are human cemeteries.

[Deleted]

"Drapeau, a war companion"















Since the old zone is now very crowded...



... they have started a new expansion zone.



One last look at Barry and a satisfied customer before I leave

[htmb]

This has been a very interesting report to read, k. Each photo brings something new to see. It amazes me how some people have chosen to honor their pets in death. Not for me, either, but certainly fascinating.

Also, I don't think I ever knew the story of Rin Tin Tin, but I do remember loving shows featuring him when I was a child.

[Breeze]

Is Bigoudi a common name for a pet? We thought we had met the one and only, but now it looks like at least one has gone before.

Non--pet-lovers don't always understand how important a pet can be in someone's life. If I had never had a pet other than our current cat, I wouldn't understand it myself.

[Deleted]

I wouldn't imagine that Bigoudi is super common, but I can easily imagine it being used on dogs with very curly fur.

[koloagirl]

Aloha from Kaua'i!

You have well and truly made me kick myself for not getting out to that cemetery last month - it was something that I had "planned" to do this time but just never got around to it!

Ah well....there is always a "next time" - at least I certainly hope so! Thank you for your gorgeous photos of a beautiful place.

Janet R.

[Deleted]

One thing about this cemetery which I felt merited further investigation was the very obvious lack of any religious symbols on any of the tombs. This clearly was not by chance, so I decided to dig up what I could find about the rules for interment of pets in Asnières.

I don’t know about other religions, but the Catholic church has always made a point of distancing animals from humans, being two completely different forms of creation according to the church. I remember that children always wanted to know if their dead pet was going to heaven, but in Catholic school it was made very clear that animals do not have souls and therefore cannot go to heaven, except maybe for some sort of totally separate “animal heaven” – the nuns tried to elude the subject but kept that as an emergency solution when the official theology failed them.

In any case, the church was completely against the creation of such a cemetery, and, despite itself, discovered that it had an unexpected ally in the anticlerical movements of the time. There was a great outcry about “necro-capitalism” and the idea of creating a place for rich pets to be buried when so many people could not afford a decent burial for their loved ones. The Catholic daily La Croix was particularly virulent about this and over the years repeatedly published articles against the existence of the cemetery.

Defenders of the cemetery fought back by honouring heroic war dogs and a very popular race horse which had been put down after breaking its legs. This went over better than tombs for little fluffy Mirza or Titi.

Anyway, back to the absence of religious symbols. It was in the cemetery rules right from the start:

The administration informs the public that it will permit no ceremonies or decorations imitating human funerals, which would be a sign of disrespect to mankind. More specifically, crosses are strictly forbidden.

A second reminder was added in the 1920’s.

Any religious symbols such as those found on human tombs are totally prohibited in the zoological cemetery.

As a number of writers pointed out over the years, this interdiction is pretty much of a farce, because anybody taking a cursory glance at the place recognizes it immediately as a cemetery that completely resembles a human cemetery without a moment's hesitation. The fact that there are no religious symbols makes no difference.

[bixaorellana]

A funny but apt coincidence: I opened the thread & read the first sentence in your Reply #15. However the images on my screen sort of bounce when a picture-heavy thread is being loaded. Wouldn't you know that the first bounce landed on this picture --->

Surely a look at each and every inscription would reveal other tacit acknowledgements of an afterlife for "dumb animals".



This is a really wonderful and beautiful thread, Kerouac. Even your inclusion of Tipsy's Liberace-style resting place is done with benevolent understanding of the loving grief that inspired it.

This has been a visual and enlightening treat -- thanks!

[lagatta]

I return to this from the more recent thread, and at a time when the Pope, no less, was thinking that dogs might well go to heaven.

Even when I was little, I didn't see the point of heaven if I couldn't be reunited with my favourite non-human animals.

I've never been there; I'll make a point of going the next time I'm in Paris. I have been to Asnières, but just in the town centre. A Moroccan friend in Paris had a mate who ran a good small bistro there, and I wanted to see la cité-jardin des Grésillons (1934) as I'm very interested in social housing, especially successful projects that have stood the test of time. fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cit%C3%A9-jardin#/media/File:Asni%C3%A8res_Gennevilliers_-_Cit%C3%A9_Jardin_des_Gr%C3%A9sillons_%28dans_le_fond,_l%27Hopital_Beaujon%29.JPG

Ha, a "cathouse". Not that cats would have any use for a bordel, having no concept of either monetary exchange or sexual propriety or impropriety. But those cats also have lots of little nooks to sleep in when it is rainy or cold. I assume that the people who feed them are exempt from the 3€50 admittance fee. I love that black one.

[Deleted]

It was announced today that Diesel, the police dog that died in the raid on the terrorists in Saint Denis, will be buried here.

[htmb]

I had wondered if that would be the case.


I recently re-read a memoire that had several pages devoted to the pet cemetery. Something I had forgotten after first reading the book two years ago. It details mainly the history of how the cemetery came to be. Do you remember ever seeing a grave for a lion named "Tiger," Kerouac? It supposedly belonged to the woman who founded the cemetery, Marguerite Durand.

[htmb]

While nosing around the Internet I came across this (somewhat annoying) 1986 NYTimes article about the pet cemetery.

SCANDALE! PET CEMETERY BY THE SEINE UNDER SIEGE

Other than the threat to close the cemetery, the main point I got out of it is that pet owners paid, on average, the equivalent of $100 per year to keep their buried pets in the cemetery. I wonder what the cost is today.

[Deleted]

I don't think I saw it, and a web search did not unearth any photo of that tomb.

However, I did find out that there was a graverobber in 2012 who dug up "Tipsy" because the poodle was buried wearing a collar worth 9000 euros. I took no fewer than two photos of that tomb in this thread -- it's the huge one with the big red heart on it. Tipsy belonged to a billionaire but nevertheless its rotting corpse was just thrown on top of the tombstone after the removal of the collar. Everything -- except the collar -- is now back in place.

[htmb]

Oh! I remember seeing Tipsy's tomb, too!

Burying a pet in a 9000 euro collar, let alone even putting a collar of that value on a dog, is plain idiocy and excess in my book!

[tod2]

Idiocy in excess falls into the zone of 'Loved you L o n g time' but I'm as dippy as shit.

My vet and I absolutely hate it when people try to turn their pets into human form. If they only knew how stressful it is for the poor animal.

[Deleted]

Nov 25, 2015 14:29:05 GMT htmb said:

the main point I got out of it is that pet owners paid, on average, the equivalent of $100 per year to keep their buried pets in the cemetery. I wonder what the cost is today.

Much more than that!

une concession vous coûtera pas moins de 116 euros par mois et jusqu’à 3902 euros pour 20 ans !