Blackie was a cocker spaniel mix who belonged to Mel Kornspan’s family when he was a child living in Washington, D.C. Blackie lived a dozen good years as a member of the family before passing away in 1956. Mel’s mother, Rebecca, arranged for her to be buried at Aspin Hill. Mel never forgot Blackie and keeps a tiny photo of her in a red frame to remember her by. Continue reading You Never Forget a Good Dog
![Dog cemetery, Miss Logan's dog [1921]. National Photo Company Collection. Library of Congress Call Number: LC-F8- 16117 [P&P]](https://petcemeterystories.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/MissFudge05121crop.jpg)
National Photo Company Collection.
Library of Congress Call Number: LC-F8- 16117 [P&P]
Suspecting that this might have been taken at Aspin Hill Pet Cemetery, I checked the burial records. Sure enough, on the very first page of the oldest burial register, there was an entry for a Mrs. Logan, who buried a fox terrier there on September 15, 1920. There was even a little sketch of the grave stone in the register, which matched the one in the photograph. Continue reading Miss Fudge
Calvin Coolidge and his wife Grace were animal lovers. They owned several dogs, cats, canaries, and even a raccoon. They also received animals as gifts from other countries, which they often kept at the White House. Some, such as a black bear and wallaby, were sent to the National Zoo to be raised.
Calvin Coolidge’s favorite dog was a white collie named Rob Roy. He was prominently featured in First Lady Grace Coolidge’s official portrait, painted by Howard Chandler Christy in 1924. This painting still hangs in the White House China Room, which was decorated in a shade of red that matched her dress. Continue reading Presidential Animal Lovers Calvin and Grace Coolidge
The statue of Robin Goodfellow sits sphinx-like on the grounds of Aspin Hill Memorial Park, way in the back near where the older burials are. On one side of the base of his memorial are inscribed these words: “To the memory of my precious greyhound Robin Goodfellow January 3, 1926 – May 24, 1935.” On the other side, it reads, “Robin’s little day on earth is ended. He loved much, sympathized deeply, understood clearly, and was kind.” At the front of the base is the name, “A. Wilson Mattox.” If you look to the left of Robin Goodfellow, you will see A. Wilson Mattox’s own grave stone, inscribed with his birth and death dates, November 12, 1876 to May 25, 1950. Continue reading Humans Buried at Aspin Hill
There’s a granite stone at Aspin Hill Memorial Park which marks the grave of a dog named Rags who is dubbed a “War Hero” and “1st Division Mascot WW I.” I wondered how this dog became a war hero, but I didn’t wonder for long. The tale of Rags is one of the best documented of the pet cemetery stories. Continue reading Rags, War Hero
When a monument to a pet includes the figure of a dog, it pulls at my heart just a little bit harder. These are the best of the dog statues in Aspin Hill Memorial Park.
I took this photo in May 2013, around the time I first started photographing around Aspin Hill Memorial Park. Lately, there’s been a bone between Skippy’s two paws. I’m sure he’d have loved that. Continue reading Dog Statues in Aspin Hill Memorial Park
Here are two grave stones that have me stumped. I have been unable to find the stories behind them, despite the specific details that the pets’ owners had inscribed on their memorials. I’ll post them here in the hope that someone may know their stories and share them with me. Failing that, let us read these memorials and be heartened by the knowledge that our animal friends are capable of heroism.
Get out your hankies, because this is one sad story. On a lovely Sunday morning in August 1928, Eric and Alvina Matus of Capitol Heights, Maryland went on a boating trip on the Potomac. They and another couple were fishing from a skiff near Colonial Beach, Virginia when they capsized. The couple with them were rescued by nearby fishermen, but the Matuses disappeared in sixty feet of water. Days later, their bodies were recovered.
Continue reading This Ever Faithful Barking Ghost
One of the delights of visiting a pet cemetery is reading all the interesting, heart-warming, and funny names people give their pets. Last week, I showed you the tombstone of J. Edgar Hoover’s dog, Spee De Bozo. Now meet J. Edna Hoover, an English bulldog buried in Hartsdale Pet Cemetery in New York. I wonder if the owners really admired the FBI director, or if this was their way of mocking him?
Inscription: J. Edna "Hoover" The Greatest Little Girl To Walk This Earth On Two Or Four Legs. Keep Watching Over Me Location: Hartsdale Pet Cemetery, Hartsdale, New York
J. Edgar Hoover was, among other things, devoted to his dogs. His first, Spee De Bozo, was so beloved that Hoover kept his photograph on his desk at work. When Spee De Bozo died in 1934, Hoover buried him in Aspin Hill Memorial Park. Accompanied by three of his aides, he watched as his beloved Airedale was lowered into the ground. He told the cemetery groundskeeper, “This is one of the saddest days of my life.”
Continue reading J. Edgar Hoover’s Dogs