"Regarde ton chien dans les yeux
et tu ne pourras pas affirmer qu'il n'a pas d'âme."
- Victor Hugo
et tu ne pourras pas affirmer qu'il n'a pas d'âme."
- Victor Hugo
My partner and I visit them as often as we can everywhere in Europe, but the one I'm going to tell you about is definitely a bit unusual and I was alone when I visited it.
There is a place north of Paris in which time stands still and memories emerge from the shadows of the past: it is called Le cimetière des chiens et autres animaux domestiques.
It's located at 4 Pont de Clichy in Asnières-sur-Seine, it's a monumental cemetery for pets and it's easy to reach by public transport. Be careful though, for it will make you cry more than a river...
It's considered as the first cemetery of its kind in the world and it can be visited from Tuesday to Sunday during opening hours (10-16.30). The cemetery has been active since 1899 and was created by the will of Georges Harmois and Marguerite Durand. For those who enjoy French, here's a page where you can find some historical information about it: http://www.appl-lachaise.net/appl/article.php3?id_article=55.
The cemetery rises on one of the banks of the Seine, in the north-west area of Paris and at a first glance it resembles to a garden. Right in front of it there is a dog park which is very useful if you are/travel with your dog and want to play with him or let him run and sniff for a while, wild and free from the leash. The entrance fee to the cemetery is 3.50 Euros to be paid in cash only; dogs are -of course- allowed.
Personally speaking, I spent a couple of hours there on a very bright and warm day in September 2018, and I was greeted by a beautiful huge white dog named Ghost (ah, the irony! One of my dogs is named Arya, indeed).
Wandering among the thousands of graves in the field reminded me of the various animals (hamsters, gerbils, Peruvian piglets, my beloved dog LaMia, etc.) with whom I had the good fortune to cross my path and who no longer walk this earth with me. Each of those thousands of gravestones is a silent guardian of that unique and unrepeatable relationship that each of us establishes with the pet of their own family or, as I prefer to call it myself, with one's own pack of choice.
Therefore, do not be surprised if on the map (in French) that will be given to you at the entrance you will find the tombs of race horses, army dogs, family dogs, a stray dog that in 1958 went to die at the front of the graveyard, cats, hamsters and even a goldfish!
Some dedications are promises of love and eternal gratitude to the animal companion with whom a portion of life was shared; because nothing is sadder than a bowl that lies unused.
And don't be surprised if you find people fixing the tomb of their deceased friend or crying in despair: the cemetery is still active and people regularly go to visit the remains of their friends.
Truth to be told, anthropology tells us that specific commemorative practices for our animal friends have been found in several human cultures with rituals and real public farewell ceremonies. Furthermore, psychology has dedicated a lot of specific literature to the mourning of our animal friend, getting it to equate for stress and type of pain to that one experienced for the loss of a family member. It should therefore not be surprising that someone might feel the need to remember and pay homage to this presence in a place of worship such as, for example, a specific cemetery.
This place is full of energy and memories, and the presence of man fortunately fades into a background sound. The only thing I can suggest to you in order to enjoy the visit is to visualize an immense procession of elves intent on leaving the Middle Earth and, on the notes of Into the West, abandon yourself into a liberating cry. Because that's how I want to imagine them all: eternal in Valinor.
Into the West - Annie Lennox
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