The Cimetière des Chiens et Autres Animaux Domestiques is often claimed to be the first zoological necropolis in the modern world. The ancient

Ashkelon dog cemetery The Ashkelon dog cemetery is a burial ground in the city of Ashkelon in Israel where possibly thousands of dogs were interred in the fifth to third centuries BC. The majority of the dogs were puppies; all had similarities to the modern Canaan Dog, ...

predates it by thousands of years. It opened in 1899 at 4 pont de Clichy on Île des Ravageurs in Asnières-sur-Seine, Île-de-France. This "Cemetery of Dogs and Other Domestic Animals" is an elaborate pet cemetery, the burial site for dogs, cats, and a wide variety of pets ranging from horses to monkeys to lions and even fish. Located in a northwest suburb of Paris, the pet cemetery caters to a very elite clientele. It contains many ornate sculptures, and at the entry is the monument to Barry, a Saint Bernard mountain rescue dog who died in 1814. The plaque says that during his lifetime, "Barry" was responsible for saving the lives of 40 people lost or trapped in the mountain snow. (Barry himself is not buried at the cemetery; his preserved body is on display at the Swiss Natural History Museum in Bern.) Some of the cemetery's residents are famous in their own right such as Rin Tin Tin, the star of

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

films following his rescue during World War I, while others are the beloved pets of the wealthy who could afford this elaborate burial place such as film director

Sacha Guitry Alexandre-Pierre Georges "Sacha" Guitry (; 21 February 188524 July 1957) was a French stage actor, film actor, director, screenwriter, and playwright of the boulevard theatre. He was the son of a leading French actor, Lucien Guitry, and follow ...

. Buried here too, is the pet lion of stage actress, feminist, and co-founder of the cemetery, Marguerite Durand and the pet of

Camille Saint-Saëns Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (; 9 October 183516 December 1921) was a French composer, organist, conductor and pianist of the Romantic music, Romantic era. His best-known works include Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso (1863), the Piano C ...

, composer of ''Carnival of the Animals''. In 1987, the government of France classified the cemetery as an historical monument. The cemetery presently is owned and managed by the city of Asnières and is open to visitors. The impressive entrance to the cemetery was designed by noted architect Eugène Petit in

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

style.A tour of Parisian pet cemetery Cimetière des Chiens on Lost & Fond
In 1910, the gates of the cemetery were reproduced in the city of Curitiba, Paraná (Brazil), for the entrance of its first urban park, the Public Walk. The reference is indicated on bronze plates next to the construction.

References

External links

A short film on Youtube by Barbara GordonYoutubeYoutube
Two short home videos of the cemetery (July 2008)
Cemetery Map
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cimetiere Des Chiens Animal cemeteries Cemeteries in Hauts-de-Seine Dog monuments Outdoor sculptures in France 1899 establishments in France Art Nouveau architecture in Paris Art Nouveau cemeteries Buildings and structures completed in 1899 Rin Tin Tin Cemeteries established in the 1890s