The Key Underwood Coon Dog Memorial Graveyard is a specialized and restricted
pet cemetery
A pet cemetery is a cemetery for pets.
History
Many human cultures buried animal remains. For example, the Ancient Egyptians mummified and buried cats, which they considered deities, and the largest known dog cemetery in the ancient wo ...
and memorial in rural
Colbert County, Alabama, US. It is reserved specifically for the burials of
coon dogs. The cemetery was established by Key Underwood on September 4, 1937. Underwood buried his own dog there, choosing the spot, previously a popular hunting camp where "Troop" did 15 years of service. , more than 300 dogs were buried in the graveyard.
Criteria for burial are fairly well established, albeit being subject to interpretation and application. Only ''bona fide'' "coonhounds" are to be buried there. The exact measure of that standard depends on breeding, experience and performance; and seemingly depends on who and when the tale is told and the determination made.
History
![Old Troops Grave Coon Dog Cemetery](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/Old_Troops_Grave_Coon_Dog_Cemetery.jpg)
Key Underwood established the cemetery on September 4, 1937, interring his coon dog, Troop, in an old hunting camp located in rural
Colbert County, Alabama, US. The closest town is
Cherokee, Alabama. At the time, Underwood only intended to bury Troop in a place they had
coon hunted together for 15 years. The memorial was a serendipitous afterthought.
Underwood buried Troop there, three feet deep, with an engraved old chimney stone for a
marker. Later, other bereaved hunters followed his example when their dogs died, and the cemetery flourished as a result.
The entrance is marked by a statue of two coonhounds treeing a raccoon.
During a 1984 interview with columnist
Rheta Grimsley Johnson
Rheta Grimsley Johnson (born 1953) is a reporter and columnist for King Features Syndicate of New York. Johnson travels the country in search of stories, frequently reporting from her native South, with datelines from Washington, D.C., to Iuka, M ...
, Underwood said that burying Troop was doing "something special for a special coon dog". Allowance of mere pets is contraindicated. "It would reveal that you must not know much about coon hunters and their dogs, if you think we would contaminate this burial place with poodles and lap dogs."
Dogs must meet three requirements to qualify for burial at the cemetery:
*the owner must verify that their dog was a purebred coonhound
*a witness must declare that the dead animal is a coon dog
*a member of the local coonhunters' organization must be allowed to view the remains. The cemetery is not actually "breed specific" but at a minimum requires that the dog was actually used to hunt coons, and not something else.
Admission criteria are
game
A game is a structured form of play (activity), play, usually undertaken for enjoyment, entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator s ...
specific. Quoting O'Neal Bolton, former caretaker of the Coon Dog Graveyard, the cemetery's website notes:
"We have stipulations on this thing, ... A dog can't run no deer, possum nothing like that. He's got to be a straight coon dog, and he's got to be full hound. Couldn't be a mixed up breed dog, a house dog."
To be sure, being a full blooded coonhound from a recognized breed i.e., "
Redbone,
black and tan
A black and tan is a beer cocktail made by layering a pale beer (usually pale ale) and a dark beer (usually stout). In Ireland, the drink is called a half and half because in Ireland the term "''black and tan''" is considered to be offensive.
...
,
English bluetick,
English redtick,
Plott,
Treeing Walker, and various combinations of the above" is a plus. But "many non-
AKC breeds of Southern hunting hounds (such as our native frontier hounds, the
Black Mouth Curs,
Plott Hounds,
Catahoulas, and
Mountain Curs)" may be admitted, but then must be proven to meet all three of the criteria, and have no fewer than three witnesses who will attest that they have seen the dog track and tree coons single-handedly.
Headstone
A headstone, tombstone, or gravestone is a stele or marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. It is traditional for burials in the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim religions, among others. In most cases, it has the deceased's name, da ...
s and markers in the cemetery range from homemade metal and wooden
monument
A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, his ...
s to more intricate
marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...
engraved stones, akin to human gravesites.
They range from humble and home made to relatively well-crafted and ostentatious. Each reveals a touching story and makes a tribute. Some have
epitaph
An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...
s, such as "He wasn't the best, but he was the best I ever owned". The interred dogs include many notable hunting dogs such as Hunter's Famous Amos,
Ralston Purina's 1984 Dog of the Year.
It is the only cemetery in the world specifically dedicated to coonhounds.
By 2014, over 300 dogs were buried in the cemetery.
More generally, There are two monumental sculptures.
It is a tourist attraction, albeit well off the beaten path. Maintained by the Tennessee Valley Coon Hunters Association, it receives nearly 7,000 visitors annually.
Visitors are encouraged to sign in to the
guest book
A guestbook (also guest book, visitor log, visitors' book, visitors' album) is a paper or electronic means for a visitor to acknowledge a visit to a site, physical or web-based, and leave details such as their name, postal or electronic addres ...
on premises.
The entrance is festooned with warning signs, some pocked with many bullet holes, which advise visitors of surveillance by the neighborhood; another forbids lighting fires, and stresses only coon dogs buried with permission are allowed.
"Remembrances of dogs past happen a lot at the cemetery. Tears are shed, for they're more than dogs. They're more than pets. They're friends. More – they are family members. Funerals befitting a family's grand
matriarch up on the hill a handful of times a year because some of the dogs there are grand matriarchs. Families bury their own, like Key Underwood did that sad Labor Day."
The seriousness and solemnity of being interred at the memorial
is illustrated here:
"A group of solemn men, dressed in black mourning coats and hip boots, wearing carbide lamps on their heads stood beside a mound of soil and a freshly dug hole. A hunting horn sounded and the bay of hounds filled the air." Four outiftted pallbearers "... walked slowly toward the gathered crowd, a small wooden box carried between them".
"The last lines of William's eulogy memorialize the relationship between hunter and dog:
:"'...he knows in coon dog heaven he can hunt again when the sun goes down and the tree frogs holler. May the bones of Ole Red rest in peace, through the mercy of God and may the coon hunters light perpetually shine upon him.'"
Caretaker and contact person for the cemetery was Janice M. Williams,
aka the "Coon Dog Lady", who is the cemetery board's
president
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
. She was the first reported person to actually "count the graves scattered across that pastoral acre: 307 as of January 2014. She keeps it presentable (without care the forest quickly encroaches)."
As the 75th anniversary of the cemetery approached, coins and replica service medals started to be left on the graves.
The cemetery evolved, as has the sport of coon hunting. "These days hunting's about competition... Used to, people hunted
accoonsfor their hides or in the Depression, they ate them, but we don't shoot
accoonsanymore." Dogs are supposed to be independent, capable of hunting on their own, and "honest, meaning it won't run deer or rabbits; and it'll stay put, meaning it'll stay no matter rain, a storm, or another dog aggravating it," says Lee Hatton, grounds
caretaker. A
United Kennel Club
The United Kennel Club (UKC) is a kennel club founded in 1898 in the United States. In contrast with the American Kennel Club, which is non-profit and which only clubs can join, the United Kennel Club is a profit-making corporation, open to indivi ...
title requires beating other champions and "It takes 100 hard-earned points to become a champion."
The facility is officially recognized as an historic cemetery by the State of Alabama.
The memorial's thematic purpose has been summarized:
"Twelve years is a long time to be loved like that, and it’s a good life for a dog. It’s a good life for anybody. This is the only graveyard I’ve been to that was less an acknowledgment of death than it is a celebration of what almost certainly was, grave for coon dog grave, a damn good life."
Labor Day
![Coon Dog Cemetery Celebration 9-2007](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/Coon_Dog_Cemetery_Celebration_9-2007.jpg)
Every
Labor Day
Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday in September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United St ...
the Tennessee Valley Coon Hunter's Association sponsors a gathering at the cemetery in a tribute to the inauguration of the cemetery on Labor Day in 1937. The celebration includes
bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a genre of American roots music
The term American folk music encompasses numerous music genres, variously known as ''traditional music'', ''traditional folk music'', ''contemporary folk music'', ''vernacular music,'' or ...
, dancing, barbecue and a liar's contest.
Admission is free to the public, but donations are accepted and help defray upkeep expenses. In 2014 eight Redbone Coonhound puppies were sold at the gathering, with proceeds going to upkeep. The gathering is often attended by local politicians.
Popular culture
The cemetery was featured in the movie ''
Sweet Home Alabama'', but the producers used artistic license to relocate it to south Alabama.
The film's
protagonist
A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...
s go looking for the graves of dogs named "Bear" and "Bryant", an
homage
Homage (Old English) or Hommage (French) may refer to:
History
*Homage (feudal) /ˈhɒmɪdʒ/, the medieval oath of allegiance
*Commendation ceremony, medieval homage ceremony Arts
*Homage (arts) /oʊˈmɑʒ/, an allusion or imitation by one arti ...
to
Bear Bryant
Paul William "Bear" Bryant (September 11, 1913 – January 26, 1983) was an American college football player and coach. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest college football coaches of all time, and best known as the head coach of ...
the football coach.
The cemetery and the Labor Day gathering are remembered in song by Milan Miller.
In 1987, an authorized 50th anniversary
Case knife souvenir was sold to honor the dogs and the cemetery.
With new graphics and subject matter, the promotion was repeated to honor 75th anniversary in 2012.
See also
*
Armstrong, William H. ''
Sounder
Sounder may refer to:
* ''Sounder'' (novel), a book by William H. Armstrong
* ''Sounder'' (film), a film based on the novel
*Sounder, a group of wild boar or domestic pigs foraging in woodland; see List of animal names
*Sounder, a device that tra ...
'' novel (1969) and
film (1972)
*''
Gates of Heaven
''Gates of Heaven'' is a 1978 American documentary film produced, directed, and edited by Errol Morris about the pet cemetery business. It was made when Morris was unknown and did much to launch his career.
Production
After a trip to Florida ...
''
documentary film
A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...
about the
Pet cemetery
A pet cemetery is a cemetery for pets.
History
Many human cultures buried animal remains. For example, the Ancient Egyptians mummified and buried cats, which they considered deities, and the largest known dog cemetery in the ancient wo ...
business
*
Hunting with hounds
Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase and, if caught, the killing of a fox, traditionally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds. A group of unarmed followers, led by a "master of foxhounds" (or "master of hou ...
*
Rainbow Bridge (pets)
The Rainbow Bridge is the theme of several works of poetry written in the 1980s and 1990s that speak of an other-worldly place where pets go upon death, eventually to be reunited with their owners. One is a prose poem whose original creator is u ...
*
Rawls, Wilson. ''
Where the Red Fern Grows'', children's novel and two film adaptations
1974
Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...
and
2003
File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...
.
*
The Hunt (The Twilight Zone)
*
Variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (
Kuru
Kuru may refer to:
Anthropology and history
* Kuru (disease), a type of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy associated with the cannibalistic funeral practices of the Fore people
* Kuru (mythology), part of Meithei mythology
* Kuru Kingdom, ...
) from eating squirrel brains.
References
Bibliography
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Further reading
* and related books.
*
*
* Children's book.
*
External links
Coon Dog Cemetery Photo Gallery*
Key Underwood Coon Dog Memorial Graveyard Cemeteryon
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
*
*Ramsey, William W.; Ramsey, Braley W. (Introduction) (2005)
The Coon Dog Eulogy'
*
{{Hounds
Afterlife places
Animals and humans
Animal cemeteries
Animals in religion
Cemeteries in Alabama
Dogs in religion
Dog monuments
Florence–Muscle Shoals metropolitan area
Hunting by game
Hunting in the United States
Hunting with hounds
Protected areas of Colbert County, Alabama
Tourist attractions in Colbert County, Alabama
Procyonidae