The acceptance of cremation as an option in end-of-life planning has steadily been gaining in popularity over the past several decades. So it stands that spending eternity with your cherished pets would naturally become less taboo as well. And it all started when a New York City police officer challenged the state to change the law that prohibited him from having his ashes buried with his dogs.

“The right to be buried with your family, whether it’s four-legged or two-legged, seems so fundamental, yet it’s still something that upsets a lot of people,” said Edward C. Martin Jr., the director of the Hartsdale Pet Cemetery, just outside of New York City, since 1974.

The Hartsdale Cemetery, known as the Peaceable Kingdom, is the final resting place for pets of the rich and famous and the everyman. With fish next to frogs, and cats next to dogs, the cemetery is regarded as one of the top 10 burial grounds in the nation and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
With the New York state law having been changed earlier this year, the Hartsdale Cemetery already has individuals who are preplanning their cremation and eventual burial with their fur family. From a real estate administrative assistant to a retired Army Colonel, the future demographic of humans at Hartsdale will be varied.

“Who do you want to be with when you’re dead?” said Rhona Levy, 65, a vivacious administrative assistant at a real estate firm who visits her pets’ graves weekly. “You want to be with your family.”

Echoing those sentiments, Retired Army Col. James Reid, 85, even held a pre-scheduled wake for his Rhodesian Ridgeback, Trajanm, who was 13. Reid, his wife, Riet, and a family friend came to Hartsdale that somber day. Trajan, who weighed about 70 pounds, was laid out in an open casket in the visitation room.

“It isn’t fair that dogs live such short periods of time,” Reid said.

Each state has its own laws on the books regarding the legality of human and pet co-burial. Preplanning your cremation provides you with many options for interment or burial. Working with the professional and compassionate staff at Smart Cremation will help you to know every option you can avail yourself of. Call Today! (503) 402-2578