Le Cimetiere Des Chiens - Paris Dog Cemetary

A short film by Barbara Gordon about France's oldest Dog Cemetery.
Le Cimetière des Chiens lies just outside the city, in the suburb of Asnières-sur-Seine.
The Cimetière des Chiens owes its beginnings to a law that was passed in 1898, when the Paris city government declared that dead pets couldn't just be tossed out with the trash or dumped in the Seine, but had to be buried in hygienic graves at least 100 meters from the nearest dwelling.

photosAttorney Georges Harmois and journalist Marguerite Durand quickly conceived the idea of a "cemetery for dogs and other domestic animals" on the outskirts of Paris. In June, 1899, digging began on a narrow parcel of riverfront land in Asnières-sur-Seine. The new cemetery opened for business that summer, and over the years more than 40,000 animals have been buried in the Cimetière des Chiens--not just dogs, but also cats, a racehorse, a lion, a monkey, and domestic animals such as rabbits, hamsters, mice, birds, and fish.

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• Le
• Ciemetiere
• Des
• Chiens
• Paris
• Dog
• Cemetary
• Barbara
• Gordon

[Noetje1970]

love the little portraits on the stones, and the stone doghouses too!

[ElNiCoLasDSm77]

Barry :( ♥

[LaMorochiitaDelCAP]

Very Beautiful ♥

[GreyGardensGuignol]

We just visited this out of the way cemetery for pets, dogs, cats and even monkey's. Mostly because we just lost our pug Monty. Its quite a few stops outside Paris, and you need to change trains, but well worth the effort. You can see its gates on the left before the station, then you walk back. The older graves and tombstones are beautiful, peaceful and run down. In the video its more haunting so I will do some photos in b/w. Real pet cats guard the graves. It felt like stepping back in time.

[ElCid48]

@catswhiskers25

I was also going to ask that question. Being a cat lover I was wondering what happened to cats if they did not have a place of burial.

Thanks!

[DoctorScuba]

Is the cemetery haunted by the ghosts of doggies with french accents?

[Gloriapower]

J'adore Cimitiere des Chiens.

[catswhiskers25]

A very poignant and atmospheric video, the more so with Piaf's singing to accompany it. I visited this beautiful and tranquil cemetery in October 2009 and spent 3 hours just wandering and taking photos (and meeting some of the resident cats!). It is not only for dog lovers; there are many memorials too to beloved cats, and also some other pets. Quite a special place and thanks to the town of Asnieres for preserving and maintaining it.

[ricksans]

awesome! thank you for posting this!

[naneaux]

There is so much love on display here. Everyone should know a great dog at least once in his or her life. Thanks for this.