Posted on 01/25/2009 11:32:42 AM PST by Graybeard58
When Anna Ruth Jones died in Durham, N.C., last week, her obituary listed a handful of cousins and special friends. But the most prominent survivor, the only one described as "cherished," was Sir Rufus of Iredell, her black and white cat.
The feline's elevation to grieving relative represents a new step for household pets across the country — special mentions in notice of their owners' passing.
On a single day last week, dogs and cats merited a spot in five the North Carolina News & Observer's obituaries — more than a quarter of that day's total. Buzzy the canine pal. Beloved dog Sport. Simba. Trixie. Mikey. And Sir Rufus.
"That was her child," said Jones' neighbor Perry Norris, describing the cat's royal air. "He was a tuxedo type."
Regard for pets has steadily grown to the point where some enjoy health insurance benefits. Lawyers now build careers around defending furry clients. And books can be bought explaining how to name a pet executor, along with instructions for obtaining a pet's living will.
New York hotel maven Leona Helmsley famously left $12 million to her Maltese, Trouble. In North Carolina, High Point publisher Randall B. Terry bequeathed an estimated $1 million to the care of his six golden retrievers.
For Deborah Bowen, a social work professor at UNC-Wilmington, mention in obits is a natural shift. As society has become isolated by computers, cable television, job transfers and 50-hour work weeks, pets fill a void too wide for busy humans, said Bowen, author of "A Good Friend for Bad Times: Helping Others Through Grief."
Look at the way medicine for animals has changed, she argued. Families routinely pay vet bills that top $1,000, getting treatment once reserved for humans.
It's natural, she said, that the same regard would extend to death — regardless of who's in the casket.
"If the pet survives you, you put the pet in the obit," Bowen said. "There is that sense of loss for animals, and there is an adjustment. Dogs will grieve the loss of another dog in the house so much that they won't eat."
Jones, a Durham, N.C., nurse who died Jan. 6, had little family other than Sir Rufus. Finding a new home for him has been tough, her neighbor said, because the animal won't tolerate a household where he isn't top cat and can monopolize attention.
Sometimes, an animal wins top billing. In New Hampshire, the former copy desk chief of the Portsmouth Herald sometimes saw cats and dogs listed by elderly women. But once, a few years back, he ran across a cancer victim who listed — in an obituary he penned himself — a pig as his first survivor.
"It threw us for a loop," wrote Mike Sullivan, who has moved on to public relations and cannot recall the pig's name. "It went down as one of the most bizarre obits I'd ever edited and published."
But when Dorothy Strickland Johnson of Knightdale, N.C., died Jan. 7, her five pets made the obituary alongside her daughter, son, and husband of 64 years.
Luke, a Llasa apso, was adopted when the Johnsons dealt with the pain of another daughter's death. For a couple in their 80s, Luke provided a reason to push on and to remember.
"So now," said Susan Johnson, their daughter, "my Dad and Luke will be going on their journey without my Mom."
As she spoke, you could hear Luke barking in the background — a fellow relative speaking his piece.
There’s no love and acceptance than like that of a pet.
The Egyptians had ideas about this.
Just sayin’.
This is lovely and sentimental, but it is only borne of a rich and peaceful society as we have enjoyed in the USA these past decades.
Sorry to say it, but for the most of history and human society, people have kept pets so they can eat them later on.....
I would put a bullet in somebody before I would let them kill one of my dogs.
But, seriously??? Do these people think their pets are going to read these stupid obituaries? I’m not entirely convinced that obituaries are a good idea in the first place since anybody who matters to you should be told about your passing not by a newspaper but by somebody else who knows and loves you.
My dogs will miss me dearly when I am gone. But writing them a love not in a newspaper will not do anything for me or them. I’ll leave that part to God.
...oh, and my wife. Can’t forget about her.
The newspaper has probably added a field for “surviving pets” to its online obit-submission form. If you build it ...
I wish everyone felt so strongly about their pets - AND understood their responsibility to them. A sweet little black & white kitty showed up at my mother’s door a few days ago. She contacted the local humane society & was told there’s a big problem with folks just abandoning their pets. Well, this little one has a new home, but how cruel...
Many people have been turning dogs in to the shelters here. I suppose cats are more likely to just be put outside to scavenge.
I thought the article would be about making provision for the care of pets when one dies, which I think is the only responsible thing to do. My great-aunt would adopt older dogs from the Humane Society, because she didn’t want to outlive one. She lived to be over 100, so several little old dogs predeceased her.
I’m so pleased for you and your new dog! We adopted a greyhound in December, and everyone loves her, especially my husband. I expect we’ll be hanging out with greyhounds into our old age, since they’re so quiet!
I am in the process of having my will drawn up and made sure that my pets will be in good hands if I pre-decease them, and I have spoken with the persons involved with that to make sure everyone is on the same page.
The thought of an obit did not cross my mind and it is not something I worry about.
He was matted and raw and a fabulous dog. He would chase down rabbits as he was used to fending for himself.
We cleaned him up and enjoyed his last 7 years, he lived to 16. He was Rex, The Wonderdog, and a finer dog you'll never meet.
“We adopted a greyhound in December, and everyone loves her, especially my husband. I expect we’ll be hanging out with greyhounds into our old age, since they’re so quiet!”
It is amazing how a dog that can run that fast is about as laid back and mellow as any animal I have seen.
hugs, understanding sigh & PING!
My step-father who now lives alone adopted a greyhound. That dog tunes out all distractions and just wanders around. I guess a product of his training.
The first nine years of his life, Rex was waiting - knowing there would be love...........
And, now, Rainbow Bridge has a great collie/malamute mix named Rex, teaching all the other dogs how to catch a rabbit.
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