ROME – Pet owners and people who want to remember a favorite pet that has passed on will have the chance at a memorial service just for them at Rome Pet Cemetery Sunday.

Tuesday, September 05, 2000

ROME – Pet owners and people who want to remember a favorite pet that has passed on will have the chance at a memorial service just for them at Rome Pet Cemetery Sunday.

Held in conjunction with National Pet Memorial Day, the service was first held in 1995 as part of an open house when the cemetery opened. Since then it has become an annual event.

"The first year that I held the pet memorial day event, this was all just grass," Cara Nelson said as she walked among the markers left by pet owners to remember their beloved dogs, cats and other best friends. "I can’t believe how far it’s come in five years."

Some of the markers are simple stones that only bear the pet’s name. Others have words like "our baby" chiseled into the face. Some even have photos etched onto metal plates or in frames with protective covers.

"They are more than just pets," Ms. Nelson said. "For most of these people, they’re an integrated part of the family."

She said the cemetery started as a tribute to her own dog, a white German shepherd named Casper.

"I wanted a place of permanence and a memorial to her," Ms. Nelson said. "She wasn’t supposed to need it so soon, though."

Casper was the 53rd pet buried at the cemetery. Now there are 150 pets there. She said that many families prefer to have their pet cremated so that the remains can either be saved, or scattered over a favorite spot.

The memorial day festivities will include a demonstration by the Tri-State Search and Rescue dogs and a bagpipe memorial service.

The Rev. Alma Beck of the Trinity Episcopal Church will provide a service called the "blessing of pets."

"The piper is new for this year," Ms. Nelson said. "But everything else was requested by clients to do again."

All pets attending the ceremony must remain on leashes or in pet carriers.