Cemetery of Dogs and Other Domestic Animals in Asnieres-sur-seine, Île-de-France

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Get directions 4 Pont de Clichy
Asnieres-sur-seine, Île-de-France, 92600 France

Coordinates: 48.90944, 2.29667
Cemetery ID:

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About these numbers These percentages indicate the number of Find a Grave memorials that have a grave photo or GPS coordinates. We don't know the total number of burials in a cemetery, so we cannot calculate a percentage of those with memorials, photos or GPS coordinates.

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The Cemetery of Dogs and Other Domestic Animals is the oldest pet graveyard in Europe. It was opened in 1899 shortly after the passing of a legislative bill that allowed pet owners to bury their deceased animal companions in a location that met certain sanitary requirements. Establishing a cemetery was the idea of three Parisians: the author Emile Zola, a lawyer Georges Harmois, and the journalist Marguerite Durand. Along with a group of anonymous donors they purchased a small island in the Seine, the L'ile des Ravageurs, which gave pet owners a place to inter their animal companions. Durand's horse, Gribouille, was the first animal to be buried in the cemetery.
By the late 1950's over 40,000 animals of all types were buried there; by 2017, about 100,000 animals had been buried in this cemetery. Originally the cemetery was divided into four sections which separated the burials of dogs, cats, birds, and other animals from each other, but this separation is no longer observed very closely.
The cemetery has been imroved over the years. The grand Art Nouveau front entry gate was added in the 1920's, and later, decorative fountains and sculptures were constructed, gardens were planted, and wooden benches were put in place.