Honored Animals

Many humans are honored in cemeteries so that people can still visit them after passing, but it turns out that animals can be too! Join me to find out about these fabulous creatures and why they are so important in today’s world.

Hachikō, Japan’s Legendarily Loyal Dog

Most people of today’s world know the story of Hachikō the Akita. A man named Professor Ueno adopted the dog as a puppy, and every day they would walk to the train station in the morning so the professor could get to work at Tokyo Imperial University. Every night, Hachikō would meet the professor back at the train station and they would walk home together. However, on May 21st, 1925, the professor died of a cerebral hemorrhage while giving a lecture. Unknown to Hachikō, he arrived at the train station as usual, but his best friend did not exit the train as usual, and Hachikō had to walk home alone. Every day for the next nine years, Hachikō would arrive at the train station to look for him, demonstrating a huge loyalty to his master. In March 1935, Hachikō was found dead on a street by the train station. Hachikō’s ashes are buried beneath a grave right by the professor. A tiny Hachikō model guards the shrine, and visitors leave dog treats and toys for the loyal pooch’s spirit. And even today, Hachikō is known as a symbol of loyalty across Japan, inspiring books, movies, and toys.

Mrs. Chippy, the Feline Explorer

Early polar exploration was a lonely business where sailors would be stuck on their ships for months, subsisting on barely edible rations among some of the world’s most inhospitable climates. However, the Shackleton expedition was made just a bit brighter by the presence of the ship’s cat, Mrs. Chippy. Harry McNeish was a carpenter on Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance expedition to Antarctica, as well as a member of the long journey from Elephant Island to South Georgia to look for help and rescue for the rest of the expedition members. He was also known as the caretaker of Mrs. Chippy, the cat that accompanied the men until the Endurance became trapped in pack ice. Unfortunately, Mrs. Chippy was shot along with the sled dogs once the team became trapped in the ice. To honor the brave kitty, the New Zealand Antarctic Society added a bronze statue of Mrs. Chippy to McNeish’s grave in 2004, seen as she would usually lounge on his bed onboard the ship.

Miss Baker, the First Monkey to Come Back Alive From the Moon

Before humans traveled to outer space, monkeys were sent into the cosmos. The US started sending them out in 1948, but none of them ever came back alive. Until one squirrel monkey named Miss Baker came along in 1952. The flight lasted 19 minutes, and then landed safely in the Atlantic Ocean, with Miss Baker still alive inside. Miss Baker passed away in 1984 due to kidney failure at the age of 27. She is buried outside the US Space and Rocket Center in Alabama, and tourists leave bananas for her spirit.

Beautiful Jim Key, the “World’s Smartest Horse”

The grave site of the horse known as Beautiful Jim Key is known to promote kindness and respect towards animals because Jim Key was trained with patience and was never whipped. The horse was trained and owned by Dr. William Key, a former slave, self-taught veterinarian, and patent medicine salesman. Jim was one of the most famous celebrities in the world from the late 1890s until the early 1900s. He could spell his name using alphabet blocks and solve math problems using numbered blocks.