A memorial park has come up for pet dogs on the outskirts of Guwahati. The first of its kind in the northeast, the canine cemetery offers a scientific burial and an epitaph wall for their owners to remember them by.
The memorial park covers 2 bighas (A bigha is equivalent to 14,400 sq. ft) adjoining a pet hospital run by Just Be Friendly (JBF), an NGO, at Mairakuchi. The place is about 30 km east of Guwahati.
“Many people throw the carcasses of their pets in water bodies or garbage dumps. We decided to provide a space where their bodies can be disposed of honourably and scientifically,” JBF’s Sashanka Sekhar Dutta told The Hindu on Tuesday.
The burial ground adjoins the JBF Integrated Care and Resource Centre for Animals, inclusive of a pet hospital that the NGO runs on 7.5 bighas.
“We shall soon be putting up a wall where pet owners can write the details about the dogs buried and can visit periodically in remembrance,” he said.
Opened a month ago, about 10 dogs have been buried in the park. But work on the park was stopped in between because of the rains.
The JBF members said the process of burying a dog scientifically costs at least ₹3,000 but they have not fixed any charge for the service. Pet owners have the option of donating to the NGO for the maintenance of the ground and associated services.
The JBF started with a rabies control programme a few years ago and followed it up with the pet hospital project. The hospital has 44 kennels with each having space for up to three dogs that undergo surgery.
The hospital expects to have a few catteries in a month or so.
