Dogs, cats, hamsters, rats, a Polish pig that weighed over 400 kilograms and a billy goat are buried here. In many places there are monuments with their names and photos, and walking through the alleys seems like walking through a rainbow. The animal cemetery at Malownicza Street in Łódź has been operating for 24 years. Year by year, more and more people decide to say goodbye to their pet in this way.
We went to the animal cemetery at Picturesque Street in Łódź a few days before All Saints' Day. There was already a lot of traffic next to the flower shop there. Pet owners bought candles and artificial flowers. We also came across a moment when the caretaker of the necropolis was dealing with matters related to the burial of a dog. In the flower shop itself, in addition to flowers and candles, you can buy figurines of dogs and cats. There are also photos on the walls of some of the animals that were buried in the cemetery.
Animal cemetery in ŁódźTVN24
“It's very good that such a place exists”
We enter the necropolis itself through a small gate. The first thing that catches our eye is the huge area of the necropolis and the number of graves. At the entrance there are also many trees and green alleys covered with lush grass. In one of them, a married couple stands in front of a monument with a photo of a dog. – We treated this dog like a child and, you know, I did everything here myself, I built this monument, there are no religious symbols there, so that it wouldn't disturb anyone. These are savings, I didn't smoke, I didn't drink, we care and we remember, we paid for this grave for 12 years – said the man. After a while, his wife spoke up. – Her granddaughter Hamster is also buried here with her (the female dog), we are here more often, not only in front of all the saints, we take care of it – said the woman.
Animal cemetery in ŁódźTVN24
Animal cemetery in ŁódźTVN24
We go to the next alley, we meet another couple. She stands staring at the four-legged tombstone. When asked why they decided to bury him, there was silence and tears appeared in the woman's eyes. Instead, a man spoke up. – It's very good that such a place exists. There are different options: burn it or leave it at the vet, but that's probably not the point – argues the man. His wife intervenes and tells him in a broken voice that it would be “too difficult” for her. – Here lies our beloved dog, she passed away in 2005. We don't have our own plot of land, we wouldn't have anything to do with it, I know our friends went to the forest and buried their animals – but that's not the point, we come here several times a year – sums up the woman, wiping tears from her cheeks. In the distance, you can see more people near the graves of their pets. In one of the rows you can also see a gravedigger digging another grave.
Animal cemetery in ŁódźTVN24
Read also: Animals cannot be buried in the forest or garden. There are several animal cemeteries in Poland
Dogs, cats, pig, goat and caiman
We are joined by the cemetery's caretaker, Kamila Osieczko, who informs us that there are about four thousand graves in the necropolis. There may be twice as many animals buried. – Mainly domestic animals are buried here, i.e. dogs and cats, but there are also rodents – rats, hamsters, rabbits. “More exotic” animals are also buried there. Here we have a goat, an aquarium caiman, a turtle and a Polish pig – Balbinka, which weighed over 400 kilograms. To bury her, we had to dig a “specialized grave” with an excavator – describes Kamila Osieczko. – Whoever considers an animal to be their friend, part of the family, will find a place for their pet here – he adds.
Animal cemetery in ŁódźTVN24
The animal cemetery in Łódź does not belong to the city, it is managed by a private company.
The caretaker of the necropolis informs that the owners of buried animals pay for the places and it is up to them for what period they want to do so. – The first year, because we buried the animal here, is from us. The annual fee is PLN 123 gross. You can pay however you want, either for two, five or seven years, it can be longer, and you can also cancel at any time – says the caretaker of the animal necropolis. Religious symbols cannot be placed in the cemetery, but you can put a tombstone with your pet's photo on it. And indeed, while walking along the alleys, we see photos of dogs and cats and their names on every second and third grave.
Animal cemetery in ŁódźTVN24
Traffic jams, crowds and the “rainbow bridge”
When asked what November 1 is like at the necropolis, the cemetery caretaker says it's similar to large cemeteries where we visit our loved ones. – Even if someone doesn't have an animal here, I personally recommend coming here and seeing it with your own eyes, preferably when it's already dark. Here there is light upon light, there is one great color. Animals cross the rainbow bridge to their heaven, so there will always be plenty of windmills and colorful lights that change color – he describes. Traffic jams and disruptions also occur near the animal necropolis. On November 1, there may be long traffic jams on Picturesque Street, and there may be even several thousand visitors to the cemetery. – We have two employees here, every year we are busy monitoring traffic, one of the employees literally sits at the flower shop with a walkie-talkie, the other one with a walkie-talkie at the other end and they communicate whether there is a space in the parking lot, they tell us when to leave, when to enter, we try to keep an eye on it – sums up.
Animal cemetery in ŁódźTVN24
“A full participant in family life”
We asked a sociologist from the University of Lodz about a pet cemetery and why people decide to bury their pets in such a place. Professor Krzysztof Konecki wrote the book “People and Animals” in 2005. – One of the conclusions and evidence I presented was that an animal becomes a family member or a full participant in family life. Animals were generally treated like children, that they were assigned human characteristics in the sense that my pet is smarter than the neighbor's pet, my pet doesn't pee on the doormat, but the neighbor's does – there were many indicators of attachment and definition of family and member life families – says a sociologist. He adds: – This process is deepening, in the United States, in various Western countries, but not only, for example in Japan jewelry is often very expensive to buy for animals, so this process is developing in civilized countries and cemeteries are a simple consequence of this for companion animals. Professor Konecki also says that animals are often “deputies for loved ones.” – When they die, the structure of mourning and human burial is transferred to animals, because they are full participants in our family life, they eat with us, sleep with us, the bond is very strong and the death of an animal is very painful, often incomprehensible to some. I have professor colleagues who told me a story that a student came and couldn't pass the exam because he was crying because of the death of an animal, and it was incomprehensible to them, how you could cry, after all, the exam is more important. There are also different attitudes towards this, but it is changing – summed up Professor Krzysztof Konecki.
Main photo source: TVN24