After leaving Shiloh, I decided one cemetery was not enough for the day. I had found out about one in Alabama: The Coon Dog Cemetery. It has been in existence since the 1930s, and over 200 dogs are buried there. Many are champion raccoon hunting dogs (yes, they have competitions for this).
Only coon dogs can be buried there. They are quite serious about this, and have strict rules. My personal favorite dog names there were "Bobo" and "Dr. Death". The side by side headstones that reminded me of something from my past.
When I was a kid, one of my favorite books was Where The Red Fern Grows, which is the story of a boy and his coon dogs. When I was reading it for the first time, a neighbor lady told me "oh I loved that book....I just cried and cried when the dogs die.". While it initially irritated me that she had ruined the ending, it turned out to be a good thing. Knowing the dogs died allowed my to control my blubbering when I finished the book to only about one hour rather than getting carried away.
2 comments:
I cried when I read that book too. In fact, I read it first on my own, then to the girls, and cried both times. It's one of my favorites and Amanda's favorite. Interesting cemetary.
Being in the south as much as I have been, I know about coon dogs. Sounds like I should read that book, I've heard Laura talk about it also.
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