Author and photographer to give talk on new book as part of Whitby Krampus Run's 10th anniversary
Author and photographer Paul Koudounaris will be returning to Whitby to launch and talk about his latest book in an event which is part of Whitby Krampus Run’s 10th anniversary celebrations.
Dr Koudounaris spent more than a decade traveling the world to study pet cemeteries, animal memorials, and various traditions for saying final goodbyes to cherished pets.
In his research, he discovered far more than the burials of cats and dogs.
What he discovered were graves for everything from flies to elephants, but no matter how disparate the species and how far removed geographically, all had one thing in common: each of them were beloved to a human companion.
His talk on the topic will be accompanied by an evocative selection of photos from his new book, Faithful Unto Death: Pet Cemeteries, Animal Graves and Eternal Devotion.
Ranging from Victorian English cat graves to caskets for horned toads in the Wild West to glass dog house tombs in Bolivia, this promises to be a talk that is sometimes weird, often fascinating - and entirely touching.
His new book combines his interest in funeral and animal history, and is the product of an exhaustive, ten-year study of pet cemeteries and animal burial sites around the world.
When a little dog named Cherry died in 1881, his owners arranged for a grave in a nearby gatekeeper's garden in London.
At this time, the idea that a pet, even one that had lived as a family member, might be given a dignified burial was considered comical.
But when other pet owners, likewise determined to memorialize their companion animals, followed suit, the world's first urban pet cemetery was born.
More soon followed across Europe, the United States, and then the rest of the world, resulting in a revolution in the way we consider animals.
Faithful unto Death tells the stories of people who gave their hearts to a disparate variety of species, yet were all united in one common belief: that the reward at death for a faithful animal companion should reflect the love it offered during life.
The book addresses the moral and spiritual prejudices that have historically surrounded animals, and reveals how, in the face of these prejudices, a movement started in the 19th Century to treat pets with dignity even in death.
It is a fight that is still far from over, but the triumphs that are revealed as the book unfolds, found in burial grounds small to grand and on monuments humble to huge, possess the power to touch everyone who has ever cared for an animal companion.
From humble Cherry in London to pets of the rich and powerful, this is a history filled with inspiration, wild eccentricity, and eternal love.
The talk is on at Whitby Youth Hostel on Tuesday October 22, doors open 6pm to 9pm, with a licensed bar.
All ticket sales go to Whitby Wildlife Sanctuary.
Visit https://www.universe.com/faithfuluntodeath to buy tickets, which cost £10 plus a booking fee.
Visit https://www.facebook.com/share/tPNXkozcLDyXoCb4/?mibextid=9l3rBW for more on the event, which is in association with The Whitby Bookshop.