Brown Pet Cemetery
Final resting place for animal pals is a doggone gem
“Faithful and loyal, patient and loving. Trust in soft eyes, forever adoring.” Those are the words etched on a tombstone at the Brown Pet Cemetery in Columbus, describing a passed-on pooch named Freckles, who lived a lifetime ago.
His grave is one of hundreds of final resting places for dogs, cats and other critters at the cemetery, founded in the 1920s by a local veterinarian named Walter Brown, and maintained by volunteers.
It’s located on Sawyer Road, across from the 94th Aero Squadron Restaurant and adjacent to John Glenn Columbus International Airport. The thunder of arriving planes is an intermittent reminder of the present as you become lost in the emotional epitaphs of the past.
“His bark resounds through hallo of light brushing the hem of the angel gown,” Freckles’ epitaph continues.
The cemetery is a special place, a forever resting home to a menagerie of departed animals whose masters have probably crossed the rainbow bridge themselves. Their names are a lesson in pop culture. There’s a grave for Tin-Tin who lived in the 1920s, the same time a German Shepherd named Rin-Tin-Tin graced the silver screen. There’s a dog named Rags who lived during the Great Depression. We also spied a grave for Teevee, a canine of the 1950s.
The cemetery spans several acres and backs up to a ravine that overlooks Big Walnut Creek. We wandered for a while among the aging, chipped gravestones, marveling at the joy that all these dear departed friends must have given their masters for nearly a century.
Learn more about Brown Pet Cemetery.
