Mohawk Hudson Humane Society begins restoration on 75-year-old pet cemetery

MENANDS, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- On Saturday, the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society is celebrating the 75th anniversary of its pet cemetery. Established on October 21, 1948, the cemetery has become inactive in recent years, but now the humane society has begun a restoration project to bring the cemetery back to life.

Public Programs Coordinator Melanie Stevenson has been spearheading the restoration project. "Sadly, a lot of our records were lost over the years, so I've been going through old newspapers and searching through archives for anything we can find about the cemetery," said Stevenson. "One day, an article fell into my lap that mentioned the opening of the cemetery. It is amazing how much information we can find in the community."

Work has already begun to locate stones and clear out overgrown vegetation. Stevenson believes there are roughly 2,400 to 3,000 stones in the cemetery.

"We have had a lot of volunteers help uncover stones and raise ones that have been buried in the ground," said Stevenson. "Our next phase is to map out the cemetery and figure out how far out the cemetery goes. We recently uncovered the portion of the cemetery where previous mascots of the humane society are buried. Every time I go out there, I always discover something new."

Another notable animal buried in the cemetery is Celia, a brown-spotted Harbor seal who passed away from the pollution in the Hudson River in 1970. Stevenson says they will be actively searching for Celia's stone.

Ashley Bouck, the CEO of MHHS, credits many volunteers who have been lending their time and expertise. "We are very fortunate for our volunteer groups. We've had everyone from Boy Scouts working on their Eagle Badge to the National Grid bringing machinery to help clear out the plantation to help find the perimeter of the cemetery. The Albany Rural Cemetery has been a fantastic partner as they provided a lot of information that pointed us in the right direction."

Bouck says the hope is to reopen the cemetery in the upcoming year. "The restoration project is our way of keeping a promise to the people who entrusted their pets to us over the years. We want the pet cemetery to be something beautiful and become a place of comfort for pet owners."