Locust Hill Cemetery, Evansville, Indiana

EDWIN

SON OF C. & A. MILLER

Apr. 11, 1914

Oct 7, 1923

Edwin, the 9-year old son of Clarence and Anna Miller, has a gray marble gravestone in the Locust Hill Cemetery at Evansville, Indiana, marking his grave. The gravestone depicts a little boy clad in what looks like a sailor suit complete with a cap and bow clutching a puppy. The little dog snuggled up next to Edwin is clearly his buddy, a role dogs have fulfilled for a very long time. And dogs have long been considered man’s best friend! In fact, way back in 1821, the New York Literary Journal ran a poem that extolled just that.

The dog in this case most likely represents this little boy’s best friend, but traditional qualities attributed to dogs still come to mind—such as loyal and vigilant. The image of the boy and his pup depicts a happier, carefree time in Edwin’s short life.

(According to the latest pet ownership statistics from 2012, 36.5% of American households (43,346,000) own an average of 1.6 dogs. That adds up to a whopping 69,926,000 dogs living with families in the United States.)