There has always been a debate between dog and cat lovers about which furry little friend makes the best companion. I have many friends who have cats galore and swear by them, while others like myself, have dogs and always have. We see dogs as the old bromide tells us, “as man’s best friend”.  And, dogs have long been considered man’s best friend!

In fact, way back in 1821, the New York Literary Journal, Volume 4 ran a poem by C. S. Winkle that extolled just that:

The faithful dog – why should I strive

To speak his merits, while they live

In every breast, and man’s best friend

Does often at his heels attend.

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. (Incidentally, fewer households own cats, but each of those households own more—2.1 per household for a total of 74,059,000 cats.) 

Given that love for our dogs, it is no wonder that dog owners want to honor their love of dogs with carved tributes to them on their graves.  These three examples are from the Springdale Cemetery in Peoria, Illinois.

Oh, and one cat!