TO
THE MEMORY OF
PATRICK HAGAN
DIED JAN. 6. 1912
MAY HE REST IN PEACE
TO
THE MEMORY OF
MARY E. HAGAN
DIED SEPT. 1. 1912
MAY SHE REST IN PEACE
The Hagan Family Plot in the Catholic Cemetery in Savannah, Georgia, features proud and watchful dog named Prince with the words “He loved his master” into the base of his monument.
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, including one of our readers who has nine and another with two!
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 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 2024 AVMA Pet Ownership and Demographic Sourcebook, 45.5% of American households have a dog in the family with an average of 1.5 per. That adds up to a whopping 89.7 million dogs living with families in the United States.
(Incidentally, fewer households own cats, only 32.1% but each of those households care for more—1.8 per household for a total of 73.8 million 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 guarding their graves!
Gravely Speaking 