In the mid 1800’s a man who was the caretaker of an old cemetery, lost his 6 year old daughter to a tragic accident. The evening before the accident, he was working in the cemetery. Sitting next to the fence was a stray dog. She sat on a small knoll underneath a large old oak tree, seemingly waiting for someone. Little did he know that three days later he would be burying his little girl on the exact spot where the little dog waited.
On the day of his daughter’s funeral service, he saw the little dog again. She was standing a short distance away from where they gathered at the cemetery. The next morning, just before dawn, he went to visit his daughter’s grave for the first time. Sitting beside the mound of flowers at her graveside was the little black dog. As he approached, she rose and stepped back a few feet, as if in respect. When he sat on the ground by the grave, she came back and sat beside him, not touching him or asking for attention for herself. She seemed to just “be there” for him. Together they watched the sun rise, and the man felt a slight touch of peace. He arose and she walked him back to his house which was near the side entrance, then returned to his daughter’s grave and lay down on it. The next morning was a repeat of the first. There she was, nestled beside the flowers. As she sat beside him, he ran his hand down along her back. She was slightly wet, as if from night dew. “Have you been here all night?” he asked. She answered with a slight wag of her tail. “What are you? Some kind of a guardian angel?” She turned toward him and looked at him with eyes that seemed to reach his very soul. He began to cry and tell her of his terrible pain, and she sat and listened.
Knowing that his daughter wasn’t alone, that she had this small dog with her, began to give him comfort. He remembered that several years before, his son and a friend had rescued a small black dog that had been shot with an arrow. His son named her Lady, and she stayed on as a beloved pet until an untimely accident took her life. After about a week, he took the cemetery dog home with him. He couldn’t think of a name for her. Then one day, he said, “You know something? You look just like old Lady.” It was as if he hit a magic switch. “Lady” stood up and, tail wagging furiously, ran over to him and put her paw up on his knee. It was as if she had finally “come home”.
Who is this dog who showed him his daughter’s cemetery plot, and then did round-the-clock guard duty when his daughter was laid to rest there? Who is this dog who was there to help him through the greatest trauma of his life? I just know that she came into his life in a very mysterious way. The local news paper had the same questions and decided to do a story on the matter. They visited the cemetery where the man worked and where he and his dog had become acquainted. It was a wonderful story of healing and peace with a pet and after it was written, a photographer flashed a picture of the two, side by side under the big old oak tree in the center of the cemetery.
The mystery escalated when the man went to the cemetery the next morning and Lady was nowhere to be found. Over his shoulder he could see the photographer with his camera “I have to take another picture before press time” he said as he approached. He showed the man the original picture and there was the tree, the man and the grave site of his daughter but, no dog! For some reason unknown, Lady did not photograph even though she sat right there next to him, he was sure of it!
Lady never did reappear and it upset the old man so much that he never let another dog into the cemetery and posted a sign at every entrance that read “NO PETS".
The parking coords take you to the side entrance of the cemetery. Please bring your own pen and tweezers to obtain the log and sign it. Also, please be respectful of the souls who are laid to rest here. The cache is a micro camouflaged to match the surroundings and is placed at the site of the final resting place.
