by Eric S. Greene

Here’s a treat for all those who care deeply about dogs and civic engagement: photographer Shannon Johnstone’s original, poetic photographic essay, Landfill Dogs. Published in 2013 to critical acclaim (we included one of her photographs in our developing Photography Gallery), this series of photographic portraits deserves continued attention from those who love animals and those organizations committed to their support – especially during this season of reflection and gift-giving (scroll to the end of the article for purchase information).

The Green Pet-Burial Society addresses the status of animals in society in life as well as death, our (dis)connections with the Earth, ways in which we honor those who have passed, and how only a relative few animals are remembered and mourned.

Johnstone highlights these themes among dogs whose unwanted-ness marks them for an untimely death. She focuses her lens on the life, joys, and fates of individual dogs within a society that – in the absence of caring families and nurturing homes – discards them.

In an unexpected turn, Johnstone takes dogs, whose future at a local animal shelter is uncertain, to a park created upon a landfill, liberating them for a few hours of fresh air and play. Yet this poignant outing above ground is juxtaposed with the reality of what lies below: the landfill contains the remains of thousands of other dogs prematurely put to death. In this deceptively natural setting, she leads us to contemplate the fates of captive animals who lack human companionship; the stark reality of their unwantedness (which serves as the raison de ne pas être vis-à-vis lethal injection); the meanings we give to death and life; the inequities inflicted upon forgotten dogs; and entire systems of captivity, domestication, and control over animals’ lives and bodies. As importantly, she documents the remarkable reactions the dogs have during a sublime moment of freedom.

We are grateful to Johnstone for sharing her thoughts and process through an email interview with the Green Pet-Burial Society; edited excerpts of which are shared below.

Change rarely happens overnight, nor is it ever the result of just one person. The changes we hope for the world can occur when each of us contributes to a common goal. Such has been the case for the Green Pet-Burial Society in 2018. Here are some highlights:

Events

Reimagine 2018, San Francisco – April 17, 2018. We were invited to create an event as part of a week-long community effort called Reimagine End of Life featuring over 150 events across San Francisco. Ours was the only nonprofit dedicated exclusively to grief for our animal companions. Entitled ‘Honoring our Pets,’ we inaugurated a participatory, large-scale, public, kinetic art piece, ‘1,000 Doors: An Ecosystem of Love,’ at beautiful Ocean Beach. We also conducted participant interviews, which will become an integral part of this project, Reimagine held another event in New York City, but we could not attend due to lack of funds. Continue reading →

iStockphoto/Getty Images via NPR blog. Although we love the subtle shades of greys and greens, the image used by NPR is not that of a conservation cemetery – which would look like a wildlife preserve. Here, nature reclaims what was built.

We’ve had a great month!

The Green Pet-Burial Society and its programs promoting conservation whole-family cemeteries were highlighted in the new book, Even Vegans Die, by Carol Adams, Patti Breitman, and Ginny Kisch Messina. We were especially delighted that the authors chose to conclude the book with a discussion of our idyllic work, which highlights continuity and hope rather than a severing ‘death.’

Additionally, news outlet NPR (National Public Radio) featured our work in a recent blog by anthropologist Barbara King, entitled When ‘Whole-Family’ Cemeteries Include Our Pets. King wrote the influential book, How Animals Grieve (University of Chicago Press, 2013), which is listed in our Bibliography. We’re particularly pleased with the quote she used: Continue reading →