The Furry Friends We Leave Behind: Human-Animal Relationships Commemorated in Obituaries

Animals and humans have complex, deep, and meaningful relationships. Throughout history, people have commemorated animals with whom they were close through various mortuary practices. But what about when the human or owner dies first? Based on analysis of Canadian obituaries, this paper explores the ways that people commemorate human-animal relationships. Though hardly ever showing up prior to the 1990s, the last thirty years have seen a gradual rise in obituaries that mention these bonds. Animals appear in these texts in various ways, from people who fed birds in their backyard and lived/worked on farms, to pets who are listed alongside surviving family members. These examples point to different types of relationships, and different understandings of the bonds people form with animals. Overall however, the simple inclusion of other-than-human animals speaks to the perceived importance of these relationships as well as transformations in how people memorialize loved ones.