We all love pets, right? Well yes and I personally believe that pets are truly a member of the family. When their time eventually comes and they pass away, many families go to great lengths to ensure that the animal’s memory lives on for years to come. Some people get the pet cremated and then disperse the ashes in the pet’s favorite park, while others find a gravesite and bury the animal remains, so they have a consistent place to return to year after year to pay tribute to the pet that brought so much love into the family home.

One man, Zach, was walking through the park with his dog when he happened upon a gravestone that caught his attention. He let his dog, Serena, off her leash and allowed her to harass the ducks in the nearby lake. While she busied herself with the challenge of chasing down the wild animals and trying to catch one or two for her owner, Medlin took a moment to take a closer look at the gravestone that he happened to find in the middle of the woods in the public park.

“The inscription was covered by some pine straw,” Zach said. “So I had to move the pine straw out of the way to read what the grave marker had to say.” So what did the inscription on the gravestone say? Well, according to a photo published online by Zach, it said: “Buddie, 1928 — 1941. Born a dog / Died a gentleman.” The pubic park spans 160 acres and is welcome to all in the community. Zach could not help but wonder why Buddie, a beloved pet, would have been buried in the park all alone, away from his favorite person in the world – his master. Perhaps, Buddie loved the park above all else and would have delighted in being there forever after.

One social media user, Lora, commented: “While I was reading newspaper clippings detailing the legend, I found a copy of a handwritten note dated October 18, 1993. It says the following: ‘According to Mrs. Strickland, the dog belonged to Mr. and Mrs. Jones. Mrs. Strickland lived with the Jones family in 1932. The dog was a beautiful Irish setter. Mr. Jones frequently took him to the park to run, so when he died, he decided to bury him in it.’”