We live more intimately with nonhuman animals than ever before in history. The change in the way we cohabitate with animals can be seen in the way we treat them when they die. There is an almost infinite variety of ways to help us cope with the loss of our nonhuman friends—from burial, cremation, and taxidermy; to wearing or displaying the remains (ashes, fur, or other parts) of our deceased animals in jewelry, tattoos, or other artwork; to counselors who specialize in helping people mourn pets; to classes for veterinarians; to tips to help the surviving animals who are grieving their animal friends; to pet psychics and memorial websites. But the reality is that these practices, and related beliefs about animal souls or animal afterlife, generally only extend, with very few exceptions, to certain kinds of animals—pets. Most animals, in most cultures, are not mourned, and the question of an animal afterlife is not contemplated at all. Mourning Animals investigates how we mourn animal deaths, which animals are grievable, and what the implications are for all animals.
ContentsPrefaceAcknowledgmentsIntroductionDiscarded Property / Mary Shannon JohnstonePart 1. When Did We Start Caring about Animal Death?More than a Bag of Bones: A History of Animal Burials / Ivy D. CollierMourning the Sacrifice: Behavior and Meaning behind Animal Burials / James MorrisHorses, Mourning: Interspecies Embodiment, Belonging, and Bereavement in the Past and Present / Gala ArgentThe Issue of Animals’ Souls within the Anglican Debate in the Eighteenth to Nineteenth Centuries / Alma MassaroHartsdale Pet Cemetery / Liza Wallis MarguliesPart 2. Companion Animals: Those We LoveAll the World and a Little Bit More: Pet Cemetery Practices and Contemporary Relations between Humans and Their Companion Animals / Michał Piotr PręgowskiTo All that Fly or Crawl: A Recent History of Mourning for Animals in Korea / Elmer VeldkampFreeze-Drying Fido: The Uncanny Aesthetics of Modern Taxidermy / Christina M. ColvinClutching at Straws: Dogs, Death, and Frozen Semen / Chrissie WannerI Remember Everything: Children, Companion Animals, and a Relational Pedagogy of Remembrance / Joshua RussellOn Cats and Contradictions: Mourning Animal Death in an English Community / Becky TipperSo Sorry for the Loss of Your Little Friend: Pets’ Grievability in Condolence Cards for Humans Mourning Animals / David RedmalmClaire: Last Days / Julia SchlosserPart 3. Memorials and the “Special” Treatment of the DeadBritain at War: Remembering and Forgetting the Animal Dead of the Second World War / Hilda KeanNow on Exhibit: Our Affection for, Remembrance of, and Tributes to Nonhuman Animals in Museums / Carolyn Merino MullinAnother Death / Emma KisielPart 4. Animals We Do Not MournIn the Heart of Every Horse: Combating a History of Equine Exploitation and Slaughter through the Commemoration of an “Average” Thoroughbred Racehorse / Tamar V. S. McKeeCreating Carnivores and Cannibals: Animal Feed and the Regulation of Grief / Keridiana ChezMourning the Mundane: Memorializing Road-Killed Animals in North America / Linda MonahanThe Unmourned / Linda BrantPart 5. Problems with Coping and Human ResponsibilityBeyond Coping: Active Mourning in the Animal Sheltering Community / Jessica AustinMourning for Animals: A Companion Animal Veterinarian’s Perspective / Anne FawcettYou’re My Sanctuary: Grief, Vulnerability, and Unexpected Secondary Losses for Animal Advocates Mourning a Companion Animal / Nicole R. PallottaKeeping Ghosts Close: Care and Grief at Sanctuaries / pattrice jones and Lori GruenGrieving at a Distance / Teya Brooks PribacWho Is It Acceptable to Grieve? / Jo-Anne McArthurBibliographyAbout the ContributorsIndex
