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| For Nguyen Thi Xuan Trang, giving her dog Quoc -- who she thought of as a son -- a proper burial has brought her peace of mind (AFP Photo/Nhac NGUYEN) |
Sausages, grapes, milk and mooncakes are laid at the gravestones of beloved cats and dogs at Hanoi's pet cemetery -- an earthly feast for the souls of dead animals believed to return from the afterlife for a meal to mark ghost month.
Dozens of
pet owners turned out for a solemn ceremony at the "Te Dong Vat Nga"
pagoda -- which means all lives are equal -- where thousands of dogs and cats
have been laid to rest in the burial grounds on site.
It is a
feasting ritual more often performed across Vietnam for dead ancestors whose
souls are believed to wander the earth during ghost month and are honoured with
a large meal offering before it closes at the end of August.
But the
charismatic dog-loving Buddhist who runs the pet graveyard believes animal
souls should be treated with the same dignity as human ones.
"We
love dogs and cats not just in this life but in the next life as well,"
said Nguyen Bao Sinh, who opened the graveyard 50 years ago.
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Thousands
of dogs and cats have been laid to rest at Hanoi's pet cemetary (AFP
Photo/Nhac
NGUYEN)
|
He says
he's cremated or buried around 10,000 animals -- including the odd turtle, bird
or fish -- and charges $45 to $65 a year to pet owners to set up plaques and
mini gravestones for their lost pets.
It's a
small price to pay for those who want to make sure their beloved animals are
comfortable in the afterlife.
"Bon
deserves to have a decent resting place permanently so that he can be at
peace," Nguyen Anh Minh told AFP after leaving milk, yoghurt and grapes
for his husky who died earlier this year.
For Nguyen
Thi Xuan Trang, giving her dog Quoc -- who she thought of as a son -- a proper
burial has brought her peace of mind.
"I
bought him peanuts and a mooncake because those were his favourite foods,"
she said.
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Cemetary
owner Nguyen Bao Sinh said people thought he was crazy when he
opened the site
in a country where dog and cat meat is sometimes offered as menu
items for
hungry diners (AFP Photo/Nhac NGUYEN)
|
Cemetery
owner Sinh said people thought he was crazy when he opened the site in a
country where dog and cat meat is sometimes offered as menu items for hungry
diners.
Though cats
and dogs are more commonly kept as pets in Vietnam these days, it's not unusual
to see guard dogs confined to cages or illicit animal parts like rhino horn or
pangolin scales used in traditional medicine.
Sinh, a
former soldier who's now deceased dog accompanied him to the battlefield during
the Vietnam War, hopes the pet graveyard will help people see animals in a new
light -- and spread a message of kindness.
"Animals
and humans are equal," he said. "When you love an animal you will not
be cruel to human beings."
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