Caskets, headstones and love: These 50 acres in Kansas City help pet owners say goodbye

On a brisk Tuesday morning, a gathering has formed around a burial plot. The beloved lies in a casket, resting on her favorite blanket, surrounded by photos and some of her toys. The family tells stories about the friendship and loyalty that never wavered.

The loved one remembered is Elle, a 60-pound fox hound/beagle mix. Elle is being eulogized at Pet Memorial Park at Kansas City’s Wayside Waifs. The animal shelter claims to have one of the oldest and largest pet cemeteries in the world. Elle’s headstone will later be placed with the inscription: “We will love you forever and we will meet you at the bridge.”

This is a story about saying goodbye to your best friend, and the growing community of pet owners who want a respectful resting place for their best friend. But it’s also the adventure of Elle, who was found malnourished in a cornfield in Clinton, Missouri, in July 2012 and rushed to a nearby animal shelter. Unfortunately, it was at capacity. As Elle faced a very uncertain future, Wayside intervened and sent its dog transport van to pick her up.

Three days later, Elle was safely adopted by Chris Trainer and her husband, Dan Bromley, who gave her 11 years of love and adventure.

So if the notion of a cemetery for a treasured dog or even cat strikes you as unusual, or maybe even odd, then prepare to be enlightened.

The vision of Fenby Webster

Wayside was founded in 1944 by Fenby Webster, a woman who understood the importance of a burial for our furry friends. Webster started Wayside to create a haven for lost and unwanted animals, to educate the public and prevent cruelty to, animals. Women were the early leaders in the animal protection movement and pioneered the modern animal shelter. Webster was at the forefront.

Today Wayside’s 5 acres has grown to 50, and it offers a wide variety of services for every stage of an animal’s life.

“Wayside helps pets from the beginning of their journey when they’re rescued, provides medical and behavior care while they’re with us, and gives an endless amount of love until they find their forever homes,” says Casey Waugh, manager of communications at Wayside. It also offers low-cost vaccine clinics, dog training and an off-leash Bark Park.

“When it’s time to say goodbye, our Pet Memorial Services will be there every step of the way to support pet parents during a time of sorrow and help make final arrangements for their pet’s passing,” she said.

A walk in the 5-acre memorial area reveals touching and thoughtful remembrances about a life well lived, with headstone inscriptions about lost friends and friendships that speak from the heart.

Wayside offers other options. Cremations cost $60 to $200, depending on the animal’s size, and similar services are offered by several area businesses.

Wayside’s burials can vary between $530 to $1,110, with headstones included. Custom engraved headstones with pet photos can be added for another $65.

“People want their companion animals treated with kindness and dignity, as they would any human member of their family, and after-life care is no exception,” said Laura Kenworth, who operates the memorial services. “Wayside Waifs is able to help provide closure to grieving families through burial services and its appealing alternative, cremation. We strive to honor not only our clients’ pets but their owner’s personal and religious beliefs.”

Wayside is one of two pet cemeteries in Kansas City. Rolling Acres opened in October 1973 and now has two locations, in the Northland and in south Kansas City. They are just two of some 700 pet cemeteries in the U.S.

The intersection of faith and fur

Pet burials date back some 4,000 years, historians say. It was not usual to find dogs and cats interred with their masters. And for centuries, religions have embraced a love to all pets.

“Religious precepts of kindness and mercy to animals have been part of faith traditions around the world since antiquity,” said Janet Davis, a distinguished professor of American studies and history at the University of Texas, Austin, and author of “The Gospel of Kindness: Animal Welfare and the Making of a Modern America,” (Oxford University Press, 2016).

“To list but a few examples, these spiritual ideals include the dictates of ahimsa (nonviolence) in Hinduism; right livelihood and karma (retribution in a future life for bad behavior in this life) in Buddhism; Tza’ar Ba’alei Chayim (the prohibition of unnecessary suffering of any creature) in Judaism and biblical stewardship in Christianity.”

Many denominations embrace the notion that our animals have souls and may play a role in an afterlife. Catholics, for instance, recognize Saint Francis of Assisi as the patron saint of animals. Churches often devote a day to the blessing of the animals.

It is not just a soul we may share, as humans have genetic similarities to dogs. They also get a lot of the same age-related diseases, such as arthritis and cancer. Turns out, researchers are now studying dogs more carefully to help humans understand the aging process.

Naturally, the notion of dogs going to heaven was pure gold for Hollywood. “All Dogs Go To Heaven” (1989) involved a dog named Charlie who owned a casino and was killed by gambler named Carface. Still with me? The dog returns to earth thanks to a magic watch that can be rewound. The New York Times reviewer Janet Maslin said this “film might as well roll over and play dead.” No matter. There was a sequel, of course.

More recently, W. Bruce Cameron, a Shawnee Mission East alum, has been writing dog-related books and movies, including 2017’s “A Dog’s Purpose,” with the comforting notion that dogs get reincarnated.

Elle and Zorro

If dogs go to heaven, then there is probably room for Trainer and Bromley, who rescued Elle from death’s door. And maybe the young man from Wayside who drove to Clinton on that humid July day and held Elle tight to calm her. Trainer has been involved in Wayside’s mission for many years, and at that time she was on the board of directors.

The couple were already busy with their red heeler mix named Zorro. Zorro was a rescue as well — he was the last of nine puppies to be adopted from an animal rescue facility in Atchison. “Zorro was left because he was scrawny and did not look well,” Trainer said. “But once he arrived at our home, he flourished.”

Trainer and Bromley live across from Lake Jacomo and its 900 acres-plus of wooded property. That area is home to countless wild animals that inevitably interact with the canine crew in their backyard.

“But with our property, the dogs had to be big enough to deal with whatever came onto our land — deer, squirrels, raccoons, foxes, bobcats, turtles, snakes, coyotes, blue herons, ducks, geese,and a partridge in a pear tree,” Trainer said with a hearty chuckle.

At that time, the golden retriever next door had just died. Zorro needed a pal.

Wayside called. “We might have a good companion for Zorro” the caller said. Trainer jumped in her car. But first, she bent down to Zorro and whispered, “We might have a new buddy for you soon!” Zorro’s tail wagged furiously.

“When I first went to see Elle at Wayside, she was in a large viewable coop,” Trainer said. “I put Elle on a leash and took her on a walk. After that, at Wayside there is an open fence area, and I took her off and let her run. That is when I could see the real love inside of her. That was it, we immediately knew she was our girl. And she was big enough to defend herself in the woods.”

Trainer then came back with her husband, and that was that.

Zorro and Elle were siblings for 10 glorious years. Every day, they patrolled the yard and surrounding open fields as a team.

“Zorro was always in the lead and Elle would follow, keeping her nose to the ground as they tried to catch or encircle whatever they were chasing” Trainer said. “We loved watching them do their work.”

Naturally the whole neighborhood adopted them both. One neighbor gave each of them a toy.

When Zorro turned 15, it was clear he was in the twilight of his days. “He had a stroke on Jan. 22, 2022, and I lay beside him to comfort him. We knew it was time to let him cross over to heaven” Trainer said. “Elle was right beside Zorro watching what was happening and mourning. She knew he had left and immediately grabbed Zorro’s favorite toy and kept it with her, laying on it for over a year.”

Elle died a year and half later, on Sept. 10, 2023, and was buried alongside Zorro at Wayside four days later.

‘The Rainbow Bridge’

“The Rainbow Bridge” is a poem by a Scottish teenager, Edna Clyne-Rekhy, that describes a pet’s journey into the afterlife and is found on headstones and other signs at Wayside.

The poem goes like this:

“Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.

“When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

“All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.

“They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

“You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

“Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together …”

You can contact freelance writer Matt Keenan at mattkeenan51@gmail.com.