Wealthy Cat Dies At 19

There was a WSJ A-Hed piece on December 21, 2017 that I somehow forgot to comment on. The front page somehow got underneath a pile of unread newspapers and has only been recently excavated. The headline was:

Lost a Pet? First, Write An Obit
Once discouraged by newspapers, odes bloom online

Given that there are now more outlets for people to express opinions and sorrows, it is no wonder that some of those platforms are getting their share of pet obituary traffic, generally self-penned tributes to the passing of a favorite pet, which is not always a dog or a cat. There can be monkeys.

The piece tells us that newspapers once printed these tributes, but that long fell out of favor when an animal's obituary was seen alongside Aunt Margaret's obit. Aunt Margaret's family understandably expressed dissatisfaction at the proximity of an animal's life described so closely to their loved one.

The touching stories of people and their pets is evident throughout the piece. Most interesting however is the nugget that once upon a time when newspapers did publish pet obituaries, they did so at some length when the pet was owned by a famous person.

There is mention of the 1931 obituary of the death of Admiral Byrd's dog, Igloo, "Polar Hero...Mascot of  Expeditions to Both Ends of the Earth." The piece is an obituary, complete with a photo of the admiral with the fox terrier who succumbed to a stomach ailment and died at the Admiral's home on Brimmer Street in Boston, forcing the Admiral to cancel Midwest speaking engagements to hurry home. The dog had been attended to by three veterinarians.

The April 22, 1931 NYT piece is not however on the obituary page per sé, but rather a news item on page 27 of a 52 page edition. It is a tribute obit written as a news item.

The piece runs several column inches, with the large accompanying photo to the left. But just off to the right as you get toward the bottom of the story there is another news obit. 

Wealthy Cat Dies at 19
Fortune Had Been Left to her Pet By a Los Angeles Woman.

There is no photo, and the story doesn't run anywhere near as long as the for for Igloo, but the cat, Mitzi, is described as a blue Persian, who was cared for with "unlimited portions of liver" paid by the $15,000 trust fund established by her Owner Dr. Maude Cain that also included the mansion to house her.

And lest there be any belief that Mitzi met with foul play, a veterinarian, Dr. A. C. White certified that the cat was "legally dead," which I suppose might be the term of the era to denote having passed on because of natural causes, or that the death was in no way suspicious. Thanks goodness. Because the next step is probate court for the cat's estate, which under the terms of Dr. Cain's will, goes to Otelia Kuschke of Los Angeles.

Which goes to show you that in any era you can't take it with you, but you sure as hell can direct where it goes.

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