January 9, 2009 Write About A Ceremony

It was a funeral for all the dogs and cats who were killed in our nation's shelters during the past year. I had organized these ceremonies before, but this was, by far, my most memorable one.

I was working at Safe Harbor, a lovely litttle shelter in Jupiter, and decided to take advantage of the fact that we were so close to the ocean. The distance was about two miles as the crow flies right to the beach. Safe Harbor has a distinctive van, brown with green writing on it, with a twirly green light on top. Organizing volunteers, one for each dog, and a driver for the van, we paraded our way, under police motorcyle escort, over the bridge that spans the intracoastal, down Indiantown Road, to A1A, the beach road. We walked a short distance to Carlin Park, where a minister awaited our little procession. Along with the minister was a contingent of lifeguards with an enormous surfboard. A small motorboat awaited us a little ways out in the ocean.

We placed the cremains of animals that had died, a small representation of the millions of animals that die every year because of overpopulation, at the feet of the minister who prayed over them, and then led our little group in a prayer. Beachgoers, unaffiliated with our group, assembled as well. We then handed the cremains, along with floral wreaths that had been donated by local florists, to the lifguards. Using their over-sized surfboards, they paddled out to the waiting boat, and handed over the cremains and the floral wreath. With a wave of his hand, the boat captain carried the cremains out to sea where they were scattered to the wind.

This was, by far, the most beautiful of all the Candlelight Vigils I ever organized on behalf of ISAR, the International Society of Animal Rights, a group that "sheds light on an American Tragedy" every year.

Besides my dedication to the animals, this ceremony was special for me in another way as well. Vikings were sent to sea in a flaming boat, so that their bodies were always reduced to ash and their remains became part of the sea. So in a way, this was, after a fashion, a modified Viking Funeral, the way my Viking ancestors did it so long ago.