good afternoon fellow travelers and welcome to Exit Through the
Gift Shop today I want to take you to a secret location I just found out about
an unfortunate car accident the couple was at a loss for what to do if they were out in the
countryside Daniel Nellie could have buried their beloved pet on their own property there
weren't any pet cemeteries available in urban areas at that time after doing some research
the Blair's found that all they needed to do to create their own pet cemetery was get a
business license and a suitable plot of land so in 1952 they found this area in rural Newton and
set about clearing the land to create British Columbia's first pet cemetery Nellie ran the
business for 35 years until she was 82 years old when a new owner took over the land in
1995 they stopped taking new burials a group called the Friends of Surrey pet cemetery was
formed with the intentions of raising funds to protect the land and turn it into a park
a covenant was placed on the location which said that the land couldn't be developed until
after 2010 as of now the location remains abandoned and somewhat overgrown although
looks like some of the local residents may have come through to help clear and clean
up the area almost 700 pets were buried here over the years including dogs cats gerbils
birds guinea pigs and many other species let's see we've got cricket you will always be missed
scamp 1976 to 1991 our MVP here's the site of Mandy candy and over here a little Pugsley
affectionately known as Mr. Doo it's kind of sweet some of the great site markers are actually quite
elaborate for a pet this is sherry Gardner who was buried in 1994 ever loved ever remembered
here's a site where city was laid to rest 1981 cherished memories of a faithful companion sadly
missed well city here's a plot that was used by the Blair family themselves this is American
cocker spaniels Trixie and Toto buried in 1969 and 79 both killed by cars loving pets sadly
missed and never forgotten here it says the BC Pet Cemetery 1952 found founded owned and operated
solely by Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Blair when Nellie passed away at the age of 90 her wishes were to
be cremated and laid to rest with her beloved pet cemetery it's unclear if that request was
honored although it implies right here that Nellie Mary Blair may have been laid to rest
here cremated so it's possible that her ashes were scattered on the grounds of the property
that she loved so much here's our precious baby and loyal pet mr. muggins buried in 1980
and Mr. Magoo also buried in 1980 and our precious angel sweet Muffy a gift from heaven June 15 1984
in our hearts forever most of the gravesites seem to be large enough for dogs or cats but there's a
few smaller sized ones here as well here's cheeky and butch very 1976 and Tony also buried 1976 they
look to be about the right size for either a guinea pig or a rabbit Nellie noted that a pet
burial was a lot like a human burial a satin lined coffin would be selected an appropriate grave
sighs Doug and the coffin would be transported by the family and lowered to its final resting place
some of the names a little bit more traditional here's Fido our beloved puppy for 15 years left
us on August 3rd 1974 it's unfortunate that this site has been abandoned but it's probably better
than the alternative if it had been redeveloped as originally planned it looks like some of the
local residents have done some cleanup work which is amazing but it would be nice to see
this properly maintained and turned into a local park space oddly I did find this grave site over
here Muriel l clerk corporal WAAF deceased 16th of august 1981 aged 57 from the street
the pet cemetery is completely unmarked you wouldn't happen to know about it unless you
came here looking for it there's no signage or anything else to indicate that that's what
it is so that's it kind of an awkward end for BC's first pet cemetery as it stands it remains
abandoned and unmaintained thanks for watching remember to hit subscribe so you can stay up
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