Photo by Charles Barone
As a lover of dogs, I relish the opportunity to watch my best canine friend Dominique roam free. For the past several years, her owner (my roommate) has recruited me to accompany them to Congressional Cemetery for Dominique’s requisite pasture time.
It may sound odd to readers, but Congressional Cemetery is one of my favorite places to spend the day in Capitol Hill. It’s full of history, charm, and – at certain times of day – frolicking packs of dogs.
Like many of the people you can find admiring the landscape of the Cemetery, my roommate and her dog are members of K9 Corp, a program instituted by the Association for the Preservation of Historic Congressional Cemetery. The program, which has become a major source of revenue for the nonprofit organization, allows participating members and their dogs to saunter around the park off-leash, provided that their dogs are well-behaved.
I’m a big proponent of letting dogs be dogs and I can’t help but to want to show my support for this program and the organization that instituted it. The beauty of the program is two-fold: it generates revenue to maintain the cemetery through membership dues and it brings people and their dogs into the park to patrol the grounds and minimize vandalism.
You can check out K9 Corps’ website to find out more information about becoming a member. If you’re lucky maybe you will have the pleasure of meeting Dominique.
Do you let your dogs pee on the gravestones?
Dear Fool,
No the dogs are highly encouraged to NOT pee on the gravestones. Many of the stones are historic in nature and history. The cemetery is highly respected by the K9 corp and all visitors.
Does it matter is my ghost name. it has nothing to do with pee.