Lad, a Dog

Died 1918 - Pompton Lakes, New Jersey

America's first dog celebrity is buried on an old estate named Sunnybank -- now a small park -- on the western shore of Pompton Lake.

Sunnybank was the estate of Albert Payson Terhune, a man of the Leisure Class. When he wasn't busy being rich, he raised purebred collies and wrote children's books. It was this fortunate combination of professions that made Lad famous.

Terhune wrote dozens of books about his collies, beginning with "Lad, A Dog," about his first collie. This proved so popular that other books quickly followed, such as "The Further Adventures of Lad" and "Lad of Sunnybank." A generation of children, many of whom are now dead themselves, loved Lad. The books can still be found in libraries, though it's doubtful if a CD-ROM or Sega version will be out any time soon.

Though Lad's day has passed, he doesn't deserve the dog of a grave he's got now. The small, dark marble slab that marks it is flush with the ground, off to the left at the bottom of what once was Sunnybank's main driveway. It is sinking in mud. Don't try to find it after a heavy rain; it will be underwater.

Why is Lad eternally resting in slippery muck? Perhaps this noble dog was really a mutt at heart and liked to play in mud. [Oct. 2006: See update below for the latest improvements on Lad's grave]

Fans of Terhune tell us Lad was buried at his favorite resting place; the author describes it in his books. Less-famous Terhune dogs are up on the hillside, where the drainage is good.

The slab reads:

Lad
Thoroughbred In Body and Soul
1902-1918

In the mud.

[Note: Lad's name was parodied by the lumbering sheepdog "Laddadog" in '60s TV series "Please Don't Eat The Daisies."]

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