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Gravestone for Borden dogs.

Grave of Lizzie Borden's Dogs

Field review by the editors.

Dedham, Massachusetts

After Lizzie Borden was acquitted of killing her parents with a hatchet, she and her sister moved out of the murder house and into a much nicer mansion uptown (Dad's bank account came in handy). Lizzie developed a fondness for black and white Boston bull terriers -- a fashionable breed among the New England upper class at the time -- and often had one with her when she took chauffeur-driven rides in the country.

Lizzie died in 1927. A year after that, according to popular lore, three of her dead terriers were dug out of their graves in the Borden back yard and reburied miles away in the Pine Ridge Pet Cemetery -- which may sound strange, but not too strange to be true in the odd universe of the Bordens. The dogs' names were Donald Stuart, Royal Nelson, and Laddie Miller, and their gravestone is a miniature replica of the one under which Lizzie and her parents were interred.

Pet Cemetery.
Old section of the pet cemetery.

The section of the graveyard that holds Lizzie's dogs is straight out of a Steven King novel, with melancholy trees, sad inscriptions, and mold on the stones. Although it was not planned this way, it really is the perfect spot for the disinterred dogs of a suspected hatchet murderer.

The Borden gravestone is inscribed: "Sleeping Awhile"

Grave of Lizzie Borden's Dogs

Pine Ridge Pet Cemetery

Address:
238 Pine St., Dedham, MA
Directions:
Turn off of Pine St. into Pine Ridge Pet Cemetery. Bear right up the hill and into the trees. The road veers left. Drive past the offices, maintenance building, and barn on the right. Two very small roads pass to the left of these buildings and go down a hill. Take the left road. (If you miss it and take the right road -- which is easy to do -- just loop around and come back.) At the bottom of the hill, the road turns to the left in a big circle. As you turn to face up the hill, you'll see an old, small stone wall to the right, back in the trees. Borden tombstone is at far end of that wall.
Hours:
Gated after hours. (Call to verify) Local health policies may affect hours and access.
Phone:
781-326-0729
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In the region:
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