Richmond, Virginia: Dog Statue on Child's Grave

We wasted time because we misread the cemetery map. The black dog statue is at the corner of Cedar and Confederate Avenues. A lot of people have put dog statues on graves, so it can be confusing. Be sure to talk to Woody, the caretaker in the chapel. He is awesome!

This is the best "spooky" grave as an attraction, within a totally awesome cemetery with beautiful views of the city. Also a vampire grave somewhere nearby, according to local legend. You'll also see an old industrial neighborhood on your way there.

If you can't find it, go to the pyramid Confederate Memorial first, and if you are facing the memorial, look to your right and you will see it in the distance.

There's a map on the right as you enter the cemetery that shows you where the dog is.

A statue of a dog stands guard on the grave of a young girl in Richmond's Hollywood Cemetery. Around 1862, a little girl named Bernadine Rees would regularly visit a merchant's shop with her mother, and the dog statue was outside of the merchant's business. The 2-year old girl loved the dog statue and would pet and talk to the "dog" whenever she visited. The little girl fell victim to scarlet fever, and passed away, and the mother was inconsolable. The merchant had been to the funeral, and offered up the dog statue to place on the child's grave, since she had loved it so when she had been alive.

The dog has stood guard on her grave ever since, and people periodically leave small gifts such as pennies and little toys as tokens of esteem or for good luck. The area of the cemetery where the grave is located is now known as "black dog hill."