Animal Obituaries

Animal Obituaries: Image of Balto from his 1933 obituary (Argus-Leader, via Newspapers.com™)

This page features a collection of newspaper animal obituaries, some of which date back more than a century.

The passings of famous animals (such as Cher Ami, Balto, Seabiscuit, etc.) were often covered by numerous papers. The deaths of pets and hometown animal celebrities were usually published only in local newspapers, unless the story was picked up by another paper or a wire service.

Learn more about Animal Obituaries through historical newspapers from our archives. Explore newspaper articles, headlines, images, and other primary sources below.

Articles and Clippings about Animal Obituaries

1891 obituary for Isonomy, the "champion horse of his day" 07 Apr 1891, Tue The North Star (Darlington, Durham, England) Newspapers.com1911 obituary for a chimney sweep's "beer-drinking donkey" 11 Oct 1911, Wed Evening Despatch (Birmingham, West Midlands, England) Newspapers.com1912 obituary for Beautiful Jim Key, the "celebrated educated horse" 10 Oct 1912, Thu The Concord Daily Tribune (Concord, North Carolina) Newspapers.com1916 obituary for Jacob Be Faithful, the "famous old donkey of Carlsbrooke Castle" 27 Apr 1916, Thu The Kingston Whig-Standard (Kingston, Ontario, Canada) Newspapers.com1919 obituary for Cher Ami, the "pigeon war hero" 03 Jul 1919, Thu New Castle Herald (New Castle, Pennsylvania) Newspapers.com1925 obituary for Sappho, "black cat, long favorite at police station" 30 Aug 1925, Sun The Standard Union (Brooklyn, New York) Newspapers.com1926 obituary for Arthur, the London Zoo's "world-famous chimpanzee" 26 Jan 1926, Tue Daily Herald. (London, London, England) Newspapers.com1930 obituary for Bess, the "first elephant John F. Ringling ever owned" 14 Jul 1930, Mon Record-Journal (Meriden, Connecticut) Newspapers.com1930 obituary for Billie, a dog whose "friendly mien endeared him to people generally" 01 Oct 1930, Wed The Braymer Bee (Braymer, Missouri) Newspapers.com1931 obituary for Dodo, a pet monkey that "received a burial which rivaled that of some humans" 10 Jan 1931, Sat The Seattle Star (Seattle, Washington) Newspapers.com1931 obituary for Igloo, the "only dog that had visited both the north and south poles" 21 Apr 1931, Tue The Seattle Star (Seattle, Washington) Newspapers.com1931 obituary for Mitzi, the "world's richest cat" 18 Jun 1931, Thu The Peninsula Times Tribune (Palo Alto, California) Newspapers.com1933 obituary for Balto, the "famous Alaskan husky" 15 Mar 1933, Wed The Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Brooklyn, New York) Newspapers.com1934 obituary for Jill, a "cobra-killing dog" 07 Feb 1934, Wed The Malcolm Messenger (Lincoln, Nebraska) Newspapers.com1938 obituary for Rusty, the "stool pigeon cat" 29 Jan 1938, Sat The Peninsula Times Tribune (Palo Alto, California) Newspapers.com1944 obituary for Billie, the "regimental goat of the 1st Battalion of the Royal Welch Fusiliers" 21 Feb 1944, Mon Citizen (Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England) Newspapers.com1946 obituary for Leo the Giraffe, "one of the favorite attractions at the Central Park Zoo" 23 Oct 1946, Wed The Record (Hackensack, New Jersey) Newspapers.com1947 obituary for Seabiscuit, "one of turf's all-time greats" 19 May 1947, Mon The San Francisco Examiner (San Francisco, California) Newspapers.com1949 obituary for Doc, "Columbus's 1943 Victory Dog" 13 Apr 1949, Wed The Columbus Ledger (Columbus, Georgia) Newspapers.com1953 obituary for Scooter, a "40-pound Persian" cat 10 Jul 1953, Fri The Kingston Whig-Standard (Kingston, Ontario, Canada) Newspapers.com1957 obituary for Chota Peg, "probably the most traveled dog in the American Merchant Marine" 10 Jul 1957, Wed Henryetta Daily Free-Lance (Henryetta, Oklahoma) Newspapers.com1957 obituary for Alex, a goose "who made fame [...] with mention in Ripley's 'Believe It or Not'" 28 Jul 1957, Sun Henryetta Daily Free-Lance (Henryetta, Oklahoma) Newspapers.com