Gipsy (died November 1879) was a large, long-lived
Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...
dog which belonged to American artist
Lemuel Wilmarth
Lemuel Everett Wilmarth (November 11, 1835 – July 27, 1918) was an American painter. He was a founder of the Art Students League of New York and a member of the National Academy of Design. He was professor in charge of the schools of the Natio ...
and his wife, Emma Belinda Barrett. The couple did not have children and were close with the dog, such that upon his death at the age of 23, the couple requested he be buried in their plot in
Green-Wood Cemetery
Green-Wood Cemetery is a cemetery in the western portion of Brooklyn, New York City. The cemetery is located between South Slope, Brooklyn, South Slope/Greenwood Heights, Brooklyn, Greenwood Heights, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn, Win ...
in Brooklyn, New York.
They had a
casket
Casket or caskets may refer to:
* Coffin, a box used for the display and interment of corpses
* Casket (decorative box), a decorated container, usually larger than about in width and length, but smaller than a chest
** Chasse (casket), a decora ...
made, with Gipsy's name on a silver plate, and held a
funeral
A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...
for the dog, with a
hearse
A hearse () is a large vehicle, originally a horse carriage but later with the introduction of motor vehicles, a car, used to carry the body of a deceased person in a coffin to a funeral, wake, or graveside service. They range from deliberately ...
and carriages.
According to ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', "the body was laid out in orthodox style, and had its front limbs placed in position, as if
begging
Begging (also known in North America as panhandling) is the practice of imploring others to grant a favor, often a gift of money, with little or no expectation of reciprocation. A person doing such is called a beggar or panhandler. Beggars m ...
, and tied up with white satin ribbon."
Wilmarth was quoted saying "No one could help loving Gipsy ... 'None knew her but to love her. None named her but to praise.' Why, I assure you she was almost human, and we miss her dreadfully."
News of Gipsy's death was covered in several newspapers, including a story in which Gipsy saved Mrs. Wilmarth from drowning some years before his death.
The news inspired
Henry Bergh
Henry Bergh (August 29, 1813 – March 12, 1888) founded the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) in April, 1866, three days after the first effective legislation against animal cruelty in the United States was passed ...
, founder of the
ASPCA
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to preventing animal cruelty. Based in New York City since its inception in 1866, the organization's mission is "to provide effective mea ...
, to write a poem for Gipsy. The Wilmarths had plans to have a headstone erected, but it did not happen in their lifetime. In 2007, the ASPCA added a plaque bearing the full text of Bergh's poem on Wilmarth's plot, dedicated in a ceremony attended by Newfoundlands from local rescues.
[{{Cite web, date=October 20, 2007, title=New York Newfoundland Gipsy Memorialized 130 Years After His Death, url=https://www.dogster.com/lifestyle/deceased-new-york-newfoundland-gipsy-memorialized-130-years-after-his-death, access-date=June 15, 2021, website=]Dogster
Dogster is a bimonthly magazine and website for dog lovers. Its sister publication is Catster, a bimonthly magazine and website for cat lovers. Dogster magazine (formerly Dog Fancy) has been continuously published since 1970, celebrating 50 ye ...
, language=en-US, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230322003332/https://www.dogster.com/web/20230322003332/https://www.dogster.com/lifestyle/deceased-new-york-newfoundland-gipsy-memorialized-130-years-after-his-death, archive-date=March 22, 2023
References
Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery
1879 animal deaths
Individual dogs in the United States