This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
I have been walking a dog in the Salt Lake City Cemetery for more than 20 years without incident. Recently, a man in a new Volvo verbally abused me for being disrespectful by having a dog in the cemetery (it turns out that there is a "No dogs allowed" sign).
I admit to having my dog off-leash, but when did it become illegal to walk a leashed dog on a city street? And this is a public cemetery, supported by taxpayers' dollars. I even own a plot in the cemetery.
But let's consider the issue of disrespect. I clean up after my dog. I enjoy the cemetery's quiet and visiting the graves. I read headstone inscriptions and grieve at those of the young, reflecting on history.
Disrespect is church groups trampling the graves, people using the cemetery as a short cut home, mourners idling their polluting cars, visitors playing loud music or talking on cellphones.
If animal defecation and urination are the issue, someone should capture the feral cats, deer, foxes, rats and raccoons that live there.
Laurie Holland
Salt Lake City