I grabbed my “Travel Gumby*,” placed it on the dashboard for good luck and headed south for my journey to discover the peculiar places of Kentucky for the first time in my “official” capacity as Curious Kentucky. The local airwaves were filled with Hall & Oates and Journey which were totally acceptable for this relatively short trip down the Shepherdsville, Kentucky but what really knocked my socks off was “Forever Young” by Rod Stewart, a song I always considered a bit cheesy until I heard it through the ears of a middle-aged man. You better believe I turned it way up as I headed west on Highway 44 towards one of my favorite roadside stops, Pet Haven Cemetery. In spite of a local barista calling me “Boss,” I soldiered onward hoping that Pet Haven was still as charming as I remember from my last visit several years back.

Prior to my trip today, I looked up Pet Haven and discovered that it almost closed in 2017 when the owners at that time were unable to properly maintain the grounds and were also frustrated by stolen headstones and people digging up their pets to relocate them. The place was poorly maintained and overgrown, which I’ll admit I considered to be part of its charm, but the owners at that time were announcing that pet owners who had their furry friends buried there had one month to dig up their pets and move them before they put up the private property signs. Yikes! What a gruesome option to face!

There are laws in Kentucky protecting burial grounds involving humans, but apparently it gets pretty sparse when it pertains to laws protecting animal burial grounds. As pet owners began to take their shovels to the ground, enter the hero of this story, Joni Blake. Joni is a local realtor who was trying to help sell the property but when there was no interest, she decided to buy it herself and saved the fate of Pet Haven Cemetery and all of its eternal inhabitants. I was concerned that somehow it being “cleaned up” meant that it would have lost some of it’s original charm but I am happy to report that it is just as charming as ever!

My favorite part of Pet Haven is seeing the names of the pets and the heartfelt testimonies of their owners. I counted at least 5 “Snoopy’s” as well as other adorable names that put a smile on my face. As many of us know, it is incredibly painful to lose a beloved pet so I want to be clear that I am not making light of that kind of loss, but I see this place as a testament to that special bond and love between a pet and its owner. So instead of blathering on about the names, I thought I would just show you some pictures of the markers I thought were the most touching.

If you decide to go explore for yourself, you can find it on Highway 44 in Shepherdsville about two miles west of I-65 on the right hand side. It is free and open to the public between dawn and dusk. And by the way, we’ll have another story soon about another special place just a couple miles further west on 44 on top of the hill with the problematic name of “Midget Mountain.”

*I have always favored having a small dashboard ornament when exploring the backroads and roadside attractions of Kentucky and beyond for good luck and guidance. Originally I had a small flocked Jackalope named “Trip-Dubs” after 31-W aka Dixie Highway. Then there was a squeaky toy Bigfoot I picked up in the Dells of Wisconsin but frankly he was way too big. Travel Gumby was a gift from my fiance who got it at the Cave City Cracker Barrel in the “Toys Under $5” section. Travel Gumby is so far the best dashboard buddy as it is skinny and flexible and doesn’t obscure the clock and remaining gas mileage numbers. Plus Gumby has a very friendly face.