A loyal dog’s touching story inspired a new law

A dog’s loyalty can accompany their owner even beyond the grave – and in this case, it even inspired a new law, unofficially called the Gravedigger Bob Law.

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Bob Coveiro, also known as Gravedigger Bob, was a long-haired, brown mixed-breed dog in Taboão da Serra, in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The loyal dog crossed the rainbow bridge 5 years ago, in 2021, following an accident, but their memory will hopefully be preserved for many years to come by São Paulo’s recently adopted law, which allows pets to find their final resting place beside their owners.

The story of Gravedigger Bob, the dog, inspired a law

Bob’s story began in 2011, following the death of their owner. The loyal dog refused to leave their owner behind, whose family tried several times to take the animal home, with rather little success, as they returned to them every time. Seeing this, the cemetery staff took pity on the four-legged one and took them in – they were given a kennel, provided with food and water, bathed, and their healthcare needs were also taken care of, starting with the necessary vaccinations.

Bob received a great deal of love, and gave even more. The dog became famous for walking around the cemetery with a ball in their mouth, sometimes inviting mourners and visitors to play. While such a gesture from a human might seem rather impolite, from the considerate four-legged one it felt more like comfort, helping many to remember life’s small joys even during the heavy hours of grief.

Our tribute and gratitude for your lessons in love and loyalty,” reads the plaque beneath the statue, adding that “in the face of grief, [Bob] taught us to ‘offer little balls’ and attention when others need it most

– reads the inscription on the plaque beneath the statue erected in the dog’s memory. Bob’s passing was sudden and caused quite a stir, but their caretakers soon had to decide on the dog’s final resting place. At the time, there was no regulation addressing this issue, and in practice it was almost forbidden to bury deceased pets beside their owners. Nevertheless, in Bob’s case, this seemed to be the only right solution – and the city council granted permission for them to rest beside their owner.

Bob was not the first, nor the last dog to be buried beside their owner

A few years later, São Paulo became the third Brazilian state, after Rio de Janeiro and Santa Catarina, to allow pets, namely dogs and cats, to be o be buried in graves and family plots whose concessions belong to their owners’ families” – writes The Guardian.

Brazil is not the only country where this is permitted in some way – there are also states in America where this is possible, and it is also allowed in certain cities in Germany and in some regions of Italy.

In our country, this is not yet possible

To the best of our knowledge, in Hungary there is currently no possibility for a dog and their owner to share a burial place, however, grieving owners can choose from several options to bid farewell to their pet in a dignified way.

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