E.B. Bartels ’10

I was writing my book about how people mourn their dearly departed pets. I posted queries on social media (“Anyone have a pet memorial tattoo?”) and the Wags and Whiskers Facebook group. Many Wellesley siblings sent tips, including Lisa Scanlon Mogolov ’99. Did I know Sigurd, Katharine Lee Bates’s dog, was buried behind Whitin Observatory? I did not! Lisa promised to take me there.

One spring day, we met on campus. I brought sandwiches and we trekked into the Observatory Hill woods. After wandering a bit, brushing aside leaves and pine needles, there it was: a headstone reading Sigurd Our Golden Collie 1902–1914. We sat talking about the devastation Bates must have felt losing Sigurd right before the death of her “Joy-of-Life” partner, Katharine Coman. A sad topic, but on that beautiful day, picnicking with a Wellesley sister by a beloved dog’s grave, it felt like a joy of life.