The Presidio Pet Cemetery is tucked into a small valley not far from Crissy Field, beneath the Presidio Parkway viaduct. A white picket fence surrounds it. The Presidio Trust says the half-acre site holds 424 handmade headstones for dogs, cats, birds, fish, reptiles and rodents. It is open seven days a week, admission is free, and you can see it from McDowell Avenue.
History
The Army never documented exactly how the cemetery started. The Trust says newspaper reports trace it to about 1952, when Lt. Col. Joseph M. Swing and a team of engineers laid it out across from the post veterinarian. At the time, about 2,000 Army families lived at the Presidio. KQED reported that Boy Scouts first cared for the cemetery, burying pets and making markers for a small fee. It was almost full by 1963 and closed to new burials by the mid-1970s.
KQED also reported that in 1978 a retired Navy man named Ken, who wanted to stay anonymous, began using his retirement pay to replace rotting markers. The Presidio Trust has cared for the site since 1998. The cemetery was closed for a time while Doyle Drive was rebuilt. In 2019, a new fence, trees, signs and plants were added with funding from a private donor, and volunteers painted the fence white over two Saturdays in October.
Visiting
There is paid parking on McDowell Avenue. The path is flat and covered in wood chips. The Trust says the nearest restrooms are at the Warming Hut at Crissy Field, about half a mile away. Headstones to look for include Skipper, “the best damn dog we ever had.”
For another Presidio stop, see our Mountain Lake guide.