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A Hampshire woman has turned her back garden into a cemetery for 22 dead pets - and her late husband.
Jean Pyke has made the ashes of husband Theo and a special plaque the centrepiece of those she's loved and lost.
It also includes inscribed Italian marble tombstones in memory of the cats, dogs and budgies, reports the Daily Mirror.
Mrs Pyke, 82, a former nurse of Hayling Island, has spent thousands of pounds on her memorial.
Each pet has been laid to rest in a specially-made casket with a satin lining, pillow and duvet.
She says: "I was not just going to put them in a plastic bag and send them off in a dustbin.
"They were my best friends and we have shared a lot of love. The caskets are beautiful and it's a shame they have to be buried."
When former company director Theo died in July 1992 at 75, he insisted his ashes were placed next to their pets. Jean makes a daily pilgrimage to the shrine, beneath tall trees at the end of her garden.
And when she dies her £400,000, four-bedroomed detached home will become a cat sanctuary - with all her savings going to 13 animal charities.
But one of her conditions is that she will eventually take her place in the unique garden cemetery. She says: "Then I will be next to all my loved ones for ever."
Jean Pyke has made the ashes of husband Theo and a special plaque the centrepiece of those she's loved and lost.
It also includes inscribed Italian marble tombstones in memory of the cats, dogs and budgies, reports the Daily Mirror.
Mrs Pyke, 82, a former nurse of Hayling Island, has spent thousands of pounds on her memorial.
Each pet has been laid to rest in a specially-made casket with a satin lining, pillow and duvet.
She says: "I was not just going to put them in a plastic bag and send them off in a dustbin.
"They were my best friends and we have shared a lot of love. The caskets are beautiful and it's a shame they have to be buried."
When former company director Theo died in July 1992 at 75, he insisted his ashes were placed next to their pets. Jean makes a daily pilgrimage to the shrine, beneath tall trees at the end of her garden.
And when she dies her £400,000, four-bedroomed detached home will become a cat sanctuary - with all her savings going to 13 animal charities.
But one of her conditions is that she will eventually take her place in the unique garden cemetery. She says: "Then I will be next to all my loved ones for ever."
