The ashes of a cat starring in the cult British TV series sold at auction for a record amount for such a lot. The owner of the horse that rode under the saddle of the hero of the American Western is buried with honors next to her grave. And after the death of his beloved elephant, the influential Burmese colonel “ordered” himself.
At first, the staff of one of the well-known auctions in England considered the offer of a potential “implementer” either an unsuccessful joke, or even a provocation. An unknown person, who introduced himself as a lawyer of a “solid family”, offered to put the ashes of a cremated cat on the trading floor. “This cat, or rather, what is left of it, will attract the attention of buyers,” the lawyer assured the auctioneers. “You yourself have no idea how much attention will be drawn to your structure after you declare such a lot.”
Despite the seeming absurdity of the situation, an appropriate check was carried out, which fully confirmed the applicant’s words. As a lot, the British couple really offered the ashes of their four-legged pet, who died ten years ago from stomach cancer. The piquancy of the circumstances is given by the fact that the cat named Frisky, who left the world at the age of 14, was a favorite not only of his owners. Once, one of the London tabloids even called Frisky “the most famous kitten (literally – Pussy-Pussy.) of the Old World.” And the thing is that in the nineties of the last century, a cat, clearly not like a small “kitten”, appeared in the screensaver of the rating, as they would say now, series Coronation Street. He had to go through a rather tough casting and defeat five thousand potential rivals.
Only by the most conservative estimates, during his entire career, Frisky appeared on blue screens more than a thousand times. And not only in the notorious screensaver and individual scenes of the soap opera, but also as a symbol of charity events in support of the poor inhabitants of Foggy Albion and the children of Africa. “This cat that actually existed was a worthy competitor to the invented Garfield,” emphasizes culturologist Richard Garoyan (Edinburgh). – It somehow happened by itself that Frisky was promoted to an “idol”. There is a great deal of truth in the words of the culturologist Garoyan. Soft toys, even vaguely reminiscent of Frisky, were sold in the United Kingdom in millions of copies.
In addition, sociologists and marketers argued that the plush Pussy-Pussy from Coronation Street was no less popular in France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and even Norway. These statements, of course, can be questioned, but the fact remains: after finding out all the details of the transaction, the Dominic Winter auction house, as they say, accepted the offer with great pleasure. The initial price of the lot (the ashes of the cat, his photographs from the film sets and a certificate of cremation) was only one hundred pounds. But in the course of a short auction, the lot was again given to an unknown buyer for 844 pounds. In an online forum, the buyer, who went by the pseudonym The Admirer, said, “Now I own a legend.” What the notorious buyer will do next with his “legend” also remains a mystery. It is only assumed that he will try to buy the copyright for the image of Friska from several magazines specializing in comics.
An equally interesting story happened to the fate of a horse named Darcy Wells. Kauraya, the four-year-old mare featured in the 1972 American western Dirty Harry starring Clint Eastwood, died seven years after the film’s release. In his will, its inconsolable owner, and part-time Texas real estate dealer Joseph Pride, noted that whoever buried him along with the remains of his beloved horse would inherit his large stores in Dallas and one of the oil rigs in the vicinity of Austin.
At first, the executors of the will of Pride, who died in March of this year, were confused. According to Texas law, burying a person next to an animal, albeit a cult and beloved one, is nonsense. But here again, the classical system of American law worked. Darcy Wells was cremated, and Pride kept a part of the horse’s leg, which professionals call the “grandmother” (shin joint), as a keepsake. This is not against state law. Exclusively with the “grandmother” Darcy-Wells, Pride went into another world, and was, according to the will, buried in the family cemetery – a few steps from her tomb (private territory).
As University of Wisconsin observer Ahan Bjani pointed out, in the twenty-first century, humanity is facing a kind of animal idolatry. “In my ethnic homeland – (India) – cows are sacred animals. Even if you accidentally hit at least one individual with a car, you will not only have to pay large fines, but also go to the temple and apologize for the damage caused to the cow through your fault. Only then will the sacred animal offended by you keep a good memory of you.”
The story became known to the world when the colonel of the active army Pradh Baru, after the death of his beloved elephant (the animal was blown up by an anti-personnel mine and was shot), demanded literally the following from his own guards: “Destroy me. But just so I don’t know about it. I can’t live without him.” Good story of good friendship.
But what is an age-old tradition in India still looks rather strange in Europe. A kind of “idolatry” in relation to pets – is it good? On the one hand, this is a manifestation of love and humanity for our smaller brothers, on the other hand, this love and these forces can be spent on making animals well alive. A person who cremates his beloved horse can safely eat the flesh of domestic animals and not even think about the fact that they, too, can be someone’s favorites and just living beings that are also hurt. And what is your opinion on this matter?