there, as far as they could remember,” Murphy said. “And then when they noticed the dogs were gone, they kind of came together.” Murphy said the thefts occurred over the Christmas holiday. Even during the holidays, the gates are opened daily for visitors and families, Murphy said. He added that Magnolia and the city’s other two public cemeteries have security, but it’s impossible to keep watch over them at all times. Magnolia Cemetery, alone, is situated on more than 60 acres, Murphy added. “We’ve always had security here, but there’s only so much you can do when you’ve got three city cemeteries,” Murphy said. “We have Regent Security who’s handling our gates and they ride through to make sure that everybody’s out (when the gates are closed). But there’s only so much you can do.” Murphy said he wouldn’t be surprised if the stolen greyhounds wound up in someone’s back yard as garden art. Ruth Shapleigh-Brown says that’s all too common. Shapleigh-Brown heads the Connecticut Gravestone Network and is also a member of the Greenfield, Mass.-based Association for Gravestone Studies. Through her Web site and seminars she gives, Shapleigh-Brown has been vigilant in educating the public about the rampant theft of cemetery items that has lately plagued the country. She said items such as angels and gravestones are often destined for novelty placement in back yards, or to unscrupulous antique dealers, often on opposite ends of the country from where the items were stolen. “With the education that I do up here, the general public is astonished,” ShapleighBrown said. “They can’t believe that this goes on and this stuff happens.” In the past, Shapleigh-Brown said, cemeteries typically kept thefts of cemetery items and cases of graveyard vandalism quiet, either because they were embarrassed the crimes had happened to them, or because they felt that publicizing the incidents would encourage more of the same. But several years ago, officials at Mt. Auburn Cemetery in Boston took a different stance, issuing a public statement after a number of wrought-iron gates inside the cemetery had been stolen. “As it turned out, they were able to get back some of the gates because of the attention they got by finally saying something,” Shapleigh-Brown recalled. “So we all kind of got on that same boat and decided that we can’t win this war, but the first thing is making the public aware that, number one, it happens, and number two, you can’t expect the cemeteries to be able to guard all of this stuff, and number three, if you’re actually buying this stuff, you ought to know what you’re buying and you shouldn’t buy stolen stuff or anything that comes from a grave.” Murphy said he has a hard time understanding why someone would steal from or tamper with such a historical asset as Magnolia Cemetery. Unfortunately, he said, there’s no certain way to ensure it doesn’t happen again. “Between the time we leave (for the day) and all, somebody can get here. On weekends ... we just can’t keep somebody here all the time, watching,” Murphy said. “Love to be able to, but it’s just not practical. “It’s not that we don’t care, for sure.” Anyone with information about the thefts can contact the Richmond County Sheriff’s Department at (706) 821-1020.
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