Las Vegas Weekly

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Las Vegas residents here long enough to remember the late weatherman and pet advocate, John Fredericks, will likely remember his dog, Jordan. The two were inseparable, on camera and off. And when Jordan died in 2007, hundreds attended his memorial service, weeping alongside the grief-stricken Fredericks, who served as weatherman for Channel 3 from 1995 to 2008.

When Fredericks died last month from complications due to cirrhosis of the liver following struggles with alcohol and homelessness, there was talk that he had never fully recovered from the loss of his yellow lab, even though he had L.J. (Little Jordan) by his side.

So it made sense that Fredericks would be laid to rest with Jordan at the Craig Road Pet Cemetery following his November 23 death. His ashes were placed next to his canine friend, and his given name, John Frederick Alden, has been added to Jordan’s memorial headstone atop a photo of the dog taken while on a trip to Mt. Rushmore, with Frederick’s own heartfelt tribute inscribed on the bottom.

Uniting owner and pet in burial is not uncommon, says a spokeswoman for Craig Road Pet Cemetery. There are more than 170 humans buried in the cemetery and approximately 7,000 pets. At least 100 more humans have already arranged to be placed alongside their animals after death. It’s not even necessary to have a pet in the cemetery in order for its owner to be buried there, the spokeswoman said. Some humans just want their remains to be among beloved pets.

Fredericks, who had moved to Montana with L.J. after leaving his job at Channel 3, said in an interview with CityLife last year that Las Vegas, where Jordan is, is his home: “I've been here since 1996, my dog Jordan, his memorial is out at the pet cemetery and I told him I'd never leave him.”