Enclosed by a white picket fence and shaded by Monterey pines, the pet cemetery is the final sleeping place for hundreds of loyal animals owned by families stationed at the Presidio. Most of the serious markers imitate those found in military cemeteries and now and then return the pets' military life-listing birthplaces as well as Australia, China, England, and Germany. A lot of markers also contain family names and owners' position which include majors, generals, and colonels. Others contain only a simple epitaph, such as "A GI pet. He did his moment." As in many military cemeteries, there are also markers to several "unknowns".


Important markers in the favorite cemetery date back to the 1950's, when the Presidio was home to something like 2,000 military families. Though there are no executive records regarding the site, some credit approval of the pet cemetery to Lt. General Joseph M. Swing, who was the commander of the Presidio at the time. In any case, there are various legends nearby the cemetery, which some believe was originally a burial ground for nineteenth-century cavalry horses or World War II guard dogs.


During the 1970's, the pet cemetery fell into disrepair. Legend has it that an secret former Navy staff became the illegal caretaker in those years and repaired the failing headstones and repainted the fence. It is believed that he placed the military-style warning sign seen at the cemetery entrance. Nowadays, the pet cemetery is officially closed to new interments.