Latest news with #petcremation
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Yahoo
Owners of pets lost in alleged funeral home scam come together for closure
Pet owners of an alleged cremation scam shared their stories, shed some tears and grieved together Sunday evening so that they can hopefully start to heal. 'This is Gotti,' one woman said. Another woman said, 'This is Tinkerbell.' One by one, people talked about their fur babies, and once again, cried and mourned their losses. 'This is Buddy,' a woman said through tears. 'This is killing me. He threw my baby in the garbage.' The pain became more unbearable after Tiffany Mantzouridis, a former employee of Eternity Pet Memorial, helped bring the disturbing allegations to light last month. PREVIOUS COVERAGE >>> Former employee reporting suspicions to police led to charges against Pittsburgh funeral home owner 'It's hard for me to process how somebody could do that because I got into this because I'm an empathetic person and I ended up in a position working for somebody who is the complete opposite of that,' Mantzouridis said. Eternity Pet Memorial Owner Patrick Vereb is accused of scamming people who paid for pet cremations and burials. Instead, the AG's office said he threw more than 6,500 pets into landfills then gave owners ashes from other animals. PREVIOUS COVERAGE >>> Pittsburgh funeral home owner accused of dumping pets in landfill instead of cremating them Pattie Levay cremated at least 11 dogs through Vereb from 2021 to 2024, the time period of the investigation. She believes 25 of her dogs could be in landfills. 'The first three days, I would have nightmares that they were trying to get out of the landfill, and I would see the bulldozer coming and just bulldoze them down and hear their screams,' Levay said. Levay organized Sunday's memorial to honor all the lost pets and try to give their owners closure. PREVIOUS COVERAGE >>> Woman holding memorial service for pets sent to funeral home owner accused of dumping pets 'My whole life has been dedicated to animals and knowing that I failed them, that I failed them so horrendously that they ended up in landfills, and this is why I'm doing this because I need help with my healing,' Levay said, choking back tears. Heather Sphar of Charleroi said the ashes she has do not belong to her beloved Trixie. 'That's not her. I got the email saying that that's not her,' Sphar said. 'Heartbroken, sad, emotional. You do it because you want their remains to be with you the rest of your life and knowing that I don't have her just breaks my heart.' Dozens of people came to the pavilion behind the Kingston Club for a pet blessing and to say goodbye one last time. Then, they sent bubbles up to their pets in heaven. But what most of the pet owners want is to do right by their best friend. 'I'm angry because I don't have her,' Sphar said. 'We all want justice for what he has done, and I think he needs to rot in jail,' Vereb is out on bail and is scheduled for an arraignment on June 18. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
CBS News
16-05-2025
- CBS News
State lawmakers working to add regulations to pet cremation industry
Pennsylvania lawmakers are trying to add regulations to the pet cremation industry to protect animals. Emotions have been running high since Patrick Vereb, the owner of Vereb Funeral Home and Eternity Pet Memorial, was charged with throwing out the bodies of over 6,500 pets and giving their owners the ashes of other animals. State Sen. Nick Pisciottano heard about the allegations on the news. "One of my constituents I talked to said it was like grieving her lost pet a second time," Pisciottano said. "Once we heard of the reporting, we decided to take a look at state law and found that there's a huge gap here," he added. The cremation of pets is not mentioned in Pennsylvania law. The industry is unregulated. "Consumers who are taking their pets to be cremated or paying money for those services, it means a lot," he said. "There should be some protections in place to make sure that they're safe from being ripped off." Lawmakers want law enforcement to be able to hold people accountable for not following the rules. Pisciottano said lawmakers are working on the language of the legislation now and hope to shore it up in the next few weeks. "There's already a state law called the Unfair Trade Practices law, which really is a catch-all for all these industry-specific issues. And so, we think we're going to add another section that basically says if you're providing pet services, you have to adhere by these rules." State lawmakers will also look to other states and see if they can use that as a guide for the language of this new legislation. Funeral directors are regulated by the state, so lawmakers are looking at potential license removals and penalties. But they also want to hold people accountable who handle cremations but are not funeral directors. It will also give law enforcement new options when it comes to charges against anyone who commits these crimes.
CBS News
11-05-2025
- CBS News
Baltimore pet crematorium holds vigil for pet owners who were scammed
A Baltimore pet crematorium brought together several pet owners who claim to have been scammed by a Baltimore County pet crematorium. Charm City Pet Crematorium held a candlelight vigil in honor of those impacted by Loving Care Pet Crematorium in Catonsville. Baltimore County investigators said they found the bodies of 38 cats and dogs packed inside a hearse on the Catonsville property. Detectives said they were notified of an improper disposal complaint at the beginning of April. Pet owners said they received sand or concrete instead of their pet's ashes. "This is terrible to put people through this level of trauma," said Lindsay Taylor, one of the impacted pet owners. "My cat's gone," Juanita Logan, another pet owner, said. "I don't know where the ashes are, don't know where he is." "We saw how many were affected, and there just wasn't another option," said Zoey Robinson-Budreski, the owner of Charm City Pet Crematory. A sense of healing Robinson-Budreski said she wanted this ceremony to bring a sense of healing. "Closure is needed, and they need to be properly memorialized," she said. "I couldn't do it for them in the beginning. So by doing this, it's the right thing to do." "This was a blessing," Logan said. "I can be around other people who went through the same thing as I did." Her support extends beyond consoling hurting pet owners. She's cremated the bodies of recovered pets that have been identified, and she's given those ashes to their owners. "The other ones found in the hearse, most of them, except for I think about 10 are still without family members," Robinson-Budreski said. "So, we donated all of the cremation costs." She said additional resources will be in place for pet owners still mourning. "We're going to continue having support groups for all of them and make sure that we are here to support them," Robinson-Budreski said. "I really think this is going to be a nice feeling that they don't feel alone for being conned. A lot of them just keep saying 'I should have known.'"
CBS News
08-05-2025
- CBS News
Pittsburgh-area pet owners begin learning whether they were victims of funeral home cremains case
Grieving pet parents tied up in the criminal case against Pittsburgh funeral director Patrick Vereb are starting to get answers. Vereb was charged last month with multiple felony counts after prosecutors said he threw out the bodies of thousands of pets and gave owners the ashes of other animals. The Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General began sending letters and emails to alleged victims, letting them know if records show their pets were involved. Meanwhile, some people said they're still trying to get a hold of Vereb to get back either their pets' bodies or remains. Answers leave pet owners with more questions Kristin Lakin has a tiny plastic bag that should contain what remains of her Yorkie Logano, but she's not sure. "Logano was dropped off on Tuesday morning and then the news broke on Thursday and that's when everything went silent," she said. Lakin's one of many alleged victims forced to try to communicate with Vereb, the accused owner of Eternity Pet Memorial, and still pay him. "Seeing people were not being charged on the last day to come pick up their pets after I was just charged $300 the day before and I don't know if I truly got my dog is gutwrenching," she said. Another pet parent, Rosemary Sabol, woke up to her confirmation email. "I got my confirmation email that my Ringo, my baby, was part of this, and to be honest, it's been a really hard day," she said. The attorney general's office told Sabol her dog Ringo did not get cremated, even though she paid for the service and got remains. "The attorney general, as part of proof, I would think, would want to be testing these ashes. Because ours looks like play sand," Sabol said. Text message shows Vereb placing blame on investigators On Tuesday, text messages from a cell phone belonging to Vereb and another pet parent show Vereb placing blame on investigators. "The AG office is instantly sending out the same form letter to everyone. They are inciting this riot to make it more sensational so someone can get more fame with a nationwide outcome," the text read. KDKA-TV reached out to Vereb's defense attorney, asking if that's his client's stance on the case. The employee who answered the phone said attorney Louis Emmi does not comment on active cases, but she would take note of the information. "I hope he has the right conscience and is trying to make things right with people. Do I think he's accepting full responsibility? Absolutely not," said Lakin.
Daily Mail
06-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Funeral home accused of giving thousands of pet owners 'fake ashes' as shocking truth of where actual remains went revealed
A funeral home has been accused of giving thousands of grieving pet owners the ashes of other animals. The owner of a Pittsburgh pet mortuary home Patrick Vereb, 70, promised clients that their beloved pets would receive proper cremations and burials - returning their ashes. Instead, he dumped the pets in a landfill and gave their owners the remains of unknown animals. The owner of Vereb Funeral Home and Eternity Pet Memorial reportedly defrauded approximately £490,000 from 6,500 customers. He also tricked those who opted to have their animals buried in a 'common' grave with other pets, throwing them in the bin instead of burying them. Mr Vereb has been charged with theft by deception, receiving stolen property and deceptive business practices, according to Pennsylvania 's Attorney General Dave Sunday. 'From 2021 and 2024, Mr Vereb neglected his duty of care by deliberately and repeatedly betraying his customers who wanted a dignified service for their beloved dog or cat,' Mr Sunday said. He added that Mr Vereb's clients had spent a 'significant amount of money' on the funeral director's services, warning that it affected victims between 2021 and 2024. Mr Vereb's employees began to suspect wrongdoing in late July, NBC News reported. According to a critical complaint one worker said the business appeared to be taking in 'far more numbers of animals than what he was cremating.' Authorities said he eventually admitted to fooling customers. 'Vereb admitted that if he didn't have the ashes for a pet, he gave the owners ashes from another animal to "make them feel good for the day, if nothing else," a court document said. 'Vereb admitted he lied to the pet owners and told them their pets were buried with other animals.' He is free until his next scheduled court appearance May 9.
