PADUCAH — New details have emerged in a case involving the owner of what law enforcement said was a fraudulent pet cremation service.
Jacob Jetton was arrested and charged back in May after investigators said eight decomposing dogs were found in his truck.
The arrest came amid accusations that he was charging people for pet cremations he didn’t actually carry out, through his business, “Paws to Remember.”
On Monday, reporters learned that all of the pets in question were identified and their owners have been alerted.
Jetton was charged with not having a business license, theft by deception, and disorderly conduct in connection to the incident.
To help give pet owners closure, Lindsey Funeral Home in Paducah properly cremated the remains and returned them to their owners.
“They are pets, but to most of these people, they are their babies, and it was heartbreaking,” said Deputy Lindsey Miller with the McCracken County Sheriff’s Department.
Deputy Miller is the department’s animal cruelty specialist, and she’s in charge of getting these owners justice.
“I think one of the people ultimately I ended up knowing, I didn’t realize it at the time. And every time I see her, she asks where her cat is. And it breaks my heart because I have no idea,” she said.
She said all of the recovered pets were returned, but there are still more victims. “14 pet owners. A couple of those pet owners were also victims of other kinds of fraud from him, and then I had more people step forward later on that he would defraud also,” she said.
The department is still working to find everyone investigators say Jetton scammed. “Those people I’ve reached out to, they’ve brought samples to me of what Jetton had given them, and that’s kind of part of what’s going on with that case, but we’ve had a couple more people reach out,” she said.
Law enforcement previously said some owners may have received concrete, sand, or even charcoal instead of their pet’s remains.
Jetton is currently in McCracken County jail, awaiting trial. He faces a number of different charges and will appear in court for arraignments and pretrial conferences at the end of the month.
If you used the business “Paws to Remember” between January and May of this year, you’re asked to contact law enforcement.
