Victims of the pet cremation scam from Eternity Pet Memorial gathered for a memorial service in Latrobe Sunday. They said after finding out the ashes they received weren't their pets, they had to grieve them all over again. It was organized by Patti Levay, who runs a dog rescue and has sent more than 20 pets to Eternity over the years. “I felt like you reached into my chest and took my heart out and just spit on it. Trampled on it, ran it over with the car. You know, it was horrible. I didn’t sleep for three nights. I had nightmares about my dogs trying to crawl out of a landfill and then being bulldozed over with a bulldozer, and I could hear them screaming,” she said. One participant shared fond memories of their first dog.”This was our Emmy May. She was the first dog that he had ever owned and the first dog we had together,” the participant said. Meanwhile, another let out their anger.“I have sympathy for everyone here. But Patrick? I hope he burns in hell,” the participant said, referring to Patrick Vereb of Vereb Funeral Homes and Eternity Pet Memorial. Attendees blew bubbles up to heaven, toward their pets to release emotions. A representative from a trusted funeral home spoke at the gathering, answering questions and educating attendees on appropriate pet cremation practices.Tiffany Mantzouridis, a former Eternity employee who first alerted the authorities about the issue, also attended. “I am so sorry to anyone who was affected by this,” she said, “Because I literally can’t imagine seeing that news, especially hearing it from the news, like seeing it for the first time on the news and finding out that you might not have your pet back in your urn. Because pets are family to people.”
Victims of the pet cremation scam from Eternity Pet Memorial gathered for a memorial service in Latrobe Sunday.
They said after finding out the ashes they received weren't their pets, they had to grieve them all over again.
It was organized by Patti Levay, who runs a dog rescue and has sent more than 20 pets to Eternity over the years.
“I felt like you reached into my chest and took my heart out and just spit on it. Trampled on it, ran it over with the car. You know, it was horrible. I didn’t sleep for three nights. I had nightmares about my dogs trying to crawl out of a landfill and then being bulldozed over with a bulldozer, and I could hear them screaming,” she said.
One participant shared fond memories of their first dog.
“This was our Emmy May. She was the first dog that he had ever owned and the first dog we had together,” the participant said.
Meanwhile, another let out their anger.
“I have sympathy for everyone here. But Patrick? I hope he burns in hell,” the participant said, referring to Patrick Vereb of Vereb Funeral Homes and Eternity Pet Memorial.
Attendees blew bubbles up to heaven, toward their pets to release emotions.
A representative from a trusted funeral home spoke at the gathering, answering questions and educating attendees on appropriate pet cremation practices.
Tiffany Mantzouridis, a former Eternity employee who first alerted the authorities about the issue, also attended.
“I am so sorry to anyone who was affected by this,” she said, “Because I literally can’t imagine seeing that news, especially hearing it from the news, like seeing it for the first time on the news and finding out that you might not have your pet back in your urn. Because pets are family to people.”