(The Center Square) – When faced with the loss of a pet, owners routinely opt for cremation services in order to preserve their connection to their animal after death.
In Pennsylvania, those services are largely unregulated.
Rep. Brandon Markosek, D-Monroeville, has introduced legislation that would change that and bring pet cremation up to par with other funerary industries.
“Anyone with a pet knows that they are a part of our family, and they deserve to be treated with dignity especially in death,” wrote Markosek in support of the bill. “We at the state level must step up and pass legislation to ensure that improper disposals of pets never happen again without the funeral home facing serious consequences.”
The legislation comes on the heels of a scandal in which Attorney General Dave Sunday charged Pittsburgh area funeral home director Patrick Vereb with stealing more than $650,000 from bereaved pet owners over a four-year span. Rather than burying or cremating the bodies in his care, Vereb disposed of them in a landfill, returning other animals’ ashes to their owners.
“This case is disturbing and will cause devastation and heartache for many Pennsylvanians,” Sunday said. “Our pets are members of our families, and this defendant betrayed and agonized pet owners who entrusted him to provide dignified services for their beloved cats and dogs.”
House Bill 1750 would establish a specific offense relating to misrepresentation in the disposal of animal remains, including penalties that could impact funeral directors’ licensure.
Markosek said that the legislation would “restore public confidence” in the funerary industry, which has been wracked by scandals well beyond pets in recent years.
High-profile cases, like that of Return to Nature in Colorado, involving deception and the improper disposal of human remains, have captured national attention.
