Officers investigating pet cremation company find hearse with dead animals at owner’s home
A hearse packed with animal remains is found by police in the driveway of a man who owns a pet cremation company.
By Kim Dacey
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BALTIMORE (WBAL) — Officers executing a search warrant in West Baltimore found a hearse packed with animal bodies.
It stems from the investigation of Loving Care Pet Funerals, a pet cremation company in Catonsville, accused of dumping pets alongside roads and returning false ashes to owners.
11 News Investigates has received multiple calls and emails from pet owners who used the service and are now concerned about their pet’s cremains.
The owner of the pet crematory previously said it was the fault of the crematory to which he outsourced the cremations. However, the new discovery is taking the investigation into a new direction.
“I want this monster, this man, whatever you want to call him, to pay,” said Beverly Rassen, who hired Loving Care Pet Funerals when her dog passed away on March 21. “I want justice for Rusty.”
Loving Care was supposed to cremate Rusty, but Rusty’s body was found along with seven other animals, dumped in West Baltimore, a week later.
“This has been a nightmare for me. I can’t sleep. At nighttime, when I close my eyes, I see my dog, laying on the side of the road,” said Rassen.
The Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s Office and Baltimore County police opened an investigation and conducted a search warrant at the owner’s West Baltimore home on Wednesday.
They found a hearse parked in the back when they searched the home.
“They found 38 bodies of dogs in various states of decay,” said Adam Lippe, the assistant state’s attorney. “No live animals, but some had been there for quite some time. It smelled.”
Inside the home, they found paperwork relating to those animals they are hoping to use to identify their families.
They also found a bag of concrete. Police are investigating whether that was given to the families in place of cremains.
A forensic anthropologist at Loyola University will determine that.
“There’s some machinery they have, and they have some experts. So, all these things mean to me that we can get a scientific answer as to whether or not they’re remains or concrete in people’s boxes,” Lippe said.
No charges have been filed in the case so far. They are asking anyone who used this company to come forward so they can test the cremains.
“The more people that come forward and provide remains to the police department and animal control will give us confidence in what we’re looking at and how we can help,” Lippe said.
If you used Loving Care pet funerals, investigators ask you to call Baltimore City Animal Control at (410) 396-4695.
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