1 day Ago By Jon Andreassi
Cheri Sloane did not initially consider that her dog would be part of a sweeping criminal case against a Pittsburgh pet cremation business that has been accused of lying about performing its advertised service. Then she received an email from Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday. “I didn’t think it was us.
I had an email from the attorney general, and our veterinary clinic was involved. So that’s how they received my name,” Sloane said Tuesday. Sloane, of North Strabane Township, believed her Labrador retriever, Cash, had been cremated in May 2022.
Loyalhanna Veterinary Clinic, the Stahlstown-based veterinarian her family uses, was one of nearly two dozen practices that sent the remains of animals to Eternity Pet Memorials to be cremated. Sunday’s office filed felony charges of theft and fraudulent business practices Monday against owner Patrick Roy Vereb. Eternity Pet Memorials is a part of Vereb Funeral Home, which has locations in Hazelwood and Natrona Heights.
According to a press release issued by the attorney general’s office, between 2021 and 2024, Vereb, 70, of Pittsburgh, took more than $650,000 from customers for burial and cremation services but instead disposed of animals in a landfill. Customers then received ashes from different animals, the release alleges. “I was heartbroken,” Sloane said.
“I felt like I was experiencing the loss all over again.” Sloane initially had been impressed with how Eternity Pet Memorials handled Cash’s remains. She received the ashes in a memorial box with his picture and a paw print impression.
On the anniversary of his death and at Christmas, she received text messages from the business wishing her well. “They were compassionate. Behind the scenes, I guess absolutely not,” she said.
According to online court records, Vereb is being represented by Pittsburgh attorney Louis Emmi. Emmi did not return a phone call seeking comment by Tuesday’s deadline. So far, the attorney general’s office has identified more than 6,500 people who may have been impacted in Washington, Westmoreland, Allegheny and Armstrong counties.
Mandy Luba is a manager at Affordable Care Veterinary Clinic in Finleyville. She said Tuesday the practice stopped working with Eternity Pet Memorials after the attorney general’s office informed them of the investigation. “It’s a shock to us.
It’s tragic. We have a lot of employees that are dealing with the same issue with their personal pets,” Luba said. Luba said they likely sent hundreds of pets to be cremated at Eternity Pet Memorials.
At https://www.attorneygeneral.gov/epm/, those who made use of Eternity Pet Memorials in the specified time frame can submit information about their pet to determine if their pets’ remains may be involved.
The website states that affected pet owners were both direct customers and those who went through the provided list of veterinary practices. Brett Hambright, director of communications for the attorney general’s office, said in an email Tuesday afternoon that more than 3,800 forms had been submitted. “This website can also alleviate unnecessary concern and heartache for consumers who were not victims,” Hambright said in the email.
Those who have filled out the form on the website are currently left wondering if the ashes in their homes belong to their pets. Kristina Walton, of Monongahela, had her beagle, Rocky, cremated by Eternity Pet Memorials in May 2023. Rocky was 16 years old when he was euthanized at Monongahela Animal Hospital, one of the clinics that used the business.
Walton described Rocky as the first pet she and her husband bought together. The beagle grew up alongside her two children. “It’s just heartbreaking.
He was just a part of our family. For so long we thought we had our dog, and now we don’t know what we had,” Walton said. Rhondasue Newnham had to have her schnauzer, Tommy, euthanized in August 2023.
Tommy was 12 years old and suffering from stomach cancer. She and her husband, residents of Morris Township in Greene County, had adopted Tommy about 10 years earlier from the Humane Society of Greene County. They never had children, but Tommy ended up being like a child to them.
When Newnham heard about the allegations against Eternity Pet Memorials, she checked the box containing the ashes. “I have him in my china closet. I turned it over and it had a sticker on the back of it that had their name and their information,” Newnham said.
“I was just devastated ...
Tommy was like our little clown child. We dressed him in clothes for the holidays. He’d wear little hats.
He was just the best dog. Oh, my God, it was devastating.” Susie Kernen also filled out the online form.
Her Siamese cat, Lokie, died in April 2024, and was also cremated through the Pittsburgh business. Kernen, of North Franklin Township, said Lokie had cancer and was only 9 years old. “We’re sick.
And angry,” Kernen said. “There are no words to describe how you feel about that. Our pets are members of our family, and they took a member of our family and threw them in the trash.
” While potential victims work to determine if their pet may have been affected, Eternal Life Cremation Services in Mt. Pleasant, Westmoreland County, has had to address confusion over their name, which is similar to Eternity Pet Memorials. Co-owner Michelle Frye clarified there is no affiliation between the businesses, as some concerned customers have been reaching out to them.
“We are not them. We are not affiliated with them in any way and never have been ..
. It just happens to be that our names sound similar. My heart goes out to these people for what they’re going through, because they gave their family member to somebody they trusted and that trust has been violated,” Frye said.
Vereb was arraigned Monday afternoon before Allegheny County District Judge James Hanley Jr. He was released on his own recognizance, and is due to appear for a preliminary hearing at 9 a.m.
May 9..
