Sacramento Pet Cemetery
Complaint 131248 Details

June 21, 2012

On June 19, 2012, our beloved Labrador dog, Ashley, had to be euthanized due to invading cancer and pain. On June 20, 2012, arrangements were carried out for a "Witnessed Cremation" to be provided by "Sacramento Pet Cemetery" (SPC). I made arrangements for the cremation the day before Ashley was euthanized to prevent additional pain and suffering.

I contacted Tammy at SPC. Their website showed a lovely well groomed landscaped grounds and well kept buildings. I was assured this was an actual photo of their place of business. We agreed to a "Witnessed Cremation", so we would be assured that we received only Ashleys remains. The service was to take place at 10:30 the next morning. Tammy promised me she would be there at that time to ensure all went as promised.

Upon arrival, my husband and I did not see what was shown on the website. We saw a graveyard overgrown with weeds, the buildings dirty and run down. Furniture was covered with old ragged blankets which we were afraid to sit on. We were met, not by Tammy, but by a young man, named Ray, who appeared nervous and unsure of what to do in what order. He took us into the "viewing area", A room approximately 4 feet by 6 feet containing an old table where our beloved pet lay. Ashley looked horrible. This was not the Ashley that I had left at U.C. Davis Vet Hospital, after euthanizing, with a serene posture and closed eyes and mouth. No! Ashley lay with dried bloodstained gauze under her mouth, which was open in a grimace, or snarl pose and eyes partially closed. I will forever have that as the last memory of my beloved pet that I raised from 6 weeks to 14 years. This upset us so much we could not continue viewing her.

I mentioned to Ray that it was upsetting for us to view her like that and rather than clean her up and repose her, in a more dignified serene posture, he simply made the statement, "I tried to clean her up earlier", with no effort made to rectify the situation. We then went forward with the cremation as we could no longer look at our pet. We were escorted about 20 feet to a garage, with a garage door, that held one cremation oven. When Ray went to get Ashley from the "viewing room", he did not put her in any box or anything just brought her to the oven, removed the old blanket that was on her and put her on the cold dirty oven floor. Seeing Ashley laying that way was beyond what I could handle and I left in tears as the oven door closed. I was prepared for her to be put in an "oven" but I felt there should be some type of separation from her body and the oven floor, such as a paper liner or wrapping to keep her body from contact with the dirty floor, giving Ashley some dignity. As it was, the process showed a lack of caring about Ashley and us, her "parents".

Upon returning about two and a half hours later to pick up Ashley's remains, Tammy was then present with another family. I spoke to Tammy about the situation with Ray and our unhappiness with the way Ashley was handled due to the fact Ray had not been trained properly. Though we feel he did the best he could considering his youth and lack of training and having to face dealing with the entire situation alone.

Tammy did not explain why she hadn't been there as promised, though I asked about it, nor did she respond to the fact that Ray was not adequately trained to be given this responsibility. Her only comment was "I will talk to him about the gauze".
I would never again use this company!!! Everything, from website photos, assurances over the phone, detailed descriptions of procedures and the actual service was not as promised. We were left upset and angry during our time of grief.

Our Ashley was not treated with the dignity she deserved, nor were visualizations taken into consideration when presenting our beloved Pet for "viewing". She was left as though she had just been "hit by a car" and put on a slab at a morgue for us to see. I will never forget how awful our Ashley looked, thanks to the services of Sacramento Pet Cemetery.

Carolyn Merritt