Victims of funeral home cremains case hold memorial for lost pets

By Ricky Sayer

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    PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Pet owners who say they are victims of funeral director Patrick Vereb gathered together at a memorial in Latrobe to share their collective pain and find healing in one another.

Everyone came with their own story of a pet they lost, who’d they thought they had the ashes of. Instead, they said their pets were among the thousands who prosecutors say were simply thrown out in a landfill.

“I was like, ‘Oh, my God, oh my God, he took my baby, and threw him away.’ It’s not right, how could somebody do that, how could somebody do that,” said one woman who spoke during the event.

Patty and Jason Patrick were grieving what happened to their dog, who came from an abusive family.

“[Vereb] threw him in a landfill, kind of like his life began, forgotten and abandoned, and it just tears my heart out,” Jason Patrick said.

Patty described her dog as their “cuddle buddy” as she fought cancer.

Patti Levay organized the event. She said she sent multiple deceased pets to Vereb’s Eternity Pet Memorial. He’s charged with eight counts of deceptive or fraudulent business practices plus other felonies.

“I live with the nightmares of my animals in landfills, being bulldozed over and over again, and hearing them scream in pain,” Levay said.

Father Justin Matro blessed many of the pets in attendance.

“The fact is, no matter what has happened with their own bodies, the love you have for those pets is a sign of their ongoing life with you,” Matro said.

Rather than close by releasing balloons, Levay said they blew bubbles, sending a message of love to their pets in heaven.

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