Illinois: Joe Abts send grieving owners ashes of their pets when really he threw their pets' bodies into freezers to rot

ILLINOIS -- A pet cemetery in Illinois is being accused of deceiving their clients and giving them random ashes after the remains of dozens of animals were discovered decomposing in a freezer.

Investigators began looking into Katy's Pet Cemetery and Crematory in Tazewell County earlier this month after allegations emerged that they were giving away the ashes of animals that did not belong to their owners.

Animal rescue volunteer Richie Rich said he made the discovery while he was searching for a lost dog in South Pekin.

'We were out there searching for a dog named Cosmo, a great dane,' Rich told local CBS broadcaster WMBD on Thursday.

'When we were making our rounds, close to a pumpkin field where she was last seen, and Kayla noticed some standing water of the cemetery.'

Rich, who works with the Trap and Animal Rescue of Peoria (TRAP) organization, said he began searching the cemetery because it would have likely provided the right conditions for a domesticated animal, including water and shelter.

'We pulled in to check for paw prints, didn't see anything, we're immediately met with the smell of what we thought at the time was roadkill... There was a chest freezer outside, along the side of the building that, the closer we got to it, the stronger the smell.'

Tazewell County Chief Deputy Jeffrey Lower later told WMBD: 'There were three animals inside it that had been there for some time. One of those animals had a microchip in the animal. We were able to identify that animal and the owner had received ashes.'

The animal was a cat that was supposedly cremated in 2013 at Katy's Pet Cemetery and Crematory.

Lower said that another 15 were discovered, and '10 more in another freezer and we have 12 of them.'

'We only took possession of those that had the microchip in them and the rest of them there's just no way for us to identify,' Lower added.

Lower said that they even found an animal from as far back as 2001.

Lower said that the owner had not done anything illegal 'as far as the disposal process' was concerned.

'The only part that was illegal was representing ashes of an animal that was not truly that animal,' the law enforcement officer noted.

What about theft? Fraud? Improper disposal of a dead animal? If he said he was sending the animal out of state for cremation, now you've got interstate crimes which involves the federal authorities.

Joe Abts, owner of the pet cemetery, committed suicide on Wednesday soon after authorities opened an investigation into the claims, hindering police from pressing charges.

Pet owners affected by the alleged scheme still have the option to file a civil complaint against Katy's Pet Cemetery and Crematory.

In remains unclear why the cemetery kept the animals in the freezer.

According to their website, the pet cemetery was opened in 1984, offering pet cremation and burial, as well as online obituaries for deceased pets.

An email seeking comment from Katy's Pet Cemetery and Crematory was not immediately answered.

An answering machine for Katy's Pet Cemetery and Crematory said that the establishment was closed on Sunday's after a phone call was placed.

(Daily Mail - July 30, 2017)

Illinois: Pet cremations keep beloved pets close

ILLINOIS -- Once a mustang running wild and untamed, Bogus the horse was adopted and became the beloved pet of Bonnie Christianson.

They had 19 happy years together until Bogus galloped to the end of life's trail in 2009 when he died July 7. But he didn't leave his owner's side for long. The ashes of Bogus now reside in a 23-by-16-by-11-inch Amish custom-crafted oak box. It bears a brass plaque with his name and dates and carved cowgirl touches such as a lasso, riding boots, hat and saddle.

“He was born free and is free again,” says an inscription. Christianson means every word and likes the idea that not only all dogs, but all pet creatures great and small go to heaven, where those who loved them will see them again.

“I'm hopeful about that,” she says. “I really am.”

In the meantime, Christianson says giving their pet horse, pony, dog, cat, bird, lizard or whatever a decent send-off provides devoted pet owners such as herself a sense of closure and a way to memorialize their furry, feathered or scaly friend. That's the guiding principle behind Christianson's Companion Cremations, a business started nine years ago with her husband, Richard, and based out of their five-acre homestead in Waynesville.

Operating in a 50-mile sweep that includes Decatur and many surrounding towns, (and statewide for horses), they will come and pick up you dead pet and cremate them for you. If you only want to live with the memory and never see the cremains, the service stops there; straight cremation prices range $20 to $35 for smaller pets and up to $400 for a horse.

But many owners do want the constituent dust of their favorite of God's creations to return to them, and the Christianson's are happy to oblige.

They will hand-deliver the mortal residue in wooden cremains boxes available in various sizes and with all kinds of personalization. Inclusive prices range from $75 to $500, depending on the size of the animal. The cost includes nice little detail touches like a gold-embossed “Certificate of Cremation” listing the pet's name, owner's name, and when he or she “was taken on a final journey.” On the back will be a poem, targeted at the animal involved.

One recently cremated pony named Mr. Banana Pants, for example, has a certificate quoting these words by author Stanley Harrison:

“... somewhere in time's own space, there must be some sweet pastured place, where creeks sing and tall trees grow, some paradise where horses go. For by the love that guides my pen, I know great horses live again.”

“We want to provide the kind of service we'd accept for our own pets,” says Richard Christianson, 65. “And we want to do it at a price that's affordable; we don't want people to feel like they were raked over the coals.”

How does someone get into the pet cremation business? Bonnie Christianson had been working on the production line at the Mitsubishi Motors plant in Normal when a layoff ended her personal production run in 2004. She begun casting around for a good entrepreneurial career opportunity, and her husband spotted an article about the pet cremation business in a magazine.

“The idea didn't do anything for me at first,” she says. “And others said it would never fly.”

But the deeper the Christiansons sifted the facts, the more they realized the venture wasn't just so much hot air: Pet cremation turned out to be a solid business opportunity tapping a need for owners to deal with their grief and dispose of their best friend. The couple had to make a hefty investment in cash and time to get the equipment and the various complex licensing and planning approvals needed, but they had their first crematorium – big enough to take a horse – up and running by the end of 2006.

Richard Christianson, a Mitsubishi production worker himself for 24 years who managed to retire in 2013 before the plant went belly up, runs the cremation service full time. His wife, who also has a day job in the office of a veterinarian, works the family business every spare hour she gets. They both do critter pickups and returns with Richard Christianson, these days assisted by a hired employee, operating the diesel-powered cremation machines that hit temperatures of 1,400 degrees.

And that is now “machines” in the plural, having worn out and replaced the original big cremator and added two smaller ones to cope with increasingly heated demand.

“Our business has far surpassed what everybody, including me, thought it would ever do,” Richard Christianson says. “And serving people like this, it really gives us so much satisfaction. I think this was God's calling for us.”

That calling extends to extensive customization, right down to redistributing beloved ex-pets however their owners want. Christianson recalls one very particular owner whose cat had to be returned with its cremains divided among seven small urns.

“They put one in each room of their house,” he says. “They just liked the idea of the cat always being in the same room they were in.”

(Herald & Review - Jan 18, 2016)

Morgan Co. pet crematory owner facing formal charges

TENNESSEE -- The owner of a pet crematory, where investigators found dozens of dead dogs and cats in mass graves, is facing formal charges.

According to court documents, a grand jury indicted Cameo Farr on three counts of violating the state's hazardous waste management act. Under that act, people can't dump solid waste in a landfill that doesn't have the proper permits.

Farr is also facing a misdemeanor for violating Tennessee's air pollution control act. Investigators said Carr knowingly lied about how she was burning materials and her certifications, which are required to get a permit.

She has already posted bond and is out of jail, according to the Morgan County jail.

Farr owned Elliot Pet Services in Morgan County. In December, investigators uncovered the remains of animals on her property that were supposed to be cremated. The next month, Farr surrendered her permit to perform pet cremations.

A dog stands watch near the crematory used by Elliott Pet Services to
cremate pets received by owner Cameo Farr from area vets. The crematory is
in Farr's front yard. (BOB FOWLER/NEWS SENTINEL)

Alyson Kennedy, assistant district attorney with the 9th Judicial District, talks
on the phone while crossing a property on Grouse Ridge Road in Harriman
where bulldozers are doing work excavating mass pet graves on
Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2013. (ADAM LAU/NEWS SENTINEL)

Friday, 10News sat down with a West Knox County woman who said she trusted Farr, and wanted to give her a second chance, despite the allegations.

"She cremated and made paw prints for two of my dogs in past years. And in fact, she delivered them to me personally," said Donna Farnham. "So when Sandy died, I felt like what she was telling me was true.

Farnham said Farr had told her it was a neighborly dispute, and claimed the allegations were false. Farr's attorney had told 10News a similar story back in December.

Farnham said her fireplace is missing the ashes and paw
print of Sandy, which she paid Farr for.(Photo: WBIR)

"I'm the kind of person that will give someone the benefit of the doubt. So I believed her," said Farnham. "She said she would take very good care of Sandy, and have her back by Christmas. I gave her the money and as she was leaving I gave her a hug and I said 'Please, take care of my baby.'"

Farnham said Christmas came, and she never heard back from Farr, despite dozens of phone calls.
"I left message after message after message. She made it seem like she really cared, and she didn't," said Farnham. "I paid for the ashes, which is $150, and two paw prints, but I never got them."

Sandy, a golden retriever over 16 years old, passed away in December after a stroke paralyzed her from the neck down.

Farnham said her fireplace is missing the ashes and paw print of
 Sandy, which she paid Farr for.(Photo: WBIR)

"She was a member of our family. There's no closure," said Farnham. "To the other people, it breaks my heart because I know how hard it is for me to not have her ashes. And it makes me think she and other dogs were just thrown in piles."

10News reached out to Farr's attorney several times Friday, but our phone calls were not returned.

An initial complaint in September from a neighbor, who said they smelled a strong odor from the property, prompted an investigation. TDEC said Farr rescheduled six times before an investigator inspected the property.

(WBIR - May 30, 2014)