Families forced to dig up dead pets after cemetery loses lease

[Turd Fergusen]

Thousands of Michigan families are being forced to dig up the remains of their beloved pets after an animal cemetery lost its lease.

Heavenly Acres Pet Cemetery in Brighton, Mich., was supposed to be a serene final resting place for family pets.
"It was out in the country, a beautiful place," said Staci Hayman who, along with her husband Matthew Wiseman, buried pets at the cemetery in Livingston County for decades.

However, the bucolic grounds operated by Linda Williams were not part of a protected land deed as clients had thought, but instead on a lease that has since expired — forcing families to either say goodbye to the remains of their pets forever, or go dig them up themselves.

Full Story:

Families forced to dig up dead pets after cemetery loses lease

Like the start to a Stephen King novel.

www.foxnews.com

 

[BBBLUE77]

I'm pretty sure that's not how Stephen King wrote it.

 

[Sejanus]

Gross.

 

[Inferus]

Leased a cemetery? Do they rent organs for transplant too?

 

[Turd Fergusen]

Leased a cemetery? Do they rent organs for transplant too?

Most of the urban cemetaries in europe are done via leases. That's what most of the catacombs in Paris are, people whose lease was up.

 

[Muriel Schwenck]

First World Problems.

 

[LFODBiker]

First World Problems.

What the hell ever happened to burying your deceased fur friend under a sapling???

As time passes you can always visit the tree that grows there and leave with fond memories.

 

[Brillig]

Sucks for the pet owners. Makes me think of the indie documentary Gates of Heaven by Errol Morris. A fascinating look at the pet cemetery phenomena. I need to track it down and watch it again.

 

[Keepalowprofile]

So did this cemetery sell the pet owners their pets plot? Were they paying rent? How does that work?

All my animals are buried on my land or cremated. There is no way I would pay to have my animal buried in a cemetery. What a waste of money.

 

[Brillig]

All my animals are buried on my land...

Same here. I like knowing they are close. A couple things, though:
**I believe someone told me once that burying my pet in my yard was against the law (I live in the suburbs, not a rural area),
**Not everyone owns property,
**Not everyone plans to stay on their property, some plan to upsize, or downsize, or retire somewhere else, which complicates the issue.

 

[Keepalowprofile]

Same here. I like knowing they are close. A couple things, though:
**I believe someone told me once that burying my pet in my yard was against the law (I live in the suburbs, not a rural area),
**Not everyone owns property,
**Not everyone plans to stay on their property, some plan to upsize, or downsize, or retire somewhere else, which complicates the issue.

You are right. I have two horses and a pony buried in Minnesota on my farm I no longer own. When I was moving, I meant to get a starter clipping of the weeping willow they are buried under but it slipped my mind.
And you are right, it is against the law burying them in city limits. And some areas outside city limits. But if I own the property, I'm burying my pet on my own property.

 

[Brillig]

But if I own the property, I'm burying my pet on my own property.

Same here.

 

[Satanica]

By the way, Brillig, Gates of Heaven is available on YouTube.

 

[Turd Fergusen]

My brother and his wife had 3 dogs pass away in the last year. They found a place that would take the dog, cremate it, make a brick out of the ashes that had the dogs paw print, and they could get the dogs name on it. I thought that was pretty cool.

 

[Muriel Schwenck]

I live on a farm and I cannot bury a dead animal by law. But who is going to know? The pony is buried in the field. The small animals go into the deep gully way out back. When the horses died, the dead livestock lady winched them into her truck and took them to the rendering place. They used to pick up for free and made their money at the other end, but now you have to pay about $150 to have a dead horse or cow picked up.