The phones at K Vet Animal Care in Hempfield rang almost constantly Tuesday as concerned pet owners wondered whether they actually have the ashed of their former companions.
“Our phones and emails have been pinging off the charts since the news broke,” practice manager Beth Zaccari said. “Our team is fielding upset, sad, angry, confused, hurtful phone calls and emails.”
Emotions ran the gamut a day after news broke that Patrick Vereb, 70, of Hazelwood, was charged Monday by the state Attorney General’s Office with theft of almost $660,000 from customers who paid for pet cremations, burials, returns of ashes and other services between 2021 and 2024.
Vereb owns funeral homes in Hazelwood and Harrison, and Eternity Pet Memorial.
Vereb is accused of taking money for cremations but disposing of the animals in landfills and giving customers ashes that weren’t from their pets, according to authorities.
The state Attorney General’s Office could not confirm whether additional charges will be filed. The office has identified more than 6,500 victims.
No one answered the door early Tuesday at the Vereb Funeral Home along Freeport Road in Harrison, nor did anyone answer at Vereb’s Pittsburgh location Monday.
The alleged scandal has sparked reactions from shock to grief and anger from pet owners, with industry experts quick to point out the accusations are an isolated incident and not indicative of a broader problem with pet funeral practices.
“Just because (Vereb) didn’t do things properly, not every crematory is like that,” said Barb Pribila, supervisor at Green Pet Funeral Home and Crematory in Bellevue.
Barry Lease, president and CEO of the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science, said he would be shocked to learn that cases such as Vereb’s happen commonly.
What to know
Standard practice at the Green crematory — and something pet owners should insist upon, Pribila said — is a two-factor authentication, or a double tracking system, that includes the pet’s name, metal identification disk, fur clipping and paw print.
“We have a QR code on the computer that, as soon as your pet comes into our care, it is assigned a tracking disk number,” Pribila said. “We also track them with old-fashioned pen and paper.”
The metal tag accompanies every step of the cremation process, and families get the disk when they collect the remains.
“We are all pet owners, and we know how important this is,” Pribila said. “These are people’s family members.”
The International Association of Pet Cemeteries and Crematories provides guidelines on what to look for in after-life care. The Georgia-based nonprofit was founded in 1971 and has 450 members who own pet cemeteries and crematories worldwide.
“It’s a sad reality of our business,” said Donna Shugart-Bethune, the association’s executive director.
Although she has heard of similar cases, she doesn’t call them common. Pet crematories should have an open-door policy, Shugart-Bethune said.
“Pet parents should have a chance to view their animal before cremation and the owner should give full disclosure of the pet ID and tracking process.
“Every pet crematory should be able to tell you exactly how the process goes.”
K Vet Animal Care used Vereb’s services for years until February, when it learned he was being investigated for theft, Zaccari said.
Zaccari said Vereb on several occasions was disrespectful to staff and clients. The veterinary practice had been searching for a new cremation service for the past few months.
“We had an inkling that we just weren’t liking him personality-wise,” Zaccari said, “but this was an absolute shock to our system and just threw us for a loop.
“Our hearts go out to our clients, who are now forced to grieve all over again.”
At Heart Paw veterinarian office in Hempfield, Dr. Andrea Honigmann said her predecessor had used Pet Haven cemetery and crematory in Greensburg.
“I found out this morning that Pet Haven subcontracted a small amount of their work to Eternity, but we stopped using Pet Haven before the window of time when these incidents took place,” Honigmann said Tuesday.
Both Heart Paw and K Vet Animal Care partner with Trusted Journey Pet Memorial Services in Murrysville.
“We checked with them this morning to make sure they don’t subcontract any of their work,” Honigmann said.
Human cremation safeguards
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Barry Lease, president and CEO of the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science, said he would be shocked to learn that cases such as Vereb’s happen commonly.
His facility teaches funeral service education but does not provide programs for pets. Nevertheless, he said, standards call for crematories to safeguard against impropriety.
“I’m not aware of any that don’t have an ID placed on the decedent, and I’m presuming that goes for pets, too,” Lease said. “This tag that will survive the process of cremation and will indicate to a family that its the right person. It is industry practice.
“Obviously, something might have been different in (the Vereb) situation, and these tracking systems appear to not have been happening.”
For human cremation, Lease said, the tracking and chain of custody is 100% reliable. It should provide a level of certainty for families, he said.
“I can speak to the care and reverence that I know 99.9% of funeral directors give,” he said.
Oversight by Department of State
Matt Heckel, spokesman at the Pennsylvania Department of State, could not say whether additional complaints have been filed against Vereb.
In Pennsylvania, pet cremation is regulated by the Department of Agriculture. A license must be obtained.
Businesses have to register with the state and comply with health and safety standards, along with environmental regulations about emissions and waste disposal, according to the Department of State.
Department officials review potential license violations when they become aware, Heckel said, whether it’s through a complaint, notification from law enforcement or through media reports.
The department refers suspected criminal activity to appropriate law enforcement agencies, he said.
Harrison police Chief Brian Turack said his department has not received complaints against Vereb in the year since Vereb’s funeral home, which offers pet funeral services, opened there.
Charges against Vereb include felony counts of theft by deception, receiving stolen property and deceptive business practices. He was released following arraignment and is awaiting a preliminary hearing May 9 in District Judge James J. Hanley Jr.’s Greenfield courtroom.
Staff writers Quincey Reese and Patrick Varine contributed.