ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, April 14, 1996 TAG: 9604150112
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
THE BILL WOULD PREVENT pet cemeteries from destroying or moving animals' remains without first attempting to notify the owners.
When Morris Carson buried his two champion pomeranians at the Evergreen Pet Cemetery, he thought they'd rest in peace forever. Now, he says, they'd all have rested easier if he had got it in writing.
Carson had his dogs exhumed from the cemetery, north of Richmond, last year after learning from a television news report that the caretaker had deeded the property to someone else. He feared the new owner might sell or develop the property.
The panic that led Carson and others to dig up their animals shows why animal cemeteries throughout the country need to be better regulated, some owners of the deceased pets said. There are nearly 700 pet cemeteries in the United States, according to an industry trade group.
``We have regulations governing human cemeteries,'' said Del. Jim Shuler, a Blacksburg veterinarian who carried legislation on the subject through the Virginia General Assembly this year. ``But there's absolutely nothing in the state of Virginia regulating pet cemeteries.''
If the legislature agrees to minor changes that Gov. George Allen suggested, Virginia would join a handful of other states with special pet cemetery statutes, said Darlene Swinson, who has two cats and a dog buried in the Evergreen cemetery. Swinson helped spearhead the legislation.
The bill would prevent pet cemeteries from destroying or moving animals' remains without first attempting to notify the owners. It also would prohibit pet cemeteries from claiming they provide ``perpetual care'' unless an irrevocable trust fund is established.
Swinson said burying Fido or Fluffy without adequate research can lead to disaster.
Many people choose pet cemeteries because they want a central place where family and friends can visit the animal's grave or because local ordinances forbid burial in their own yards. Pet owners should consider an animal's burial as they would that of a human family member - plan, ask lots of questions and shop around, Swinson said.
Carson, a community college Spanish professor, said assurances of perpetual care of graves from the Evergreen cemetery's original owner were meaningless. He wishes he had demanded a written agreement when he forked over about $500 for plots for his dogs, Chips and J.V., who now repose in another cemetery.
``We got receipts,'' said Swinson, a gerontologist. ``But that wasn't enough.''
Pet cemeteries received national attention four years ago when the owners of a Long Island, N.Y., cemetery were convicted of mail fraud after dumping tens of thousands of pets into mass graves and burning animals en masse. Customers had paid hundreds, even thousands, of dollars for private, dignified burials.
New York lawmakers subsequently passed a pet cemetery law that includes provisions on burial obligations. California and Ohio also have some type of pet cemetery statutes.
Peter Drown, executive director of the International Association of Pet Cemeteries in Ellenburg Depot, N.Y., acknowledged that the industry has isolated problems, but said that, in general, pet cemeteries police themselves well. He said his organization isn't against regulation as long as pet cemetery owners are included when the laws are drafted.
As for the Evergreen Pet Cemetery, Swinson and others are trying to get permission to obtain nonprofit status for the property. Then, pet owners can begin to raise money for a trust fund for perpetual care that will safeguard the graves, she said.
Richmond lawyer Alexander Simon, who represents the cemetery's new owner, said the woman would be happy to turn over the pet cemetery to a nonprofit group.
Swinson said she doesn't want other pet owners to go through what the Evergreen pet owners have experienced.
``It's a real emotional issue,'' she said. ``The other part is this is a business transaction. There should be recourse for it just like anything else.''
LENGTH: Medium: 82 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP Helen Carr of Stafford visits Evergreen Pet Cemeteryby CNBon U.S. 1 near Ashland, where she has buried five dogs. color KEYWORDS: GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1996