Can you help us?
On 2/1/93, we buried our first dog at Evergreen Pet Cemetery.By summer of that year, we were offered the option to purchase more plots in the same area. We put a down-payment on 2 more plots, and continued to pay on those until receiving a letter on 11/8/94 stating that they were paid in full. Unfortunately on 3/12/04, we had to use one of those gravesites for our second dog. Since then, we moved to Indiana and the remaining gravesite was being saved for our last dog, who was 10 years old at that point.
On 11/23/08, our beloved pet, Pepper, was put down. Since it was a Friday evening and the cemetery was not open on weekends, she was kept at the Hobart animal hospital until we could bring her to Evergreen. We made arrangements with the present owner to bring her in on Monday morning. When I brought her body in on Monday, I also brought all my paperwork for her gravesite, including my records of payment. I was told by the present owner, John Grady, that the previous owner left the company and took all the records with him. They had no record of the plot I had paid for, and may have used it in the meantime for another animal, but assured me that they would find an available spot close to our other 2 dogs.
Also, since the ground was now too hard to dig, they would call me as soon as conditions were favorable to bury her. John also stated There is no way we will wait until Spring like the other owner did. Months passed, several calls were made to find out when Pepper would be buried. Each time (when I actually got a call back) I was told the ground was still not favorable for burial. I was told by John that they already had 4 animals they were holding.
When the weather started to warm up, I was then told that the ground was too WET for burial. We offered to dig the graves ourselves. At one point, I asked if she could at least be put in a coffin with her personal items and stored in their shed until burial. They said the wild animals in the area would get to her if we did that. I was beginning to worry at this point that something had been done with her body, that they no longer had her, but John assured me Don't worry, we've still got her. She's fine. We will call you as soon as we can bury her. That appeased me for another month, but the weather has been unbelievably beautiful and it is now nearing the end of May, 6 MONTHS AFTER HER DEATH! There is no longer any reason this poor animal cannot be buried.
He is not returning my calls. I have left several messages and have e-mailed him, with no success. I have lost many nights of sleep over this, and I am at my wits end. I cannot get closure on this until something is done. She was a family member and a loyal companion. We loved her very much and this whole thing has caused an immeasurable amount of stress. Please help us.
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