Pet owners demand justice, new laws to deal with funeral director accused of theft

Don’t mess with the pets.

That was the resounding message from protesters outside the Allegheny County Courthouse Wednesday, demanding justice for deceased pets they fear were mistreated by Patrick Vereb at funeral homes he operated in Pittsburgh and Harrison.

About 20 people were scattered along the sidewalk of the courthouse’s Grant Street entrance, holding signs depicting deceased pets that were supposed to have been cremated or buried, but instead were sent to landfills, according to police.

Vereb, 70, was charged in April with the theft of almost $660,000 from customers who paid for pet cremations, burials, returns of ashes and other services between 2021 and 2024, according to state Attorney General Dave Sunday’s office.

Carol Long, 73, of Brackenridge, held a sign depicting her chihuahua, Farrah, along with a message demanding justice for the little dog and over 6,500 other animals authorities claim were simply thrown away by Vereb.

“She would go boating with me. She went on vacations with us to the Outer Banks,” Long said. “She celebrated her 12th birthday there.”

Farrah battled seizures later in her life and died on Christmas day in 2022. Long said she ordered Vereb’s cremation services through her veterinarian. She was notified by the Attorney General’s Office that Farrah had never been cremated shortly after the news of Vereb’s charges surfaced.

“I appreciate the whistle blower,” Long said. “Who knows how long this would’ve went on without them.”

The news broke her heart, she said.

“It was like losing her all over again,” Long said.

Vereb, of Pittsburgh’s Hazel­wood neighborhood owns and operates funeral homes in Hazelwood and Harrison and Eternity Pet Memorial, which provides funerals, burials and cremations for pets. His formal arraignment, a minor legal procedure, was scheduled Wednesday afternoon. Vereb opted to forego a preliminary hearing last month.

Tammy Bain, 62, of Oakdale, was wearing a shirt depicting her dogs, Rocco and Lucca, and holding a sign with more photos to memorialize them. She joined protesters on the steps of the courthouse to advocate for a jail sentence for Vereb, a requirement he return money to victims and some type of permanent ban on his funeral license.

“Our animals can’t talk. We have to speak for them,” Bain said.

She also hopes to see a law change to help protect future pet owners seeking services when their pets die.

“(Pets) are not disposable,” she said. “Animals are not meant to be put in a trash bag and thrown in a landfill.”

Lucca was 15 when he died. In his later years, the dog lost his vision and hearing, became diabetic and developed eating difficulties.

In May of 2024, when Lucca began to suffer, Bain said she called a vet to her home to have him euthanized.

“I didn’t want his last day to be in a vet’s office because he’d been there so much,” Bain said.

She said the vet who came to her home recommended Vereb’s services. Bain was given what were supposed to be Lucca’s ashes 10 days later.

Within a month, her second dog Rocco died in his sleep. Bain called in Vereb’s services again. She and her family heard the news in April that neither dog likely got the post-death services they paid for.

“It just makes me sick,” Bain said. “Our dogs were our babies.”

Bain isn’t the only victim hoping for a legislative change.

Kirsten Magerl, 58, and her daughter Chelsea Magerl-Lunt, 30, both of Beaver County, were passing around a petition advocating for “Cooper’s Bill.” The petition calls for regulatory changes and requirements for transparency. The two women collected about 700 of the 3,000 signatures they’re hoping for Wednesday afternoon.

“There’s no laws on the books for this because pets are considered property,” Magerl said. “There’s nothing to punish (Vereb) properly for what he’s done.”

The petition is named in honor of Magerl’s dog, Cooper, who died in 2021. Her family received confirmation from the Attorney General’s office in May that Cooper’s body had not been cremated.

“Something has to change,” she said.

Magerl-Lunt said she and her mother used Vereb’s services for three other dogs, Dakota, Bailey and Piper, and have been unable to confirm if they have the correct ashes or not. Dakota was cremated in 2014. Magerl-Lunt said the Attorney General’s office was unable to look back that far to confirm if the dog was actually cremated.

“I’ll never know and that just breaks my heart,” she said.

Rhonda Sciore, 55, of Belle Vernon, waved a sign depicting her rescue pup Boomer.

“I rescued her from dog fighting,” Sciore said. “She had a hard start at life, so to think she had a hard ending when we, as a family, put our trust in somebody only to be totally betrayed — it’s a hard pill to swallow.”

Sciore said Boomer was with her family for 14 years before she was euthanized after losing the ability to walk in 2023.

“We’re all standing for justice for our pets, justice for our family members,” Sciore said. “Money can never bring back our animals. That is not what we want here. We want to fight for better laws to protect our animals and we want Vereb to pay in the highest possible way the justice system will allow for.”

The protesters plan to return to the courthouse once a date set for Vereb’s trial. While there is nothing that can erase the pain of knowing their animals were mistreated in death, they will continue to voice their desire for justice.

“None of us care about the money,” Magerl-Lunt said. “We just want to see him taken down for what he’s done.”