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Thursday, May 26, 2011 | 1:55 a.m.
Beyond the Sun
Sun coverage
Craig Road Pet Cemetery is a virtual walk of fame for the beloved pets of celebrated Las Vegans. The pets of Liberace, Snoop Dogg, Robert Goulet, Redd Foxx and even an elephant from Circus Circus — not cremated but buried whole — rest in peace here.
The remains of 6,766 animals have been brought to the cemetery over the past 40 years.
But its owners fear a bill sailing through the Legislature threatens not only the homespun business, but will sap dignity from both animals and people by opening the door for pets to be cremated at human crematories.
The reason: Current law states that only certified pet cemeteries can cremate animals. The new law would no longer restrict animal cremations to pet cemeteries, if local governments want it that way.
“The two things we fear most is that businesses will start popping up in town to make a quick buck, or people will do these in their own backyards,” said Kym Fiegl, an owner of Craig Road Pet Cemetery.
Even if the new law contains a provision to prevent that practice, Fiegl notes there’s no oversight or enforcement, which is why pet cremations already occur in uncertified businesses.
He also suggests that disreputable people would pretend to get into the pet cremation business but instead will just dump the bodies in the desert.
“This is money legislation,” said Clark County Commissioner Tom Collins, who has served in the Assembly. The Craig Road cemetery is in his commission district. “It’s all about the poor economy. Lobbyists get paid a bunch to push it, then every funeral home can burn animals. It’s money. That’s the name of this game.”
Lobbyist Warren Hardy, who represents LaPaloma Funeral Services, disagrees.
He says the proposed law merely makes legal the 14 businesses that he claims are cremating pets illegally because there is little enforcement of the law.
He contends Craig Road Pet Cemetery is illegal because it operates on 4.82 acres, even though state law demands 5 acres for pet cemetery/crematories.
(The new law would reduce lot size requirements to 2.5 acres per business.)
Hardy said the bill was amended to eliminate the possibility of backyard incinerations and that the law’s intent is to level the playing field by eliminating the demand that only registered pet cemeteries are able to cremate animals.
In addition, he pointed out, the proposed law enables only local government to allow more businesses to cremate pets, but doesn’t force them to adopt it.
State senators passed the bill unanimously March 31. The Assembly Health and Human Services Committee passed an amended version May 20. If it gains approval by the full Assembly, it would become law with the governor’s signature.
During a mid-March Senate hearing on the bill, representatives from the Nevada Humane Society, Nevada’s People for Animal Welfare and A Beloved Friends Pet Crematory of Northern Nevada testified in support of the bill.
Tony Yarbrough, an unpaid lobbyist for Nevada’s People for Animal Welfare, said people he represents weren’t worried about denying the dead their dignity, because places like LaPaloma have separate incinerators for people and animals.
“They’ve maintained the dignity of the human spirit,” he added.
Maybe so, but Dennis Mastny, an owner of Craig Road Pet Cemetery, worries about the temptation to use a human incinerator when a business is dealing with a backlog of pet corpses.
“I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t want to take grandma to a place and wonder if she’s being cremated in the same place as Fluffy,” he said.
Collins talked with disdain at the idea of being “burned up” in an oven “where there’d be cat hairs and claws. Just think if you spent your whole life allergic to cats.”
isnt it legal in clark county to bury human remains in your own yard
Dodger. At one time yes but that changed.
"Under Nevada law, the board of county commissioners may create ordinances that allow burial on private property but only if the county has less than 50,000 people in its population. This part of the law excludes Clark County from allowing burial on private property."
What I would like to know is why our elected officials are spending time on something like this when there are things much more important to take care of this time around.
We so often hear the mantra; "People clinging to guns and religion"
Clinging to your pet has now passed the point of absurd in this Nation.
How many 55+ communities have the condo-commandos who FREAK out when a child comes to vist grandma - but love those little smelly doggies!
Are they serious? It makes perfect sense to me to be able to cremate pets in the same facility as humans.
I can understand why they would want to set standards to prevent body dumping.
@doubledown:
"The more people I meet, the more I love my dog"
It's DBs like you that prove this saying to be true day after day after day. Congrats and stay classy!
I have never seen a more blatantly biased article. This writer clearly was paid by Craig Road Pet Cemetery to write and print it.
Also, the title of the article has nothing at all to do with SB191. It's a slanted shot at La Paloma Pet Cremation. (that's where the money came in)
I guess the media can be bought. What a shame.
Also, it's quite embarrassing to see a public figure make such insinuations. Does Collins really believe that a company would risk everything they've done by cremating pets with humans if it's against the law?
Who voted for this moron, anyways?