Darrine Timpson’s 2-year-old dog died while giving birth to her puppies on March 27. Timpson contacted Loving Care Pet Funeral Services in Catonsville, Maryland, to arrange the cremation of his beloved dog Jada. The following day, Timpson received what he thought were Jada’s ashes, but “about 30 minutes after he left, I received a call from animal control of Baltimore City” with devastating news.
“They stated my dog was actually located on the side of the road with seven other dogs,” Timpson told local channel WBAL 11. Jada’s microchip was scanned, allowing animal control to identify her, although the other seven dogs remained unidentified. Timpson recalled how he “was returned ashes but I’m not sure if they even are pet ashes or human ashes.”
“It’s a lot to process that somebody would take advantage of not just me but seven other people,” Timpson said, who also described the late French Bulldog as “a well-(temperamental) dog… There’s nothing you can replace that dog, and I love all dogs.”
The owner of Loving Care, Rodney Ward, told WBAL 11 that he was blindsided by the news, and blamed a new employee after he started getting calls last week. The new employee, whose name has not been released, was supposed to take the pets to Hyattsville, a city about 30 miles south of Catonsville, where the actual cremations are performed. They never made it there.
Ward said he has not been able to reach the accused employee, but he has issued refunds to affected clients.
“As the owner and representative of Loving Care Pet Cremations, we outsource all of our cremations to local crematories. We are under the assumption that they are cremating our pets as contracted,” Ward said in a statement. “We trust the process that have been instilled between us and the crematories. We guarantee to the best of knowledge that when we return cremated pets to their parents, they are the correct pet.”
Timpson, who plans to pursue legal action against the crematory, told 11 News how “Animals mean a lot to me. I think and believe they should be held and dealt with in the same manner as a human.”