Las Vegas pet parents question what remains they have after crematory alerts them to issues
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Several people have contacted the 8 News Now Investigators saying they do not believe the remains given to them by a Las Vegas pet cremation company are their beloved animals.
On Monday, the 8 News Now Investigators reported a woman received photos of her deceased dog months after she was sent what she believed were her pet’s cremated remains.
After months of delays, Natalie Smyers received a box, a paw print and a certificate from 1st Call Pet Cremation. But last Friday, the co-owner of an Arizona-based pet cremation business sent her a message on Facebook, saying he still had her dog’s uncremated body.
Donaldo Frixione is one of several customers who have contacted the 8 News Now Investigators since Monday.
“My biggest question is, ‘What do I have?” Frixione said. “Is this somebody else’s pet? Is this some other remains? What is it?”
Frixione’s dog, Aida, died in mid-April. After several months of waiting, Frixione also received his paw print and Aida’s ashes, or so he thought. The same Arizona-based company contacted him, saying they had Aida’s ashes.
A company co-owner, who declined an on-camera interview, said they were contracted with 1st Call Pet Cremation to take care of cremations in March and April. He said they had not been paid and had not transported any ashes back to them.
As of Wednesday, the Arizona company had about two dozen sets of ashes and dozens more remains that have not been cremated, the co-owner said.
1st Call Pet Cremation’s website said it is accredited by the Better Business Bureau, but a spokesperson for the organization said the business profile was “currently under review” due to “recent concerns.”
“We currently have four reportable complaints over the past 36 months that primarily pertain to delays in receiving services taking several months,” a BBB spokesperson said. “We do have some recent complaints that also pertain to delays as well as concerns about receiving their pet’s ashes. We are unable to discuss pending complaints in detail.”
Frixione used the company in a prior pet death and said he had no problems.
“They were very empathetic, and it was a positive experience,” he said, adding he now plans to drive to Arizona to pick up Aida’s ashes.
“These are pets that have had lives,” Frixione said. “They have a lot of people that care for them and just the idea of them being discarded and kind of left elsewhere something like that is just very unnerving.”
The Nevada Attorney General’s Office had received two recent complaints about the company, a spokesperson said.
“We urge anyone who feels they have been the victim of an unfair or deceptive business practice to file a complaint with our office,” the spokesperson said.
Customers can contact the BBB online at bbb.org. The Nevada Bureau of Consumer Protection Consumer Protection’s website is ag.nv.gov/About/Consumer_Protection/Bureau_of_Consumer_Protection.
A representative from 1st Call Pet Cremation did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
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