Out of sight, in the back of the Lake Lawn Metairie Cemetery, under the sound of an incinerator, Jen Melius was hard at work.
Melius owns Heaven’s Pets and said she has been flooded with phone calls lately.
“Why? I'm not 100 percent sure, but we have had some calls from other vets on the Northshore who in the past have not called us for service,” she said.
The calls came after one Northshore-based pet cremation business, the Pet Stop, shut down.
A flyer obtained by the WDSU I-Team said the business is located in Albany, La., and run by Jean Carpenter. Prices were listed on the flyer for regular and private cremations.
Dr. Susan Strain with the Claiborne Hill Veterinary Clinic said she used the Pet Stop for more than a decade. However, that all changed about two weeks ago.
“She gave us a call and said that part of her cremator wasn't working and she brought back the bodies they collected,” Strain said.
The call Strain received came after the WDSU I-Team called Carpenter. The I-Team discovered that Carpenter’s business wasn’t registered with the state. There wasn’t any record in Livingston Parish of any occupational license to operate, either.
Carpenter told WDSU that she had been out of the business for "a while" when asked about operating without a proper license.
However, numerous clinics from Hammond to Covington said they have used Carpenter and the Pet Stop in recent months.
Carpenter said the Pet Stop has been closed for 10 years, but said she has a man who “picks up the dogs and takes them to the dump, but my cremation business does not go with it.”
Strain said that Carpenter's closed business was news to her.
“It was more of a working relationship and we never questioned it,” Strain said.
Now, the doctor is questioning it. Strain is the wife of Dr. Mike Strain, the commissioner of the state Department of Agriculture and Forestry.
He worked with his wife until his election to state office in 2007.
“I'm sure Mike will speak with secretary (Tom) Schedler about this to see if he has any concerns, and there needs to be,” Strain said.
Schedler is the Secretary of State. All limited liability corporations and businesses have to register with the Secretary of State’s office.
Businesses that handle pet remains are required to have state and parish business licenses to operate, but don’t need a special license to handle dead pets.
Businesses are supposed to be following the official rules laid out by the International Association of Pet Cemeteries and Cremators.
SOURCE: http://www.wdsu.com/mostpopular/30363265/detail.html
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