Pet Owners Upset Over Delays In Burials, Pet Cemetery Closure

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – A local woman says she paid for her pet to be laid to rest, but it has yet to do so.

She says the Humane Society told her the cat won't be buried for months.

Diane Maxymczak said she had wanted her cat to be buried at the Fallen Timbers pet cemetery and couldn't get an answer from the Humane Society.

"My cat is sitting back there on ice, no one will return my calls as to either when they will bury – if they will bury," said Maxymczak of Elizabeth Township. "I would have never left this cat there last Tuesday if I wasn't reassured that the cat was going to be buried.

The Fallen Timbers shelter was closed months ago, but the gates to the cemetery are supposed to be open daily.

However, when Maxymczak showed up Tuesday, they were locked.

Two other women were angered when they drove an hour to visit the graves of their deceased pets, only to find the gates locked.

"Very, very frustrated," said Vivian Good. "Very, very frustrating – and to call the Humane Society, you can't even get an answer or someone to talk to until they call you back, if they decide to call you back."

Maxymczak said she had bought a plot for her cat years ago.

However, she was told her cat wouldn't be buried until the spring, due to weather and staffing concerns to have the cat buried – and that the cat would remain frozen at the shelter until then.

She says a staff member at the Humane Society told her they didn't have anyone to dig.
However, after KDKA contacted the Humane Society, someone was sent over to open the gates and Good was promised Maxymczak's cat would be buried Saturday.

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