Colorado Springs woman claims her dog’s cremation was mishandled by Humane Society
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- The Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region (HSPPR) is apologizing and changing its cremation policies after a dog was mistakenly cremated with other dogs.
HSPPR said they improperly coded a dog when transporting him from their facility to the organization they partner with for cremations, and because of that, he wasn't individually cremated.
Andi Chernushin, the dog's owner, said the death of her dog Fraser has been heartbreaking from start to finish. She found out Fraser had cancer in August and said she knew her dog's death would be painful because he was a reminder of her late husband who died in 2016.
Chernushin said she started carefully planning what to do when Fraser passed away, hoping to spread his ashes in the same place as her husband's. However, when Fraser had a sudden stroke, her careful plans were altered.
Chernushin said she called the Humane Society for help and an employee came to her house. Chernushin filled out a contract at her home to make sure Fraser was cremated and returned to her.
"I made him promise," said Chernushin. "I said, 'Please, please promise me that he will be individually cremated, please.' And I told him that Fraser was going to be buried in Crested Butte and spread in Paradise Divide where his dad is. He said, 'yes, yes.' My contract says he's to be cremated individually. I paid for that."
The Humane Society says the process of transporting animals from a home to the organization where they will be cremated is incredibly complex, and in the transition, the Humane Society put in their system that Fraser would be cremated with other dogs.
"This particular situation is very troubling, and it's the first time it's happened," said HSPPR CEO Duane Adams. "And for us, one time is too many, and so if we can't know that this can be done appropriately, we're not going to do it."
Adams said the Humane Society is no longer going to offer the option to transport pets from a home and get them individually cremated.
From now on, Adams said people who want the service will have to bring their pet to the Humane Society and do that in person, or they will have to reach out to veterinarians who will come to homes and help in that process.
Chernushin said while she is devastated, she is encouraged that this will never happen again at the Humane Society.
Chernushin plans to burn some of Fraser's belongings for a personal type of cremation so she can spread the ashes in Crested Butte as she planned.
