PITTSBURGH, PA (WTAE/CNN) - Lisa Horseman and Marlane Engles asked for Drew, their 15-year-old Border Collie, to be cremated, but instead nurses carried the dog's frozen body out of the Rainbow Veterinary Hospital Wednesday and placed him into his owner’s car.
"I'm thinking my dog's coming out in a little urn or plastic bag. No, I get a frozen Drew," Horseman said.
Horseman and Engles were devastated and said they considered Drew family.
The women wanted to keep him close so they asked that Rainbow Veterinary have Drew cremated at Heavenly Spirits, just six miles away.
Eight days later, they were handed Drew’s body instead of the ashes that they came for.
Engles recorded the employees carrying Drew's body, wrapped in a blanket.
"They had no explanation, nothing, they just give me my frozen dog," said Horseman.
In a statement, Rainbow Veterinary Hospital said, " Our entire staff treats every pet with the utmost care, respect and compassion under all circumstances, as if they were our own. It is true that there was a delay with Mrs. Horseman's burial request for pet Drew. This delay was not due to the pet leaving the facility, as he never left our premise. Ultimately, Mrs. Horseman's burial request was fulfilled."
For Horseman and Engles, seeing their dog like that added to the heartbreak of losing him, and they want to make sure that no family ever feels how they do.
"They need to learn from this mistake," said Engles. "They need to do the right thing to other people, and don't do it again because that's a horrible thing."
Copyright WTAE via CNN. All rights reserved.
