Baltimore County pet crematorium owners arrested for allegedly scamming pet owners

The owner of a Baltimore County pet crematorium has been charged after allegedly scamming pet owners by giving them sand or concrete instead of their pets' ashes.

Rodney Ward and his wife, Yalanda, the owners of Loving Care Pet Funeral and Cremation Services in Catonsville, are each facing 56 charges of malicious destruction of property.

Business owners appear in court 

On Thursday, Rodney Ward appeared in court, where his attorney fought to get him home detention. Yalanda Ward posted a $10,000 bail. 

Prosecutors said the Wards owned an unlicensed business that collected $13,000 from victims. Yalanda was arrested first, while Rodney fled, and was arrested nearly a week later, according to prosecutors. 

"With the 51 victims that we have, every single one of them has remains or a box that they thought were their pets' remains," said Adam Lippe with the Baltimore County State's Attorney's Office. "It turned out to be non-animal. It turned out to be what I indicated in court, which was sand, gravel, baking soda, fertilizer. So, for those reasons, this defendant is a danger to the community. He victimized people in their moment of need." 

Lawyers believe Rodney is still involved in the business. 

Pet owners say they were scammed

WJZ reported in April that investigators said the remains of 38 different animals were packed inside a hearse in West Baltimore.

Juanita Logan told WJZ that in October 2024, she called Loving Care Pet Funerals to cremate her 14-year-old cat, who had died. Logan said that within 24 hours, she received a box back with his picture and a cremation ID.

However, inside the box was a bag of sand instead of his ashes.

"This is like all I have, and I don't know where he is, and I'm just devastated," Logan said. "There are no words. The more I talk about it, it puts me back and back and back."

When WJZ attempted to call Loving Care Pet Funerals, no one answered, and a link to the company's website went to an error page.

"I feel like I failed him because they just tossed him," Logan said in April. "I just pray that through all the remains that they found in the hearse, they find him and whatever is left of him, so I can get the real ashes."

Joy Schoonover found out that the ashes of her dead 17-year-old cat, Garfield, were instead something else after sending him to get cremated at Loving Care Pet Funeral.

"They were not ashes," Schoonover said, "It looked like sand, concrete with wires inside of it."

Pet owners react to arrest 

In April, pet owner Nikki Pickens said she received a bag of sand from Loving Care Pet Funeral Services instead of the ashes of her 13-year-old cat Norbie.    

"It doesn't leave your brain ever," she said on Wednesday. "It's continuous."

Pickens said the arrest of Rodney and Yalanda Ward brought her and other alleged victims to tears. 

"We were crying also because it brings you back to the grief," Pickens said. 

Now, the alleged victims are looking for the Wards to take accountability. 

"Be honest and tell us what he has done with our pets and why he left them in that heare and why he left them on the side of the road," Pickens said. 

Investigation continues 

A Baltimore pet crematorium offered free pet cremation services to people who claimed to have been scammed by Loving Care Pet Funeral and Cremation Services.

Zoey Robinson-Budreski, from Charm City Pet Crematory, told WJZ she worked with the Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter (BARCS) and animal control to cremate the recovered pets for families.

"I couldn't just stand by and not step in and help," said Robinson-Budreski. "It's really sad because he took the trust of a lot of people by misleading them."

Robinson-Budreski said the work to identify the pets still continues. 

"There are still seven that animal control has in their possession," she said.   

According to Robinson-Budreski, the final seven are hard to identify. 

"A lot of them are not even into the point that we can see what kind of animal they were," she said.

She said she's trying to correct the harm done, but she is seeing some clients come to her door with hesitancy. 

"As people walk out the door, they say, 'You promise me you're going to cremate my pet, right? This is going to be my pet, right?'" Robinson-Budreski said. "I've heard that much more since this Rodney thing."