Judge rules in favour of pet cemetery that dug up and cremated dog after owners didn't pay for upkeep

Grieving pet owners at a Westchester animal cemetery found their beloved dog's grave empty. Now a judge has sided with the cemetery.

"Dodo" was a dog who's cemetery bills didn't get paid. The owners are Chinese immigrants who moved to New Jersey, but said they didn't get the bills for annual upkeep. It ended badly.

Pet cemetery president Edward Martin said workers literally dug up the dog. "Yes, yes we did. Yes we cremated her and spread the ashes over the cemetery," Martin said.



It was a horrendous shock to the grieving pet owners, but a state judge said Hartsdale Pet Cemetery - the oldest in America - has the right to do what it did, even if the plot owners didn't intentionally fail to pay their bills.

Dodo's owner, John Tsun, said "We're not happy with the decision. This has been very difficult for my wife."

John Tait the couple's attorney said "They spent $10,000 on a pacemaker for this dog, they spent $2,000 to bury the dog. They got him an oak casket. So to suggest they wouldn't pay $30 had they been told, or gotten an invoice, is ridiculous," Tait said.

With news video.