Lost Dog Ashes

Question

I had to take my dog in to be euthanized. I asked to have her cremated and the ashes put in an urn and sent to me. After approximately three weeks I started calling the vet and they told me they could not find my dog's ashes. When the office manager called me back from the veterinarian office she told me that my dog had been sent to where they do the cremation and they cannot find her. It has been one month and they have not been able to find my dog's ashes. They will reimburse me for everything and also give me a complementary urn, but I want to know if there's anything else I am able to do because our dog definitely was a family member and to me it feels like they are giving me a casket with a no body. I do not feel it is fair because of their negligence.

Answer

I am so sorry for your loss, both of them. There is one New York case with similar facts. In that case, the dog’s “parent” planned a funeral for her beloved dog but upon opening the casket, she found the body of a dead cat. Her dog’s body was not recovered. In that case, the court stated, in part: “In ruling that a pet such as a dog is not just a thing I believe the plaintiff is entitled to damages beyond the market value of the dog. A pet is not an inanimate thing that just receives affection; it also returns it. I find that plaintiff Ms. Corso did suffer shock, mental anguish and despondency due to the wrongful destruction and loss of the dog's body.” That case was decided in 1979 and the court awarded the plaintiff $700. California, more so than New York, has awarded greater sums of money to aggrieved pet “parents” but it is difficult to predict the amount of compensation a given court will award.