Businessman charged in investigation into false pet remains, dead animals found
By Tommie Clark
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CATONSVILLE, Maryland (WBAL) — A Catonsville businessman faces more than 50 charges for claiming to cremate pets but instead dumping them and returning bags of fake ashes to owners.
Rodney Ward faces 56 counts of malicious destruction of property, and his wife, Yalanda Ward, also faces charges.
The charges stem from developments that 11 News Investigates has followed for months, hearing from some pet owners who said they paid up to $500 for bags of sand and concrete, rather than their animals’ ashes.
Nikki Pickens told 11 News Investigates she feels relieved after learning of Rodney Ward’s arrest. She had hired Loving Pet Care Crematory Services after losing her 13-year-old cat, Norbette, lovingly called Norby.
“He has caused so much more than just pain to people,” Pickens told 11 News Investigates. “The damage that he has done is something that cannot be fixed in any way, shape or form.”
Pickens explained what she said she received.
“I opened (the bag) myself and looked and said, ‘This looks like beach sand,'” Pickens told 11 News Investigates.
In April, 11 News Investigates reported on Ward’s pet crematory in Catonsville, and Pickens learned she is far from alone.
The Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s Office and Baltimore County police opened an investigation and conducted a search warrant at Ward’s home in West Baltimore that led to the discovery of 38 animal bodies inside a hearse. Authorities also found animal remains dumped alongside roads.
Zoey Robinson-Budreski, owner of Charm City Pet Crematory and Funeral Services in Southeast Baltimore, has been helping to identify ashes and properly cremate the dogs and cats of Ward’s alleged victims. Seven pets remain unaccounted for.
“He’s been doing this for three years. The 62 of those that have come forward that were found, there’s more out there,” Robinson-Budreski told 11 News Investigates. “I have heard crying. I have seen pain. I have never heard or seen this.”
Robinson-Budreski said she wants this case to spark change in the industry to avoid something like this from ever happening again.
“As a business owner, do I want more regulations in my life? No. As a human being and a pet lover, things have got to change, period,” Robinson-Budreski told 11 News Investigates.
Robinson-Budreski said she hopes to make that happen by advocating for legislation next session.
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