RICHMOND, Va. — Veterinarians and funeral homes in Virginia are rejecting the idea that pets should be buried with their owners after a recent case in which a healthy dog was euthanized so it could lie with her owner. WWBT-TV in Richmond reports workers at one animal shelter tried to talk the executor of the estate out of the plan. “It weighs on us as professionals.”At his funeral home, Larry Spiaggi, president of the Virginia Funeral Directors Association, has Peace, a chocolate Labrador retriever and certified therapy dog that he keeps at the funeral home to help clients through their grief. As for euthanizing a healthy dog and burying it with its owner, he said he finds the practice abhorrent. “I am licensed by the state of Virginia, so I have a license on the line with the Health Professionals Board,” Spiaggi said.

Source: National Post May 23, 2019 12:48 UTC