LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A Las Vegas-based pet cremation company is being investigated by the Nevada Attorney General's Office after the remains of dozens of pets were found in the desert. Sources told Channel 13 about the investigation on Monday.
WATCH: Family talks to Channel 13 about Nevada Attorney General's Office investigation
Since October, Channel 13 has been fighting for answers for dozens of families who reached out to us, all saying they were patrons of the now-closed business 1st Call Pet Cremation.
The company failed to follow through on its promise to return the remains of dozens of Las Vegas family pets. Multiple sources close to Channel 13 now tell us the business and its owner, Rick Senninger, are under investigation.
Senninger last spoke with us in April, confirming there were still several pets to be returned that have not been properly cremated.
If you or someone you know used 1st Call Pet Cremations, you can contact the Attorney General's office by calling 702-486-3799. To make a statement online, go to ag.nv.gov and click on the "Fraud and Scams" section. There, you can click the link to the "File a Complaint" page which includes the proper forms and contact information.
What follows is a timeline showing how we got to this point:
Watch pet owners share their anguish over lost remains of two beloved animals: a little cat and a big dog.
I was first alerted to issues with 1st Call Pet Crematins when I met Christina Palmer and Jocelyn Konold, both of whom reached out to 1st Call Pet Cremation after their pets died. Palmer said she didn't believe the remains she received were from her cat, while the remains of Konold's dog were found on a remote road in southern Utah.
Several families have reached out to Channel 13 in the months since with similar stories.
Next, a disturbing trend emerges as troubles at 1st Call Pet Cremation escalate
In January, charges were filed against a woman named McKenzie Frei.
Officials allege Frei worked with Senninger and was contracted to cremate the animals, but instead dumped their remains in the Utah desert.
In April, officials from the Washington County Sheriff's Office found a second site north of Veyo, Utah where they believe around 40 animals were dumped.
"The public has a right to be disappointed in me. But the culprit, the one that has caused all of this, the reason there are still pets in a freezer, the reason that not everybody got the answers, their pet back, is because of McKenzie Frei," Senninger told me.
Senninger has announced the indefinite closure of 1st Call Pet Cremation and the fate of the remaining pets in his possession is still uncertain.
