Rodney Ward pleads guilty in Catonsville pet cremation fraud, prosecutors say owners received cement mix instead of ashes

CATONSVILLE — A Baltimore County courtroom was packed Tuesday with grieving pet owners who trusted a local company to cremate their pets. 

The owner of the company, Rodney Ward, 55,  of Catonsville, ran a fraudulent business called Loving Pet Care Funeral and Cremations, according to prosecutors. He entered a guilty plea in circuit court Tuesday morning.

“The defendant never legitimately cremated any animals,”  Assistant State’s Attorney Lexi Buchanan said. “Each one of the victims…trusted the defendant with their pet’s remains and the defendant deceived them.”

Investigators say clients of Loving Pet Care likely received sand and cement mix instead of their pet’s ashes.  A forensic anthropologist found that none of 56 samples tested contained pure animal bones, Buchanan said.

Ward pleaded guilty to four counts of malicious destruction of property and one count of theft of between  $25,000 and $100,000 in circuit court Tuesday before Judge Keith Truffer.

The state is recommending Ward serve 25 years in prison and pay $13,585 in restitution, Buchanan said. 

Sentencing will be on March 31.

The case came to light on April 2, 2025,  when Baltimore County Animal Services received a report of three dead dogs on the side of Boswell Road in a wooded area. Responding officers located a total of 18 animals, Buchanan said: five dogs, one puppy, one cat, and one rabbit.

One of the dogs was identified as Raven, she said, who was found wrapped in a blanket with a yellow dog ball and a stuffed dog toy. 

Investigators were able to link a microchip in one of the pets to its owner, who was confused when told by officers that they’d found her pet’s remains. She thought she’d received her pet’s ashes. 

Officers searching Ward’s home and property found the remains of 39 animals improperly disposed of in a hearse, Buchanan said. Fluid was leaking from the hearse, and it smelled like “the stench of death,” she said. 

Ward’s wife, Yalanda, is also charged in the case. Her trial date is set for later this year.