LAND O’ LAKES, Fla. (WFLA) – When Pasco County officials asked 8 On Your Side to reach out to the public for volunteers to help in a pet cemetery clean-up project, we were more than happy to help.
It all started when a beloved final resting place for pets in Land O’ Lakes, Oakcrest Pet Cemetery, fell into disrepair. The county admitted it needed to do a better job maintaining the cemetery, but the funding, amidst major budget cuts, didn’t allow for the care of a pristine property.
Our story received a fantastic response. Volunteers wanted to pitch in and donate their time. One such volunteer is a 12-year-old enthusiastic gymnast named Natalia Edmonson. The Tampa athlete watched the story with her mother, Michele, and was moved by what she saw.
“I saw where some of the plaques had been missing, and it kind of made me feel bad because you’re walking, and you want to see your dog, and you don’t know where he is,” Natalia said.
She is home-schooled through Florida’s virtual education program and loves getting involved in projects to help others. Natalia has exciting plans for the little cemetery with the big heart. This pint-sized powerhouse wants to get her gymnastics team involved in the clean-up, as well as to utilize this endeavor as part of her civics class curriculum.
This young woman is ready to bring her laser focus from the balance beam and channel that energy into a sacred place where pets are honored. Her mom is thrilled about the project. Michele, a mother-of-four, always looks to inspire her girls.
“It’s all about giving back. You have to give back to your community,” she said. “We live here. We have another dog What if Macy, what if we put her somewhere? We would want to be able to go and say this is a nice last resting place.”
In addition, the Teamsters Local 79 has reached out and wants to partner with the gymnastics group to beautify the final resting place for pets. The two groups are now coordinating efforts to culminate in the next two weeks.
Tampa doctor contacts 8 On Your Side
This 8 On Your Side effort began with a heartfelt email from a pet owner. Going through the grief of losing a four-legged family member is difficult enough, but for Fred Kurtzman, experiencing it a second time around was agony. Fred and his wife Nancy have lost several furry family members over the years. They are intensely familiar with the gut-wrenching heartache.
“They were my children,” Kurtzman said. “My human children have grown up, moved out of the house and now have lives of their own … These animals were more than just pets, they were my kids.”
Amidst grief and loss, the longtime Tampa physician and his family have honored the lives of their feline and canine loved ones. With tears in his eyes, Dr. Kurtzman spoke lovingly of his three dogs – Muffin, Hank and Echo – as he sat in the final resting place he chose for them, Oakcrest Pet Cemetery. He sought out the sacred place, he says, where hallowed ground would serve as a safe haven for these innocent creatures. Kurtzman thought he found it at this well-known Land O’ Lakes spot.
However, in recent months the cemetery has seen better days. The property is run-down, with memory markers missing and graves overgrown. In some area, where pets are supposed to be honored with small plaques, you’ll find cracked PVC pipes that once held memorials.
Sadly, Kurtzman can’t even find the burial plot for Hank. The grave marker paying sweet tribute to Hank, with a heartfelt memorial message etched into the stone, is gone, possibly stolen. The county confirmed there has been vandalism in the cemetery.
Clearly, this cemetery needs a make-over and a lot of TLC. Fred contacted 8 On Your Side, hoping for results that would bring peace.
Pasco County Spokesman Doug Tobin admitted that the county “needs to do a better job.” Tobin cited budget cuts as the reason that Oakcrest is suffering and in need of a makeover.
“We have faced a lot of budget cuts,” he said. “Pasco County Parks has been mowing during the summer months once a week. We realize that there are areas that we need to work on, such as replacing landscape timbers and removing some unhealthy shrubbery and trees limbs. This is one of the areas that is first to go when it comes to finances.”
Tobin asked 8 On Your Side for help getting the word out to the public that volunteers were needed to assist in revamping the pet cemetery.
“We want to maintain this property. Can you put the word out to community groups and organization?” he asked.
The cemetery, he maintained, needed a small face-lift with some minor improvements. “With budget cuts, we are limited in what we can do. We would love to get civic groups, volunteer organizations, like the Boy Scouts, to volunteer. The cemetery just needs some TLC,” Tobin said.
