RICHMOND, VA-(WTVR) A surprising find at a city-run cemetery left quite an imprint on Valerie Perkins' mind; saying it left her feeling more than a little uneasy.
"We were like traumatized," Perkins explained. She said she still can't believe what she and her sister stumbled upon this week while visiting their mom's grave at the cemetery off of North Hopkins Road.
After placing flowers on her mom's grave, Perkins headed to her grandmother's plot. She said an awkward looking mound of dirt on top of a grave caught her eye and then stopped her in her tracks.
"It looked as though something was sticking out. It was a head, actually, but I don't know. We didn't want to get that close to verify it, so I called police," Perkins said.
When police responded, they told CBS 6 News it was the body of a dog dumped by someone, on top of a recently dug grave. Portions of the decaying animal's body was poking through a plastic bag and was visible to visitors in the cemetery.
"I think it's really disgusting that someone chose to do that. To me it doesn't show respect for this sacred ground as far as I'm concerned. I'm not sure what the rationale is behind that," the woman said.
Richmond's Parks and Recreation Department maintains that cemetery and others.
Officials there said they've never seen a case like this before, but they have dealt with a few cases of vandalism over the past two years.
Spokesperson Christy Everson told CBS 6 that the dumping of dogs in that cemetery violates the city code. She also shared a city ordinance that details burials of humans can only be done under the supervision of proper authorities.
Perkins, though grateful that the city's animal control workers came to remove the dog from the grave, hopes extra measures are put in place so no one stumbles on such a scene ever again.
"Step it up, get additional security in place because this is not acceptable," Perkins said. CBS 6 News asked Everson if their city department which maintains the cemetery will notify the family of the person buried in that grave.
She said they don't intend to do that.
