22 January 24 • 2019
jn
Legal Fight
Pet owners fi
ght to save fi
nal resting place of their beloved pets.
W
hen Jill Lepler Daly’
s two
beloved dogs died more
than 15 years apart, she
purchased each a coffin and head-
stone and tucked special notes and
pictures in with them when they
were buried at Heavenly Acres Pet
Cemetery in Genoa Township.
“We want to know where they
will always be buried permanently
so we can visit and they can rest in
peace,” the Commerce Township
resident said.
Over the past 18 years, Kim
Goldstein of West Bloomfield did
the same for her four dogs, burying
each in a casket with their pillows,
blankets, toys, pictures “and love all
around them.”
“It wasn’
t like you just threw
them in the ground,” Goldstein said.
“These are your babies.”
The two women were shocked to
learn last fall that the 12-acre pet
cemetery has lost its lease and may
be sold. “No Trespassing” signs are
keeping them off the property, and
they may have to exhume their pets
or lose their remains to a bulldozer.
They and close to 30 other
pet owners have joined forces to
take legal action, establishing a
GoFundMe page in hopes of raising
$30,000. The goal is to have the site
deeded as a pet cemetery and dam-
ages awarded to the owners who
were defrauded.
The fate of the cemetery and as
many as 74,000 animal remains is
up in the air. On Jan. 9, a Livingston
County Circuit Court judge issued
a temporary restraining order to
prevent a sale or any changes to the
property. A hearing is set for today,
Jan. 24.
Attorney Albert Holtz of West
Bloomfield helped spearhead the
suit, though decided it was better
to hire outside counsel than handle
it himself. He and his wife, Debbie,
have five pets — four rescued gold-
en retrievers and a cat — buried at
the site.
“The Jewish religion kind of
frowns on cremation for a human
and I guess, emotionally, I apply
that to my pets as well,” said Holtz,
a member of Temple Shir Shalom,
B’
nai B’
rith, the Jewish Lawyers
Association of Michigan and the
American Jewish Committee. “As
far as I am concerned, each had a
soul.”
Lepler Daly buried her dog Sandy
at Heavenly Acres 20 years ago
and Max, who lived to be nearly
17, about three years ago. “This
was the first time my daughter lost
something that she loved,” she said.
“We would go visit and clean the
grave and put flowers down. She is
an only child so Max was like her
sibling.”
Meredith Daly, a sixth-grader
at Walled Lake Clifford H. Smart
Middle School, is preparing for her
bat mitzvah in October at Temple
Israel and, as one of her mitzvahs,
is helping raise money for the legal
fight.
“I knew Max since I was a baby.
He used to watch me take a bath,”
said Meredith, who also plans to
help out at an assisted living facility
and perhaps an animal organiza-
tion. “He was a really sweet dog and
we really loved him.”
Goldstein has buried four dogs at
Heavenly Acres since 2001, each at
an expense of about $1,100.
“We don’
t want it bulldozed over.
It makes me sick to my stomach
to think about it,” she said. “It felt
good to bury them with all their
stuff and now this whole thing is
bringing it all back. I get tears in
my eyes because of it.”
Lepler Daly hopes to be able to
visit her dogs at Heavenly Acres
soon.
“Once you get past the dilapi-
dated building and kennels, it is
beautiful out there and so peaceful,”
she said. “Even if it doesn’
t stay in
business, just leave them alone and
let them rest in peace.”
Holtz, who said it seems “a dis-
proportionate” number of Heavenly
Acres clients are Jews from Oakland
County, said the temporary injunc-
tion helped buoy his spirits. “It
means the lawsuit is being taken
extremely seriously by the court,” he
said. ■
To contribute to the legal fight, visit
gofundme.com/gofundmecompet-
owners-to-save-howell-pet-cemeter.
Max is one of two dogs Jill Lepler Daly
buried at Heavenly Acres Pet Cemetery in
Howell, which lost its lease and is now
closed.
jews d
in
the
JOYCE WISWELL CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Meredith Daly with her beloved Max, who
lived to be nearly 17
Danielle and Andy Mayoras are a
powerhouse celebrity legal team:
on-camera media experts, attor-
neys, authors (Trial & Heirs: Famous
Fortune Fights!) and keynote speak-
ers. They’
ve served as experts for
countless media sources includ-
ing the Rachel Ray Show, Access
Hollywood, Entertainment Tonight,
CNN, NBC Nightly News, Fox and
NBC affiliates. Danielle is a real
estate attorney while Andy is a liti-
gator, both partners at the Troy law
firm Barron, Rosenberg, Mayoras &
Mayoras P.C.
Now Danielle and Andy are the
hosts and executive producers of a
new documentary TV series called
Fortune Fights on the REELZ net-
work. The show explores the legal
ups and downs of celebrities like
Madonna, Britney Spears and Robin
Williams and premieres on Thursday,
Jan. 31, at 9 p.m. EST with an epi-
sode that focuses on Johnny Depp.
The couple are Reform Jews and
have three teenage children.
Celebrity Legal Team
Launches New Show
Danielle and Andy Mayoras
The Politicization
of Anti-Semitism
The Michigan Jewish Action Council is
presenting the “Politicization of Anti-
Semitism,” featuring Rabbi Yaakov
Menkem, managing director for the
Coalition of Jewish Values, on Monday,
Feb. 4, at 7 p.m. at Adat Shalom
Synagogue in Farmington Hills.
Admission is free, but reservations
are required to (248) 579-8550 or info@
MichiganJewishActionCouncil.org.