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.

