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Oak Rest Pet Gardens: Career mortician lends
his skills to pets
By Christy Smith
Staff Correspondent
WHAT THEY DO: Funeral and mortuary services
for pets and large animals
LOCATIONS: 2691 Harbins Road in Bethlehem. Offices also are in Chamblee and
Douglasville.
EMPLOYEES: 20
OWNERS: Doyle and Maudann Shugart and their sons, Keith
and Kyle WEB SITE:
www.oakrest.comPHONE: 770-995-8862
FOUNDED:
1972
Police officers from Gwinnett County, local municipalities and from
surrounding counties gathered on a green hillside in March to say goodbye to one of their comrades.
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As police officers bowed their heads in prayer, K-9 patrol dogs
stretched their bodies until their stomachs respectfully touched the ground. The service was for Officer Beck, a K-9 German
Shepherd who faithfully had served and protected the people of Gwinnett County.
Officer Beck was laid to rest in the Garden of Honor, an alcove
surrounded by cedar trees reserved only for police dogs in Oak Rest Pet Gardens. And it didn't cost a dime.
"We completely donate all the services to every county for K-9
officers if they died in the line of duty or if they're still active and died of natural causes," said Kyle Shugart, co-owner
of Oak Rest Pet Gardens.
Some of the most famous contemporary names in the animal kingdom
were cared for by the Shugarts: Beauregard, Lewis Grizzard's basset hound; several K-9 officers; and Willie B. of Zoo Atlanta.
Men and women who enter the mortuary business usually are born
with a love of the craft. As a little boy, Doyle Shugart held funerals for neighborhood pets. When he grew up, Shugart studied
mortuary science, became a licensed funeral director and built a satisfying 38-year-long career with H.M. Patterson and Sons Funeral Home in Atlanta. During his time laying people to rest, Shugart started getting requests
for someone to bury household pets.
Responding to a need, Shugart began arranging funerals for pets,
and the company Deceased Pet Care was born. For 10 years, Shugart ran Deceased Pet Care from a home office, while continuing
to work full time for H.M. Patterson and Sons.
"One of Dad's first burials was a 6-foot boa constrictor in
a solid oak casket," Kyle Shugart said.
In 1982, as Atlanta's outskirts became less rural, Shugart mortgaged
his house to purchase a crematory and some land on Peachtree Road in Chamblee for a pet cemetery. Why would a pet owner opt
for cremation?
"Apartment living," Kyle said. "And a lot of people have horses,
but they don't have large acreage, so they board their horse at a stables. What do you do with a horse when it dies? You'd
need a machine just to dig a grave large enough to hold it."
Both sons followed their dad through mortuary college, and
Doyle is on the board of directors of the International Association of Pet Cemeteries.
Oak Rest Pet Gardens in Bethlehem was originally a cantaloupe
farm. When the owners' house burned down, they left the cantaloupe business and sold the land to the Shugarts in 1986. Keith
had completed landscape school, and the family labored to sew grass, plant gardens and construct by hand the gazebo, fountain,
pond, office and rock pathways he designed.
Pet owners may choose a simple cremation or design a funeral
for their beloved pet. The pet is embalmed, reposed in a casket, and a respectful service is conducted by one of two on-staff
ministers in a chapel or the outdoor gazebo. The owner may take home the remains or bury the animal under a carved headstone
in the gardens.
RISKS: "Today, our risk is cremation liability," Kyle said.
"In this business, you can't make mistakes."
REWARDS: "Dad had this vision that, with as much love as pets
give and how attached you get to them, a service needed to be established," Kyle said.
"There was nothing else like it
around. He really was ahead of his time, and he is seeing his vision grow."
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Gwinnett Daily Post
February 15, 2008
'Great dog' laid to rest
Police
remember K-9 as crimefighting machine
By Melissa Wilson
Staff Writer
DACULA - Officers
smiled as they remembered his uncanny ability to track a bad guy, his agility and his friendly personality.
A veteran of the Gwinnett County Police Department for more than five years, many memories of K-9 Beny's exciting
life as a police dog were recounted by all who attended as he was laid to rest at the Oak Rest Pet Gardens in Dacula On Thursday
afternoon.
Officers and friends from around the county gathered as Beny's casket was carried into the Garden
of Honor by a six-man honor guard and placed alongside 34 other faithful K-9s.
Having lived at home with handler
John Surowiec and his family for most of his career days, the 13 year old German Shepherd was well into retirement when he
suffered a debilitating stroke and was put to sleep Monday.
"They're just a such a part of the family,"
Surowiec said. "He was a great dog...alot of fond memories."
With fellow K-9s' barks echoing
in the background. Beny's trainer and first handler Lawrenceville officer Emory Griffith spoke to a intimate crowd,
recalling Beny's small stature but fearless heart when it came to police work. |
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| Lawrenceville Police Dept. Honor Guard leads a procession with K-9 Beny at Oak Rest Pet Gardens |
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| Officer John Surowiec comforts his son Luke, after the flag covering K-9 Beny's casket was presented |
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Affectionately known to many as "Mr. B, "Griffith
said the dog was often brought to training sessions even after his retirement to show K-9s new on the force how the job was
done.
"He caught people wanted for murder, burglaries, home invasions - he was a machine," Griffith said.
Surowiec recalled nights running after a suspect with Beny at his side, helping him execute a successful takedown
and arrest.
"He was great with the family but could then change gears into a crimefighting machine,"
Surowiec said.
Though the handler lost a partner, he and his wife Patti and children Luke, 7, and Alex, 3, said
they also lost a friend and member of the family.
Luke said, "No thank you," when asked if he wanted
to say something about his faithful dog, but smiled when his dad showed a picture and letter Luke had drawn for Beny and placed
inside his casket.
"You were a great dog," the crayon written letter read.
Many who attended
the funeral called him one of Gwinnett County's finest on the force.
"He had a heart of a lion",
Surowiec said.
click here to download file
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The Atlanta Journal and Constitution
February 1, 2007
A solemn day as K-9 hero is laid to rest
click here to download video
click here to download file
The Atlanta Journal and Constitution
June 15, 2005
K-9 Officer Cisco goes to reward
after fine service
click here to download file
The Atlanta Journal and Constitution
December 16, 2004
Pet services can mirror
human funeral rituals
click here to download file
Dekalb Neighbor
June 30, 2004
Resting place:
a closer look at an
animal
funeral home
click here to download file
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