Woman who helped run sham pet cremation business faces grieving owners in court

The loss of Charlie was devastating.

Lindsay Taylor wanted to hold a funeral to honor the memory of her nearly 16-year-old Chihuahua. So she contacted Loving Care Pet Cremations in Catonsville, where Yalanda Ward, the owner’s wife, attended every meeting.

During the service, Yalanda Ward even comforted her as she grieved, Taylor said.

“She was there,” Taylor said in the Baltimore County Courts Building. “She watched me cry.”

But Loving Care Pet Cremations was a sham. Instead of treating animals with dignity, the business’s owner, Rodney Ward, dumped the dead pets in places including the side of the road and gave grieving families concrete, sand and other materials passed off as remains.

To this day, Taylor said, she has not received an answer about what happened to her pet.

On Tuesday, Yalanda Ward, 57, of Southwest Baltimore, entered an Alford plea in Baltimore County Circuit Court to one count of conspiracy to commit theft for her role in the fraud. That means she did not admit guilt but acknowledged that prosecutors had enough evidence to secure a conviction.

“I am so sorry,” she said. “I would never want this on anyone.”

Baltimore County Circuit Judge Andrew M. Battista later adopted a recommendation from prosecutors to spare her incarceration, which he described as “just and fair.” He noted that she is a survivor of domestic violence.

Battista sentenced Yalanda Ward to five years’ supervised probation and ordered her to pay almost $12,000 in restitution. He ruled that she cannot care for animals during that period.

Earlier this year, Rodney Ward, 55, of Southwest Baltimore, pleaded guilty to theft and malicious destruction of property and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Baltimore County Police started investigating the business in 2025 after animal control officers found seven dead pets on the side of the road.

Assistant State’s Attorney Adam Lippe described Rodney Ward as the ringleader of the scheme.

But Yalanda Yard attended meetings and handled money for the company, Lippe said.

“These people relied upon her,” he said. “She knew, or had knowledge, or chose not to know.”

At the same time, Yalanda Ward had no prior criminal record. She has a job as well as health issues, Lippe said.

Detectives, he said, also provided him with information that Yalanda Ward is a survivor of domestic violence.

Ogreta Brown Johnson, Yalanda Ward’s attorney, said her client is a grandmother of two and plans to file for divorce.

“My client is remorseful for what has occurred,” Johnson said. “If she knew where the animals were, she would tell every single person.”

In all honestly, Johnson said, her client does not know.