DALLAS — A North Texas family is among several who are frustrated with a Dallas-area cemetery, as they say wild hogs have invaded the land around their loved ones' gravesites.
Laverne Watson’s husband Ronald is buried at the Lincoln Funeral Home and Cemetery, as are several of her family members, dating back to the 1960s.
“My biggest part of my family is here,” Watson said. “My husband is still fresh. He just died in February.”
Watson said she hasn’t received adequate answers about what the cemetery is doing to fix the problem.
“This is not about money. It’s not about a lawsuit, this is about respect, dignity,” Watson explained.
“Talk to me," she added. "Don’t come in my face and say ‘What do you want me to do? I don’t know what to do.' What do you mean you don’t know what to do?”
In a statement on their website, the funeral home and cemetery group said they have seen numerous social media posts about the issue and they are working to fix the problem.
“The problem is the result of the high waters from the nearby Trinity River. We have reached out to the City of Dallas, Animal Control Division and was told it’s not under their jurisdiction and the Dallas County Sheriff’s department has failed to respond to our request for help,” their statement said in part. “We are in the process of hiring a Texas-based company, experienced in this type of removal, to help with this issue. I want to assure every family that we at Lincoln are doing everything possible within the Law to rectify this situation as quickly as possible.”
For the family of Ronald Watson this issue is deeply personal.
“I understand there’s a lot of people out here, I understand it’s a lot of work, I understand it’s not your fault about the hogs, but this is your responsibility,” Laverne Watson said.
“This is our loved ones out here. It’s grieving time,” Ronald Watson’s son, James Johnson, added. “When you put them at rest, we want to go home and be peaceful at night. We don’t want to worry about hogs eating on our family.”