For Simi Valley resident Hillarie Levy, losing her dog Winnie was hard enough.

She had Winnie for nearly 11 years before she passed away from congestive heart failure in 2016.

Levy and her husband decided to have Winnie cremated privately. It’s something they had done with their previous dog, Wesley.

But the couple's grief quickly turned to shock when they received Winnie’s ashes from Only Cremations in Newport Beach. 

Winnie, a Cocker Spaniel, weighed nearly 26 pounds, while Wesley, a Miniature Pinscher, had weighed in at less than half that. But Levy says the box she received for Winnie didn’t add up.

When she had the ashes weighed, they were two ounces less than those of Wesley.

She’s now suing Only Cremations because she doesn’t believe the ashes she has are Winnie’s, or at least Winnie’s alone.

“I would have buried my dogs in the backyard instead of going through this. I’ll never get over this. Ever,” said Levy.

Barry Murphy had a similar experience.

Like Levy, his vet contracts with Only Cremations for the service. He lost his 11-year-old German Shepard Mouse around Thanksgiving.

Upon receiving her ashes, he was also dismayed. He showed me on his own scale how ashes he received from a previous German Shepard of similar weight were much lighter than Mouse’s.

“That thing is definitely bigger than my other dog that weighed exactly the same amount,” Murphy said.

Spectrum News 1 gave Only Cremations For Pets the opportunity to appear on camera but the company declined the request, citing Levy’s pending lawsuit.

The company's lawyer did however reply with a written statement via e-mail, in which he responded to Hillarie’s and Barry’s complaints, saying in part:

"The accusations they make against OCFP are false and arise out of misplaced grief due to the loss of their pets and their lack of understanding of the science of the cremation process. The amount of ashes a pet owner receives from a private cremation can vary depending on multiple factors. Because each pet is unique, comparing the weight of ashes between two different pets oversimplifies cremation.”

Levy and Murphy know all to well that nothing will bring back their pets. But they both would like the closure of knowing the ashes they received are of their dogs.

Levy says she would like to get Winnie’s ashes tested by anthropologist.

Murphy still can’t hold back his tears.

“Emotionally attached to this dog is the understatement of the year. She was my best friend,” he said.