About

Sheabel Pet Cemetery is located on Cedar Creek Lane, it has 1.56 acre plot permanently zoned as a pet cemetery by the Fayette Zoning Commission.

To get there, take Richmond Road to Jacobson Park. Turn onto old Richmon Road. Go 4.2 miles, turn right onto Evans Mill Rd.

Go 1.2 miles, turn left onto Cedar Creek Lane. Go 300 yards, the pet cemetery is on the left side of the road.

Our standard procedure to bury a pet in the cemetery is as follows:

We pick up the pet at your residence or at the vet's office. We take it to Woodfield Circle and make a wood casket to fit the pet. The casket has padding and a cloth lining.

After closing the casket, we wrap it in plastic to protect it from moisture after burial. We can close the casket at the cemetery if the family wishes. We also bury ashes of cremated pets.

Owners/friends may attend the burial, but this is not required. Owners may have their own ceremonies. Each burial is assigned a Row and Plot number, this is a permanent record.

Headstones are not required but we encourage you to get one at your leisure.

Visitation at the cemetery is any time during daylight hours.The cemetery is fenced and has a locked gate. Only a walkin gate remains unlocked when we are not present.

History

In 1960, Mr. William Shea started burying pets on his farm on Kentucky American Road in Fayette County. At that time, he was the owner / operator of Sheabel Kennels on Richmond Road in Lexington.

In 1970, he got the 1.56 acre plot permanently zoned as a pet cemetery by the Fayette Zoning Commission. In 1984, a partnership of Jim Turner and Rick Warner bought the cemetery from Mr. Shea.

In 1990, Jim Turner became the sole owner/ operator and continues to operate it at the present.

The name of the road was later changed to Cedar Creek Lane and the address for the cemetery was established as 5950 Cedar Creek Lane, Lexington Kentucky 40515.

The name SHEABEL comes from the name SHEA and a large red bell which stands in the cemetery. The bell was forged in Holland and brought to Lexington and installed in Lexington's first fire house downtown which we believe to be Jefferson Street in 1888.

Later the bell was moved to the fire house on Short Street in Lexington and remained in the bell tower there until 1938.

Then it moved twice to private owners and finally Mr. Shea acquired it and installed it at Sheabel Kennels on Richmond Road.

He moved it to the pet cemetery when he sold the kennels. He created the name SHEABEL because it "had a nice ring to it", using only one "L".