Pet Shop Sent Body Instead Of Fish

Source NBC2 News

Expecting fish, corpse delivered instead

PHILADELPHIA: "What this appears to be is an error, a big mistake..." A police officer said bluntly.

Even US Airways admits- this was a big mistake- a Pets Plus employee went to the US Airways freight desk at the airport to pick up a thousand dollars worth of exotic fish like these- the driver came back to the store and showed his boss this:

"Instead of my fish packing list I have a dead body packing list."

In the box? The body of 65 year-old California postal worker Jon Kenoyer.

He died last Friday.

His body was being shipped to life quest anatomical research in the Lehigh Valley. They use bodies for scientific research.

But the Jon's body didn't get there- it got here- to a pet store.

"If it was my family member I'd really be broken up that they just sent 'em with anybody."

The folks at Life Quest are very upset about the US Airways mistake- so are the folks here.

The fish they ordered are most likely dead- and they are very upset for the family of the deceased man.

The Pets Plus workers didn't open the box- they did make arrangements to have a van from the airport come take it away- so hopefully, it gets where it belongs.

"I'm not upset about the mistake- if it was flowers or something a mistake is a mistake- but no, I guess I'm upset because I wouldn't want to be a family and somebody is trying to find the body right now... and we have it."

Out in a San Diego suburb, Jon Kenoyer's widow Mary says her late husband was a practical joker who hated to fly.

She believes he is up in heaven laughing about this big mix-up.

"He was such a practical joker so I just think that this is the last joke he's playing on us. And he's afraid to fly, and then he found out they were shipping his body by airplane, and I said he's going to get even with me, either up in heaven, or I guess he's doing it now."

Mary Kenoyer also said she hopes this incident doesn't discourage others from donating their bodies to science.