Vulgar Name on Headstone has Families Fired Up

For eight years, a dog buried in the Uniontown City Cemetery went largely unnoticed. Now, City Commissioners say their phones are ringing nonstop with complaints. What changed? Until two weeks ago, the dogs final resting place, among hundreds of human grave sites and directly under a Veterans Memorial, had no headstone. The dogs owner, Judy Hagan recently decided that her old friend needed to be properly honored, so she purchased a modest marker. The problem is, the dogs given name was S**thead. "If you dont like S**thead, you can call him Poophead," said Judy Hagan. And some people did call him Poophead. In fact, most of the one thousand or so people who live in Uniontown knew the dog. He used to follow Judy on her route as the city garbage truck driver. He would also lay in the grass at the Uniontown City Cemetary, where Judy is in charge of groundskeeping. Store owners would give the dog treats. He was the unofficial mascot of Uniontown, according to a former Mayor. No one objected when Hagan bought two plots at the cemetery and buried the dog. The dogs name on the headstone, however, has created quite a stir. City Commissioner Dan McFadden is in charge of cemetery operations. He says hes received dozens of calls from frustrated and angry citizens demanding the headstone be removed. One of them told McFadden he would sue the city to get it removed. A steady stream of onlookers came to view the marker Wednesday, some taking photos, others shaking their heads in disbelief. But the law appears to be on Judy Hagans side. "We talked to our lawyer," McFadden said. "We cant find anything." Hagan says she has no plans to remove the marker, either. "Im sorry if the name offends anybody," she said. "But that was his name. In memory of him I had to put it on there. The only way I will remove S**thead is if Im forced to by law," Hagan said. Hagan says shes surprised by all of the complaints. Earlier this summer, vandals destroyed or damaged nearly 100 markers in the cemetery, and Hagan says there was not nearly as much public interest. The Uniontown City Commission meets August 13, and commissioners expect a packed house of supporters and detractors of the headstone.