This had happened several times before at Woodland Celestial Garden in Compton.
The owner said an intruder broke into the cemetery in an attempt to steal gravestones for bronze and copper plaques. But the cemetery was guarded by three Cane Corso dogs – Roro, Ghost and Zeus.
The intruder ran away, but not before stabbing the three dogs, killing Roro, said Celestina Bishop, owner of the cemetery and the dogs.
Bishop believes the intrusion took place in the early hours of 10 April. She and her husband did not learn about the stabbing incident until that night when her husband came to feed the dogs.
After seeing the dogs’ injuries, they took them to a veterinary hospital, he said.
“My crazy dog died trying to protect a place some family doesn’t even care about! How many L do I have to take,” she wrote facebook post That same evening.
He said his other two dogs are recovering and are expected to survive.
The incident marks a violent escalation in a series of vandalism at the cemetery which has faced financial difficulties over the years.
The bishop said he has invested his own time and money in maintaining the cemetery without any outside support. She said her dog’s death was the last straw and she is now considering selling the property.
“The story is not about selling assets,” he said in the interview. “This is about me raising my hand for six years and getting shot.”
The weariness was already beginning last year when thieves broke into the property and took and damaged more than a dozen headstones from the cemetery, which is the final resting place for hundreds of Civil War veterans, including many Union soldiers.
The bishop’s mother and sister are also buried in the cemetery. They were both killed in South Los Angeles more than 40 years ago.
In January 2024, thieves took more than 700 headstones. Bishop said it could cost up to $4,000 to replace the bronze and copper plaques. He said that he was unable to replace him.
Bishop said he has repeatedly asked the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department to increase patrols around the cemetery. He said he has also given the cemetery keys to the department so that officers can enter the cemetery to make an arrest if needed.
“And yet, things keep happening,” she said.
A spokesperson for the department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The theft is part of the cumulative loss for Bishop.
Last month, she said, her brother was killed by a hit-and-run driver in South Los Angeles. He also lost his son in a car accident in November 2024. She said she was still mourning the loss of her son when more than a dozen headstones were stolen.
“Ever since I got here, I’ve been losing, you know,” Bishop said. “How long will anyone expect me to do this alone with this constant barbarity?”
