Outraged, embarrassed and traumatized

NEW YORK - A woman has filed a lawsuit against a pet cremation service and a photo agency, claiming they used a picture of her posing with her dogs without her permission.

Gina Cecala filed the lawsuit in Manhattan state Supreme Court against Matthews International and Getty Images.

The photo, showing Cecala holding her sweater-clad pooches, Chickie and Tiny, was taken in 1992 by an amateur photographer in Cecala's Manhattan apartment. It was later sold to Getty, which in turn sold it to Matthews for use in a national ad campaign, according to court papers.

Cecala said in the complaint she was "outraged, embarrassed and traumatized" after she learned the photo was used in an ad that began appearing in 2004 in a funeral industry newspaper and a philanthropy magazine.

"She makes sure they eat right, get plenty of exercise and that their sweaters always match," the ad says. "So what is it worth to offer their owner a little peace of mind once they're gone?"

Her dogs - part Chihuahua, part terrier - were alive when the ads began running but died a few months later. Cecala, whose lawsuit seeks $3 million, said she never gave permission to have the photo used for "something of such a morbid nature," the Daily News reported in Friday editions.

Matthews International did not return a call for comment. Getty declined comment, saying it had not seen the lawsuit.