General Rescue Question (This is a Nightmare!!)

[grayxie]

Thank goodness you saw the listings and put them together, who knows what else would of happened.

That is very strange that the kennel didn't hold Trixie for the mandatory period that is allowed for an owner to claim them. I hope the owner takes action against the so called "rescue", which will bring attention to their wrong doings and have them shut down.

The "rescue" in Cave Creek, doesn't look so hospitable. Quite shady I think...

[Fuzzywug]

Originally Posted by DesertChildAZ

I often go on various websites and, by comparing "lost pet" ads with "found pet" ads, try to reunite owners with their pets.

Late Wednesday night (1/16), I found a "lost pet" listing on Craiglist for two springer spaniels that was posted on the prior Sunday night (1/14). The dogs had escaped from their back yard the prior day, 1/13.

On petfinder.com, I found an "found pet" ad for two springer spaniels that had been found in the general vicinity on 1/14 (one day after the "lost" spaniels in the other ad escaped). Unfortunately, the listing said that one of the dogs had been hit by a car and died. I forwarded the petfinder ad to the craigslister who was looking for their dogs. She responded immediately with thanks and contacted the poster who had found those dogs immediately to see if they were her dogs. Later that day I followed up with her by email to see if they turned out to be her dogs. It turns out that those were, in fact, her dogs and she was devastated by the loss of one of her dogs, which was compounded by the fact that the person who found her dogs had called a rescue organization and that rescue organization is now refusing to return the living dog to it's rightful owners despite the fact that they have provided proof of ownership (including family photos showing her distinct color patterns). In a nutshell, the dogs escaped on 1/13, were discovered after one was hit by a car on 1/14, the living one turned over to the rescue organization on 1/14, the living one was spayed on 1/16 by said rescue organization. The owners contacted the rescue organization on 1/17 and were told that they couldn't have their dogs and that the organization had a "family of interest" in mind (though not yet placed in that home). This all over the course of 4 days. The person who posted the "found" ad was the person who turned it over to the rescue. The ad was not posted by the rescue. The rescue does not appear to have tried to locate the owner. Just threw up a picture of the dog on their personal website (not petfinder). The person who found the dog never contacted the city, just the rescue, so the city was not involved in any way. She has since told the owners that the rescue organization was very mean to her when she turned the dog over and that she would assist in trying to get the dog back.

What recourse, if any, both morally and legally do the original owners of this dog have to get their dog back? (I have advised them to contact the police and immediately pick up the dog from the rescue before they place the dog in a home.)

Isn't it the moral obligation of the rescue organization to try to seek the dog's original owners (particularly since it didn't go through the county's typical 72 hour wait period, Maricopa/Arizona) before finding it a home?

What are the rules here?

I find it hard to believe that the rescue would refuse to return the dog to the owner! Rescues don't have an obligation to try to find the owner of any dog. However, they are obligated to get a signed surrender form giving ownership of the dog to them.
This woman can simply go to the police, show proof of ownership and have her dog returned to her.
What a horrible thing for a rescue to do! Legally, they cannot keep her dog. Good luck!

[Fuzzywug]

Originally Posted by DesertChildAZ

With pleasure...

This is the second "rescue" organization that I've encountered that has left me in disgust. Two years ago, after my 13 year old cat died, I was looking to add another cat to my home and responded to a petfinder ad for a young cat in Arizona. That "Rescue" was called "Castaway Treasures" and I went to the "facility" which was a very old home in a VERY seedy area of town. The front porch was enclosed in chicken wire and I was not permitted inside. The shelterowner met me outside in the yard and instructed me to stay about 10 feet within its gates, which was 15 feet or so from the porch of the home. The windows were blocked out with aluminum and there were 4 dogs on the porch. When the lady met me outside, she went in to get the cat and I could hear her SCREAMING profanities at the dogs inside, telling them to "Get the F*!@ down" repeatedly. When she brought the kitten out in a carrying case, it had snot caked on it's nose, oozing eyes and ear mites. I could not take this cat because my other 16 year old cat had just had a tumor removed and was susceptible to infection. I couldn't bring a sick cat into my home. It KILLED me to send that kitten back into that home. I wanted so badly to just run with it but I didn't know anyone who could take it until I could get it to a vet. I cried all the way home. I believe, with what I know now, that that "rescue" organization was in fact a hoarder. It just seemed shady to me. But it broke my heart that those animals had to live with that raving screaming terrible woman. I eventually alerted petfinder.com and the city animal control. I didn't see many ads from her on petfinder after that so I'm not sure if she was banned.

Anyway, I don't have a very good taste in my mouth from the experience and this dogowner's recent experience just speaks volumes about what is wrong in animal rescue today.

(I do have another experience of a cat rescue in the Phoenix area that was superb and very impressive, so I don't think they are all bad.)

PLEASE! Be assured that our rescue is not like that! If you look at our site, I'm sure you'll see Reese's story. We certainly could have kept this little guy....he was surrendered to us. but made a moral and ethical decision to reunite him with his family. He was surrenderd to us before the decision was made... but our rescue if truly all about the dogs and knew that returning him was the right thing to do

Being in rescue is tough enough without trying to live down the awful things others do!
Trish
Yorkie Rescue Colorado

[Mari-Lou]

Originally Posted by bchgirl

No kidding. Does she know where the dog is physically located? With that information and her proof of ownership I believe the police would help her recover the pet. I hope....

I don't even know what rescues groups are governed by...in regards to attempting to find owners of "strays". In the shelters or city pounds here...it is customary to wait a specific amount of time before releasing a stray for adoption. Rescues who knows...

I wish the best for the outcome here.

Sounds like a horrible situation. The owners may have to go to court to get results. They should do it soon, get a lawyer too. Hope things work out

[DesertChildAZ]

Originally Posted by Mari-Lou

Sounds like a horrible situation. The owners may have to go to court to get results. They should do it soon, get a lawyer too. Hope things work out

Perhaps you're late on reading all the posts in this thread, but the dog is now in it's rightful home with its original owners.

[sweetie3]

I am so glad the people got their pet back.this is a happy ending, one was lost but this was not a total tragedy.




WOW! I always thought of rescues as a saving grace for lost pets,that if you lost a pet and at the very least someone who found them didn't want them you could always check the local shelters and get your beloved pet back.Well this is an eye opener and I believe it would be harder to get a purebred back than a mix/mutt I am SOOOO glad my Max is micro chipped as I won't worry about that happening to me.

[daisy mae06]

Originally Posted by sweetie3

I am so glad the people got their pet back.this is a happy ending, one was lost but this was not a total tragedy.




WOW! I always thought of rescues as a saving grace for lost pets,that if you lost a pet and at the very least someone who found them didn't want them you could always check the local shelters and get your beloved pet back.Well this is an eye opener and I believe it would be harder to get a purebred back than a mix/mutt I am SOOOO glad my Max is micro chipped as I won't worry about that happening to me.

Not all rescues check for microchip... sad but true..
It makes the (GREAT ONES) look bad ....I feel for all the great rescues out there.
these bad ones

[Rae Rae]

That is terrible I'm glad they got their dog back. I think the family should definitly take legal action because their probably not the only rescue doing this, like Brianna posted this happened to her too. Maybe if theres a huge suit against this rescue, it would set the example for any other shelter that is going to do this.


I have a question, what is a hoarder?

[DesertChildAZ]

Originally Posted by daisy mae06

Not all rescues check for microchip... sad but true..

Because as we all know, if your dog escapes then you must be a bad owner and therefore, unworthy and unentitled to have your dog back.

[KittyJo]

Now it has me wondering.... how many other 'Trixies' belonged to someone else who was looking for them?
I'm sure glad Trixie got to go home!

[momo2589]

Most rescues that have a dog surrendered to them from a humane society/shelter assume that the shelter has waited the amount of time to have the owners claim their pet. I am with a rescue and this has never been a problem. Also when a dog is surrendered to them by a person the rescue assumes the dog is their dog and most sign a surrender form giving the dog to the rescue. I have yet to meet a bad rescue person. I know our rescues adoptions take around 3 weeks to do reference checks and such. I am sure if this was the case with us the dog would have been given back to the owner. If there were any vetting fees we would ask that they be paid before giving the dog back to the owner.

[Brianna2191]

Originally Posted by momo2589

Most rescues that have a dog surrendered to them from a humane society/shelter assume that the shelter has waited the amount of time to have the owners claim their pet. I am with a rescue and this has never been a problem. Also when a dog is surrendered to them by a person the rescue assumes the dog is their dog and most sign a surrender form giving the dog to the rescue. I have yet to meet a bad rescue person. I know our rescues adoptions take around 3 weeks to do reference checks and such. I am sure if this was the case with us the dog would have been given back to the owner. If there were any vetting fees we would ask that they be paid before giving the dog back to the owner.

I wish that all rescues were like yours

[yorksters5]

First, I would like to thank the wonderful lady who matches up lost dog ads with found dog ads. What a wonderful thing you are doing! This is a great way to help the animals and their owners.

I'm so thrilled that the surviving dog was returned to it's original/real owner. It's great that the Police stepped in to make this right.

Please don't judge all rescues as being bad or just out for the money. Unfortunately, this is true for a number of them - even some large, national groups. Do your homework before you become involved with a rescue. Check everywhere you can - the internet, groups like this one, online petition sites, yahoogroups.com, your vet, AKC and the breeders clubs. Many times they will have information on rescue groups and people. If the group won't do anything to help an animal unless money is involved (coming to them, of course), that tells you they are NOT about the dogs/animals, but about the dollars. If the attitude of the person you're dealing with is bad or something just doesn't seem right to you, run the other way. It's an indication of how things are done with that group.

Yes, there are also the hoarders out there who really believe they are helping the animals. If you suspect someone of being a hoarder, please report them to the proper animal authorities in your area. If they turn out to be ok, no harm done and at least someone with some authority has checked on the animals.

The good thing is there are a lot of super rescues out there. Our's is one of them. Little Bow Wow Rescue is another one in the So. CA area that's terrific and only, always for the animals. Just be careful who you get involved with.

All the best,
Debbie Wagner, Rescue Coordinator
Yorkshire Terrier Club of Los Angeles Rescue
yorkies.petfinder.org
ytcla.org - ytca.org

[Potter]

I am shocked reading this thread Can't find words to describe it...wow! I know there are a lot of good rescues out there but this really shocked me beyond words!

[Jeri Cunningham]

As much as we all love our Yorkies they are still dogs and the property of the owner. There was a Judge Judy episode that she explained you cannot keep a dog the the owner can prove it was theirs. I would call the police and have them get my dog as it is illegal to not return it!

This is why even on Animal Planet they have owners sign over there dogs as they are property. Heaven forbid someone tried to keep my dog!