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I feel so sorry for this elderly couple. Seems like the woman who took the dog is risking a great deal of public anger if she doesn't just give the dog back. With so many rescues wanting our money this is not a good way to present your agency to the public.
I can see this being a major temptation for people who run rescues. They get calls from people who are clearly unfit for dog ownership. It's amazing what people will say when they apply to adopt a dog (they'll tell you their last dog died by hanging himself while he was tied to a doorknob with a leash) so imagine the things they'll share when they aren't even trying to adopt, but rather are looking for help with a dog they already own. I am not commenting on the case in the link, just making the general comment that I bet rescues hear some stuff that if we heard it we too would want to race over and get the dog away from its owners.
I had a horrible experience with a rescue I used to help out. I was the training coordinator and the president of the rescue asked me to 'steal' one of the rescue's foster dogs from his foster family. I completely agreed that the dog needed to be taken away from them; they were feeding him live frogs and laughing while his mouth foamed. He was getting beat up by their other resident dog. It was a bad situation. And these foster people were asking to adopt the dog. I kept insisting that we do things the proper way and just go over with a police escort and take the dog. I even called our state troopers and local sheriff's departments and made sure they'd actually do that for us. The president of the rescue absolutely refused to do it this way. She told me to go over and tell the foster family that I was taking the dog for a training evaluation and that they could not be present during the assessment because it might influence his behavior if they were there. They agreed to this and I drove the dog to the home of the rescue's president. Then all hell broke loose.
The people who had been fostering the dog caught on pretty quick that the dog was not being returned so they came to the president of the rescue's home, assaulted her in her driveway, stole the keys to her house, it was terrifying. Then the cops took over an hour to show up so the foster people were long gone of course by the time the police arrived. The rescue ended up obtaining a restraining order against this couple and the dog was transferred to a rescue in Canada. I never worked with that rescue again. I was horrified by the whole thing.
I am not commenting on the case in the link, just making the general comment that I bet rescues hear some stuff that if we heard it we too would want to race over and get the dog away from its owners.
I wish you would comment on the case in the link since it's the topic of the thread.
Did you read the article? The way that "rescuer" talked to the journalist speaks volumes.
I wish you would comment on the case in the link since it's the topic of the thread.
Did you read the article? The way that "rescuer" talked to the journalist speaks volumes.
I read the article and watched the video and suspected that something went down in the initial conversation between the rescue and the owners that made the rescue director feel she needed to save this dog from incompetent owners. I chalk up her interaction with the reporter to simply being annoyed at the woman for persistently banging on her doors, ringing the dinner bell outside her home, etc. I don't really judge people by their reactions to reporters, who can be pretty pushy and rude themselves. I also think the rescue director was determined not to disclose what she was doing with the dog for fear that such information would inevitably lead to a reunion of the dog with his owners. I don't condone what the rescue did by any means. I just have a feeling this is not about stealing and then "selling" a dog for profit. I think the rescue director did this out of concern for the dog. It's possible if we were privy to their initial phone conversation we'd kind of understand why. No matter what was said however, this is not the way to go about helping the dog.
I too think there's another side to the story BUT they apparently have another dog that wasn't taken. And she could have just told the reporter she wasn't free to discuss the case.
When you're in a position to get money/donations from the public, you can't afford to be as unprofessional as she.
I watched the video and have to say, while the entire story may not have been told, the overall attitude of the rescue's director definitely raised red flags. Things she stated, such as the following, that she said took place with the dog's owners:
She claims, "I gave them one piece of paper that was a blank sheet of paper".
Then she says she told the couple, "I want you to sign the form that says you give me the dog"
Then the director went on to say "There's no FORM that says 'I give you my dog'" (seems to me she's contradicting what she said just before this).
Then she volunteered to read a piece of paper (purportedly the one she had the elderly couple sign, again contradicting what she said previously) to the reporter over the phone, but when the reporter said, "Why don't we meet and you can show me the paper?" the director bluntly stated, "No, I am NOT interested in meeting you".
When the reporter asked her what she was going to do with the dog, the director responded (angrily) "That's none of your business, woman".
Red flags? HUGE ones to me.
I do understand that rescue operations are desperately needed for animals who wind up in abusive or neglectful homes, and for so many unwanted animals out there, but from what I saw in the video, this case definitely requires investigation. Even with animal rescues, there can be bad apples in the barrel.
Of course we only know what this article says but it seems to me this couple was pretty responsible by the fact they asked for help in caring and training the dog. Some abuser would have just beat the dog every time it peed in the house. I hope there is so resolution to this situation. Unless there is a complaint about how the dog is being treated the woman had no business simply tricking this couple into giving up their pet. Elderly are especially prone to depression and ill health when they lose a pet.
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