Triangle Kennels Closed --- I hope they NEVER open again! (Pittsburgh: credit card, neighborhoods)

[Hopes]

Triangle kennel in McKees Rocks is almost empty - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

These scum held my dog for ransom, demanding CASH on the sidewalk to give me my dog back.

Many dog owners are extorted by this company. Being the only game in town, our townships had no other options.

Maybe now the townships will be more motivated to partner with neighboring townships and create township managed kennels.

I'm sure they'll save money compared to whatever they were paying out in contracts to this despicable kennel.

It breaks my heart to read the condition of the kennel when investigators arrived. Poor dogs.

[sparrowmint]

Hopefully someone will find something "wrong" enough with Hoffman Kennels to shut them down too. They're just as bad in terms of cruelty towards animals as well as attitudes/treatment towards owners, but not as many municipalities use them (yet, anyway) as Triangle. The state of animal control around here is pathetic. If Monroeville can run their own animal control (which has comparatively few complaints against it), others can too.

[okaydorothy]

I heard that last week. That was horrendous. Those poor animals.

[groar]

triangle is awful. apparently they were stalling when shelters and rescues were trying to take the dogs there. they even told the arl they weren't shutting down after all so they could keep the dogs that were there (but then changed their minds later). very weird.

[groar]

this is precious:

Once the kennel has been cleared of all dogs, the chief at Triangle Pet said he will become the new owner of the facility and will rename it and get it back to operating under the law.
"I'm going to get things moving in the right direction. It's going to be the same building but it's going to be a different name and a different staff," said Paul McIntyre, who has worked there for 28 years. "It's going to be a whole new business with no previous owners."

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by groar

this is precious:

What's sad is that's how these places get around the licensing. It's like bankruptcy. Run the same business under a new name.

btw, google all of the newspaper reports. The ones with comments sections---he's fighting with people in the comments. What a gem.

[Caladium]

Demanding cash for ransom of a puppy--Hopes, you should contact the local tv news station and suggest this as an investigation story. If the new place is as scummy as the previous one, they could board a dog there and film the guy demanding the cash. It has all the elements a news station loves.

[groar]

charging a fee to return a dog that is picked up by animal control or turned in to a shelter is pretty standard and fair enough, but cash on the sidewalk? that's crazy.

[Hopes]

On the rare occassions our little freak gets away, we're right behind him. The guy had just caught him. Didn't even have the leash on him yet. My son found them first. I ran up and he was demanding $80. CASH ONLY. I had my son stay with him (I feared he would disappear with my dog) while I went to the ATM.

In the comments section, a woman said her son's dog got loose. Had tags. They brought the dog to her door and demanded $40. CASH ONLY.

Reminded me of the investigations into the truck towing businesses in Oakland that were demanding cash when people would show up before their vehicles were even towed. The city put a stop to it, and requires towing businesses to accept credit cards.

When I called my township to complain (because this is extortion for an under-the-table business), I was told their hands were tied because this kennel was the only game in town. They said they had pursued partnerships with other townships to form their own kennel but finding enough land was the main problem.

Could you imagine not having the $80? How terrible would it be to know your pet was going to that torture place and there wouldn't be a thing you could do. I thought of that because my girlfriend was going through a very difficult financial time after a divorce. She would have needed to borrow the money since they don't take credit cards. Sad. Imagine how many LOVED pets couldn't be picked up before the execution date because it's CASH ONLY.

[groar]

that is horrendous. at the arl they only charge you if they take in the animal, and they'll even vaccinate so it's sort of a good deal. plus it's only $25, and if you can't afford it right then, the animal will probably go up for adoption so you could still get it back later. and i'm guessing that the shelter workers might work with people who clearly care about their pets but are in a bad spot financially.

the one good thing is that local shelters did pull from that place when they could.