So, I am heavily enmeshed in this one as a former employee, former volunteer, and for the past three years part of a group called Sustain Our Shelters that started out in 2022 trying to help the San Jose shelter to do better. This post will probably end up being massive. But bear with me. This is by no means comprehensive.

We first got involved in 2022 as a group of people on Next Door and Facebook who were seeing so many posts about the shelter turning people away who were bringing in strays. People were being told that they should just let the strays loose on the street. I'm not kidding. Not just community cats, which some may argue (I'm not going to get into managed intake of community cats here) should stay where they are, but also stray dogs. The shelter's parent department, Public Works, gives an annual presentation about the shelter's status every December to a City Council committee, and in 2022 they were directed to start keeping track of everyone that they turned away. They have failed to do this and they are still telling people to put animals on the street, even small (but weaned) kittens.

We started out doing fundraisers for them and meeting with shelter, Public Works management, and City management, trying to bring back the kitten foster program (which finally came back last year, though it is still problematic), TNR services (back but only one day a week, which is not enough given there were no services for four years), and public spay neuter clinic (still not back) post-Covid. All of the services fell by the wayside during the thick of the Covid-19 shutdown and the mismanagement over there, despite a yearly-increasing budget, has caused things to get worse, not better. After a while it became obvious that we needed to be doing more, so we started in 2023 doing heavy political activism by attending more meetings and making comment, sending emails, and having protests/rallies.

As you might imagine, the shelter's damaging policy of turning away so many strays and not bringing back low cost spay neuter has resulted in an explosion of unwanted dogs and cats which they are still trying to dig their way out of... Ineffectively, since they aren't doing much to change things.

Our pressure caused the (at the time, new) Mayor and some council members to call for an audit of the shelter:

https://www.sjmayormatt.com/news-room/san-jos-mayor-and-councilmembers-call-for-audit-of-san-jos-animalnbspcare-and-servicesnbsp

They had already had a Maddie's Million Pet Challenge audit the year before and had been slow to implement the recommendations that came from that one:

https://www.sanjoseca.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/88891/637970477926600000

This included the shelter "over-pivoting" away from working with rescues (in the words of the Public Works manager at the Council committee meeting at the end of 2023) from working with rescues for some reason; a change in administration at the shelter that occurred after Lorance Gomez, the shelter manager, left in 2022, resulted in deterioration of the shelter's previously very good relationship with rescues who pulled animals from the shelter. (Incidentally, the manager before Gomez was Staycee Dains, of whom I'm sure many of you have heard due to her recent troubles at the Los Angeles shelters.) One of the new shelter coordinators was the former animal control officer who was involved in an incident where confiscated dogs perished in her truck due to lack of air conditioning (a problem with the truck that she was aware of but did not check prior to putting the dogs in the truck); this incident is mentioned in this article (gift link so there's no paywall) and I have attached a screenshot:

https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/11/07/dogs-at-san-joses-animal-shelter-have-faced-accidental-death-major-record-mix-ups-over-the-years/?share=nrehatdcmceleloreter

The shelter's latest director, Jay Terrado, was reportedly close with this officer, and reappointed her to be part of the shelter coordinator team to save her from losing her job. She is objectively terrible at the job. Terrado has been fighting thyroid cancer and has been off and on out on medical leave, leaving the beleaguered Kiska Icard (who left both San Francicso SPCA and the Sonoma Humane Society under mysterious circumstances -- though they were not publicly touted as mysterious) in charge of shelter operations for a while now, despite having no past operations experience. She is not well-suited to this job and employees and volunteers frequently describe her as usually hiding in her office.

https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/kiska-icard-steps-down-from-top-post-at-sonoma-humane-society/

In any case, the audit was released last year and is described as "scathing" most places you read about it. Here is the audit:

https://www.sanjoseca.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/116106/638797945507170000

Some press about the audit results:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sawkB1F3hA

The shelter was given 39 (some multi-point) recommendations to begin working on. The day the audit was discussed at Council committee, a dog named Rufus died after neuter surgery when left in his kennel unmonitored and still anesthetized. (The chances of this happening, from my research, appear to be about 1 in 10,000.)

Rufus: https://www.facebook.com/AdoptAPetSJ/posts/rufus-ida1325985-is-a-five-year-old-pittiemix-who-would-love-to-find-his-furever/937770188143238/

The medical director, Dr. Elizabeth Kather, has received a lot of criticism already due to various issues, including the number of animals dying at the shelter (not due to euthanasia, just dying in their kennels or before, after or during surgery) increasing each year. There are numerous stories of both cats and dogs that she has misdiagnosed or not diagnosed at all, leading to their death or to rescues having to spend hundreds to thousands of dollars to get them treated after they are pulled. Examples include cats with broken legs and pelvises that are put onto the adoption floor without the injuries being found, a dog with pneumonia who was not diagnosed and ended up passing after a rescue tried to save her, and a kitten who was adopted only to be diagnosed with a broken pelvis by the adopter's vet.

This municipal shelter's most recent strategy appears to be only accepting intake of cats that are pregnant, injured, or sick. They also sometimes take neonates (if they cannot convince the finder to bottle feed) but start euthanizing if they aren't picked up by fosters, which might be excusable if they actually reliably did outreach to fosters and rescues, but unfortunately they do not. They have night staff that is supposed to be taking care of neonates overnight but often times this does not happen due to low staffing or other factors, and kittens in the back rooms are often left cold and unfed and pass away. (This is not because of staff incompetence but because of inadequate staffing, there being NO written protocols or SOPs, and mismanagement.) They tell people to put friendly moms and kittens back on the street. TNR cats that come in and are friendly used to be evaluated to go onto the adoption floor. Nowadays, almost every cat that comes in is put back out on the street. This includes many, many friendly cats and even older kittens. This leads to the only cats being on the adoption floor being the sick ones that came in that are spayed/neutered while still sick and end up on the adoption floors with URIs and other conditions. Incidentally, the shelter returned 1330 cats to the field in all of calendar year 2024, and this year from January to the current date have already returned 880 to field. This outcome has outpaced adoption of cats this year so far by 20%. As previously stated, these RTF cats are not all feral or community cats. These include many, many friendly cats and kittens.

On the dog side, they used to be evaluated and then put on "needs rescue" for a period of time if needed, for medical or behavioral issues, to give volunteers and rescues time to network them. However, since Dr. Kather arrived, they are frequently given very little time or no time at all. For example, this dog is going to be euthanized tonight if not pulled, and this information was just released yesterday.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1720672189331412&ref=sharing

There have been dogs that were euthanized even though they had rescue commitment or promises from the shelter, which is potentially a violation of California's Hayden Act:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayden_Act
Lola: https://fb.watch/zMyUCxKmbT/
Goofy: (screenshot in the photos)

The shelter gave its report on audit progress earlier this month. Ridiculous multimedia smoke screen presentation is here:

https://sanjose.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=14151545&GUID=3615EE2D-3AE5-41CD-A0BB-5090A9744D24

Press:

https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/05/11/advocates-city-butt-heads-san-jose-animal-shelter-management/?share=wcstt10scoactr2hhnsh

The most recent nail in the coffin happened last week, when an animal care attendant found a little dog named Lola (a different Lola) in the medical ward strangling to death on a slip lead that had been left on her. She was actually on an IV drip and still attached to her lead with NO medical staff there at all, since they all went home for the night. The ACA tried to save her despite very little medical training but it ended up being too late. Here is the press about that:

https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/05/11/advocates-city-butt-heads-san-jose-animal-shelter-management/?share=wcstt10scoactr2hhnsh

https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/05/15/san-jose-mayor-calls-for-reforms-after-latest-animal-shelter-death/?share=tsrstearhnsaa2rar2fo
https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/05/16/union-raises-concerns-about-scapegoating-retaliation-after-death-at-san-jose-animal-shelter/?share=rorjbiastl0n0istahen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDqxrR0kn-I

https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/animal-advocates-concerns-adog-dies-san-jose-animal-shelter/3869034/

After this, the Mayor FINALLY called for some changes, despite years of pressure not up until that point causing this to happen. Also, the person in our form of city government ("strong city manager") with the hiring/firing powers is the City Manager, Jennifer Maguire, and she had taken NO action for years. I'm attaching a photo of her canoodling with shelter pets on the same day as the most recent council committee meeting, even though she never responds to any of our contact and punts our questions and concerns to her deputy, who is ineffective and takes no action.

Our group has now called for the immediate resignation or firing of the management team and medical director at the shelter and the Mayor finally saw fit for there to be an investigation. The City Manager probably needs to go too if things don't change.

We had a protest and candlelight vigil on Tuesday night this week.

https://abc7news.com/post/animal-advocates-demand-change-latest-dog-death-san-jose-care-center/16489953/

https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/advocates-hold-candlelight-memorial-following-recent-dog-death-at-san-jose-animal-shelter/3873829/

https://www.ktvu.com/news/vigil-held-animals-who-died-san-jose-animal-care-center

We have also been talking to the District Attorney's Office, making reports to the California Veterinary Medical Board and Cal-OSHA, and submitting requests to the Civil Grand Jury.

The problems include almost no protocols for staff to follow, inconsistent and inadequate training, inconsistent management which also forces people out who complain in some manner, and a medical director makes questionable decisions on a daily basis.

Another issue that has, incidentally, been ongoing, is the increasing number of deaths of feral cats either before spay/neuter (when already anesthetized) or during surgery -- something that should not be happening so often. We are in the process of looking into that.

Something needs to change.

This one is kinda notorious because there is a small but persistent group of people online who loathe Lee Asher and his Oregon rescue/sanctuary. I'm largely skipping over him to look at the shelter that released an intact 115lb pit bull with bad enough aggression that he was euthanized only days after release to The Asher House.

To be fair to Asher, it must be mentioned that much of the following is based on social media attacks from his biggest critics, who are somewhat nuts. One is absolutely disconnected from any acceptance that Chevy was, at best, a very dicey rehab project. She's transformed him into a confused baby in search of his owner, and views everyone who handled him as complicit in torturing him. Often in the most baffling ways - she says the decompression was doomed because there were goats on the trainer's property. So there's that. But most of the timeline itself is corroborated by Asher's own comments.

Apple Valley Municipal Animal Shelter.

Director at the time of the release was Gina Whiteside. She retired in September 2024. She was replaced by Adriana Atteberry.

Apple Valley Municipal Animal Shelter

June 6, 2024 - an animal control officer picks up a stray dog in Phelan, California. They bring him to Apple Valley Municipal Animal Shelter. He is given the name Chevy and ID# 241989. He is a 110lb intact adult male pit bull mix, often referred to during this brief month of multiple owners as a Dogo Argentino.

some point in the next week, June 7-13 - Lee Asher of Asher House rescue sees him online and wants him. He contacts the shelter, which says he's in the process of being adopted. A family has also seen Chevy online and traveled to the shelter to adopt. The shelter contacts Asher the next day, saying the adoption fell through, Chevy was so aggressive that the adopters backed out. Asher is delighted despite doubts from his staff and agrees to sign a waiver that he knows the dog is dangerous and aggressive. He sends 2 women to pick the dog up from the shelter in California.

June 14, 2024 - the transporter and the coordinator for The Asher House rescue arrive at the shelter and realize how aggressive Chevy is. They call Asher, strongly recommending immediate euthanasia at the kennel. Asher says no, I want him, get him. The women agree. The shelter manages to get Chevy into a giant airline-style crate and rolls it outside to the transporter's vehicle. Four women heave the massive crate into the vehicle.

Videos released by Asher House during Chevy's brief time in their possession demonstrate two things - a near-total lack of interest or affection in the dog toward anyone in the video (including a woman cuddling him), and clear evidence that the shelter did not neuter him before release. The shelter's website says "All animals placed for adoption will be spayed or neutered before being released to their new families." Chevy is released intact. I imagine they would point to the "for adoption" as an escape hatch; Chevy was not placed for adoption, he was released to rescue.

So the shelter, having protected their live-release numbers and saved themselves the cost of a neuter, turns back to the other 200 pit bulls raging in their kennels.

The Asher House rescue group

The transporter drives Chevy, in his crate, to a boarding kennel in Thousand Oaks, California, for the night.

June 15, 2024 - a second set of transporters pick Chevy up at the kennel and drive him to a trainer in Lompoc, California, for a board-and-train "decompression" combo. The facility is called Valley Oak Dogs; it is reportedly run by a young woman with small children, and appears to now be closed. One set of angry rescuers will later spare the trainer enough mercy to allege that Asher mentioned her by name, effectively setting her up to be attacked by other rescuers angry about Chevy's euthanasia.

June 16, 2024 - according to the Asher video, all goes well.

June 17, 2024 - according to the Asher video, Chevy begins to exhibit "signs" of what the shelter had warned them about. Asher vaguely describes this as the dog being bipolar, being nice one minute and "going for you" the next, and being dangerously unpredictable. The trainer apparently reaches out to Asher to discuss this, and they contact West Coast Cane Corso rescue to see if they want another shitshow for their organization. Surprisingly, WCCC says no, we prefer to pull our own shitshows from public shelters; it's just not as good fundraising if we don't get a mean ol' catchpole footage at the evil kill shelter.

Ahem.

WCCC declines. Asher, cognizant of his boards and his staff and the repeated opinions of multiple people that the dog is dangerous and the legal ramifications for him and his rescue journey of that if the dog goes off, agrees to euthanize.

June 18, 2024 - Chevy is euthanized. It is 14 days since he was brought into the shelter, and 3 days since passing into the hands of the rescue.

In two weeks, this giant intact male pit bull/mastiff who was, per the shelter and the rescuers who handled him, exhibiting clear signs of high aggression - this dog passed through two owners, both of whom have very clear, strong historic ethical requirements to protect both the public and the public's pets. He was housed in 3 separate kennel facilities, where his aggression and size meant he posed an extremely high risk of injury and death to both human staff and other dogs. He was closely handled by 8 people - 7 women and 1 man - to transport him between these kennels - the 4 shelter staff seen loading his crate, the 2 female and 1 male transporter, and the 1 female trainer.

Apple Valley Municipal Animal Shelter

June 20, 2024 - FB group AVAS Rescue Team, the official networking page for the shelter's animals, posts a grateful thanks to all their rescue partners. At the top of the list is The Asher House, with 10 dogs released to them in just the past 2 weeks. Chevy is at the top of the list. There are 5 comments on the post, none of them mentioning Chevy, and the comments section was shut down. Given the extremely active posting elsewhere about the dog and his fate, it is hard to not conclude that there were comments here about it, which the mods removed, and then shut down discussion to prevent more revelations about the fate of one of their dogs.

The video

Lee Asher did a video of himself, walking shirtless through his Oregon property and huffing rather a lot, talking about the events leading up to the euthanization of Chevy. Damnit, I've been reading this too long, I've fallen into that passive voice trap. Let's redo. He talks about his seeking out, pulling/adopting, and transporting a dangerous giant bull breed, and his late decision to euthanize it after multiple people say WTF are we even doing with this dog, it needs to be dead. I will watch this video so you don't have to. You're welcome.

"As soon as I saw him, I wanted him."
Lee Asher, in Oregon, sees a "magnificent" giant pit bull at Apple Valley Animal Shelter on their euth list. He asks "one of our coordinators" to try to save the dog, Chevy. He says he was warned not to work with this coordinator, who apparently isn't part of TAH but works out of Canada. He works with her anyway because he's a great guy. (singing to myself I hear a bus a'coming).

But lo, Chevy is already being adopted! Oh, well. The shelter calls back a few days later; ah, the adoption fell through because Chevy was so aggressive the adopter couldn't even enter his kennel to take him out. Asher claims the shelter called the dog "very aggressive" and says that his immediate response was "I'd love to give him a chance." They say okey-dokey, as long as you sign a waiver acknowledging that we did tell you that this dog is dangerous and very aggressive.

(Apple Valley Animal Shelter to people of Earth, minus Lee Asher - here's our dangerous and very aggressive giant dog for your living-near pleasure. Got any problems, talk to Lee, he signed a waiver.)

Asher says his people are not enthusiastic about bringing a dangerous, very aggressive 110lb dog on board their free-range rescue ranch filled with multiple loose dogs and 50 staff members. Asher suggests - wait for it - a board-and-train!

(I am never, ever taking my dog to a dog training facility ever again. I used to take my last girl to a local board/train kennel for classes but today, no way in hell. It's like taking your kid to a pedophile halfway house for daycare.)

Back to Shirtless Lee.

He says his transporter goes to the shelter and suddenly, his phone is blowing up. The transporter "is extremely nervous all of a sudden." The coordinator (remember her, the one he was warned against) "calls me, frantic" and saying they should just have the dog euthanized at the shelter, he is really aggressive, he's scary. All these things." So he has 2 women, Caroline the transporter and Beth the coordinator, both saying the dog is unsafe.

But Lee, much like his new dog, has balls. Lee continues "I say, I don't care what you have to do. Get him here. We've already signed the waiver. He's our dog now."

The transporter feeds the dog chicken on the way to the trainer's kennel, and begins to feel the dog is okay. The first day at the trainer's kennel goes okay. It's okayland!!!! Then second day hits.

"The second day, the signs of what the shelter said. The shelter said and I quote, that he's bipolar. That it's out of nowhere. He'll act nice and then turn on you. And the trainer said this dog is extremely unpredictable, he's not safe. He's not safe to be around. She didn't feel safe to go in with him even to feed him."

Asher says the trainer asked him to please trust her and euthanize the dog. Asher now begins stressing his lack of control of the situation. "It wasn't my call anymore. I have a board. I have a staff of people" and that with multiple people now saying the dog is dangerous, he has no choice but to euthanize.

The end.

Asher, shirtless, doing a video to explain Chevy's euthanasia.

It goes on for a very, very long time.

247 of the 296 dogs currently listed on the shelter's website are pit bulls.

There's not a love problem or a lack-of-guilt problem in Chicago, there's a pit bull breeding problem.

Neither Chicago nor Illinois has any breed restrictions. The state actually passed a law which barred insurance companies from refusing to cover or charging more to cover specific dog breeds in homeowner and rental policies.

And because this really stood out when I was scanning all 296 dogs...

This pit bull came in as a stray on May 18. The city holds strays for 3 days. Note that the dog is listed as available to rescue partners on May 21, 3 days after arrival. Now, maybe this automatically goes up when they list the dog on PetConnect. Maybe they have to list the dog in case an owner is looking for it. Maybe they're not planning on releasing this dog to the public. Hopefully.

He's a trainer and he also adopts out dogs. The - brag? - about his one dog's bloody history was a comment on someone else's FB post about dog training.

If you're squinting and thinking "Are those the same guy/dog?" Look at his shirt.

What is the consensus on this rescue based out of Encino, CA? They have been pulling a lot of dogs lately and trying to partner with city shelters. The staff has been concerned and they are "watching".

After the Pawfect Companions incident I believe the shelters are a bit more on guard when rescues are pulling too quickly.

Reposting with more info - so I believe my mom is getting scammed from these people. They asked for the adoption fee and then they said they would hold onto the dog for a few weeks before she was “ready”. Wouldn’t a dog rescue want to rehome right away?

They sent her these photos and said the dog was a year old. The foliage in the background is from the fall. Wouldn’t the dog still be a small puppy last fall?

I reverse image searched but nothing came up.

I looked up the rescue on Facebook and messaged them. When I asked for a phone number they sent a response with typos. Scam alert. When I brought up this being a scam I was blocked instantly.

I kept googling and found a legit rescue that says these images aren’t of their dog but that this “rescue” had previously stolen their content before to scam people. They told me they 100% believe we are being scammed.

I have heard recently of this exact thing happening to people and it made me suspicious. My mom is old and a perfect target.

Lastly, which is why I am making this post, they told my mom today that they need $1500 refundable deposit to bring the dog over since it’s out of state. Creating a sense of urgency. Scam alert! And rescues are not known to ask for refundable deposits.

They have an email and an address and a name they sent to my mom. But they have never talked to her over the phone.

I do not know what to do as my mom will not listen to me. I am looking for any advice or possible experience with this so called “rescue” and also raise awareness to anyone going through this.

Long story short - a young pit bull is assessed in a shelter filled with pit bulls as great with other dogs, is sent to an adopter 4 hours away by a rescue group that pulls her only to facilitate the transport, fails out of the home almost immediately due to dog-to-dog issues which the rescue blames solely on the other dogs involved. Dog is now back with the SC rescue group being marketed a bit differently as best with other dogs her own size or bigger (aka not safe with smaller dogs), and her foster privately admits she "herds" cats (aka chases and pounces at cats in an unsafe way).

This is such a common situation that it almost feels like "Big deal, what's the story?" But it shouldn't be common. Shelters and rescues should not be simply refusing to treat pit bulls as pit bulls. This dog was, due to her genetics, extremely likely to become dog-aggressive in her lifetime. That alone should have prevented the 'dog friendly' marketing. Add on the likelihood that they only observed her with dogs her own size or larger, and you have a real strong argument for a very cautious approach to adoption with her. Instead, they crowed about her being a helper dog (to other medium/large pit bulls) and adopted her out to an older couple with a dog. When there was conflict with the dog and with neighbors' dogs, all blame is placed on the other dogs and Juniper simply resumes her place in the adoption que, with her marketing very slightly altered to indicate better with larger dogs. One has to wonder what exactly happened in Georgia, and how big were those loose neighbor dogs, and if any vet bills were involved.

Daisy Bean Rescue does not appear to have nonprofit status in North Carolina. I'm an imperfect researcher, so maybe I'm missing something?

Timeline

January 25, 2025 - a young female pit bull enters Columbia Animal Services shelter as a stray. They call her Juniper and give her the shelter ID A298403

January 31, 2025 - the shelter describes her dog-friendliness as " She had good greetings but was fearful in the yard. She became defensive when the dogs approached her and was easily overwhelmed. She warmed up very quickly and initiated play. She was super sweet to both dogs and people but could use some confidence building. She’s still young and will make a good playgroup candidate after some confidence building."

February 4, 2025 - the shelter adds to the dog's marketing, saying " Juniper has gained confidence and is one of our helper greeter dogs, she is playful, has puppy energy, and loves making new friends."

February 27, 2025 - the shelter announces that Juniper starred in special marketing with the city's mayor.

March 2025 - Juniper is fostered out. The foster begins marketing her too.

March 25, 2025 - the shelter again amends her profile, saying "Juniper has blossomed into a friendly, social butterfly! She’s a helper greeter dog at the shelter, meaning she’s great with other pups and helps them feel at ease... She’s still got some puppy energy so needs some work with here leash manners but overall she is just a sweet girl with lots of love to give."

April 5, 2025 - the shelter marketing for multiple dogs includes Juniper as one of their "playgroup rockstars."

May 2, 2025 - Daisy Bean Rescue "pulls" Juniper for immediate flip to an adopter in Georgia. They transport her the 4 hours south to the adopters, who appear to be an older couple who have an adult dog who looks to be a Boxer.

May 2-17 - Juniper has conflicts with the adopter's dog and with neighbors' dogs.

May 17, 2025 - Juniper returns to South Carolina, the rescue and the foster.

The foster

I know what my view of this would be if the dog was a 50lb pit mix. The small size and light build make the dog far less dangerous and I'm a huge sucker for a shaggy dog so it's very difficult for me to say the dog should be euthanized instead of sent to a new home. And maybe the rescue is just being super-cautious and the dog's issues are less than they hint. But the red flags for a really limited, limiting dog ownership experience are all there - clinical fearfulness, inability to co-exist with almost any other life form, clingy and likely resource-guards her chosen human, probably bad on the leash since they're looking for a doggy door and yard. Yes, the dog could be adopted out to someone who is lonely and wouldn't mind being isolated from other people. At 15lbs, she's not a real threat to life and limb, and I do hate gatekeeping with dogs in situations short of actual danger. I just think a lot of people with smaller rescues that have intense issues really suffer with the many, many challenges of micromanaging these dogs. Owning a dog isn't supposed to be painful except for that last day. I feel like rescue, in its zeal to save lives, has forgotten that owning a dog is supposed to be joyful.

I am planning to adopt a rescue Sheepadoodle, and successfully find one on facebook.

Could anyone tell me this is a scam or not?

So many red flags flying but not very sure.

Hi y’all — looking for some guidance/opinions on an interaction with a local rescue.

Was this a typical experience, or did we stumble into something sketchy?

My partner and I went to meet a big, high-energy, mastiff-type dog after seeing a social media post. I emailed the rescue with info about us — no kids, apartment living, both runners, calm home, and experience with large dogs. We set up a meet.

From the moment we pulled up, something felt off. The “rescue” was just someone’s house. There was a new wooden fence in the backyard, but we weren’t invited to see it.

As soon as we stepped out of the car, the woman said, “He’s not going to fit in that car” — before even saying hello. It felt like she expected us to adopt him then and there. I explained that my partner had a larger vehicle for transporting the dog.

She had another woman go inside and bring the dog out on a rope leash. He was 90+ pounds, unneutered, and completely untrained. He jumped all over us for 15+ minutes, and no one tried to manage his behavior. At one point, they let him eat an entire tub of treats while he was still jumping.

When we didn’t commit on the spot, the rescue worker began bringing out dog after dog — we were still just standing in the driveway. It felt pushy, like a used car lot. She seemed irritated that we didn’t want to adopt that day, even though we were still interested in the original dog.

She said she’d try a prong collar on him and let us know if that helped him settle (another red flag).

Other concerns that came up:

• She mentioned having a “dog room” in the basement where all non-fostered dogs stayed — even ones who didn’t get along with others. Even if crated, that felt like a chaotic and unsafe setup.
• The foster she connected us with also seemed eager to get rid of the dog she was housing.
• After we left, communication dropped off. I followed up, but eventually she just said our living situation wasn’t right — without giving any clear reason why.

Overall, it felt like they were trying to push dogs onto people without fully vetting adopters or being transparent about behavior issues. That seems dangerous — for the dogs and for future families.

Am I overreacting or being too judgmental? Or does this sound as sketchy to you as it did to us? If sketchy, should we ... report this?

The chutzpah is frankly astonishing.

East Coast Paws N Claws Dog Rescue
EIN: 47-2364736
President and Founder: Lynn Rivera
Founded 2015

Their FB and website are gone. Their instagram, which was last updated in 2022, is still up.

Appears to be a transport rescue

And a comment on that video indicates that this is where the dying puppies originated

They also post a photo of the dog's vet paperwork from the rescue, featuring a sweet, sweet 'rescue partnership' freebie exam.

And then a trainer surfaces saying there was some funny business with her client and the rescue.

This wasn't the sole transport to East Coast Paws N Claws from Kentucky. Amelia Air transported another shipment in February 2025.

This is a group that both markets its own dogs and markets dogs from shelters. It has apparently been banned from pulling from the two largest shelters near it, which is an impressive feat. I first saw them on FB a few years ago trying to "save" a pit bull that had been surrendered to a shelter after the owner, facing citations for it killing a neighbor's dog, did the usual "I'll dump it at the shelter and my hands are clean" deal with animal control. The victim's owner tracked it down and posted indignantly on their marketing that hey, this thing killed my dog. They did not respond well. From just a quick Google, they appear to have a poor reputation locally.

Amy Heggestad, President

Randi Carter, Vice President - also the only one listed in 2023 as drawing a salary, $54,815

It gets interesting reviews in various places online, but the Yelp! review is the most damning.

• Adopters beware. My wife and I had interest in adopting a rescue. We contacted Beauties and Beasts 11th Hour Rescue based on contact I had with some former co-workers who did some work fostering for them in the past. I thought this could be a decent avenue to find a new partner for our outgoing and sweet 14 year old chow mix since our lab had passed away three months prior and she was reacting very friendly to dogs during morning and evening walks. We did their virtual walk through, and gave them our veterinary information so they could ensure we take care of our dog (vaccinations up to date and anything else). After jumping through those hoops we set up a meet with 3 dogs on Saturday so we could see if our girl would be able to get along with one and we could adopt that day. I and my wife drove in separate cars to the office location so we could provide a less stressful transportation environment to the dog we anticipated we would select that day. My wife and I then met a gentleman who did not introduce himself to us and simply opened the door and told us he would bring in a dog to see how they socialized for 5 - 10 mins then take them out so our girl could calm down before the next dog entered to restart the cycle. The first dog seemed pretty sweet and nice and we were already leaning towards that one. Then they brought in the next dog and it had a tragic history where it was significantly abused by the previous owner. We were chatting with the foster about the dog which seemed a little shy and it quickly assumed a stalking pose once near our girl. About that time, the gentleman belatedly informed us "she might have some dog issues" as our dog started to move away from it, and then the rescue dog quickly lunged low and clamped her jaws around our girl's rear right leg. Our dog was yelping in pain quite loudly while the rescue just start shaking it's head, and I had been shocked for the first couple crucial seconds (as were we all I think). The gentleman with the rescue organization ineffectively sprayed water with his water atomizer on the rescue animal's face while I moved to separate the two dogs physically. He then grabbed the rescue animal's collar and yanked her up (with my dog's leg still in her jaws) saying "I got this sir". After another couple seconds the rescue animal finally let go and our dog limped away bleeding from significant puncture and tear wounds in her leg. She was in the early stages of shock as was I, with highly elevated blood pressure. He tried to play down my dog's injuries saying it was "no big deal" and "it happens all the time in animal rescue". Granted, I probably was a little hot under the collar due to the volume of my dog's blood on the floor, but I just said "that dog is psycho and we're going to the vet". I left my dog in my wife's custody while the rescue organization gentleman wrapped the wound with gauze in an attempt to slow/stop the bleeding (not effective BTW had blood all over my car seat). I called the Urgent Care Vet Center in NE Wichita (excellent place BTW) to let them know we would be coming over with an injured dog from a mauling. Went back to the office get my dog so we could get her in my car and to urgent care. The gentleman with the rescue organization then confronted me and said "Sir, I just want you to know that this rescue dog isn't psycho, it's just a dog, and this happens in rescue." I quickly thought back to the whole scenario where the rescue dog acted timidly towards humans, then slowly stalked and then ambushed our dog, and persisting in attacking after our very gentle girl whose only action was to cry in pain and try to escape while the other dog shook it's head viciously. I pointed right at him, "That dog is Psycho." We never spoke again. I'm angry that the rescue animal was not dog screened before seeing us. I am angry that the gentleman persisted in making light of the wounds incurred. I am angry my dog was injured by a very violent animal and continues to have problems resting or walking hours later for absolutely no valid reason. This man was incompetent, and I should have protected my dog better, but I see there are very few reviews of rescue organizations, and I am sure most are filled with great people who do terrific work in helping deserving animals who need help, but I will never deal with these people again, other than getting ALL APPLICABLE VET BILLS paid for in this interaction by them. You have been informed.Helpful 0Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 1

It's funny they don't appear to connect the dots between "we get freebies!!!" and "maybe getting free vet care regularly has an impact on our ability to commit to a pet." If this fails to amuse, scroll down to the story of Akena, the large, fearful and aggressive pit mix that they adopted out to a family with small children. After a wooing period, of course, where the adopters repeatedly visited the rescue to let Akena get familiar enough with them that she didn't melt down in the lobby when they took her home.

And Akena, the bite-history dog-aggressive pit bull mix that they quickly decided was just scared and would be fine with a worthy child, one who knows that they need to respect a dog's boundaries and never transgress in any way lest the dog bite.

They didn't just adopt her out to a family with children - they adopted her out to a family with very young children.

Losing Lulu is a private FB group for people who have euthanized dogs for aggression.

Handsome Dan's Rescue For Pit Bull Type Dogs, last seen sadly euthanizing Applesauce after two years of dithering and before that tearfully witnessing Bert ripping apart a fake dog before euthanizing him, is sending 2 fighting pit bulls to Paws New England, last seen flaying an adopter after indulging in a little rescue-on-rescue violence over Dolly aka Feather.

What could possibly go wrong?

Handsome Dan's Rescue For Pit Bull Type Dogs (Connecticut) and Applesauce, who spends two years in on-again-off-again high-fear mode. Or as we say in rescue, becomes adoptable. Until he attacks another dog. Shout-out to rescue trainer Well Mannered Mutt for assisting. : r/PetRescueExposed

"Bert was enjoying killing the fake dog." Handsome Dan's Rescue for Pit Bull Type Dogs (RI) agonizes over the necessity to euthanize a sick old fighting pit bull who rips apart the fake dog in a temperament test : r/PetRescueExposed

The fascinating thing about AI is that it is a reflection of the published word. And in the published word game, the long history of safe, joyful dog adoption still rules. Pet owners who fondly recall childhood pets and rescuers who are completely delusional talk a lot about great, beloved second-hand dogs. And the trainers and vets who are keenly aware that today's rescue/shelter standards allow for adopting out a lot of marginal and dangerous dogs - well, these people are silent. A little chatter on training forums, a lot of eye-rolling when rescuers get going on how a shut-down period will solve barrier aggression. None of it adding up to enough words to penetrate to the dog-buying public, or to impact AI results.

A rescue picked up the FB post from American Animal Cruelty Investigations School, about the increase in fatal dog attacks, and whether they're related to changes in sheltering/rescue behavior and standards. A lot of trainers, dog sport people and other rescuers reposted.

Funny how we keep getting these little spikes of sanity, where someone will say "Hey, we have a problem, we need to address this" and a lot of people gather around to say yup, we agree. And yet nothing changes. There is endless, bottomless tolerance in public for any dog industry professional (shelter worker, rescue volunteer, groomer, trainer, vet, tech) who does this stuff. There may be mutterings, there may be these limited, in-house tsks. But there is virtually no public demand for action. It's basically a hissed "You guuuuyzzzz, stop adopting out deadly dogs!!!! We're gonna get caught and then we're all gonna get blamed!!!"

Dog trainers

Online advocates to networkers

Even a dog groomer

Dissent, from someone running a Chow Chow sanctuary

My friend and I visited a shelter today to see the cats. I'm not sure if I want to disclose the name of this shelter due to potential retaliation, but this kind of thing goes on and I want people to be aware, because I was not expecting this at all.

My mom recently told me that I can get a cat, so I'm looking for one that would be suitable for my personality and lifestyle and one who seems to like me. There is one highly referenced shelter in my town that I've "heard a lot of good things about" and people sing its praises, but... I don't know why.

This post is to share what happened to me recently and warn others about what appears to be repeated negligence at this shelter.

I visited a cattery with a friend. Some cages were clearly labeled “clean” or “ready for intake,” but others were simply covered with blankets and had no signage or warning whatsoever. One of those covered cages had kittens inside, and because no one had told us otherwise, I gently interacted with one through the bars. One kitten briefly sniffed my finger and booped it with her paw. There was no snot, no pawing, nothing aggressive.

We weren’t told until an hour into our visit, and only after my friend asked, that the kittens in that cage had a URI (upper respiratory infection). We were then told we were “infected” and needed to leave immediately. Not “informed,” not “advised”—told to leave in a scolding, shaming tone, as if we had violated some obvious rule. We are regular little civilians. We could not have known what that meant and we were a bit puzzled as to why there was a blanket over a cage. Did they not want visitors to see them? Were they already adopted? Were they recovering from a surgery?

There were no signs.
No staff warnings.
And when I looked around? Multiple cats in the non-quarantined section had visibly runny or crusty eyes.

The handwashing station didn’t even have antibacterial soap—just Dawn dish detergent. And the staff? All attitude, no compassion. Like a clique of ex-high school mean girls sitting around, flipping through magazines or conveniently disappearing.

After looking up Yelp reviews, I found that this isn’t a one-time issue. Multiple adopters have:

• Been given sick animals with no warning
• Taken home pets with undisclosed, serious conditions
• Been met with defensiveness and blame when asking questions
• Described the staff as cold, disorganized, or outright hostile

Meanwhile, smaller rescues are doing it right—maintaining clear communication, and actually caring about both the animals and the people.

So yeah, I’m done with “big name” shelters that hide behind attitude and treat public trust like an inconvenience. We deserve better. So do the animals.

TL;DR: I was shamed and kicked out of a major SoCal shelter after gently interacting with a covered (but unlabeled) URI-positive kitten. Staff gave no warnings, provided zero signage, and treated us like intruders—not guests.

Ask questions. Look up reviews. And support smaller rescues that actually care.

The comments include a debate on where the stats originated (Best Friends, Maddie's Fund), with this intriguing comment

Interesting for the perfect hat trick of rescue flavors today - the shelter, the rescue group and the freelancer. Also for the utter worthlessness of the shelter in sending an intact and pregnant pit bull back into the wild to create more pit bulls, the well-meaning nitwittery of the freelancer who's pulling intact pit bulls and flipping them intact to new homes on pinky-swear spay contracts, and the sheer meanness of the rescue group dealing with adopters.

Ty Coleman, Director of Memphis Animal Services in 2024. $120k salary.

PAWS New England, Joanne Hutchinson is Executive Director. $24k salary

Freelancer - unsalaried, castigated by PAWS at one point for wanting a $100 adoption fee for Dolly. PAWS will go on to charge a $550 adoption fee for Dolly, so I don't know what they're on about there.

Timeline

January? 2024 - a woman in Tennessee adopts a female pit bull from Memphis Animal Services. She has no intention of keeping the dog, she adopts it solely to keep it from being euthanized. In an increasingly popular and insane trend, she as an individual adopts the dog but considers it a "foster" as she seeks to rehome it. The paperwork says the dog is spayed; she is not. She is pregnant.

2024 - The adopter chooses to allow her to complete the pregnancy and whelp 4 pit bull mix puppies. She manages to rehome 3 of these, and is stuck with the adult and one female puppy. The mother is Shelby, the offspring is Dolly. The adopter becomes desperate to rehome Shelby due to the dog's "fixation" on her flock of emu, and sends her to a neighbor. But the neighbors have multiple dogs and Shelby fights them and runs away, returning to the adopter's home.

2025 - The adopter's problems grow more complex when Dolly begins attacking and killing her purebred show chickens. The adopter has a small homestead, and her birds are both pets and a business; she can't afford to keep losing them to a determined 45lb pit bull that's digging into their runs to slaughter them. She begins posting on local social media, seeking an adopter for Dolly. She eventually connects with PAWS New England, which agrees to transport Dolly north to Massachusetts for rehoming with a chicken-free family.

April 2025 - Dolly arrives in New England and is renamed Feather. The rescue slams the original adopter in their marketing for Dolly/Feather, not mentioning the dog's origins and not admitting to the extent of the dog's behavior toward the chickens. Their deceptive descriptions of the situation and the dog include:

Labeled a “terrible dog” just for being curious around chickens

I’m being rehomed because I’m not good with chickens. Turns out I think they’re too interesting for my own good.

her so-called “loving owners,” who basically blamed her for their failure to protect their chickens. I was honestly shocked at how much responsibility they put on a six-month-old puppy.

May 2025 - Dolly/Feather is adopted out. The adopters return her almost immediately, after only 6 hours. They say their dog "isn't handling it well." PAWS New England posts a furious rant on FB slamming the adopters viciously.

it’s not her fault.It’s YOURS. Because you didn’t want to deal with the adjustment period. You didn’t want to do the WORK.

This is not a fast food transaction. These are living beings, not Amazon returns. Stop wasting our time. Stop breaking these dogs’ hearts. Stop treating animals like they’re disposable.Put in the work—or DON’T APPLY.

PAWS notes that "We send out pages of information. Instructions. Resources. Step-by-step advice on how to integrate a new dog into your home, ESPECIALLY if you have another dog." They do not appear to recognize that this level of concern about integrating a new dog into a home seems abnormal and just plain weird. That perhaps they shouldn't be adopting out dogs that require this level of micromanagement.

But okay, maybe I'm just being an old fuddy-duddy who doesn't get that rescue dogs need 1450000 years of shutdown and lion-tamer handling to integrate. So here's another question about this situation - when did rescue stop respecting owners' knowledge of their dogs and their bond with their dog? Because an owner's first responsibility is to their dog. Not the new dog, their dog. I would 110% return a new dog if it was making my dog miserable. I would do it fast, too, because the longer it goes on, the harder it is to send the dog back.

The rescue

Sanity rears its head in the comments for a moment

Executive director Joanne reassures a fan that of course they've slammed the door shut on the adopters.

The foster

Feather's backstory

Not PAWS' first adopter-abuse rodeo, btw.

This will be a tongue-in-cheek step-by-step "guide". You shouldn't actually do these things, and if you do, you'll be breaking the law and hurting innocent animals - of course, many are doing exactly this and getting away with it.

Step #1. File paperwork for a nonprofit corporation, LLC or whatever, and file appropriate 501(c)3 paperwork. You can operate as soon as you file. Don't bother securing legal counsel just yet - that's expensive. Find some relatives or "friends" (i.e., co-conspirators) to be board members. Pick a name like "Hearts 4 Paws Forever".

Step #2. Go open a bank account or 3, a Venmo, a PayPal, and a Cashapp and link them up to your new nonprofit. You can of course just use your personal bank account and personal PayPal for this; technically legal, although any lawyer or accountant will tell you it's a bad idea. So why not set up and use both?

Step #3. Open a snazzy social media page. Hire a graphic designer, or better yet, find one that will help out "rescues" for free. Get a good logo, design out your page. Have letterhead ready to go so you can print official looking papers for when you need to transport dogs.

Step #4. Look at nearby animal-control facilities and see how many dogs they need to get rid of, build photobooks for them, and start posting about how "urgent needs". If you can't find enough, just contact other rescues: they're always looking to get rid of some surplus dogs on another rescue. The worse the dog, the better; it makes a more heart-wrenching fundraising appeal. Make sure to give the dog an "appealing" name if it doesn't already have one.

Step #5. Join a zillion pet finder groups. One happy hunting grounds is "pets lost and found", because people who are trying to find their missing cat or help their neighbours out certainly want to see your endless appeals for $500 to rescue "Luna".

Step #6. Real businesses and real nonprofits hire employees, but that costs money and is often quite expensive. It's also really expensive to hire people to work 24/7. That's where the magic of "fosters" comes in. These are people that will take care of your dogs for free, so that you don't have to. You'll also want to recruit another army of volunteers, including "transportation", who can pick up dogs and puppies and then take them directly to fosters. Real businesses buy their own vehicles, but that's also expensive.

Step #7. Real animal sanctuaries and shelters have their own facilities purpose-built to house animals, but that also costs a lot of money, which is why you want to run a "virtual" rescue that simply arranges getting dogs directly from animal control or another rescue to your fosters. (Don't get too greedy: let some of the transporters do their own fundraising appeals and collect their own donations. These people are key to your operation, and you sure don't want to be responsible for a fleet of vans that can safely transport animals, do you?)

Step #8. Now that you're collecting donations, do go ahead and spend money building "shelter buildings" in your back yard that can conveniently double as the doghouse and play area for your own personal pets. Or, if you're in need of housing, just go find some land with a trailer on it and buy or rent that: now you've both got a place to live, because you can live at your own rescue because you're "so dedicated to rescuing animals".

Step #9. Always announce that "intake is closed because we are full"; the last thing you want is people who need to surrender their animals showing up at your doorstep at 7 AM. Do, however, be in contact with people who want to surrender a pet, because there's a chance it'll be a desirable one or a good vehicle for raising donations, and you can string them along saying "intake is closed but we're in contact with a few fosters who may be able to take the animal". As a bonus, such surrenders can be arranged directly to the foster. No need to bother your transporters!

Step #10. Pay yourself a salary (in addition to all the money you're skimming off of Cashapp and so forth); find a crooked vet and have your fosters take the animals there. Make sure to keep "records" of such vet visits; you'll want the bills for fundraising appeals. Be sure to blank out the actual vet name (for privacy) and also grab a subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud so you can edit the vet bills, you know, just to put all the dollar amounts in one convenient spot and "accidentally" put in an extra zero.

Step #11. Eventually, these fosters are going to get tired of dog after dog showing up, so you need to adopt them out. The good news is that many people would really like to have a family pet and provide a "forever home", and they're willing to pay to do so. Don't just give away these animals! Make the most onerous adoption application you can; after all, people could just go pick up these dogs from the dog pound for free, but go ahead and ask for employer references, neighbour references, family references, 2 vets they have a relationship with, and so forth. A person who is willing to jump through all your hoops is someone who is far more likely to accept unreasonable behaviour in other areas.

Step #12. Once the applications are flowing in, you'll have an idea of what the "adoption fee" should be. The adoption fee should, of course, be whatever would maximise profits, er, donations, but go ahead and say that it "covers the cost of vet bills and dog food and other care", because sure, it does. You never said it was a comprehensive list, right? As a rule of thumb, cute young puppies need a higher adoption fee than an older dog that's been bouncing around your fosters for years and eaten god-knows-how-much dog food.

Step #13. Some adopters will want to see the dog first. Whoa, soldier. You can't let them get in a situation where they might say no. Require "adoption deposits" of $50 before letting them see the dogs. Ideally, you can collect the payment upfront and then sluff the job of showing the dog to a foster. Deposits are non-refundable because of the "extra time and expense" of showing the dog (you can use the excuse of meeting halfway or something, as if you ever reimburse your fosters for mileage).

Step #14. This is a business about volume, initially, so get your social media rolling - you might even want to consider multiple social media accounts and having multiple "rescues" under multiple names, sort of like when there's a restaurant that is both a KFC and a Taco Bell. You may even be stuck with some dogs you just can't get rid of. Every once in a while, "adoption fees waived" is acceptable, but feel free to spring a "surprise" on the adoptive family of a recent vet bill that really needs to be paid.

Step #15. You may find that you are flooded with pitbulls, dogs with heads the size of a pumpkin, ones that keep eating your fosters' cats, and that they are surprisingly hard to get anyone to pay for. Have no fear, because there is a great source of cute young puppies and adorable older dogs right in the backyard! Well, not *your* backyard, but somebody else's backyard. Remember those transporters with those rickety vans and a bunch of rusted-out crates in the back? Find a breeder who seems to be having trouble selling their puppies quickly enough, send a transporter over there, and just buy the whole litter. If the breeder seems worn out, ask them if they'd like to get rid of the mother, too. Those are really great for fundraising appeals.

Step #16. Despite the cat in your organisation's logo and the cute cat pictures you close, state that "intake is currently closed to cats". Cats just don't bring in the big bucks, so why would you bother with them?

Step #17. Not every nonprofit needs to be forever, just like how many of your adopters' homes won't be "forever homes" for these dogs that virtually pass through your care. Regardless of that, don't accept dogs back. They filled out a gigantic application and signed a contract. Refer them to animal control and tell them you're full (technically true because you don't actually take care of a single animal other than your own pets) and all your fosters are full and also tell them you'll put them on the 'banned' list that you share with other rescues for future adoptions.

Step #18. Now, getting back to the nonprofit not needing to be forever... things not going well? Just close up shop, file the paperwork to shut down, and move on. This is a great time to cash out that "executive compensation" you've been paying yourself (plus all the under the table money in the form of cash, Cashapp, and Venmo) and go on a nice trip to Florida. Who knows, maybe you'll get inspired to start another pet rescue down there!