An odd story out of New Mexico:
An Alamogordo animal rescue group says it saved dozens of dogs from an abandoned puppy mill. The group claims the local sheriff’s department wasn’t doing anything to help but the sheriff’s department says that’s just not true.
The allegedly abandoned puppy mill appears to have housed bulldogs and a number of mixed breeds. Approximately 45 dogs and puppies were taken by the rescue. The director of the group says she contacted the Dona Ana Co sheriff’s office about the dogs but was told flat out that no one would be coming, which seems strange.
A sheriff’s office spokesman says a supervisor was dispatched in response to the call and arrived to find no one on the property and all the animals gone. Because the dogs had been removed by the rescue, the sheriff’s office says it was unable to conduct an investigation which may have resulted in charges against the dogs’ owner.
The director describes “very badly wounded dogs” who were dying on the property but doesn’t elaborate on the nature of the injuries. A video posted by the rescue appears to show dogs in good condition.
The group is selling the puppies for $2200 and has a Go Fund Me set up aiming to raise $25,000 for care of the dogs.
Without a police investigation (due to the removal of evidence), there is no way of knowing whether the dogs were better off before or after being rescued – or if their situation is pretty much unchanged. This type of head-scratching case underscores the importance of transparency. We demand it of our public shelters (although we don’t always get it) and we should expect it from non-profit (?) charities as well. People busy scratching their heads are not writing checks.
(Thanks Clarice.)
This sounds like straight-up theft to me. So-called “Rescue” groups like this give legitimate rescues a bad name, and that’s a crime. Not quite as bad as stealing a bunch of bulldogs and selling them for $2200 each. I wonder if hitting the “report” button on GoFundMe would do anything at all?
This is a PRIME example of the Retail Re$cue business model… steal someone’s animals (usually puppies in good condition) then sell at retail or near retail prices.
And why these organizations need to be regulated just like any other animal business
Thanks for shedding some light on the shady business that is sometimes animal rescue. It’s often hard to tell the good guys from the bad until the shit hits the fan. Sadly, where there’s money to be had there will always be shysters looking to cash in. It shouldn’t be this way.
And unfortunately these groups take resources from the GOOD groups doing the dirty work
Wow. So they stole dogs and are now selling them at a massive profit. Okay, then. Got it.
I wonder if the owner can sue? Because I cannot imagine that you can’t “abandon” a bulldog in NM for any length of time and have it survive.
A message from the director as to why they charge more for certain breeds and colors.
http://www.animalvillagenm.org/
“Because we care”, basically.
They “welcome a conversation through email” if you don’t agree with their pricing.
Yesssss. I’m very sure that they welcome a conversation on their opportunistic practices.
The blue puppies have a sale (I’m sorry, but a $2,200 “fee” is a sale. Especially when they are gathering funds for vetting outside of the fee) of $400 more than the other colors. When asked why, the person asking is promptly deleted and banned.
I’m sorry. This is outright theft and the police should be removing these dogs and arresting those who took part in the theft.
In this case, I think the police didn’t charge the owners because there was nothing to charge them with. And the thieves didn’t like the fact they were missing out on almost $100,000 in sales because the police gave a damn about the law.
It seems that the so called “rescue” actually stole those dogs. They should be charged, investigated and prosecuted to the full extent of the law. In addition, they should be made to pay every single penny of the money they have taken in (from the sale of the animals and the Go Fund Me account).
They don’t just have a Go Fund Me for the “rescue” puppies, they have another one asking people to make monthly donations. They threaten staff layoffs if certain dollar amounts are not met by the weekend.
https://www.gofundme.com/animalvillagenm
Posted today:
“We’ve had to close the office temporarily, due to financial constraints, and need for all staff to help hands-on.”
“Donations may be left at door, and for donation receipt please leave detailed list and address to which we can mail or email your receipt.”
https://www.facebook.com/AnimalVillageNM/posts/965276156863680
thank you for sharing this. I do hope the dogs are OK but it seems they have gone “out of the frying pan and into the fire” so to speak. Woof!
I am so furious about this I don’t know what to do. Firstly, we have only this group’s word that the property was “abandoned.” Secondly, anyone who cares about abuse should see they destroyed evidence and if there was abuse going on the perpetrators can never be brought to justice. I’m sorry, but I don’t believe the sheriff’s office said “We aren’t going out there” and then immediately went out there. At best this group is guilty of theft and at worst they are guilty of evidence tampering. This is not the first time they’ve done something like this either. I wish I could find the link now but they went after an elderly cat owner who said she would have given her cat to the shelter but didn’t want to give it to them, after they strongarmed the cat out of her for reasons that were unclear. And how about $800 for a SENIOR dog? Worst thing is, people will be lined up to pay these prices and as long as they are, things like this will continue to happen. IMHO we should ALL be calling the sheriffs’ office to complain about this group destroying evidence and/or stealing.
Reblogged this on Sherlockian's Blog.