They are taking my dog!

Outstanding!

Add some icing to the cake...check on getting a restraining order. If you have the name of the person you spoke with that said they are going to come and take your dog, get them their own personal restraining order.

There is a company called Zoomback that has GPS locators for dogs...if the dog is taken, it sends a text to your phone...the info is on their website (zoomback dot com)...they are pricey ($200) but the site has a $50 rebate coupon. You can set up a safety zone and if the dog leaves the area, it alerts you...it then tracks the location of the critter and saves it in a history. Also alerts you if the things is turned off. Very "James Bond"-kine. Pricey, but if you warn your neighbors to be on the lookout and you have this, you would be able to track the thieves (unless they have the wherewithall to remove the dogs collar). I have been thinking about getting one for my critter, espcially when he is at dogs shows.

It would be great to track the dog back to one of the "rescue" people's homes and show up with the police, then have the "rescue" person escorted out on cuffs...then the rescue league would have to rescue one of their own. Video tap it and send it to the local media and to CNN's iVideo site.

The self-righteous wouldn't be able to handle seeing themselves arrested all over the internet....

As for the nipping, what a load of crap....is there anything in the paperwork stating that the dog is free from behavioral problems? If so, I would shove that in their face and tell them you feel that they withheld information which potentially endangered your kids....and that you have no probelm persuing legal action against them....

Keep on the offensive until the scream "Uncle".

:tu

Get the names of the morons you are dealing with. Write down the events of all correspondence and find out who the superiors are.
Stay calm and don't be intimidated. I bet they'll back off soon enough.

X

I used to be an animal control officer here in Dallas and we always had doubts about the so-called "breed rescue groups" that we were required to work with. Most of the members are well meaning nutjobs that have little experience with animals. Read their by-laws which you signed when they transferred ownership of the animal to you. Was there any conditions/stipulations? In most states, pets are considered property and as such, once you are the owner, nobody needs to come around and conduct any kind of inspection, let alone threaten to enter your property to remove other property
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If you did sign an agreement to routine inspections then you're in for a court battle. Most "breed rescue" and private adoption groups have sneaky little clauses in their agreements to allow them to have control over their animals. Since they don't have state and local laws to back them, they resort to private agreements between themselves and the owners.

Personally, I never saw a use for these "breed rescue" groups or SPCA (so called no-kill shelters. Breed rescue groups got alot of their dogs from us, the city animal shelter(dog pound to the uneducated) and I lost count of the number of times I got called out to the SPCA to pick up a truckload of dogs and cats that they were unable to sell. See they're a no-kill shelter so by having us remove the animals (which they gladly took donations for before accepting) they wash their hands and remain an no-kill shelter. Let the city do the dirty job that the tax payers are paying us for! Hoorah!

There are pleny of dogs and cats at the local animal shelters that need good homes and animal control agencies aren't "out to kill all animals". Cities and municipalities stand to benifit more from selling an animal than putting it to sleep.
Jeez, I'm glad I'm out. Those ACO's deserve a raise.
Ernest

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Originally Posted by Big_E

Personally, I never saw a use for these "breed rescue" groups or SPCA (so called no-kill shelters. Breed rescue groups got alot of their dogs from us, the city animal shelter(dog pound to the uneducated) and I lost count of the number of times I got called out to the SPCA to pick up a truckload of dogs and cats that they were unable to sell. See they're a no-kill shelter so by having us remove the animals (which they gladly took donations for before accepting) they wash their hands and remain an no-kill shelter. Let the city do the dirty job that the tax payers are paying us for! Hoorah!

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That is really messed up.

First let me say I'm not going to argue with anyone here. I am an animal rescuer. I work with a rescue in NC and we do great work! I don't appreciate everyone talking about these people as nutjobs. We work extremely hard to get these dogs into good homes & away from shelters & abusive situations. Most of the money we use comes out of our own pocket. We have no one on the payroll, no one gets a salary. All of the money comes from donations or out of our own pocket.

It sounds like you've done a wonderful job with both dogs except for leaving them unattended outside. And you did the right thing giving back the dog that was jumping up on your kids. Had you wanted to take the time to do so you could have trained & worked with the dog not to jump on your kids. But I can understand you may not have had the time to do so. But trying to bankrupt a rescue for the sheer pleasure of it because they gave you a hard time about the dogs they obviously have worked hard for & care a great deal about is ludricrous. Also if you didn't want to agree to the terms set down by the rescue then you should have returned both dogs instead of trying to bankrupt the rescue. You took these dogs according to whatever agreement you had with the rescue and you should abide by the terms you agreed to. I think you're wrong and you're being selfish. This is my statement about the situation and that's it.

First off: I totally agree with all you guys calling the maniacs nut-jobs. How stupid is it possible to be? Dogs enjoy being outside and a few hours every day never hurt a dog. These nut-jobs would probably kidnap huskys from alaska and place them in a heated room, thinking they did the animals a favor.

I fail to see how leaving a dog unattended outside is a problem. All my dogs, who have lived long and happy lives, lived outside unattended. They had what they needed, they got played with daily, and that's that. I've seen abused and sad dogs in my life, and mine were the exact opposite.

Rescues are a good thing, but there are some wackos out there. If it makes any difference, I've rescued almost 100% of the animals I've ever owned, including parrots and a greyhound.

I'm not at all conversant in that area of the law, but I'd be very surprised if they had the right to enter your property - if they had the right to take your dog back, I would think they'd have to take legal action to do so (after sending you a demand). I don't know if there is a repo man analogy here but I doubt it, because nonpayment isn't the issue. Second, I'd be surprised if "to their satisfaction" was deemed to be open-ended - I would hope there'd have to be some reasonable basis for not being satisfied.

So I would guess having been stood up to these guys will back off. Hope so anyway. Good luck.

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Originally Posted by Bandit

It sounds like you've done a wonderful job with both dogs except for leaving them unattended outside. And you did the right thing giving back the dog that was jumping up on your kids.

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I am still at a loss as to how leaving a dog unattended in a secured yard when the temperature is moderate, with water, constitutes abusing the dog. Secondly, the second placed dog was not just jumping on the kids, but nipping at them, which appears to be out of character for a golden retriever, and I doubt manifested itself suddenly. It sounds like the resuce group failed to note some problematic behavior before placing the dog.

Doing rescue work is fine, but dogs are animals and not people. Leaving a dog in the yard on a nice day (meaning not in the snow, rain, extreme heat) does not constitute abuse unless you subscribe to the warped logic that dogs should be treated as people. To have a holier-than-thou "activist" preach to you after you have opened your home to an abused animal and have done nothing but provide love, affection, and care is enraging and these people need to be shown that they cannot run rough-shod over people who have passed their screening process and paid serious fees to adopt a dog. Just becasue Fido doesn't have his own room, a heated dog bed, chilled spring water, and freshly ground Kobe beef does not mean the dog is being abused. I have no doubt that the originators of the breed would laugh in the face of these do-gooders and what they consider "mis-treatment" for a dog bred for hunting/retrieving, being outdoors and enduring long hours of exposure to extreme weather (hunting is not usually done during balmy weather).

I have a Samoyed...a dog from above the Arctic circle, a breed that is believed to be one of the sources for the other Arctic breeds...a dog trained to lie in wait in the ice and snow for walrus and seal, its tail covering its face to filter the Arctic wind; a dog bred to heard reindeer across the frozen tundras of Siberia. Based on the logic of this rescue league, I must be abusing my dog, becasue he goes outside in the snow, ice, and rain without doggie galoshes, a fur hat, or a winter coat. These people would have a coniption fit if they saw me harness him to a sled with 5 other dogs (I guess the polar explorers Amudson and Shackleton were dog abusers too...).

Instead of flipping out on the phone and making accusations and threats, the busy-body at the rescue league should have calmly asked for more details. If she still felt that leaving a working breed dog alone in a secured yard with water and food on a nice day constituted abuse, then I could only recommend therapy....or some exposure to reality...may spending some time with people who actually use the breed for what they were bred.

We are dealing with just another type of extremism....

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Originally Posted by mhailey

So here is the update, that i type as Jake (my dog) is snuggled upon the couch with his head on my lap, the fireplace blazing forth in all its glory, and Jake snorring as I type (I feel like such an abuser of this dog). I have surrended Ruby, the second dog we received from the rescue, and retained Jake, because she was nipping at my children. According to the rescue the nipping is all my fault because I did not train this dog (despite the fact that I have it sitting, staing and laying down to handsignals, and crating up when I simply stated "bed." That's not adequate training for 4 months i guess.

I have sent an e-mail to the board of directors of the rescue demanding verification of what provision of the contract allows access to my property, and they have failed to respond. I have reviewed the contract and there is no provision allowing this. I have stated, in no uncertain terms, that I will not allow any person from the rescue to step foot on my property without my prior notice, and my prior written consent. If they come to my house, I will sue each and every member of the board of directors for tresspass, as well as the rescue as an entity, and the person on who comes to the house in District court. That means that each member of the board, the entity itself and the "volunteer" who comes to the house will each be forced to hire an attorney at a minimum of $150 per hour. That alone wil put a sever crimp on their finances. I have already contacted the news stations for channels 2, 4, 7, 9, 31, and the local radio stations regarding this issue. I have also stated that if Jake ever "disappears" from my house I will pursue theft charges against each and every pesron involved with this resuce, as they would be part of a conspiracy for theft, and I will sue each and every person for conversion, negligent and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

I have truely lost all faith in the resuces of this area. I will keep you all updated.

Matt

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Nice work!!!:medvl::mace: