On November 15, 2008, I met Sancho. When he was handed to me, he immediately peed on me. My first instinct was that something traumatic happened to him because that was just not normal. I sat down on the curb and for the next 30 minutes I just held him and pet him until he relaxed. I was told if I would like to play with him I could take him to play in the grass where the other people viewing puppies were. I tried to play with Sancho in the grass, but he was very anxious, lethargic, and didn’t play much. He just kept crawling back into my lap.
I was apprehensive about adopting Sancho, but I knew I couldn’t give him back to the volunteers that were there that day. Something in my gut just told me I had to take him home. I signed the contract and paid them $250.00 cash. I asked to write a check, but they only accepted cash. All they gave me to take with Sancho was a hand written record of what they thought to be the vaccinations he had received. As I left, I was so sad. Not only was I confused by the fact that neither of the volunteers ever introduced themselves to me, neither one said goodbye to me or Sancho after I paid. They also did not ask anything about how I would be getting him home, would he be running free around the car or safe in a carrier? It seemed more like I was buying a piece of furniture than adopting a puppy.
It was apparent to me when I got him home that he was not well. I suspected kennel cough within the first 10 minutes of having him in the car. I knew he had to have a skin problem because that little back puppy was covered in dandruff. His poor little tummy was bloated and tender and he cried when he needed to go potty. Every time he went it was bloody diarrhea. The first 2 days I had him he had to go out every 45 minutes to an hour and suffered extreme anxiety when left alone. I spent the first week sleeping on the floor with him in his crate because he was so terrified and sick I needed to be ready to wake up at a moment’s notice. I was so scared that I was going to walk into the vet on Monday morning and they were going to tell me that he couldn’t be saved.
After the weekend I took Sancho to the vet down the street from our house. I had called over the weekend and left a message to make an appointment, but when I woke up Monday morning I just grabbed him and went because I realized this was much to serious to wait. When the doctor came in she tried to be really positive. As I waited for test results she tried to reassure me that he would be fine, he was probably just stressed and getting use to the new food.
We spent the next three months in and out of the vets office. It was such a big deal when we weren't going in every week anymore. At some point I lost track of the number of things that we had to treat with him. And boy did that little boy grow. I had no idea he would put on 20 pounds in those three months.
We spent the next three months in and out of the vets office. It was such a big deal when we weren't going in every week anymore. At some point I lost track of the number of things that we had to treat with him. And boy did that little boy grow. I had no idea he would put on 20 pounds in those three months.
Initially following the adoption I contacted the group to inform them of the experience I had as well as Sancho’s poor health. Against my better judgment I let them assure me that the foster family would no longer be fostering for the organization and then they told me as soon as he was healthy I could get my refund for his neuter. In January after he was neutered I submitted the paperwork but never saw a dime.
At the beginning of March, Sancho died. It was unrelated to the health problems he had, but that only made it worse for me. He was finally healthy in March. He was finally happy and out of pain, and then I lost him. I don't know that I ever went through something so hard in my life. When I came home and had to clean up his things it broke my heart. I just felt so lonely without him. At that point I started to wonder if I was the only person who had been through this and decided I wouldn't let his little life be for nothing. So I decided to keep contacting the group. I emailed them every couple of weeks but never heard anything back again. I kept checking their petfinder account and sure enough they were still adopting out dogs.
At the beginning of March, Sancho died. It was unrelated to the health problems he had, but that only made it worse for me. He was finally healthy in March. He was finally happy and out of pain, and then I lost him. I don't know that I ever went through something so hard in my life. When I came home and had to clean up his things it broke my heart. I just felt so lonely without him. At that point I started to wonder if I was the only person who had been through this and decided I wouldn't let his little life be for nothing. So I decided to keep contacting the group. I emailed them every couple of weeks but never heard anything back again. I kept checking their petfinder account and sure enough they were still adopting out dogs.
Finally on June 11, 2009 I emailed the group and told them if they ever heard from me again it would be through a lawyer. After I sent that email I swore come hell or high water I would do everything I could until this group ceased to exist. Whether it was my doing or something else, so long as they were operating as a "rescue group" I would fight to have them shut down and tell people what kind of group they really were. I contacted everyone I could think of from the Animal Control to the Police to the Attorney General to the IRS. I figured I would contact anyone and everyone. Because they were operating in several counties, I contacted different government agencies in three counties.
I got a call from Animal Control in one of the counties, they had several reports from the group, but there really was nothing they could do because they hadn't witnessed any of the abuse/neglect. They really didn't know what it would take to get them shut down but offered to contact all of the people who had made reports and give them my information so they could contact me if they were willing to tell me their stories. Then I started a blog. All my friends and family knew about Sancho and what I was trying to do. I found it easier to keep people updated if I just put it all in one place. Soon I was getting emails from people who had adopted from the same group and also brought him sick pets, some of them were not so lucky as to get even 5 months with their pets.
I was naive when I went to adopt Sancho. I had no idea that this went on. I knew there were puppy mills - but I wasn't getting my dog from a breeder so I didn't think something like this could happen. But it does. So I want to educate people. I want them to understand that just because a group identifies themselves as a rescue, doesn't mean you should go in thinking that nothing can go wrong.I just hope Sancho's story reaches people and they go in more educated than I was.
I got a call from Animal Control in one of the counties, they had several reports from the group, but there really was nothing they could do because they hadn't witnessed any of the abuse/neglect. They really didn't know what it would take to get them shut down but offered to contact all of the people who had made reports and give them my information so they could contact me if they were willing to tell me their stories. Then I started a blog. All my friends and family knew about Sancho and what I was trying to do. I found it easier to keep people updated if I just put it all in one place. Soon I was getting emails from people who had adopted from the same group and also brought him sick pets, some of them were not so lucky as to get even 5 months with their pets.
I was naive when I went to adopt Sancho. I had no idea that this went on. I knew there were puppy mills - but I wasn't getting my dog from a breeder so I didn't think something like this could happen. But it does. So I want to educate people. I want them to understand that just because a group identifies themselves as a rescue, doesn't mean you should go in thinking that nothing can go wrong.I just hope Sancho's story reaches people and they go in more educated than I was.
