UNSCRUPULOUS RESCUES & BROKERS POSING AS RESCUES
Losing sight of the true mission of animal rescue
It’s hard enough dealing with pet stores and unscrupulous breeders but when so-called animal rescues betray the trust of good-intentioned individuals who actually seek out adoption over purchasing a dog, their actions are shameful.
Puppy millers and brokers know a good thing when they see it and this is probably why so many websites now state upfront that they’re not puppy mills! Even more repugnant is the use of the word “adoption” instead of “buy.” One PA storefront puppy broker, when asked, said that adoption “just sounded better than buying.”
Compounding the problem is the fact that many rescues are unlicensed and unregulated and are acting in the same capacity as a pet store or brokers: they are in the business of SELLING dogs.
To top it off, these so-called rescuers offer little or no guarantee for the health or temperament of the puppies they sell under the guise of adoption, oftentimes for cash only and with no health records, and the adopters fall into the same category as defrauded pet shop consumers. The tragic consequence is that many adopters end up with sick or dying dogs and are left to foot hefty vet bills, with no recourse from the “rescue”.
Things to watch for or be aware of:
Non-profit doesn’t mean reputable although a federally approved 501(c)3 status certainly lends a lot more credibility. Anyone can call herself a rescuer or a non-profit. This could very well be an attempt to circumvent the NJ puppy lemon law if the puppies are sick!
Cash only adoptions.
Lots of purebred or designer-mixed, young puppies posted for adoption.
No health records and if crossing state lines, no inter-state health certificates.
No health guarantee for the animal, even for 48-72 hours.
No actual persons’ names listed on rescue websites or PetFinder pages.
Delivers dogs to adopters in public places, like parking lots and parks.
Many brokers and unscrupulous rescues hide behind PetFinder and Adopt-a-Pet.com to sell dogs. These sites do not have the resources to always thoroughly screen individuals or groups but will give offenders the boot.
Uses different names (aliases) to sell/adopt dogs, usually a family member. A common ruse is to say the pups are "my sister's" or "my daughter's".
Uses different phone (typically cell) numbers to avoid detection.
Switches different towns for locations, especially if the towns are in close proximity to one another or in the same region.
To read about a breeder/broker posing as a rescue:
Below are names of individuals operating as rescuers and on whom we’ve received complaints, although we are aware of dozens of others who operate all over the state.
Maria LaRocca, Middletown, New York
d/b/aLittle Forgotten Friends Rescue
a/k/a/ Jill Rose, Jill Rose’s Puppies, Rose’s Puppies, Maria Costanzo, Maria Costanzo LaRocca
This individual, under the above mentioned names, procures puppies for resale from Minnesota, Oklahoma, Kansas and Arkansas puppy mills. LaRocca also advertises on PetFinder. We have copies of the interstate health certificates with her name(s) and address on the certificates. Many of the puppies are from one of the nation’s worst puppy mills, Minnesota’s Pick of the Litter a/k/a Puppies on Wheels, owned by Kathy and Allan Bauck. For more info on this notorious puppy mill, clickhere.
Please contact us via complaint form or email if you purchased a sick puppy from LaRocca and were advised you have no rights under the puppy lemon law and no recourse for vet bills because the puppy was "adopted" (for up to $800!) verses sold.
Ellen R. Schneider, Dazy Hill Puppy Rescue
Trenton/Hamilton, Mercer County
Schneider buys older puppies from PA puppy millers (David M. Zimmerman, John R. Zimmerman and others) for resale under the guise of adoption. Waybills and copies of cancelled checks in the name of Ellen R. Schneider (and another Mercer County rescuer who also bought puppies from a PA commercial kennel) were provided to NJCAPSA. Schneider’s checks in the amounts of $2,650 and $750 made payable to two Lancaster County kennel owners were returned due to insufficient funds. Neither has recouped any of this stolen money.
She also scammed a NY couple out of $300 cash and never delivered their puppy.
Schneider advertises “rescue puppies” on PetFinder.com, Craigslist and the Philadelphia Inquirer under various phone numbers and/or these names and email addresses:
Dazy Hill Puppy Rescue or DHPR
Ben Nicols, Grace Nichols, D. Hill
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Ann Marie Rice, Guardian Angels Animal Rescue
Union, West New York, and Fords NJ
Advertises purebred and “designer” mix puppies on PetFinder. We received complaints about puppies, some sick, being sold for $400 and up, ‘cash only’ from the basement of a Kenilworth, NJ home, from individuals using different names and phone numbers. Based on information from town officials and Pennsylvania sources (breeders), we feel Guardian Angels Animal Rescue is acting as a puppy broker.
On December 17, 2008, Ann Marie Rice, an individual associated with Guardian Angels, was issued a summons by the Kenilworth Zoning Officer to appear in Kenilworth Municipal Court on January 12, 2009, to respond to charges of running an ‘animal shelter business’ and violating a permitted use ordinance. According to Zoning and Health Department officials, neighbors previously complained about the sale of dogs at the Kenilworth address. The court case was postponed several times and has been rescheduled.
ClickHEREto read the article about Guardian Angels Animal Rescue and Ann Marie Rice.
Kim Deslonde, Pets for Keeps and Personal Touch Pet Salon
Kearny, Lyndhurst and Clifton
Doing business under Personal Touch Pet Salon, 237 Stuyvesant Ave, Lyndhurst, and Pets for Keeps, allegedly out of Clifton, Kim Deslonde runs an unlicensed pet shop/shelter/rescue. She formerly operated under Animal Rescue Team at the Stuyvesant address.
Lyndhurst ordered Deslonde to cease and desist in June but she is still operating.
Complainant stated she “adopted” an 8-10 week old puppy for $300 on May 13, 2009, through Deslonde at her Personal Touch Pet Salon address. No health or vaccination record, or interstate health certificate, was provided to the adopter. Within two days the puppy was deathly ill and diagnosed with Parvo and hospitalized for 4 nights, requiring 24 hour vet care. The vet bills mounted to $1,700.
Deslonde was sued in small claims court but was a no-show, which resulted in a default judgment for the adopter.
A puppy adopted/sold on February 13 by Kim Deslonde/Pets for Keeps (and delivered to adopters at the Secaucus Petsmart) died of PARVO and DISTEMPER one week later. The adopters weren't given any medical history/records for the puppy, and were charged and adoption fee of $300 (cash only) but vet bills incurred trying to medically treat and save the puppy's life exceeded $3,000.
If you adopted a dog from Pets for Keeps, your dog (and any other dogs/puppies in the house) may be in danger as Parvo and Distemper are highly contagious and oftentimes fatal. Please contact us if you recently adopted/purchased from this group, had to meet them at a public place, did not receive any vet medical records, paid cash and, more importantly, if your dog was sick.
The town of Lyndhurst previously issued a cease & desist order to Deslonde and states she is not allowed to engage in any sales or adoptions from her grooming shop, Personal Touch Pet Salon at 237 Stuyvesant Avenue, Lyndhurst, or her home in North Arlington. She now delivers dogs to potential adopters in public places (parking lots, etc) in an effort to avoid detection.
NJCAPSA has documentation on other so-called rescues who regularly buy puppies at Pennsylvania puppy mills (for as little as $10-25) or from NJ pet shops only to charge adoption fees of $150-450. Most of these rescues don’t offer any consumer protection when the puppies are sick with contagious diseases and most of them aren’t performing home checks. Some of them aren’t even providing animal health records from licensed veterinarians.
It’s disconcerting when one has to err on the side of caution when adopting a puppy but if you are suspicious of a group, contact us and we’ll let you know if we’ve received any complaints or if our evidence indicates you might be dealing with puppy brokers and not reputable rescues.
Rescue Groups 
