UNSCRUPULOUS RESCUES & BROKERS POSING AS RESCUES
Losing sight of the true mission of animal rescue
It’s bad enough handling pet store and unscrupulous breeder complaints but it's pretty despicable when so-called animal rescues betray the trust of those good-intentioned individuals who actually seek out adoption options over purchasing a dog.
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 no 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.
No pre-adoption home checks!
Uses puplic places to deliver dogs to adopters.
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
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, 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 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 and West New York, 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.
Vicki Patterson, Whitehouse, Whitehouse Station, Hunterdon County
Formerly operating under the now defunct NJ Collie Rescue & Referral and Purebred Puppy Rescue, Patterson resurfaced under a new name and website, Adopt a Purebred Puppy (no longer a working site). She continues brokering puppies for resale, under the numbers 908-455-0111 and 908-217-1710. Also claims to be located in Manalapan, NJ.
NJCAPSA received a complaint about a sick puppy purchased in mid-October. The Boston Terrier was diagnosed with ear mites, parasites and pneumonia. Paperwork shows he was shipped to Patterson from a USDA-licensed Missouri puppy miller, Becki Dugger.
Last June, it was brought to our attention via a consumer complaint that Patterson was selling dogs under her rescue at the time, NJ Collie Rescue. When she was discovered actually brokering older puppies from K-Jac Kennels in Missouri (a USDA-licensed commercial kennel) and posting them on PetFinder, we reported our findings and she was removed from PetFinder. Patterson changed her ‘rescue’ name to Purebred Puppy Rescue and then to Adopt A Purebred Puppy but appears to now only advertise on the Internet.
So-called adoption fees are an exorbitant $400-$700 and Patterson doesn’t fully guarantee the health of the puppies nor comply under the Pet Purchase Protection Act that all pet dealers must adhere to. She tells buyers they have 48 hours to take the puppy to the vet. This is WRONG! NJ law allows 14 days.
Since Patterson is openly selling dogs, she needs a kennel license, supervising veterinarian, and must comply under state laws! According to Readington Township, she is not zoned for a business or kennel, so is operating illegally.
Read the NJ Attorney General's Consent Order.
Barbara and Ted Back, Alabama, New Jersey, Pennsylvania
Pups Rescue.net andP.E.T.S. Rescue
Previously dba K9 Editions.org and Barbara Back Kennels
The Backs also advertise puppies for sale onPuppyFind.com
Earlier this year in Hunterdon County, the NJSPCA intercepted the Back's van carrying puppies slated for delivery to potential adopters. Puppies and young dogs were uncrated for the long trip from Alabama, and several showed signs of disease such as mange, parasites, and upper respiratory infections. The Backs had no interstate heath certificates on the animals and were ordered by SPCA agents to take the puppies to a local vet clinic for medical treatment. According to their website, they continue to make frequent runs up the east coast, making NJ their final stop, all in an effort to rehome puppies and young dogs. This is NOT the way to run a rescue! Don’t get stuck with a sick animal with no recourse for veterinary bills.
Previous media coverage:
Online puppy dealer indicted on 9 counts of fraud, theft
Back Faces Up To 90 Years In Prison If Convicted
Friday, Dec 17, 2004
An Alabama woman trailed by customer complaints has been indicted on nine counts of theft by deception.
Barbara Back was arrested by Dekalb County deputies December 10, 2004, after nine separate customers filed complaints about how Back ran her online puppy service.
When NBC first asked Back last week about several complaints filed against her online puppy operation, she claimed they were completely unfounded. “Everybody gets a dog that's supposed to be getting a dog,” said Back. “I don't know what's going on. They did an investigation and apparently found nothing.”
However, the charges stem from complaints filed by nine customers across the country, like Jeanette Ebenau in New Jersey. She paid Back a $500 deposit for a bulldog, but when she changed her mind, Back wouldn't refund her money. Rhonda Jackson, a Dekalb County investigator, said Ebenau's complaint was one of the reasons she launched the investigation in April 2004. “She missed ship dates several times after they were already paid for,” said Jackson. “Some of the people requested their money back, seeing that they weren't going to get a puppy, and she would say she'd refund the money, but they never got the money or the puppy.”
According to allegations made by dozens of complainants to The HSUS and others, puppy dealer Barbara Bach has been defrauding consumers and hurting animals by selling sick puppies over the Internet. In recent years, reports having been piling up of seriously ill and underage puppies being shipped from Barbara Bach to unwitting buyers as far away as New York and California.
While the local SPCA is investigating Ms. Bach for numerous animal cruelty complaints, The HSUS has asked the DeKalb County District sheriff’s office to pursue allegations of fraud and theft against Ms. Bach as well, in violation of Alabama’s Theft laws.
Back maintained that customers are told up front deposits are non-refundable. She is currently out on $5,000 bond and faces a maximum of 90 years in prison if convicted.
PUPPY CHARGES PLEADED
February 17, 2006, By Mark Harrison, The Times-Journal
A Fort Payne woman has been sentenced to two years probation after pleading guilty to theft charges related to the operation of a puppy mill.
Barbara Back entered the plea Monday, avoiding a jury trial set to begin that day in DeKalb County Circuit Court.
DeKalb County Sheriff’s Investigator Rhonda Jackson said Back sold puppies from her Fort Payne home using the Internet. Jackson said there were numerous complaints filed in 2004 from Back’s would-be customers from all across the country, claiming receipt of a sick puppy, the wrong puppy or no puppy at all.
Jackson said some of the dogs were being kept in small crates at Back’s home, adjacent to an outdoor storage area.
DeKalb County Assistant District Attorney Scott Lloyd said Back pleaded guilty to nine counts of theft by deception. He said each charge stemmed from an individual customer complaint.
Lloyd said many of those customers asked for their money back. He said a restitution hearing was scheduled for April.
NJCAPSA has documentation on other so-called rescuers 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 
