"RETIRED" (?) POLICE OFFICER STARVES/NEGLECTS DOGS - Page 4

[quote] If someone were just running a puppy mill and neglected her dogs why would she spend the money and the time to do all the OFA screenings on her dogs? You can check the OFA site to find this information for yourself. It is public record. Why would someone running a puppy mill go to the expense of importing German stock when she could just use backyard dogs? It makes no sense.[/quote]

Those above mentioned expenses are one time and recovered quickly when puppy sales are brisk, it makes perfect sense to use desirable breeding dogs when running a mill, creating a buzz is what makes sales happen and well known names in a pedigree does this and sell pups.

Think twice on co-ownerships:

I’m Jill Keaton from WV….I don’t believe in not letting people know exactly who I am, where I’m from and what I stand for. Next, let me say that I have been there….done that…and don’t care to go there again. I lost two months sleep, ten pounds, gained more gray hair and my dogs thought that I would never be the same again.

If any of you receive a phone call asking for help from someone you really don’t know…..to pick up a dog (or anything else for that matter) from a person that has done this other party a horrible injustice…stop…think. There are two sides to everything…sometimes more.

I have bred dogs since 1974.….and yes… I am no spring chicken. We in the dog world all have our own ideas of how dogs should be kept and in what condition; weight, grooming, housing, food, etc. I know that being a breeder I want my dogs to be where I am…..not states away…..I want to be the one feeding, grooming, exercising, working, etc. I KNOW the conditions of my dogs…they are with me. Pedigrees are fine…..but if you do not have all the other things…..socialization, handling, proper food, housing, etc., you don’t have a complete picture. If several animals are involved then there should be several caretakers involved also……I am very well aware of the time it takes for responsible ownership.

There are several people in this country that “farm” their dogs (and other stock) out to different parties so as they can have their “kennel name” on more litters that they could otherwise. Some enter into a situation such as this to “help” this poor person out of a “bind…per say”. Spoken agreements are not written down and things can really go downhill.

Do I believe that anything will really be done about the neglect that these dogs have endured……no……can we do anything…yes! Try and educate people……..do your research…first! We will never stop the impulse buyer…..if that was possible pet stores would already be out of business; however, this matter has brought this “way of doing business” out into the open and some will learn from it.

If these were pictures of little starving black kids somewhere in Africa, you would have a much different attitude towards this, but they are just dogs right ?

AND NOW YOU HAVE THE REST OF THE STORY……

This is truly a Halloween horror tale, but not in the way that one might construe. I feel strongly obligated to give the other side of this story to all of you reading this.

I must apologize too, for not posting this immediately over the weekend, but understand that I have just returned from a grueling, 4-day ordeal, which involved driving thousands of miles across our great country in an effort to return these dogs to their rightful owner.

Yes, I am a brand new postee, having no idea that this web site forum existed until 3 days ago. I am a TV news photojournalist, residing in the Denver area, with a great love and passion for the GSD breed, and especially the DDR East German bloodlines.

Last August, myself, and my collection of fur-kids, drove to AltOstland kennels in Texas to meet and do business with Judy Malone and her magnificent family of DDR dogs. I spent over 10 days there, working with and becoming acquainted with Judy. This woman invited me, a total stranger, to stay with her, in her home, with all of my dogs. She bent over backward to accommodate us. I discovered a wonderful, caring person with a true love and devotion to the preservation of the DDR dog. It was refreshing and enlightening to listen to her amazing knowledge of East German dogs, their history, and bloodlines. I had found an educated, talented, intelligent person, with a great passion for the German shepherd breed. We became fast friends.

While there, I met and came to know all of her dogs, and will attest that NONE of them were in horrible or starved condition. I played with and helped feed all of the puppies. I worked with many of the adults, and videotaped and photographed them at work and play. They were all loving, well-socialized, happy dogs. In my line of work, I have seen and covered puppy mill stories and pet stores who sell from them. I have seen many unspeakable acts of animal cruelty. I can ASSURE you there is NO puppy mill operation at AltOstland kennels. There is NO animal abuse going on there.

Shortly after I returned home to Colorado, a terrible tragedy befell the owners of the ranch upon which Judy lived with her dogs.  An immediate move for them would be pending, and this proved quite problematical. A few other dog enthusiasts, friends of Judy, and also myself stepped forward to help temporarily relocate dogs, until a permanent situation could be found.

This is the crux of how the following events unfolded…. and how it directly relates to the posting at the top of this page.

A person named Sheri Strick, who lived in Idaho, was one of the many people who contacted Judy about temporary relocating some dogs for her. Some type of agreement was forged, including purchasing some of the dogs, leasing others, with the reward for helping out obviously being the reaping of benefits of puppy sales, and/or puppies/dogs for improvement to her breeding program. This is nothing shocking; many breeders do this. But what happened in the days and weeks that followed is the outrage.

Sheri Strick arrived in Texas on the 21^st of September to pick up the dogs, toting a large pickup truck and a gooseneck/5^th wheel style stock hauler. She traveled alone…and spent barely an afternoon at the facility. She took 12 adult dogs of various ages, and a portion of 2 litters of puppies. Judy provided all types of crates, water, bedding and food for the

Sheri Strick arrived in Texas on the 21^st of September to pick up the dogs, toting a large pickup truck and a gooseneck/5^th wheel style stock hauler. She traveled alone…and spent barely an afternoon at the facility. She took 12 adult dogs of various ages, and a portion of 2 litters of puppies. Judy provided all types of crates, water, bedding and food for the trip. All of the dogs’ health records and shot cards were provided. She had even offered Sheri the use of her favorite house dog and stud in her breeding program, and sent him along with the others… truly a sacrifice…

This person Sheri Strick left Texas and disappeared from the radar for over 3 days, driving where we now suspect was through the baking heat of the desert for many days with these dogs. Some 5 days after her departure, she eventually reappeared in Idaho. There is no way to know what type of conditions these animals were subjected to on this wild journey through the desert southwest, with temperatures excessively high this year; no way to tell how much they were fed, watered, or exercised on that trip. All that is known for certain is that many of the dogs were eventually brought to a veterinary clinic in Salmon, Idaho some 9 days after leaving Texas. This same Sheri Strick also dumped some of these dogs off at a local animal shelter in this same town. Judy Malone knew absolutely NOTHING of this abomination until some 4 weeks later, when she received an email demand from Sheri Strick to IMMEDIATELY pick up her dogs from Idaho, and it listed a deadline. Thus ensued the chaos…

Judy struggled to make arrangements with this Sheri Strick to pick up her dogs. This was nothing less than a horrible burden for her on top of already trying to relocate herself and her dogs. I did my best to assist with this doggie Underground Railroad… My personal experience with Sheri was disappointing. She kept changing pickup times, dates, locations, and even facts. She was rude and haughty in her communiqués with me.

Judy made 2 separate trips to pick up her dogs. There were no “clandestine” meetings.. There were no “foster situations”.. just Sheri Strick’s mean and cruel attempts to make everything as difficult as possible.

 I personally drove Judy up on the 25^th of October to retrieve the remaining dogs that were kept from her on her first trip. Some of them had been picked up from the animal shelter in Salmon, where Shari Strick had originally dumped them, and had been promptly dropped off at the local vet clinic by her days before we arrived. The dogs were slightly thin, pretty greasy, and smelled like flea dip. I believe the vet clinic and animal shelter had done the very best they could with these dogs, in the amount of time that they had had them there. There was great confusion amongst them concerning the actual dates that these animals had arrived in Idaho. It appeared that Sheri has misrepresented the dates that these dogs had been in her possession. The vet was happy we were there, and issued us health certificates for our trip back to Texas. It was perfectly clear to me that the lack of care of these animals had taken place in the previous 5 weeks and NOT prior to the 21^st of September.

I summarize by asking you to re-read the original post. Ask yourself some questions…

Why did this person drive over 3,000 miles to “rescue” dogs she had never seen?? If, when arriving in Texas, she found the dogs in such poor health and condition, then why drive them 3,000 miles BACK up to Idaho?? Why not rush them immediately to the nearest vet clinic or animal shelter? Why didn’t you contact the authorities right there in Texas?? Heck, why would you agree to take them at all??

Why did this person wait 5 weeks to post this on the Internet? Why not post it imme

Why did this person drive over 3,000 miles to “rescue” dogs she had never seen?? If, when arriving in Texas, she found the dogs in such poor health and condition, then why drive them 3,000 miles BACK up to Idaho?? Why not rush them immediately to the nearest vet clinic or animal shelter? Why didn’t you contact the authorities right there in Texas?? Heck, why would you agree to take them at all??

Why did this person wait 5 weeks to post this on the Internet? Why not post it immediately after receiving the animals?? Why is there no request for food, donations, vet care, etc?? Real rescues always ask for help.

And as to the photos, why are there only 3 or 4 dogs shown?? What about the other 8 or 9? Why no pictures of these “pathetic” puppies described??

Why is this person describing these puppies as “timid, afraid, trembling, and cowering” in THIS post, but then has them for sale as “super temperament, confident, playful puppies” in another ad on this very website?? (See here)   http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/gsd/classifieds/46640.html

I find the whole affair rather bizarre. It appears that this was more than Sheri could handle, and that, for whatever reason, she changed her mind partway through the process. I can respect that; this is a LOT of dogs to take on. What I don’t understand is WHY she had the unmitigated GALL to take animals that were entrusted to her and dump them of at a shelter and vet clinic without the owners’ knowledge OR permission!! None of this was helpful, and the animals are the ones who suffer. I hope this is a lesson to all of us about human nature, animals, and greed.

Please feel free to contact me with ANY questions on my experience with this nightmare.

I will be working very hard to catch up on a video project for the Airedale Club of America, but will try and answer your questions via email post haste.

Denese Wolfson dwolfson7@msn.com

Well so now the story unfolds. I for one knew that there was more to these accusations than what was being revealed. I have never met Judy Malone nor have I ever been to her facility, but I do know  that she is very serious about showing her dogs in  conformation shows and getting them out there for the  public to see. If for one minute  any of her dogs had been mistreated or looked abused or emaciated do you think that she would  have taken them and shown them? They have always looked clean, healthy and cared for very well. As for her relocating or moving, we have all been there, (some of us with our dogs and others without) why would her having to relocate/move make any difference, it does not imply she is trying to hide. This is why we should never jump to conclusions and believe only one side. We have heard this before, there are always two sides to every story,  it's just that sometimes I guess the truth is just too boring  so we choose to believe the story that peaks our interest and gets our hackles up. So many times we have disgruntled clients get on this board just to smeer a breeders reputation, and I think that they need to know we will not be fooled so easily. We owe it to each reputable breeder on this board.  It takes years of hard work and dedication to accomplish what some of them have accomplished. It's because of these deditcated breeders that most of us have the wonderful dogs we have.

Judy I am truly sorry that you are going thru such a terrible ordeal and I hope that all your dogs are now in a much better place getting the care they so deserve. HANG IN THERE... This will pass and will just be a lesson learned.

Debbie

WHO IS THE RETIRED   POLICE OFFICER IN ALL THIS      I GOT LOST   SOMEWHERE?