Post by Gentle Giant News on Jan 16, 2007 22:28:29 GMT -5
In light of a post made by Marc Sayer on August 31, 2006, I thought I would add to that thought with more information and thoughts of my own. I have this on my home page on www.GentleGiantNews.com also.
Over the past year and a half, we have received many testimonies from individual adoptors telling of their horrific experience with Gentle Giants Rescue and/or Burt & Tracy Ward. However, a lot of those individuals have requested that we not make their testimonies public because of the fear that the Wards will either repossess their dog from them, will take legal actions against them, or will hinder their ability from ever adopting a dog from any rescue group again.
** Please people, do not let them frighten you with their saber rattling and their threats. The law is there to protect you, and it will. Just because they do not like something, does not make it illegal or give them the right to sue you. And the more they try to use the courts to bully people, like they did with us, and the local newspaper before us, the more it will cost them. You have rights, they can not take away your dog just because they do not like what you are doing. Nor can they sue you for speaking out. The only way they will be stopped is if people stand up to them, just like any school yard bully. The more people speak out about their experiences with GG and the Wards, and file complaints with Norco Animal Control, the sooner they will be shut down and dogs will find their way to safe responsible REAL rescues. ** excerpts from Message Board post by Marc Sayer (www.gentlegiantnews.com/messageboard/viewtopic.php?t=56)
Although it may be in your contractual agreement that GGR "reserves the right to repossess the adopted dog at ANY time, for ANY reason", this section of the contract is NOT legally enforceable (check with your own legal counsel). Once the "purchase" takes place and you have paid for the item, in this case a dog, that item is your own personal property and CANNOT be taken back unless you have failed to pay for this "item" in full. And since we all know that you cannot leave with one of their dogs without you emptying your pocket book and maxing out your Credit Card, lack of payment will never be the issue.
This also brings me to another "contractual agreement" that you probably had to sign in order to adopt a dog from GGR. THE FOOD CONTRACT. GGR seems to believe that you are REQUIRED to feed your newly adopted dog their food (Gentle Giant's World Class Canine Cuisine) and ONLY their food for the life of the dog in order for you to adopt a dog from them. Again, it may be in your contract (or a separate contract), but this is also not legally enforceable. Once you own the "item" that you purchased, the "Seller" cannot dictate the manner in which you feed, maintain, or take care of that item (the dog).
Although you may have signed the contract, the contract can only be enforced in what is LEGAL. The illegal terms on that contract are null and void. This does not mean that the entire contract is invalid, it only means that certain portions of the contract are invalid and unenforceable.
Here are a few more things you should also know about Gentle Giants Rescue:
In order for them to operate in the City of Norco as a "Non-Profit" Rescue Organization, they must comply AT ALL TIMES with certain requirements that the City has established. (See a copy of the "Conditional Use Permit": www.gentlegiantnews.com/GG_CUP.pdf)
1. They are limited to a maximum of 55 ANIMALS (not just dogs) on their premises at any time. This includes their own family pets, of which are limited to just 4 dogs. This also includes cats, horses, pigs, goats, etc. (See Resolution, Page 3, Paragraph 4)
Take a look around ..... how many animals did you count?
2. They MUST have all dogs, 4 months of age or older, vaccinated for Rabies and MUST have those records available at all times. (See Resolution, Page 4, Paragraph 11)
Were you provided with a copy of the Rabies Certificate? Were you told they would be sent to you as soon as she find them? Were you ever sent them? If they are supposed to have those records available, why can't they provide them to you? This forces you to have to re-vaccinate the dog in order to be in compliance with your City or County regulations. This puts your dog at risk of over-vaccination.
3. They MUST have all dogs, 8 weeks of age or older, spayed or neutered within 30 days of their receipt of dog into their rescue operation. (See Resolution, Page 3, Paragraph 9)
How many of the dogs were not available to take home that day because they had to be spayed or neutered?
There are a lot of people that would LOVE to see this "Organization" get closed down. There are also a lot of people that don't want them closed down, but would like them to be in compliance with the Law.
Here's how you can help:
If you have adopted from Gentle Giants, even if the dog you adopted was in good health and good temperament, if you notice a violation of ANY or ALL of these 3 regulations, we would encourage you to file a complaint with the City of Norco. The City would have not other way of knowing of these violations if nobody tells them. Keep a copy of the complaint form for your own records, and we would also appreciate it if you would forward a copy of the complaint form to us. (forwarding information can be provided upon request).
Here is a link to the City of Norco's complaint form: www.gentlegiantnews.com/Norco_complaint.pdf
**Please note: You do NOT have to be a resident of Norco in order to file a complaint.
Over the past year and a half, we have received many testimonies from individual adoptors telling of their horrific experience with Gentle Giants Rescue and/or Burt & Tracy Ward. However, a lot of those individuals have requested that we not make their testimonies public because of the fear that the Wards will either repossess their dog from them, will take legal actions against them, or will hinder their ability from ever adopting a dog from any rescue group again.
** Please people, do not let them frighten you with their saber rattling and their threats. The law is there to protect you, and it will. Just because they do not like something, does not make it illegal or give them the right to sue you. And the more they try to use the courts to bully people, like they did with us, and the local newspaper before us, the more it will cost them. You have rights, they can not take away your dog just because they do not like what you are doing. Nor can they sue you for speaking out. The only way they will be stopped is if people stand up to them, just like any school yard bully. The more people speak out about their experiences with GG and the Wards, and file complaints with Norco Animal Control, the sooner they will be shut down and dogs will find their way to safe responsible REAL rescues. ** excerpts from Message Board post by Marc Sayer (www.gentlegiantnews.com/messageboard/viewtopic.php?t=56)
Although it may be in your contractual agreement that GGR "reserves the right to repossess the adopted dog at ANY time, for ANY reason", this section of the contract is NOT legally enforceable (check with your own legal counsel). Once the "purchase" takes place and you have paid for the item, in this case a dog, that item is your own personal property and CANNOT be taken back unless you have failed to pay for this "item" in full. And since we all know that you cannot leave with one of their dogs without you emptying your pocket book and maxing out your Credit Card, lack of payment will never be the issue.
This also brings me to another "contractual agreement" that you probably had to sign in order to adopt a dog from GGR. THE FOOD CONTRACT. GGR seems to believe that you are REQUIRED to feed your newly adopted dog their food (Gentle Giant's World Class Canine Cuisine) and ONLY their food for the life of the dog in order for you to adopt a dog from them. Again, it may be in your contract (or a separate contract), but this is also not legally enforceable. Once you own the "item" that you purchased, the "Seller" cannot dictate the manner in which you feed, maintain, or take care of that item (the dog).
Although you may have signed the contract, the contract can only be enforced in what is LEGAL. The illegal terms on that contract are null and void. This does not mean that the entire contract is invalid, it only means that certain portions of the contract are invalid and unenforceable.
Here are a few more things you should also know about Gentle Giants Rescue:
In order for them to operate in the City of Norco as a "Non-Profit" Rescue Organization, they must comply AT ALL TIMES with certain requirements that the City has established. (See a copy of the "Conditional Use Permit": www.gentlegiantnews.com/GG_CUP.pdf)
1. They are limited to a maximum of 55 ANIMALS (not just dogs) on their premises at any time. This includes their own family pets, of which are limited to just 4 dogs. This also includes cats, horses, pigs, goats, etc. (See Resolution, Page 3, Paragraph 4)
Take a look around ..... how many animals did you count?
2. They MUST have all dogs, 4 months of age or older, vaccinated for Rabies and MUST have those records available at all times. (See Resolution, Page 4, Paragraph 11)
Were you provided with a copy of the Rabies Certificate? Were you told they would be sent to you as soon as she find them? Were you ever sent them? If they are supposed to have those records available, why can't they provide them to you? This forces you to have to re-vaccinate the dog in order to be in compliance with your City or County regulations. This puts your dog at risk of over-vaccination.
3. They MUST have all dogs, 8 weeks of age or older, spayed or neutered within 30 days of their receipt of dog into their rescue operation. (See Resolution, Page 3, Paragraph 9)
How many of the dogs were not available to take home that day because they had to be spayed or neutered?
There are a lot of people that would LOVE to see this "Organization" get closed down. There are also a lot of people that don't want them closed down, but would like them to be in compliance with the Law.
Here's how you can help:
If you have adopted from Gentle Giants, even if the dog you adopted was in good health and good temperament, if you notice a violation of ANY or ALL of these 3 regulations, we would encourage you to file a complaint with the City of Norco. The City would have not other way of knowing of these violations if nobody tells them. Keep a copy of the complaint form for your own records, and we would also appreciate it if you would forward a copy of the complaint form to us. (forwarding information can be provided upon request).
Here is a link to the City of Norco's complaint form: www.gentlegiantnews.com/Norco_complaint.pdf
**Please note: You do NOT have to be a resident of Norco in order to file a complaint.