Post by concerned on Sept 19, 2011 3:06:03 GMT -5
Hey there.
I thought this might be something relevant to your cause.
There has been a lot of buzz on Craig's List about this Baldwin Park shelter lately.
Here is something someone just posted:
"Baldwin Park shelter claims sweet St.Bernard aggressive"
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We tried to adopt Lua, a sweet female St. Bernard in Baldwin Park shelter, yesterday but the shelter staff refused saying the animal is aggressive and will bite. Please check out Lua on facebook and youtube and see how "aggressive" she is! We asked for them to take Lua to the play area to meet with us. The dog was so sweet and obedient, walking nicely, did not bark, did not growl. She just came to us and put her big head on my lap for affection. She stayed close to me and was very calm and sweet. Yet, they still claimed she was aggressive and refused to adopt her out. They said they have not done a temperament test on her and had no idea when one will be done, even that there are people who want to adopt her and she has been there for two weeks. On her cage (in the adoptable area) has her paper with the words: "I am available now!" written on it. Many people were there yesterday and witnessed how sweet and calm Lua was and they could not believe the shelter called her aggressive. They watched them take Lua back to her cage and we left broken-hearted.
We believe this shelter is holding beautiful purebred dogs to sell them for their own profits. I saw a Great Dane sitting sadly in there for weeks and people weren't allowed to adopt him. When I was there yesterday, I saw a truck pulled up with three beautiful Great Danes and right away, the shelter employees alerted each other: "Great Danes! Three Great Danes are coming!" then they huddled to talk in closed doors, then the Great Dane were soon out of sight. Please get the attention of the news/media and authorities to investigate this shelter.
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I contacted that shelter several days ago about the black great dane I saw listed on petfinder and they said it had bitten several people in the past, one severely, and that he "could not be adopted to the general public" but then asked if I was affiliated with a rescue.
He then went on to try and refer me to adopt from Gentle Giants, and he gave me a pitch that sounded right off their website ("It's run by the guy from Batman!") and when I politely suggested he review your site before referring anyone to them ever again he got really defensive and told me "The internet blows things out of proportion!"
The whole thing seemed very dubious, and I share the Craig's List poster's suspicion that this shelter is denying their large breeds dogs from being adopted to good homes and shipping them to Gentle Giants so they can be sold for profit.
If anyone has the courage, I think this might be a great time to go to the media about this.
I corresponded with this person over emails about this incident also, here they are:
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1)
About the shelters: Did you hear the news a few months ago about 50 dogs disappeared from the North Central Shelter in Los Angeles over a short period of time? It was suspected that employees take dogs out at night to sell to dog fighting rings or sell them for profits. They are under investigation. One time I went to that shelter to try to adopt a perfectly sweet, scared German Shepherd and they told me the dog was mean and had bitten some people; they really did not want me to adopt that dog. The next day, that dog disappeared from the shelter with no records. This Great Dane maybe in the same fate. I tried to contact Great Dane rescues but couldn't find any. Please contact someone or the authority to investigate. I went to Baldwin Park shelter last year and was told some dog was mean and not adoptable; he looked very scared and tried to give me his paws through the bars. Please find out more about this Dane.
Thanks (from the dogs!)
2)
Hello, I went to Baldwin Park shelter today and saw the Great Dane we were talking about. He was gorgeous - all black with some white on the chest; very big. He was very calm, just lying down looking at me, not barking, not growling, just looking at me with hope. You've got to contact the news/media somehow to alert them of this shady business at this shelter (and maybe other shelters). I myself tried to adopt a beautiful, calm, sad looking St. Bernard but was told the same line: "the dog is aggressive; she will bite". I insisted that they took the dog to the play area to socialize with me. She went there obediently, wagging her tail then put her big head on my lap for petting. Not one single bark, not one single growl. Still they did not let me adopt her, claiming she was aggressive. I believe they are keeping her to sell for profits. She was gorgeous and purebred.
I just posted two ads on craigslist under the heading Baldwin Shelter. Please read them and join me in the effort of exposing the wrong-doings and illegal business at this shelter. Many people are turned away and sweet dogs sitting sad and scared...
Thanks.
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This may not have any relation to the Gentle Giants debacle at all, but the way that guy at the shelter was pitching me I have a feeling in my gut these suspicions aren't unfounded...
I thought this might be something relevant to your cause.
There has been a lot of buzz on Craig's List about this Baldwin Park shelter lately.
Here is something someone just posted:
"Baldwin Park shelter claims sweet St.Bernard aggressive"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
We tried to adopt Lua, a sweet female St. Bernard in Baldwin Park shelter, yesterday but the shelter staff refused saying the animal is aggressive and will bite. Please check out Lua on facebook and youtube and see how "aggressive" she is! We asked for them to take Lua to the play area to meet with us. The dog was so sweet and obedient, walking nicely, did not bark, did not growl. She just came to us and put her big head on my lap for affection. She stayed close to me and was very calm and sweet. Yet, they still claimed she was aggressive and refused to adopt her out. They said they have not done a temperament test on her and had no idea when one will be done, even that there are people who want to adopt her and she has been there for two weeks. On her cage (in the adoptable area) has her paper with the words: "I am available now!" written on it. Many people were there yesterday and witnessed how sweet and calm Lua was and they could not believe the shelter called her aggressive. They watched them take Lua back to her cage and we left broken-hearted.
We believe this shelter is holding beautiful purebred dogs to sell them for their own profits. I saw a Great Dane sitting sadly in there for weeks and people weren't allowed to adopt him. When I was there yesterday, I saw a truck pulled up with three beautiful Great Danes and right away, the shelter employees alerted each other: "Great Danes! Three Great Danes are coming!" then they huddled to talk in closed doors, then the Great Dane were soon out of sight. Please get the attention of the news/media and authorities to investigate this shelter.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I contacted that shelter several days ago about the black great dane I saw listed on petfinder and they said it had bitten several people in the past, one severely, and that he "could not be adopted to the general public" but then asked if I was affiliated with a rescue.
He then went on to try and refer me to adopt from Gentle Giants, and he gave me a pitch that sounded right off their website ("It's run by the guy from Batman!") and when I politely suggested he review your site before referring anyone to them ever again he got really defensive and told me "The internet blows things out of proportion!"
The whole thing seemed very dubious, and I share the Craig's List poster's suspicion that this shelter is denying their large breeds dogs from being adopted to good homes and shipping them to Gentle Giants so they can be sold for profit.
If anyone has the courage, I think this might be a great time to go to the media about this.
I corresponded with this person over emails about this incident also, here they are:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1)
About the shelters: Did you hear the news a few months ago about 50 dogs disappeared from the North Central Shelter in Los Angeles over a short period of time? It was suspected that employees take dogs out at night to sell to dog fighting rings or sell them for profits. They are under investigation. One time I went to that shelter to try to adopt a perfectly sweet, scared German Shepherd and they told me the dog was mean and had bitten some people; they really did not want me to adopt that dog. The next day, that dog disappeared from the shelter with no records. This Great Dane maybe in the same fate. I tried to contact Great Dane rescues but couldn't find any. Please contact someone or the authority to investigate. I went to Baldwin Park shelter last year and was told some dog was mean and not adoptable; he looked very scared and tried to give me his paws through the bars. Please find out more about this Dane.
Thanks (from the dogs!)
2)
Hello, I went to Baldwin Park shelter today and saw the Great Dane we were talking about. He was gorgeous - all black with some white on the chest; very big. He was very calm, just lying down looking at me, not barking, not growling, just looking at me with hope. You've got to contact the news/media somehow to alert them of this shady business at this shelter (and maybe other shelters). I myself tried to adopt a beautiful, calm, sad looking St. Bernard but was told the same line: "the dog is aggressive; she will bite". I insisted that they took the dog to the play area to socialize with me. She went there obediently, wagging her tail then put her big head on my lap for petting. Not one single bark, not one single growl. Still they did not let me adopt her, claiming she was aggressive. I believe they are keeping her to sell for profits. She was gorgeous and purebred.
I just posted two ads on craigslist under the heading Baldwin Shelter. Please read them and join me in the effort of exposing the wrong-doings and illegal business at this shelter. Many people are turned away and sweet dogs sitting sad and scared...
Thanks.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This may not have any relation to the Gentle Giants debacle at all, but the way that guy at the shelter was pitching me I have a feeling in my gut these suspicions aren't unfounded...