Highlander probe finds Itsy Bitsy Dog Rescue faces police charges, claims of shady practices

When students receive the opportunity to help out with a noble cause, the last thing that comes to ones mind would be "is this legal?" But what started out as a great way to help abused animals unraveled into potential legal nightmare that includes criminal charges and an arrest warrant.

[Animal Advocate]

THANK THE LORD someone finally exposes her for what she is really doing. More will be uncovered about her "rescue" practices.

[katpatmac]

This is the best news I've heard all year... this is one shady operation and I am delighted to hear this lady is being investigated... I saw puppies with poop caked on thier coats at one adoption event recently... and to take $395/dog in fees with absolutely no background check on the people adopting is nuts... she says she does home checks after the fact, but I highly doubt it... and her fees do not cover spaying or neutering. She can't even be bothered to make eye contact with customers, she's so busy trying to "sell" more dogs! She's rude, unkind, hurried, and comes off as a scam artist... not an animal lover. Think about it... at $395 per dog, if she "sells" 10/day, she's raking in a LOT of money, and now to find out she's not caring for the dogs, I'm convinced it's a criminal operation. I'd like to see her books, for sure! She deserves this and more... Thank God this is being investigated!!! I pity her!

[Angie]

The article notes that the owner of the dog rescue purchased animals from a puppy mill rather than actually rescuing them. I find it sad that the writer of this article does not see the purchasing of the animals a rescue in and of itself. In many cases the only means of getting the animal out of the mill is through purchasing it. Is the writer of the article suggesting that the dogs should be left in the puppy mill rathered than purchased? How sad! It is nearly impossible to get a puppy mill shut down and have legal action actually taken. Should the dogs in these mills be left there until legal authorities are ready to get involved? The answer is clearly, absolutely not. Lets be honest here, a rescue is a rescue. If the dog is purchased from a mill, it is essentially rescued in the sense that it is now in transition to finding a good home. That is simply a fact.

[mary]

even if she took the puppies to resale what the big deal at least they were getting a home that wanted them unlike the people who were getting rid of them.did you ever take care of a puppy that came from a puppy mill it's a very hard job to clean them up and a heart wrenching job. I seen her care for dogs that i didn't even want to look at, they were so flea bitten,dirty,smelly. it's alot of work.and if she made so much money why would she be losing her house? I give her alot of credit. i know i've taken dog from puppy mills and i would give them to her in a minute so she could find them homes. i tried it. it's too hard.she also traveled all over to help them. who paid for her gas, time, don't you get paid for your job. and i bet it's not as hard to do.or as heart breaking.

[KRISTEN]

I work at a no-kill animal shelter, and YES it is AWESOME to get dogs out of a puppy mill. It is NOT AWESOME to let them run around an oil yard with tires and falling down puppy pen walls holding them in with NO FOOD AND WATER. HOW IS THAT ANY BETTER!?!?!?! TWO WRONGS DON'T MAKE A RIGHT!

Angie wrote:

The article notes that the owner of the dog rescue purchased animals from a puppy mill rather than actually rescuing them. I find it sad that the writer of this article does not see the purchasing of the animals a rescue in and of itself. In many cases the only means of getting the animal out of the mill is through purchasing it. Is the writer of the article suggesting that the dogs should be left in the puppy mill rathered than purchased? How sad! It is nearly impossible to get a puppy mill shut down and have legal action actually taken. Should the dogs in these mills be left there until legal authorities are ready to get involved? The answer is clearly, absolutely not. Lets be honest here, a rescue is a rescue. If the dog is purchased from a mill, it is essentially rescued in the sense that it is now in transition to finding a good home. That is simply a fact.

[Lisa]

I had a great experience dealing with the rescue and Tracy.All the animals I saw were well cared for. Before I was allowed to adopt my dog, she conducted an extensive interview. I met her at the vet where my future pet was examined and SHE paid the hefty vet bill. She checked back with me that I followed thru on spaying my dog, etc. No regrets at all. She did strike me as the type of person who couldn't say "no" if a dog was in need.

[Angie]

That sounds like a bit of a stretch to me. Either way, I am speaking in general terms, not of a specific instance and therefore the fact of the matter remains, purchasing a dog to remove it from a bad situation should still be considered a rescue. Rather than spending so much time judging others, it might help to focus on yourself instead.

KRISTEN wrote:

I work at a no-kill animal shelter, and YES it is AWESOME to get dogs out of a puppy mill. It is NOT AWESOME to let them run around an oil yard with tires and falling down puppy pen walls holding them in with NO FOOD AND WATER. HOW IS THAT ANY BETTER!?!?!?! TWO WRONGS DON'T MAKE A RIGHT!
<quoted text>

[Alexis]

I am surprised to find this article about ItsyBitsy. I read the one by Oakland Press last month written by Cynthia Best regarding the rescues from out of state. Comments (mostly negative personal experiences with the rescue group)were pouring in on that website for 2 days but someone shut down the site and erased all comments! I, too, felt uncomfortable adopting from IB and had shared my experiences and found it fishy that all comments were taken off.
Anyway, it sure was a wonderful thing to rescue the animals from puppy mills/flea markets and placing them in forever homes, but I think the problem lies in IB turning around and "selling" these "rescued" animals for a hefty profit in cash only - WITHOUT proper/needed medical treatment before placement. So how is that different from the puppy mills? My experience: I was interested in a dog from IB and was told the dog had full medical examination and all tests were negative - turned out the dog only had rabies shot and no tests were done and the vet actually told IB the dog needed medical treatment and was not in condition to be adopted out. IB did not disclose the information to me and had lied about the health of the animal. IB also didn't do an "extensive" interview on my application and seemed to be more interested in whoever has the cash.
I read that IB had adopted out a few dogs in the same evening that they were brought back from the "flea market" - what legitimate rescue group would turn around so quickly and "sell" the dogs right away?
It will be interesting to know what will happen to IB/Nelson.

[Karen]

I am surprised to read all this information about IB. Three months ago I applied for a dog from IB through pet finder. Traci required a great deal of information from us and when we met in person at Premier Pet, the dog was in very sad shape from a puppy mill. She actually was discouraging in giving us the facts of adopting a puppy mill survivor. We were persistent in our desire to to adopt. She made up leave for a few hours and think it over to be absolutely sure we were up for the challenge. We returned and took the dog home it was so sad. After three months of love and dedication she is doing wonderful. Go to petfinder and see some of the rescue fees other places charge, she is similar. I truly believe she does what she can for each and every pet.

[Whitney]

I adopted a dog from her in November. Well I guess she didnt obtain the proper documentation form the previous owner and they showed up on my doorstep looking to get their dog back. I dont know what to do.

[Renee]

I purchased a dog while at a local pet store from IB in March. I was told that Traci had personally cared for the animal in her home. I was assured that the dog was house broken and neutered. Not only has the dog been an extreme challenge with house training but guess what? My dog is now in heat! I also learned that my dog has a heart condition (detected on the first visit at my vet). It's a good thing that I am a dedicated animal lover. Besides, the "contract" states that if I decided to get rid of the animal, it must be returned to IB. After all, they could always resell her for another $395.

[cindy]

I met with Traci and hesitantly had to surrender our puggle due to time constraints...i had many inquiries about her but felt the most secure with Traci taking her.....she told me she adopted her out one week after we left left here there...after the fact I am now learning about all of this and we are completely devistated....i only hope and pray she is a good loving home....we want her back so bad and miss her so much.....if anyone adopted a puggle from her please contact me and let me know she is ok...that is all i ask....she is a super sweet girl and deserves so much...personality plus...we always look at her pictures and giggle about the fun memories we had with [e-mail] ....and Traci if you are reading this...i don't blame you...just want to know that Kimber is ok....thanks