Should I report, and who to?

I had posted over the weekend about a Cavalier adoption that went wrong. I returned the dog, but something about this whole thing doesn't seem quite right to me.

I did some further research and found the auction notice that this puppy was listed on at a kennel liquidation in Missouri. I also found a 'Rip Off Report' that someone had posted about the shelter we adopted from, saying that in December of 2007, the shelter was asking for extremely high adoption fees for a number of different purebreds.

While I knew this was a mill pup, I am really concerned that 1) the rescuer who bought him did no screening or assessment before allowing us to take him into our home, and even stated that she expected the dog would probably prefer our daughter's company to ours (even though this is the opposite of what is usually the case with mill dogs), and 2) she asked no questions at all when we returned him, so he could be placed appropriately. She was angry and resentful that we had sought advice about the dog's behavior. I would feel very bad if this pup went to another home with a child and there was an injury.

This woman (and her husband) have run a rescue operation for at least 10 years. Initially, she started her shelter in response to her county not having a shelter. But a few years ago, the county did build its own shelter. I am theorizing, but I suspect that she may have lost some of her support, financial and otherwise, when the county shelter got built, and had to look to other means to get funds, hence the rescue of purebred mill dogs and the higher adoption fee she can charge for them. We paid a $450 fee for the Cavalier we got.

She told me that she has about 70 dogs at this shelter that are not adoptable or are large, mixed breed outside dogs. It takes a lot to feed that many; I fear that she stumbled on the purebred mill dog rescue/adoption as a revenue generator, which is okay, but not if the dogs aren't assessed before placement, and not if potential adopters don't get a realistic idea of the challenges in adopting these animals. She does spay and neuter them and vaccinates them.

My question, I guess, is whether I should report this, and if you think so, who'd be the appropriate agency? I really do not want to cause her undue problems, but she is doing a disservice to both the dogs and the adopters if she doesn't do this the right way.

I think you've hit it dead-on. She's figured out that she can purchase dogs at auction and then sell them as rescues. Unfortuantely....I don't know what you can do. Hopefully someone else can chime in with some advice. I was relieved to find out this wasn't an established Cavalier rescue organization. That was my initial concern. I'm afraid we are seeing more and more of them. Cavaliers are a very desirable breed and people are going to take advantage of that. I was disappointed that you were treated so poorly by this woman and that so little in the way of preparation was done by her.

Well I'd start by contacting your local SPCA or formal shelter to find out if they are aware of the operation and how many dogs are there and ask for advice about your concerns. 70 large dogs is a LOT of dogs -- you'd generally need some sort of permits etc. though this can vary by state. It may be a welfare issue depending on how the dogs are kept, and how does she manage all these big ones and ones that 'can't' be rehomed (why?) and the smaller dogs such as cavaliers. It would seem she has no capacity to properly asees dogs before homing. Did you see her whole facility? If she actually does have that many of just the unhomeables -- how can she possibly manage to give them proper care without a staff, as she must also have all the rescue she is rehoming, too. It sounds like she may be a type you see in rescue who get in way over their heads and feel they must keep animal after animal, they become a bit of a 'collector' which is an identified psychological problem; and/or they become obsessed with managing and controlling things.

Also is she reporting taxes on all those fees? To be fair, $450 isn't that much for a rescue cavalier, but on the other hand; is it clear she is actually rescuing them and not either breeding or selling them on from mills?