"rescue" group, gone wrong

[sloigo]

If you are thinking of adopting a dog, PLEASE check the "RESCUE" you are considering like any other investment. There are good & bad rescues.....there is a issue going on with a rescue in Indiana with a lab rescue for those who dont see the other "board" or the newspaper article. I am NOT trying to sway ANYONE just trying to put info out there. It is really sad I think that situations like this still pop up, but they do. There is a website to check that that ANY group is really is, a not-for-profit, 501(c)3. I will look for it & post it. I feel sad for the dogs!! Articles like this take a toll on ALL rescues.

Here is the article so far......
Dog 'rescue' group targeted by city | thestarpress.com | The Star Press

[sloigo]

Dog 'rescue' group targeted by city
Adopt-A-Lab, which is operating without a kennel license, had to remove dogs after the Muncie Animal Shelter found what it considered conditions of neglect.
By KEITH ROYSDON • • August 31, 2010


MUNCIE -- A local Labrador retriever rescue organization that is operating without a kennel license has complied with the Muncie Animal Shelter's orders to remove dogs to remedy overcrowded conditions.

But Adopt-A-Lab still needs a kennel license -- and must win a zoning variance to obtain that license -- and must take proper care of its animals, Muncie Animal Shelter director Bob Jessee said.
The Muncie Animal Shelter on Friday issued a warning and ordered Lee and Patty Strayer's Adopt-A-Lab, 3515 S. Walnut St., to remove, by 10 a.m. Monday, more than 30 Labrador retrievers from what the shelter director called unfit conditions. Jessee said the dogs were confined to cramped plastic travel crates for as long as 21 hours a day without ready access to food and water.

"The guy has complied with our stipulations of getting dogs removed," Jessee said Monday. "It's a wait-and-see game to see if they continue to comply."

The Strayers' shelter recently had nearly 100 dogs and puppies, although Lee Strayer said only about 40 adult dogs remained on Monday.

The Strayers said Monday that they're trying to perform a public service through their adoptions, for which they charge fees of up to $395.

"We are on pace to do 700 adoptions this year," Lee Strayer said.

Animal control flux
The Muncie Animal Shelter's action against the Strayers comes while local humane and animal control efforts remain in flux.

While the city operates a shelter, Delaware County government has relied on outside contractors for animal control. Mayor Sharon McShurley is in an ongoing disagreement with both the county commissioners and Muncie City Council over proposals for a joint city-county shelter.

Until a city-county agreement is worked out, animal control will continue to be hampered by limited resources and a few private groups receiving no public funds will deal with some of the stray or neglected animals that escape the attention of government.

On the Strayers' Adoptalab.org website, the organization claims to have placed more than 4,500 Labrador retrievers since 2003. Lee Strayer said Monday the group works with organizations in several states and provided e-mail testimonials from satisfied pet owners

Jessee and Strayer agreed that the organization's
South Walnut Street location -- a two-level building
with a basement that opens onto a fenced back yard
-- needs a variance in order to obtain a kennel
license. Ordinances require that kennels be at least
200 feet away from residential property. Strayer
said, "We're at 140 feet instead of 200."

The Strayers said they were planning to seek a
variance from local planning officials.

Jessee said the city's next step is clear.

"If they deny it, we'll advise him he has to remove
the remaining dogs from the property," Jessee said.

Lee Strayer showed The Star Press one basement
room where the organization's dogs are kept. He
pointed out new kennels that replaced plastic crates
in which the dogs had been kept.

"They don't want the dogs spending overnight in the
crates," Strayer said. "I don't have a problem
adhering to their stipulations. I just need time to do
it."

Strayer said Adopt-A-Lab had been operating from
its South Walnut Street building for seven months
after years of running the Lab rescue group through
foster homes.

[maus]

When I lived in Indiana I did several drop offs with this rescue group, I had no idea any of that was happening. If the allegations are true I feel horrible that I help get dogs to them.