Chico And Friends Saving Dogs, Inc - Westford Pet Shelter
Chico and Friends Saving Dogs is a nonprofit 501C3 organization. We save small dogs from Southern kill shelters and find them forever homes. Adoption fee is $175 for adults and $250 for puppies to cover veterinary care and transport. In 2014 we saved 101 small dogs.
Add your review for Chico and Friends Saving Dogs, Inc, please...
Reviews
Rating
1 stars
Author
Mindy
Review date
2016-05-05 04:50:58
To whom it may concern,
I adopted Clifford from Chico and Friends in the end of October, 2015. When I found this "rescue" online, it looked like a wonderful place. I drove two hours north to find a doggy soul mate. When I arrived, I was horrified. There was a shed outside, with at least TWENTY dogs inside. They were in cages, stacked on top of each other. Some of these cages had multiple dogs inside. When I asked to take some of the dogs out (with much protest from my other half due to the terrible conditions), they all had diarrhea and were eating and drinking out of bowls with fecal matter inside. The woman running the place tried to tell me that the dogs were simply "stressed" and that was the cause of the constant diarrhea. Inside this shed were also kittens, all with eye infections.
There was a second shed containing a very hyper pitbull. I asked to see him. His top lip was split in half and he proceeded to chase her domesticated rabbits all over the yard while the woman laughed. Way to increase a prey drive.... We could not catch him, so she opened a can of cat food and threw it inside the shed. He chased it in and she closed the door. I wonder why his lip was split open...*sarcasm*. There were also some dogs inside the house, they looked healthy. What a shame that these women had acres and acres, a swimming pool, and an expensive new car in the driveway, but no safe place to house and take care of all these dogs... *more sarcasm*...
When I opened Clifford's cage, he clung onto me, not wanting me to put him down. I brought him home. He had been neutered earlier that day, but they did not give me any antibiotics for him. His neutering incision became infected, but that was the least of his problems. He was having such bad diarrhea and began vomiting. I could feel all of his bones. I rushed him to the vet. This all occurred before I was even thinking about getting his neutering incision checked.
He was immediately hooked up to an IV and we waited for test results. He had giardia, coccidia, heartworm, tape worm, kennel cough, and was extremely malnourished. We sat with an IV in his arm for three and a half hours. Clifford developed stomach ulcers due to all of the medication he was on, but has since, been cleared of all vet appointments until July as of April 8th.
The woman running the facility is Diane Forsey. Susan Beval was also involved in adopting Clifford out to me. She was introduced to me as Diane’s sister. The Vet on the little paperwork I did receive from Chico and Friends was Shelburne Veterinary Hospital. I was told that his vaccine paperwork would be mailed to me. I never received it. I was given a blank copy of the contract I signed. I have requested a copy of the signed contract, but never received a response from Diane. They have also blocked anyone that has had a bad experience with them from posting a review or even commenting on reviews. If they have nothing to hide, they would respond to our messages and allow us to post honest reviews.
This place needs to be shut down or severely monitored. While the contract states that they are not responsible for any illness they were unaware of, this does not cover gross negligence. While I do not need them to pay for Clifford’s vet bills, I do feel that they have obviously broken laws and need to be held responsible for his abuse/neglect. It has been extremely difficult to find the appropriate avenue to address these problems since Diane is the Dog Warden and friends with the Head of Investigations at the Chittenden County Humane Society which is the appropriate investigating Humane Society.
Thank you,
Mindy M. Jurgen
Howlin4Spirit Companion Animal Rescue is a 100% volunteer non-profit organization. It is with tribute to our region that we proudly say that we have rescued over 8,000 lives since the inception in Jan/2004. We are a network of foster homes in NC, PA, NJ and NY. We rescue all our pups(young and old) from high-kill Animal Control facilities in SC, NC and from unwanted, neglect & abusive situatio
The mission of the Humane Society of Chittenden County (HSCC) is to foster compassionate treatment of animals and prevent animal suffering; to strengthen the human-animal bond; and to further the cause of responsible animal ownership through education and public awareness.
Notes
Are you the owner or director of this pet shelter?
