Von Hunterhaus, 39 dogs seized - Page 29

http://www.registerstar.com/news/article_39096642-9f6d-11e3-9ca3-0019bb2963f4.html
Feb 27th

The dogs, all purebred German shepherds ranging in age from a few days to 7 years, were removed from two Durham properties by the Columbia-Greene Humane Society/SPCA, in cooperation with the Greene County Sheriff’s Office, on Feb. 9 after a complaint of “a large number of animals inside of the residence that were being kept in poor conditions,” according to the sheriff’s office.

Thirty-five of the dogs are being held at the shelter while a court order blocks their adoption, said Humane Society President Ron Perez. The court order was issued last week because “there may be issues with co-ownership” of some of the dogs, Perez said.

“There’s basically a stay,” said Greene County Sheriff’s Lt. Adam Brainard. “The dogs aren’t going back to her, but the dogs aren’t getting adopted, either, I think, until the case is resolved.

“I think that the SPCA right now, they’re just trying to figure out if there’s any validity to those claims. There was a high volume of phone calls there and everybody was claiming that they owned one dog or the other. But I think they’re trying to go through and see if there is anybody that has legitimate paperwork of ownership.”

Perez initially dismissed rumors of co-ownership, calling the people making the claims “charlatans.”

“We own all of [the dogs],” Perez said Feb. 12. “She signed them over to us. If there’s a breach between some interested party and the defendant, that’s between them.”

Steve Patch, a German shepherd breeder from Middletown, said he has been working with some of the people claiming co-ownership as far away as the Netherlands, Canada, and across the United States.

“The whole community is up in arms,” he said. “And it’s not just here. People are going crazy in Germany and all over Europe, who breed the same dogs that we do and go to the same shows.”

One of the males, he said, a longcoat German shepherd, was No. 5 in his class last year at the German Sieger Show, “the biggest show in the world,” and is worth tens of thousands of dollars.

Four dogs have already been adopted out, including two that were adopted immediately by “people who we knew very well,” Perez said. “They took them right to the vet; they had them examined and bathed.”

Patch, along with friends of Verdeschi, was surprised by how quickly the dogs were adopted out.

“I’ve never heard of a shelter adopting out dogs within two days,” Patch said. “They said the dogs were emaciated, were not healthy. Well if they’re so bad, how do you adopt them out after two days? It just doesn’t make sense.”

In press releases and interviews, Humane Society officials described “one of the most deplorable living conditions ever witnessed by investigators” at the residences, with dogs crammed into crates, the floors smeared with feces and urine, and no available food or water.

All of the dogs were examined by veterinarians a few days after seizure and Perez described them as dehydrated and thin, but not emaciated (though a statement on the CGHS/SPCA website now uses the phrase “extremely emaciated”). One male dog had a wound to the face that had gone untreated for months and, due to the unsanitary conditions, the infection made its way into the bones, according to the Humane Society.

The cost of surgeries and caring for the dogs has already exceeded $10,000, Perez said Friday, and the Humane Society is seeking public donations to help offset the costs.

The sheriff’s office also issued an arrest warrant for Christopher Cella, 55, of Durham, who co-owned a residence on Hervey Street Sunside Road with Verdeschi. The warrant includes 34 counts of failure to provide sustenance and two counts of failure to provide appropriate shelter for dogs.

Cella is described as a white male, 5 feet 10 inches, 185 pounds, brown hair and hazel eyes. Cella also has an outstanding Family Court Warrant from Rockland County. Cella is reported to be operating a red 2006 Ford F-150 XLT Pickup with New York Commercial registration 30290-JV. The pickup also has a black cap over the bed of the truck.

Anyone with information regarding Cella’s whereabouts is asked to contact the Greene County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Unit at 518-943-3300 extension 8018.

All of the dogs were examined by veterinarians a few days after seizure and Perez described them as dehydrated and thin, but not emaciated (though a statement on the CGHS/SPCA website now uses the phrase “extremely emaciated”). "

If vet's checked the dogs a few days after the seizure, why would they be dehydrated? Is the SPCA giving them water?
A dog doesnt go from "extremely emaciated" to "thin" in just a few days.
 

The cost of surgeries and caring for the dogs has already exceeded $10,000, Perez said Friday, and the Humane Society is seeking public donations to help offset the costs.

No suprise here............ before its over, the Humane Society will make some big money off of this.

 

The photos show deplorable conditions that these dogs were in. How could anyone with a conscious say they love these dogs and allow them to live this way? But I will say I am not sure the SPCA was a true rescue as the information is unclear between the back door adoptions or front door claims of co-ownership. If these dogs were legally seized they should have been spayed, neutered and legally adopted out. And if a court order was placed to determine co-ownership than the courts should have reviewed the paperwork of claimed co-ownership and the paperwork should be clear, joint names and signatures on the current /most recent certification of ownership. Anything created after the fact is falsifing court documents and good luck with that. I personally would not give so much as a dollar to the ASPCA at a Dairy Mart plastic jug, or so much as a mere $20 a month to the ASPCA after watching their commercials and would definitely not give a dime to the SPCA of Columbia -Greene after watching this whole thing. I am haunted by the photos and disgusted that these beautiful dogs were kept in such filth.But I am also disappointed to see that these poor dogs continue to be exploited by the system that was suppose to be there to rescue them. This woman should be banned from ever owning another dog, her partner (still on the ram) thank God he is not a rapist as they have not found him and he is probably in the same place as her duh how hard are you looking, lol. 
This entire situation sickens me. And Patch, a friend of Verdeschi, should be ashamed. My guess is he was in constant contact with Verdeschi and may have even helped falsify paperwork to protect her and help her to transfer dogs to "friends" to try to hold onto them to get them back in the future. Even sader than the conditions showed in the photos are the people that would defend this woman and help her continue this behavior.
I light a candle tonight and pray that someone higher up justly rewards everyone involved.

This is a slightly off-thred track, but didn't all the SPCAs / HSs and other
rescue organisations devise the rules about who / when / how they would
adopt animals to  ( which are often protested as now TOO picky & strict),
partly in order to prevent situations and accusations like these ?

It may be a flaw in the reporting, but Sitasmom is right to pick up on whether
the vet exam was done immediately or 'after a few days', and the differences
that would make in describing and recording the dogs' condition.

Its all well & good the shelter adopting four dogs out straight away to people
they "know", but even assuming they only did that with adopters who are
tried and tested, [eg police officers ?], who would do everything 'by the book' to
get the dog they took vetted and treated correctly, would that not play havoc
with the consistency of the official Record of the case ?  Perhaps the HS does
not have enough kennels ?

Would LOVE someone representing CGHS to post on here, and put this all
straight ...

As far as paperwork goes.......
I'm thinking that some of the co-ownerships are going to be complicated to sort out. If a dog was paid for (full or co-own) and the paperwork was not submitted immediately (wich is often case) then an email or money trail will have to prove ownership.

The last dog I sold, was here for a few weeks before I shipped her, and then I waited a few more weeks before signing the papers and sending them. I wanted to make sure they were happy with her and that she adjusted well. If I had been raided (not likely becasue I keep my dogs clean, well fed/watered and give ample time to run and play) then proving ownership by the AKC registration would have been impossible.

 

Christopher Cella turned himself in to police Tuesday. The 55-year-old is accused along with Dawn Verdeschi of failing to provide food and water for 39 dogs.

Most shelters are already stretched to the max when it comes to finding room for animals. I can only imagine how hard it would be to find accomodation for 39 dogs, all in serious need of bathing and possibly defleaing, as well as food and TLC. I would like to think THAT was the main reason some dogs were adopted so quickly.

But hey, I like to think the best of people. And the director of that H.S. came across as a real scuzzbut!  To hell with the papers...the dogs all belong to US now!! 

"They blocked Dawn from entering the house Saturday, arrested her Sunday, arraigned her Monday. The dogs were on lockdown from Saturday morning through Sunday afternoon. Only some dogs were removed Sunday, the rest Monday. They took pics on Monday of the dogs left there for almost 3 days."

If this is the case, many of the dogs were left in their crates for a very long time before photos were taken. Yes they would have been very hungry and dehydrated. 3 days of shitting in a crate will cause a huge mess.

I smell a rat.
 

So I guess all of you who think Dawn got a raw deal would have no problem with how she cared for her dogs and would also have no problem with her setting up shop again. You would also place a dog with her on a breeding lease because you know she would take excellent care of them; or buy a puppy because you know she gives them an excellent start in life. Sad

gsd39mr

why are you so black and white? nothing in life is so simple.

yes she had too many dogs to take care.

dawn was not allowed to enter the house until after the dogs were taken....on monday.
after being in a crate all saturday, all sunday and some part of monday (60 hours!) the would be filthy!
the photographer was allowed in on monday as they were taking dogs away.

it has not come out if they were fed or watered during that time.
a comment was made that the dogs were eating snow and that the dogs were dehydrated and hungry.
makes me thing that the SPCA didn't take care of them while Dawn was in custody and after she was out and not allowed to go back to her house. 

if the crates were dirty on saturday morning, they would have been horribly dirty 2.5 days later when the pictures were taken, IMO. too exadurate the conditions.