Help with Call/Mail service to find Teddy? - Page 1

On behalf of Teddy and Teddy's owner Bea, (since I know she is short on funds right now because of what she spent already in trying to find Teddy) I'm asking if anyone would be willing to help pay for caller/mailer service to contact all the residents/businesses in the area that Teddy went missing from, hopefully someone would come forward with information.  
There are two good companies to use

http://www.lostmydoggie.com
Neither I nor Bea have any kind of fund thing set up, I'm not sure what the best way is to collect donations to use for one of these services.  Advice/help will be greatly appreciated. 

I've been on the phone with Bea (who owns Teddy that went missing from the trainer's place) and I've also called some of the neighbors of cory the dog trainer.   When the original thread started I thought for sure the dog was sold or dead, but after talking to people I think that it may be very possible that Teddy did escape from cory's place and is still somewhere in Pickerington, Ohio.   
cory says Teddy went missing on November 27th, the last verified sighting of Teddy was December 16th.  He may still be in that area, possibly someone took him into their home because of the cold weather but hasn't bothered to find his owner.   

I live about 40 minute drive from where Teddy went missing.  If he is sighted again then I can go out to where he was seen and try to get him.   Unfortunately because I live on a very small budget right now, I don't have the money to spend on a lot of gas just driving around trying to find him.  So I need to have a definite location to go to so I can afford to help in the search.  

If Teddy is still out there, if someone in that area knows what happened to him, that person(s) needs to know that Teddy wasn't just a stray, abandoned dog and that his owner is still looking for him.  If they knew that, then chances are they would come forward with information.  

Even if the worst has happened to Teddy and someone comes forward with verifiable information that he has died, at least Bea will have closure in knowing what happened to her poor dog.  

If I were you I'd set up a PayPal account, then the fee for the service can be paid straight out of that account. This looks like a great service, I'd be willing to help pitch in for sure :) email me at westcoastgsd@gmail.com as I don't check the database every day. I really want Bea to get her boy back home safe with her. Cory should be willing to put up the money for the whole thing as far as I'm concerned, she has paid him an exorbitant amount for training, up front, and now has no dog. Of course I hope she is able to recoup some money from Cory but I don't see it happening in the near future. Such a sad situation.

I absolutely agree with you.  Yes, cory should be the one paying for all of this, but he doesn't seem to care enough to.  

I will send you an email

I think we're looking for about $85-90 as a starting point in the calling/mailing service, maybe up to $200?  I don't think more than that is needed, it should cover a pretty large area.   But I have no experience with this, so maybe someone else knows better?  

I can't speak for Bea, but perhaps if she sues cory, wins her lawsuit (which I think is a sure thing) then maybe she will either refund people who donated to help find Teddy (or learn what happened to him) or pass the donated amount forward to another dog in need.   

after re-reviewing both services, I recalculated what would be the very best (while still reasonable) coverage for finding Teddy.

The minimum donation we're looking for is $90,  to use Pet Amber Alert's basic "Most Successful" package, which contacts 25 businesses and 250 residents.  Because this is farmland, that covers a nice size area, they have options going up to 5000 residences...but I don't think that many is needed, maybe at the most 2000 residences.  Which would make the maximum spent on Pet Amber Alert services $230.  

Pet Amber Alert is slightly cheaper than Lost My Doggie...but, Lost My Doggie will specifically contact pet-related businesses and organizations.  Their cheapest package for contacting pet places is $100 (250 residences and 25 pet-related businesses) we could add on an additional 25 pet places for $20.  Which makes that $120

So at most, for the largest reasonable coverage, we're looking for $350.  

Any suggestions?  

My fever-addled brain [I have the flu] is telling me that Bea needs to keep EVERY receipt, every scrap of paper associated with any expenses related to trying to find Teddy, because she needs to take him to small claims court whether Teddy is found or not.  If Teddy's not recovered in a reasonable time period, she needs to sue him for the value of the dog, PLUS the expenses of trying to find him, and even if he IS found, Cory should still be footing the bill for whatever it takes to find the dog.  Anyone who would take in other people's dogs without taking out professional liability insurance is a complete fool--so either his insurance company needs to pony up, or Cory will have to do so.

Make sure you bump this post, EuroShep, as soon as it's decided how the donations will be collected, and you can count me in for $25.00.  Additionally, if possible, it would be worth contacting the local post office for the area where the dog went missing, as well as FedEx & UPS drivers for that area, and ask them to keep an eye peeled, too. Was anyone able to get some local media coverage [local TV news & local papers]? That kind of thing is free, but it really does get people looking!

I am truly sorry for your loss.  I fear it is a loss. If someone had your dog and wanted to give him back, it would have happened. When the trainer gave you alll "his stuff", you had to have known, there is no dog coming back. 

I am so sorry.

bee, I agree that the trainer has washed his hands of the whole affair, but I think it's premature to write the dog off entirely just yet...we just had someone in my neck of the woods [emphasis on 'woods', as in pretty small town, everybody knows everyone else's business, etc.] recover their young dog after it had been lost for more than 5 months--someone clearly had her, because she was in great physical shape, and her owners did publicize her loss heavily for about a month after she disappeared, but nobody stepped up.  Surprise, surprise, two weeks ago, a stray is picked up, the shelter does the mandatory stray hold, and then it just so happens that it's the one week a year that the local paper gives the shelter a two-page spread to post pictures of some of the dogs & cats they have available for adoption...and whose picture is included but this little pit cross female that has been missing almost a half a year! 

This Teddy is a friendly dog, apparently, and it's entirely possible that someone in the neighborhood has the dog and decided not to give it back to the trainer because it didn't seem like the trainer gave a damn if he got the dog back  [since we can all tell he didn't, and we're all far away from him!].  Maybe if someone has him, and finds out that the dog's owner is actually looking for him, they might feel inclined to turn him over to her instead of the trainer.

Itr's worth a shot, IMO.

I am sorry Hexe... I have a bad feeling.... I had a bad feeling from the start.... I am sorry to have the bad feeling, and I hope beyond hope, that I have no reason for a bad feeling.

Hi ,  Thanks for trying to help.

i have a good feeling Teddy is alive and till i know better this is what i will be hopeful for.

if anyone  does want to help me out   i do have a  paypal account, but was wondering if i should put it up here or should i email  anyone willing to help, just wondering as i dont want the wrong person , getting my paypal details, too many scammers out there.  anyone have experience with this , i have not ever done this before. also i can PM  my Paypal account too.

Thank you so much for  helping , it really means alot to me.

Bea

Please PM the info to me Bea. I'd like to help some :)