FORMER RESERVIST FOSTERS PUPPIES FROM FUREVER HOMES RESCUE
Kimberly Rew lives in Thurston County with her husband their young toddler. He is currently stationed at Ft. Lewis, and she was in both the Navy Reserve and Army National Guard.
Kimberly has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and like many people who suffer from it, she has used dogs to help her cope with it. When her dog Cooper died last year she decided to channel some of her grief towards fostering a pregnant Maltese for a rescue group called Furever Homes in Olympia.
Her saga began on December 18 when she met Furever Homes founder Sharon Gold at a gas station near Olympia. When Ms. Gold opened the door of her SUV, Kimberly was surprised to see a female dachshund mix with 9 four-week-old puppies. Ms. Gold said the pregnant Maltese didn’t make it on the transport.
Kimberly asked for their vaccination records and health certificates, but Ms. Gold told her that “fosters aren’t allowed to have that information as (they) aren’t allowed to get medical care for the fosters.” She also said all their health certificates go to her veterinarian’s office.
When she got the puppies home, Kimberly discovered that the mother had a case of tapeworm that was so severe the dog “had tapeworms coming out of her anus.”
Ms. Gold said she would call her veterinarian to get medication but Kimerly never got it. Instead, she used an over-the-counter dewormer she already had because only a veterinarian could prescribe a stronger one.
Kimberly took the puppies and their mother back to Ms. Gold on January 2nd because she was supposed to have knee surgery. All the puppies at that point were “fat and happy,” and they showed no sign of illness.
Kimberly ended up not having surgery because she was sick, so she picked up 4 of the puppies on January 12th to continue fostering them.
PUPPIES SERIOUSLY ILL AFTER STAY AT RESCUE
On January 15th Kimberly told Ms. Gold two of the puppies had diarrhea and were pooping blood. She told Kimberly to deworm the dogs again even though Kimberly had already dewormed them 3 times and she had no idea why the puppies were sick. She did not ask Kimberly to take them to a vet to determine why they were pooping blood.
On January 20th a male puppy was extremely sick. Kimberly told Ms. Gold that he was coughing, sneezing, and “spraying diarrhea everywhere.” He also had a fever of 104.2. The sites I found online said if a dog’s temperature is anywhere from 102.5-104 degrees F you should call a veterinarian immediately.
Ms. Gold didn’t call her veterinarian. Instead she instructed Kimberly to pick up the antibiotic Clavamox for the puppies from her rescue partner even though she still didn’t know why the puppies were sick.
After Kimberly starting giving them Clavamox their health did improve but they still had diarrhea.
On January 21st, Kimberly told Ms. Gold that she found roundworms in the puppies’ kennel and all the puppies had diarrhea. Ms. Gold expressed concern that the puppies had worms again but did not ask Kimberly to take them to a vet.
On January 24 Kimblery told Ms. Gold that a female puppy named Cissie was lethargic, passing blood, and not eating or drinking. She also had 104 degree F fever. But instead of authorizing Kimberly to take the puppy to a vet to get checked out, she told Kimberly to bring the puppy to Sam, her rescue partner.
When Sam met Kimberly she told her she was late because she had to bleach a kennel she would be putting the yellow pup in because 2 puppies died in it same morning although it wasn’t clear if they were from the litter Kimberly fostered.
Kimberly asked if she was taking Cissie to the vet. Sam said no vets were open on Sunday (emergency clinics are open 24/7) and that she had the medication at home to treat the puppy.
Remember, at this point Cissie hadn’t been to the vet so no one knew what she had. I don’t see how Sam could have known what medication to give her without a diagnosis from a veterinarian.
PUPPIES GET SICKER BUT STILL DON’T SEE VET
On January 25th everything came to a head. Kimberly texted Ms. Gold,“I need to find out if this is parvo. All my pups are sick. Now vomiting. They need to be seen by a vet.” They were also passing blood and had raspy breathing.
Although the puppies still had not been vaccinated or taken to a vet, Ms. Gold insisted the pups didn’t have parvo.
Kimberly pointed this out when she said, “How do you know without testing? Bella is vomiting, bloody mucous diarrhea, fevers, lethargic.”
Here is a screenshot of the conversation. Kimberly’s comments are in blue, Ms. Gold’s are in gray.
Kimberly said she would take the puppies to Furever Homes’ veterinarian if Ms. Gold would make an appointment. Instead, Ms. Gold said she would come get the puppies. Kimberly asked if she was going to take them straight to a vet. But Ms. Gold wouldn’t confirm it, saying that she would “do what needs to be done.”
Not believing that she was going to take the puppies to a vet, Kimberly told Ms. Gold she would meet her at the vet. Here are the screenshots of the conversation as it continued:
ONE FOSTER PUPPY DIES
Later in their conversation Ms. Gold said she had everything she needs to treat the puppies – IV fluids and anti-vomiting medicine – even though a veterinarian still hadn’t diagnosed the puppies’ illnesses and she didn’t know why they were sick. Kimberly again offered to bring the puppies meet with Ms. Gold at her vet to have them examined.
While they were texting, the female puppy named Bella died.
REMAINING PUPPIES RETURNED TO FUREVER HOMES
In this text conversation with Kimberly another person who fostered for Forever Homes rescue said 4 of the puppies in her foster litter of 5 didn’t survive.
Kimberly then said she would return Bella’s body and one of the puppies that was still alive to Ms. Gold, which she did that afternoon. Now Kimberly had just one puppy, a male named Otis, which she was going to keep per her agreement with Ms. Gold. She gave Otis to a neighbor who knew how sick he was and wanted to help him recover. Kimberly paid for his vet care herself, but unfortunately he was too sick to recover and he died of distemper not long afterwards.
Kimberly was told later by someone close to Ms. Gold that only 1 puppy survived from the litter of 9 she fostered.
On February 1, Kimberly saw a picture on Furever Homes’ Facebook page of one of the puppies she fostered before her knee surgery. Despite Ms. Gold’s claims during their texts that none of the 5 puppies Kimberly left with her after her surgery showed any signs of illness, this puppy looks emaciated and unhealthy (see picture below).
SUMMARY OF EVENTS
Since I’ve thrown you a ton of information at you, he’s a summary of what happened between December 18 when Kimberly took the puppies and January 25 when she took the remaining puppies back to Ms. Gold.
- December 18 – January 2: Kimberly fostered a litter of 9 puppies and their mother. The puppies were approximately 4 weeks old when she got them. During this period none of the puppies showed any signs of illness.
- January 2 – January 12: All the puppies were at Ms. Gold’s house while Kimberly recovered from knee surgery.
- January 12: Kimberly took back 4 of the puppies. She was going to keep one and foster the rest until they were ready to be adopted.
- January 15: Kimberly reported to Ms. Gold that 2 of the puppies were pooping blood and mucus. Sharon told her to worm them a fourth time. They were not examined by a vet.
- January 18: None of the puppies had been vaccinated yet, so Kimberly bought vaccines herself and vaccinated 3 of the 4 puppies (the store had run out of vaccinations). Ms. Gold was supposed to bring by vaccinations but never did.
- January 20: Kimberly told Ms. Gold that a puppy was coughing, sneezing, and “spraying diarrhea everywhere.” He also had a fever of 104.2. Ms. Gold told her pick up the antibiotic Clavamox from one of her helpers to administer to the puppies. Their health improved but they still had diarrhea.
- On January 21st, Kimberly told Ms. Gold that she found roundworms in the puppies’ kennel and all the puppies had diarrhea.
- January 24: A female puppy named Cissie had a fever, was lethargic, passing blood, and not eating or drinking. Ms. Gold instructed Kimberly to bring the puppy to her rescue partner, not a veterinarian.
- January 25: Kimberly told Ms. Gold that all the remaining puppies were vomiting and insisted that they should go to veterinarian to see if they had parvo. Ms. Gold demanded that she bring the puppies back to her. During the conversation a female puppy died. Kimberly took its body and one of the remaining puppies to Sharon. She kept one that she ended up giving to her neighbor who wanted to help him recover.
PUPPIES INFECTED WHILE AT RESCUE
The key factor here is that the puppies were never sick during the 2 weeks that Kimberly initially had them. Their symptoms appeared 3 days after Kimberly took 4 of them back on January 12 after they had been at Ms. Gold’s house for a week.
Kimberly found roundworms in the puppies’ Kennel on January 25th. Photo from Kimberly Rew.
In my opinion, the puppies were infected while they were at Ms. Gold’s house. As has been reported before, Ms. Gold keeps dozens of dogs in her home that mingle together continuously. Considering that she has brought up a load of dogs from Mexico every week without matching health certificates and doesn’t take them to a veterinarian before adopting them out, I believe her house is full of extremely contagious viruses and parasites that are easily spread, remain active for months, and extremely difficult to remove.
I have another reason to believe the puppies were infected while they were at Ms. Gold’s home, a reason based on a tragic event that occurred soon after Kimberly gave the remaining puppies back to Ms. Gold.
MORE PUPPIES FROM INFECTED LITTER DIE
As I mentioned earlier, Kimberly has PTSD, and Cooper, the dog that helped her cope with it, died last fall. On January 20, someone unexpectedly contacted her and her husband to see if they wanted a Blue Heeler puppy. Kimberly met the puppy, felt an instant connection to it. and decided he would be her new PTSD therapy dog. She named him Ryder.
Because of the sick puppies downstairs, Kimberly took extreme measures to ensure Ryder wouldn’t come into contact with them by quarantining him upstairs and having him used pee pads instead of taking him outside to go to the bathroom where the puppies had gone. They also changed clothes before they went upstairs.
Since she couldn’t take the puppies to a vet, she didn’t know why they were sick until her neighbors told her the puppy from her foster litter she gave them was sick. The vet diagnosed him with coccidia, giardia, and kennel cough. He died a few days later.
Their neighbors said he ultimately died from distemper. It can develop when untreated kennel cough weakens a dog’s immune system. Kimberly also learned another puppy from the same litter died from distemper.
KIMBERLY’S NEW PUPPY DIES
Once she learned how the neighbor’s puppy died, Kimberly took Ryder to a vet who diagnosed him with the early stages of girardia and coccidia. He also had roundworms in his stomach.
Kimberly’s puppy Ryder died of parvo on Feb. 10.
The vet prescribed medication for his ailments and for about a week and a half he was fine. But on February 10 his health suddenly declined rapidly, and by early afternoon Ryder was dead. The official cause of death was parvo.
Ryder most likely contracted it when Kimberly’s toddler accidentally left the gate keeping Ryder upstairs open. Before Kimberly discovered this, Ryder had gone downstairs and ate some of the foster puppies’ poop. He had all his vaccinations, but according to VetMD.com, “the precise time when a pup can respond well to a vaccine is variable — it might occur at 6 weeks or perhaps 12 weeks.”
Again, the puppies showed no signs of illness when she had them from the December 18-January 2, and their symptoms began 3 days after they returned to Kimberly’s house and 5 days before they got Ryder.
If there’s another explanation how this happened, I’d like to hear it.
FUREVER HOMES DOGS THREATEN PUBLIC HEALTH
On top of everything else Kimberly endured, she and her husband now must spend thousands of dollars to sterilize her entire house as the organisms that cause coccidia and parvo can live for months. They’ll also have to remove the topsoil in her yard.
That’s why this is public health issue. Apparently, Ms. Gold’s house is a petri dish of viruses and parasites that spread quickly in a confined space with several infected dogs.
Every time anyone leaves her house they could have parasites or other organisms on their shoes, clothes, and hands that could sicken their own pets with giardia, coccidia or parvo. Giardia can be passed along to humans as well.
And where is she putting all the potentially parasite-infected poop that dozens of dogs generate every day? If she’s dumping on her property it could be a health hazard.
RESCUE TRIES TO ESCAPE BLAME BY SMEARING ACCUSER
Ms. Gold will do everything she can to cast doubt on Kimberly’s story. Fortunately, Kimberly kept meticulous records of all their conversations, including the ones where she is literally begging Ms. Gold to let her to take the puppies to a veterinarian.
This picture taken by The Olympia shows just a fraction of the 85 dogs that were at Sharon Gold’s residence. Parasites and viruses can thrive where several dogs live in the same space. Photo from theolympian.com.
Ms. Gold attempted to smear Kimberly’s reputation by posting lies about her on the Furever Homes Yelp page. Here are some of them:
- “This is a lady who has been fired from every job (she) ever worked after a short time.” This is a complete fabrication.
- “This woman is under investigation for stealing.” No, she isn’t.
- “I never deny vet care to any of my animals.” Screenshots I posted earlier show this is not true.
Kimberly has an excellent reputation with the military. She was in active service with the Naval Reserve and the Army National Guard until 2006. After the Army assigned her husband to Ft. Lewis she took an active role in supporting troops and their families by doing things like putting together rooms in barracks for single soldiers, making welcome home banners, and planning events t0 help families cope when their spouses were overseas.
Eventually a rear detachment commander noticed her work and asked her to be his Senior Advisor. In that capacity she made sure families were taken care of when spouses where gone, addressed crisis situations involving family members and made sure they passed annual family readiness inspections held by the Division.
As a testament to her work she has certificates of appreciation from the 16th Combat Aviation Bridgade, and the 7th Infantry Division as well as this letter or recommendation from Colonel T. Christopher Petty with whom she worked:
THIS IS HOW REPUTABLE RESCUES OPERATE
They have ALL their dogs checked by a veterinarian when they get them.
They don’t deny medical care to sick puppies showing signs of serious illnesses like parvo, giardia, and coccidia.
They don’t bring puppies under six-months-old into the the US, which violates US Department of Agriculture regulations.
They have valid health certificates for every dog they bring into the US.
They don’t keep dozens of dogs inside a home.
They have documentation showing they vaccinated their dogs.
HOLD FUREVER HOMES ACCOUNTABLE
Source have said that 8 puppies of the 9 puppies that Kimberly fostered are dead. They also suffered for days because Ms. Gold didn’t allow Kimberly to take them to a vet.
This is not how reputable dog rescues operate. Ms. Gold runs Furever Homes like a business that uses dogs instead of some other commodity to generate cash, and if some of the dogs die during the process, well, that’s just the cost of doing business.
I believe that’s why Ms. Gold expressed little concern for the puppies’ health in her texts with Kimberly.
What this military family suffered during Kimberly’s tragic interaction with Sharon Gold and Furever Homes rescue is reprehensible. This family watched puppies get sick and saw one die. They watched their own puppy die. They have a house and yard infested with parasites that will cost them thousands of dollars to clean. Kimberly can’t get another dog to help her with PTSD for months. And now their young son is petrified their cat will die like the puppies.
Kimberly has turned over the records of her interactions with Ms. Gold and Furever Homes to Joint Animal Services for Thurston County.
Hopefully they’ll do something to stop this sham of a rescue.
This skinny, sickly looking puppy is one of the fosters Kimberly took back to Furever Homes on Jan. 2. On Feb. 1 Furever Homes posted this picture on its FB page announcing he was available for adoption. Photo from Furever Homes Rescue.
This is the litter of 9 puppies at Furever Rescue on Jan. 4. The fat, healthy puppy at the bottom right is the same as the skinny one above. Photo from Furever Homes rescue.
Who ever wrote the article the one picture of the stool sample with worms that is not ringworm that is Round worm.
I changed it thank you. It was my typo.
When will our legislature wake up and start enacting laws that not only protect homeless pets, but regulate rescues? I’ve seen too many “rescues” using dogs and cats to make money, denying pets in their “care” healthy living conditions and good veterinary care. I’m so sick of “rescues” playing veterinarian!
Be careful what you wish for. That is exactly what PETA and HSUS want. And neither of the “rescue” but kill.
The people who write this type of legislation are usually beholden to animal rights groups and make legislation so restrictive and invasive that having animals would soon become obsolete. ?
This again woman is nothing but a scam! I know of a person who worked with her and it was a nightmare at the “kennel”. What a joke! Fairly unpleasant woman as well from dealings with her! Very dishonesty as well from the very texts that she wrote them contradicted! Ought to be put out of business and banned from dealing with animals!
**Sharon Gold. ..not “again woman”!
Tumwater dog rescuers battle criticism over less-than-ideal conditions
Sharon Gold admits the first impression inside Furever Homes Dog Rescue, especially when the doors open midmorning, can be unsettling.
Justin Cruz, husband of Furever Homes Dog Rescue founder Sharon Gold, starts every morning cleaning up dog feces from kennels in the Tumwater warehouse, shown here on Thursday, June 25, 2015. Other family members and friends also help with the daily maintenance.
Tumwater Police Detective Jen Kolb snuggles with a puppy while assisting the Thurston County Animal Services officer on a welfare check Thursday at Furever Homes Dog Rescue.
A rescued puppy at Furever Homes Dog Rescue.
Twenty-six dogs — just a fraction of the 85 rescue dogs at Furever Homes Dog Rescue in Tumwater — wait in an outside pen area as their kennels are cleaned Thursday.
Family friend Shaylee Mall hands a dog to Sharon Gold as they move dogs to an outside pen during morning cleaning.
Ella Cruz, left, hands dogs down to her mother, Furever Homes Dog Rescue founder Sharon Gold, as they move dozens of dogs to an outside pen while cleaning the kennels.
Thurston County Animal Services officer Erika Johnson videotapes Thursday during a welfare investigation as Shaylee Mall, left, and Courtney Lockard help with daily cleanup and dog baths at Furever Homes Dog Rescue in Tumwater. “We do have a number of calls of concern,” Johnson said.
Nate Harris snuggles with Oreo as he reluctantly returns the male Shih Tzu to Furever Homes Dog Rescue. Harris said the adopted dog just couldn’t get along with the family’s cats.
Dogs wait in an outside pen as their kennels are cleaned.
Justin Cruz, husband of Furever Homes Dog Rescue founder Sharon Gold, starts every morning cleaning up dog feces from kennels in the Tumwater warehouse, shown here on Thursday, June 25, 2015. Other family members and friends also help with the daily maintenance.
Tumwater Police Detective Jen Kolb snuggles with a puppy while assisting the Thurston County Animal Services officer on a welfare check Thursday at Furever Homes Dog Rescue.
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Tumwater Police Detective Jen Kolb snuggles with a puppy while assisting the Thurston County Animal Services officer on a welfare check Thursday at Furever Homes Dog Rescue. Staff photographer
By Andy Hobbs – Staff writer
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If not for a Tumwater mom-and-pop rescue operation, these dogs would be dead.
But despite its good intentions, Furever Homes Dog Rescue has attracted criticism from Thurston County Animal Services and the public over the shelter’s questionable conditions that have so far avoided legal action.
Sharon Gold admits the first impression inside Furever Homes, especially when the doors open midmorning, can be unsettling.
The stench of feces and urine can trigger your gag reflex. After spending the night crowded in cages, dozens of dogs bark in a deafening chorus as they are herded into a small fenced area in the parking lot outside a warehouse on Tumwater’s outskirts.
A blue tarp covers this bedroom-sized pen, which is the dogs’ lone outdoor respite. The dogs swarm Gold in a cacophony of barking and pent-up canine energy. Some of the dogs try to climb a concrete wall back into the warehouse, only to fall short of the goal and return to jumping on an old mattress with a hole chewed in it.
Gold is like the calm eye surrounded by a hurricane of hungry dogs who quiet down once she fills their food and water bowls. Inside the warehouse, her family and a couple of helpers scrub the kennels and prepare the soiled blankets for washing as part of a daily ritual.
Furever Homes rescues dogs from euthanization in California and Mexico, then brings them to Washington for adoption. It’s a seven-day-a-week labor of love for Gold and her husband, Justin Cruz, along with help from their two children.
Gold acknowledges the shelter’s imperfections, but still stands by the state-registered nonprofit organization, which is driven by her family’s passion to find homes for seemingly unadoptable dogs.
“I have adopted thousands of dogs,” Gold said. “Those dogs would all be dead if they weren’t here.”
The dogs under Gold’s care are spayed or neutered, vaccinated, tested for heartworm and quarantined in California until they are cleared for transport to Washington.
The organization keeps documents from the Los Angeles Department of Animal Care and Control. Furever Homes charges clients a $350 adoption fee, and Gold estimates that between 20 and 40 dogs are adopted each month.
At the moment, Furever Homes is caring for about 85 dogs, including puppies. Some dogs are considered unmanageable because of aggression, for example, and are eventually euthanized.
That said, Gold’s passion for rescuing dogs is evident. With proper socialization and plenty of patience, Gold feels she can make many of these dogs adoptable as they acclimate to a positive human presence.
“They’re happy here,” she said. “They’re great with me and my kids.”
Many of these dogs suffered abuse and neglect before coming to Furever Homes. Gold points to a bowlegged dachshund mix that had spent its first three years of life confined to a small kennel. A 6-month-old Chihuahua had lost the use of its voicebox after someone put a rubber band around the dog’s neck.
Indeed, Furever Homes has served several satisfied families, even ones that brought their dogs back as part of the organization’s one-week trial.
Amber and Nate Harris returned a 4-year-old Shih Tzu named Oreo after only one night because the dog did not get along with the family’s four cats. The Lacey couple had already fallen in love with Oreo, who snuggled in Nate’s arms before the family left. Oreo had been recovered from a hoarder, Gold said, noting that his ears had been chewed off by another dog at that home.
“I really hope he goes to a good home because we adore him,” said Amber Harris, who received a refund on the adoption fee. “I just wish he adored our cats.”
On the contrary, some clients have posted negative online reviews on Yelp or the Better Business Bureau, for example, with the criticisms typically targeting the kennel conditions.
Centralia resident Sharon Lee said she was horrified by the conditions at Furever Homes when she arrived last week after learning about the organization online. She ended up adopting a Pomeranian-Chihuahua mix named Poppy, and immediately went to a veterinarian who treated the dog for a common condition called kennel cough.
If her dog was sick, Lee said, then other dogs at Furever Homes must be sick.
“I’ve been to a lot of different shelters. I’ve never seen anything so filthy in my life,” Lee told The Olympian. “Anybody that takes care of animals like that shouldn’t be taking care of any animal.”
Representatives from the Tumwater Police Department and city code enforcement told The Olympian that they know of no legal violations committed by Furever Homes.
The entity charged with responding to potential animal-related violations is Thurston County Animal Services, which showed up last Thursday at Furever Homes over a complaint about the adoption of a sick dog.
Field officer Erika Johnson said Animal Services will investigate the complaint. Johnson was concerned about the hot warehouse and whether the dogs were breeding with one another in overcrowded kennels.
“There are too many dogs,” Johnson said.
Susanne Beauregard, director of Animal Services, said Furever Homes operates in “less than ideal” circumstances that are difficult to challenge legally. She has become familiar with Gold over the past five to six years as the rescue organization has changed locations around the county.
“We have never found anything that I would deem prosecutable in any of the complaints we have ever received,” Beauregard said. “We don’t have any kennel standards in Thurston County, so I don’t have any standards to hold her to in terms of long-term care.”
Despite being the subject of calls about crowding, dirty kennels, barking and the occasional loose dog, Furever Homes still works within the law, even if it walks the line. Beauregard said she is concerned that the out-of-state dogs could bring diseases to Washington or become a liability because of uncertain temperaments.
However, Thurston County Animal Services can intervene only when someone violates state laws for animal cruelty and neglect.
“The industry is sort of self-policing. People don’t hesitate to call attention to any kind of inadequacy,” Beauregard said. “I do think there should be an initial set of standards that people would have to meet before they can open a kennel.”
On the other hand, Gold is finding homes for dogs without one. Complaints about adopted dogs are part of the territory for any rescue organization, said Beauregard, noting that Animal Services also gets complaints from people she places animals with.
“The work that she puts in on those animals is absolutely backbreaking,” said Beauregard, noting that whenever Gold has been warned about a potential violation, “she always corrects it.”
Read more here: http://www.theolympian.com/news/local/article26237080.html#storylink=cpy
“Furever Homes charges clients a $350 adoption fee, and Gold estimates that between 20 and 40 dogs are adopted each month.”
Are you telling me by this woman’s own calculations she’s bringing in $7,000 to $14,000 a month in TAX FREE dog sales? (Opp, I mean dog “adoptions”. )
No one should be surprised that she didn’t seek costly vet treatment for sick puppies as it would clearly cut into the bottom line. It wouldn’t make sense to spend money on sick dogs if it would cut into the profit margin of a $350 price tag. If they die, there’s plenty more cheap (and possibly sick/infectious) dogs to bring in from Mexico. If they survive, everyone swoops in to rescue/buy the sickly, skinny puppy. It’s terribly sad that so many people applaud this “retail rescue” business model that has taken over the country, yet all the while condemning any and all breeders, even those who are responsible and ethical. What a shame this is what it has come to.
Oh yeah, she is a real animal lover….. Who won’t take sick pups to the vet, I’ll let sick pups who cities be saved waste away, denies medical care, etc. cleaning poop doesn’t make a person a saint. Criminals in prison scrub toilets.
What a sick society we live in to allow these horrible things happen to animals. We all just sit back and allow these things to happen-stand up, speak out. I do. I turn whomever over if I see any form of abuse or neglect to animals. Animal lovers don’t treat animals the way Ms. Gold does-you are blind if you think she is some saint to animals.
I believe you mean roundworm not ringworm. Ringworm is a fungus that affects the skin.
Yes, I changed it thank you. It was a typo.
This woman needs to be put out of business. Immediately if not sooner. She is a disgrace, an animal abuser, and appearantly has lost whatever brains she was born with. Let’s hope something is done, and she enjoys a few years behind bars.
After everything our family went through with our sick puppy, having to put him down and finding out that she knew he was sick (he was the 5th) to die made me so upset and so hurt …. … There is way too much pain caused by this woman … Not to mention the charges and issues in California … This needs to stop But now I am crying because you did something … You’re saying and doing something ….
Thank you .. I will send u all information I have with our experience
Thank you.
What county is she charged in, in California?
I believe it’s Ventura County.
I was involved with two different breed rescues here in Kentucky until I developed some health issues, Shelties and Min Pins. I had to submit paperwork to the rescues and have a home inspection before I was given assignments I regards to picking up a dog for rescue, fostering a dog and doing home inspections. If I was fostering a dog and it got sick, I didn’t have to ask permission to take it to a vet. I had to keep records of health, behaviors, licenses. Any out of pocket expenses were reimbursed by the rescue. I have seen an increase in rescues that do not take proper care of the dogs.. It is wise to check out a rescue first before committing yourself.
Thanks for confirming how the foster agreement is supposed to work.
I have fostered cats. The rescue I occasionally foster for specializes in the rehabilitation of stray and feral cats and kittens, and they more often than not have health issues that need to be taken care of. The woman who runs the rescue is a registered nurse and is extremely knowledgeable with regard to cat diseases. She administers flea drops and vaccines as appropriate (except rabies), and deworms them prior to fostering. All other veterinary care is performed by a veterinarian or under veterinarian supervision.
My ‘kids’ have come to me sick, but I was made well aware of this fact prior to picking them up. I knew what I was dealing with and was supplied all the food and medication needed and specialty cleaners I needed to keep their room (separate from our personal pets) clean. I have taken it upon myself to make kitten glop for nursing moms and underweight babes, for which I was offered compensation and I once was so concerned about one very tiny, sick babe that I sought emergency vet care on my own. I was fully reimbursed for the bill.
I return very happy, health kittens and moms back to the rescue (minus certain favorites – whoops) to be adopted.
This is how fostering should work. What I’ve read here breaks my heart.
How could anyone look into the faces of these trusting souls and allow them to suffer so.
I couldn’t agree more. Thank you for fostering.
There has to be something good that can be done. I thought it was illegal to not get sick animals proper medical care?
I don’t think it is. Prosecuting animal cruelty cases isn’t a big priority in WA.
Seriously for a state that has standards of care for almost everything else there is nothing to protect these animals or the famlies that foster. I find this very unreasonable.
Markwell pretty much proves that point.
Exactly.
I had a similar experience with this rescue. When my husband and I went by their location in Tumwater, I literally couldn’t count how many dogs were there just all running around on dirt and blankets and mattresses. Nothing seemed clean and it smelled (no not like an average shelter…worse). We were there to look at a rescue Maltese (or something similar) from a hoarding situation in California. This dog had open sores, skin rashes/abrasions and needed his nailed trimmed and for sure needed grooming. She said the dog was ready for adoption despite his appearance and said she would provide us with his remaining vaccines and skin medication. She asked us to bring the dog by the following week to receive his last injection in the series (for his skin infection). We took him home, got his nails trimme, got him groomed and got a haircut for him at Petsmart Grooming. I made sure they used a speciality shampoo on him that would soothe his itching and scratching. Once we got home, I could tell the dog still wasn’t doing well and continued to sleep and scratch and bite himself badly–drawing blood. She gave me some type of oil to put on him to not itch which clearly wasn’t working and was non-medicated. We decided to return the dog because he clearly needed more medical care.
While we were returning the dog, two guys from the Olympian newspaper showed up asking questions for an article they were fighting because people had been complaining about the “rescue.” They asked my husband and I some questions too and took some pictures of us holding the dog we just had groomed (out of our own money). While this was going on, no one else was at the rescue other than a young girl (teen) and a young male (wary twenties) and they were “cleaning”. They were bring in piles and piles of blankets and sheets from the back to launder. Clearly they need to be sanitized and probably thrown out. Mind you, these dogs were housed in a warehouse building in the summer with no a/c. Only a few (maybe 8 dogs) were let inside the front a/c office area). The rest just ran amuck outside and in the back where it was filthy and at least 100 degrees in there. The women gave us our adoption fee back and she tried make it seem positive in front of the news guys and tried to downplay and brush off the people making the accusations and said it was one disgruntled woman complaining and not a lot of people.
If you adopted the dog, the first trip that should of been made was to a vet, not the groomer. It was now your adopted dog so the fees you spent should of been your own, it was your adopted dog. Sounds like this place is terrible, so knowing this, the animal that is chosen needs to be taken to the vet immediately. Whenever I adopt from animal services I have my vet appointment already made, for the animals sake and my other rescues at home.
If and when you get an actual life and not just sit your ass and hide behind a computer then i will maybe look at your opinion differently. I have been reading this BS for the last 3 weeks and every week you come up with more and more BS
I work for a vet clinic that service Furever Homes Dog Rescue, I personally seen Sharon bring in dogs for exams, X Rays, blood work, puppies for wellness exams, this black puppy in the picture was actually seen by our vet, she had X Rays done, she had a full exam, received medications and went home. do you want to know how much was the bill for that? I’m sure you don’t. your mission is to destroy , you don’t care about any facts as long as you get your fix from the people that follow you and gives you credit for being simply an Ass!!!!!!!!!!!
I met many of the families that adopted dogs and no one had anything bad to say about Sharon, she never refused to pay for any dog that was brought in, but would you go and tell the world all the good things she does, she doesn’t get a day off, she works 7 days a week, cleaning, feeding, walking, the dogs. running to do laundry and buy blankets, buying food and not cheep food, running to the vet and back, when was the last time you actually took a sick dog off the street and healed it back to life, when was the last time you had to amputate a leg of a dog that got run over and left for dead, when was the last time you took in a momma and her puppies off the street to try and give them chance. so when you walk a mile in her shoes then open our mouth and talk,
If it was one person I might question it but when it’s numerous people commenting on here saying not so great things about her “rescue” then hell yes I’m going to believe it… and how are you going to sit and insult people saying they have no friends… you aren’t any better than them.
I wish I could save all the animals that need it, but for the animals sake I don’t. Maybe she should limit her dog saving, for the sake of the animals. When one is adopted, find another one to save.
I don’t know who you really are but I call on what you’re claiming. The texts are pretty clear that carebwas denied and there is NO misinterpreting those messages. I run a reptile rescue and belive me when I say i don’t give a damn who pays for it, if there is even a possibility of a medical issue or emergency, either myself or the foster parents do and will take that animal to the vet because the bottom line is I’M NOT A FREAKING VET. You claim to work for a vet clinic but you yourself are not a vet and neither is Sharron. Unless you have the PH.D for it, you have no place to say a damn thing about an animal being sick or not and definitely have no place “treating” it.
Apparently she had a foster parent ready to take the puppies to the vet – all she needed to do was make the appointment. She didn’t.
From what I can infer, and from the photo of the multitude of dogs on a filthy mattress, the rescue is over crowded and the conditions unsanitary. If she truly is the saint you would have us believe she is, then I suspect she is most likely overwhelmed. This is a disaster waiting to happen – far worse than the tragedies I have read about to date.
Mrs. Gold needs to step back and re-evaluate her resources – time, energy, patience and financial – and fix these glaring problems. If she can’t do that, she needs to give up ‘rescuing’ all together.
It’s too lucrative for her to give up voluntarily.
When will towns/communities wake up and start regulating these rescues? It’s becoming “retail rescue”, with rescuers spending as little as possible on the dogs well being, dogs living in cramped quarters. Ms Gold states that it can be “unsettling” in the morning before they clean up. Why is that? My dogs sleep either in the living room or their crates at bedtime, and there is no cleanup in the morning. Sounds like less than ideal conditions. But then it’s rescue, so they’ll get a free pass.
There needs to be a minimum set of statewide standards that private shelters/rescues must meet, including limits on how many dogs a rescue can have. Currently they are virtually unregulated.
Exactly. If a breeder transported sick dogs across country borders and kept 80 dogs in a warehouse situation with a “bedroom-sized pen, which is the dogs’ lone outdoor respite” with “the stench of feces and urine” coming from the kennels every morning, that breeder’s dogs would be confiscated and they would be vilified. But add the word “rescue” in front of a business and it gets a free pass and brings in $7,000 to $14,000 tax free dollars a month. This kind of hypocrisy is going to really damage ethical rescue groups in the long run.
It would be interesting to bring a civil suit against Sharon Gold for unintentional infliction of emotional distress, the costs of clean-up for the home of the military family, etc. An audit of the rescue would be helpful, both of the money, vet bill receipts, power bills, records of adoptions–successful and failed–, history of trips to Mexico and violations of importing dogs. Remember, as of Jan 1, 2016, animal cruelty is a Federal A felony and the FBI can investigate.
There’s an issue with your screenshots where there are gaps that show an obvious deletion of the answer from Sharon. You might want to look into your sources messaging records. Look at how some messages are right on top of each other vs how some have a much larger gap. If that gap wasn’t there I’d be more inclined to believe you. But I want to know what was deleted. Might suggest taking a look at that.
I’ve looked at the screenshots carefully and am confident they’re valid.
Regardless of what “Justice for Sharon” said above, this story is clear proof that Furever Homes has an unhealthy dog care facility and fails to provide necessary medical care for their dogs. It is a threat to the community to allow dogs who have been exposed to bacteria and diseases to be adopted. This kennel needs to be investigated and shut down. Animal cruelty cannot be tolerated and everyone should continue to fight for Sharon Gold and Co to have their licenses and certifications revoked.
She??? The black puppy was a “HE” his name was Tyson. If YOUR vet did so much than how do you not even remember the sex of that puppy??? It’s funny how all these people are coming forward and the evidence that’s been shown proving these dogs come straight off the streets of Tijuana and in Washington state within 40-42 hrs. How is that possible when they are being “adopted/ sold” for 450.00 when it’s illegal to bring over any dog under 6 months for resale purposes?????? How is it that you can sit by and deny all this evidence? Such a sad sad world to have to pretend to be someone else just to defend yourself.
If she truly cared about these animals that she supposedly rescues out of the goodness of her heart, she would realize when she has too many dogs to care for properly. Perhaps she should place the 85 some dogs she already has before she goes to other states to rescue animals that obviously, are not vet checked and are diseased. Bringing them back to this state and adopting them out without the proper vet care. No wonder diseases and Parvo is running unchecked in this area. I do NOT doubt her “warehouse” where she keeps these 85+ dogs is infected with diseases from importing these unchecked animals here, from not only California, but from Mexico as well. Accumulating more dogs than you can properly take care of does NOT make her an Angel of mercy, it makes her a hoarder period. She is no better than a Hoarder or backyard breeder, with the same mentality. The community and the Pet sites on FB and Craigslist need to blackball her to help limit her business. Because that is what she is running, not a shelter. She adopts out these sick, and non vet checked or vaccinated animals for $350.00 each. She claims she re-homes 40 per month. Do the math. Yet does her own half assed vet care instead of licensed vet care? There should be a law in this state limiting the number of animals any supposed shelter can have, based on the number of people that are caring for these animals, and the needs of the animals for their daily care and exercise. No animal should have to spend all but 2 hours per day in a cage while their cage is being supposedly cleaned. There is NOT one person who knows how many animals she actually loses every month to disease and illnesses, that with the proper licensed vet care, could be prevented. Still can’t believe she has 85+ dogs or more, and makes several trips per week to get more. No one in their right mind should be adopting animals from this ignorant greedy woman. SHE NEEDS TO BE STOPPED! The community outrage for this supposed shelter and these poor animals needs to be heard. The animal protective services for Washington State needs to shut this HOARDER down, and get these poor dogs the vet care they obviously need. MY GOD!
so does she pay someone in California and mexico to steal these dogs for her then beings them back sells them for $350.00 wow what an income . are these pets really rescues or are they missing dogs not lost but missing?
Good questions. Mexico does a poor job of spay/neuter, so there are strays everywhere. One of our dogs is from there.
I seriously can NOT understand why they weren’t taken straight to the vet, why so much time went by pursuing only permission to take them to the vet, or repeatedly requesting an appointment be made, while they die away!!!! NO PERMISSION NEEDED FOR THE SICK AND DYING! Was money for the vet more of a concern than all those grotesque symptoms, or what? Seriously, WHO would not just drive them straight to the nearest vet or animal hospital if vets weren’t open!!
I’ve said before blaming the victim is unfair. This was her first experience fostering dogs and it’s the rescue’s responsibility to help her. She did spend hundreds of dollars of her own money on medication and food and was never reimbursed. Maybe she couldn’t afford to pay more. We don’t know the circumstances, but what is clear is that the rescue did not want its sick puppies to see a vet.
I think in this case it’s clear that the puppies are the victim, don’t you think? The foster woman deserves props for bringing this to “media” attention and shedding some light on the awful practices of this rescue. I agree though that at some point she had a responsibility to take them to a doctor herself. A person shouldn’t foster, adopt or rescue an animal unless they have the knowledge and means to care for it.
Since the foster lost her own puppy and now has to spend tons of money to have her house cleaned I’d say she was a victim too.
I’m not saying that this Furever Homes lady isn’t evil, obviously those puppies should have seen a vet when they first showed signs of illness and needed to be dewormer by a professional, but this article is really misguided. It may seem like a technicality but puppies aren’t supposed to have their first vaccines until they are 8 weeks old, and deworming three times is pretty standard (albeit by prescription dewormer and at regular two week intervals) Again, they should have seen a vet, but these things tell me the foster lady doesn’t know much about taking care of puppies either and should have taken it upon herself to get those dogs to the vet from the first sign of illness instead of repeatedly letting Sharon Gold blow her concerns off. I can’t believe she gave them back, that place seems like a breeding ground for disease. There are too many animal hoarders posing as rescues out there that have no idea what they’re doing.
And just because I believe in good journalism I have to throw in the fact that this article is terribly written. It is not factual (ringworm is a skin condition, not an actual worm) and the grammar and punctuation are awful.
Puppies can be vaccinated as young as 6 weeks but it wouldn’t have necessarily protected them since it can take a few weeks to start working.They weren’t wormed with prescription dewormer. It was over-the-counter.
Trust me, as a puppy rescue person, I’ve seen a great deal – Parvo, Distemper, Herpes, Kennel Cough, Mycoplasma – and I’m still learning about new diseases every couple of months. Unfortunately, Distemper is nearly 100% fatal and nothing the foster would have done could have saved them. In those cases, Rescues need to minimize the suffering. With vaccines – puppies still need the full course every 3-4 weeks, so 3+ sets to be fully protected. We use an r-dhpp that is labeled for vaccines starting at 6 weeks. Most general (non-rescue) vets don’t approve of this, but it’s “on label” and perfectly safe. Coccidia and Giardia are pretty common in CA rescue, we prophylactically treat with panacur to cover our bases, in addition to other wormers. We vaccinate for bordetella at 4 weeks. Puppies are actually quite fragile. And the ones coming from CA shelters seem to be particularly challenged, Moms have no immunity and thus no protection for their pups. Bad diets, harsh kenneling conditions make it worse. I know our rescue has spent a great deal of money on vet care – it’s about equal to our adoption fees. And that should be the point, why bring an animal into a rescue and not want to see it thrive. It’s definitely not a money maker – it’s about saving lives.
Thank you for your insight. It’s a lot of work to run a rescue in a responsible way. I do believe rescuing is a money maker for they shady rescues. If it wasn’t, they’d be doing something else. Most people who run bad rescues have no other visible means of support.
Also, rescues increase their profit by not doing vet exams or behavioral testing, not providing health certificates, and not reimbursing their fosters. And I believe transporters don’t charge for puppies so basically the bad rescues are keeping more of these high fees for themselves.
Couldn’t agree more. However, transporters do charge for puppies, for every dog. Legally to transport a dog into WA state, they all need health certificates (regardless of age), dogs over 12 weeks need a rabies vaccine (although that can be up to 16 weeks) and dogs over 6 months need a heart worm test. And yes, non-reputable rescues don’t do this. Every reputable rescue has a list of what they reimburse fosters for… we pay for vet care and provide food on occasion – but typically they pay for food and treats. We often provide toys, pee pads, songs, etc. 🙂
Thanks for doing it the right way.
Jennifer, you need to change your reply to saying that some transporters do charge and some are free. there are more free transports than there are paid transports. it is the responsibility of the rescue sending the dogs to get health certificates and the responsibility of the transport coordinator to make sure the animals being transported have a health certificate before coordinating the transport and the transport driver to make sure all paperwork accompanies the animal. also TC transport coordinators are supposed to make sure a rescue is a reputable one before moving an animal.
OMG, Kimberly I am so sorry. To lose Ryder too, because of this evil woman. I have no words, just anger and heartache.
Please do not think all rescues operate like that. They do not. Ive been a part of many wonderful rescues, who no matter the time of day, or morning, take any dogs who show signs of illness to a vet. ER vets are open 24/7/365, so there are ZERO excuses. Whomever is still giving Sharon dogs, needs shut down for good. She did this same shit in Cali before moving here.
RIP Ryder and Bella and all dogs who have died because of Sharon.
Thank you for your kind words.
When one cannot take proper care of the dogs they have responsibility for that’s a Hoarder. It doesn’t matter if Sharon has “good intentions” or not. So do hoarders. All rescuers have to learn where the line is between being able to properly care for the dogs they Rescue. In my opinion when a rescue cannot afford to take dogs who have bloody diarrhea to a VET for tests to get a diagnosis and the appropriate treatment the rescue is past the line of doing right by their dogs. Responsible rescuers never would allow dogs or puppies to SUFFER for days and weeks without being seen by a Vetrinarian. All you Sharon defenders Let’s SEE the documantation for the vetting this mom and puppies received. I can only imagine the dog fights and stress and disease at a kennel with so many dogs not separated from one another. Oh and the excuse ” these dogs would have been dead if we didn’t rescue them” is NOT a license to neglect dogs and deny them medical care. If you make dogs suffer as a rescue and deny them medical attention you are no rescuer I ever want to know. You’re worse than the average neglector because you SHOULD know better. I’m sick thinking about the suffering and death these puppies endured while they should have been at a vet which is where any normal, responsible rescue would have had them.
i’ve fostered for rescues and at the first sign of something wrong i was told to bring the animal to the vet asap. even on a transport, if the dog shows signs of illness they can be transported to the nearest vet or emergency vet. no reputable rescue would refuse vet care.
I’m sadden for the rescue puppies, I don’t care what the rules are/were… I would of taken them to the vet no matter what Sharon said! I would of never let those puppies suffer like that… shame on both of you!
The city of Tumwater should set limits on the number of dogs a person can keep. 85 is clearly excessive by any standard. Those of you in the area who are concerned should attend a Tumwater City Council meeting and request that the city set limits on and enforce the number of dogs that can be kept; make sure they don’t create an exemption for rescues. I believe Olympia has set a limit of 3 traditional pets in residential areas.
Yes, 3 dogs in Olympia and Thurston County. Anything more and it has to get a kennel license. I don’t know why nothing has been done up to now – they’ve know about her for years.
Local people and people who have personal knowledge of this situation should consider attending a City of Tumwater meeting to comment on this issue and press for action. For anyone interested I found this on the City of Tumwater website;
“The Council meets on the first and third Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 555 Israel Road SW, Tumwater, Washington (map). This is a formal Council meeting for the purpose of conducting official City business and includes public comments; public hearings; presentations; the adoption of ordinances and resolutions, contracts, agreements, and budgets. These meetings are generally televised locally.”
No, there should not be a legal limit on the number of dogs someone may keep. The restriction needs to be made on HOW dogs are kept. Many of my friends are breeders who keep numerous dogs (with the appropriate kennel licensing). Their dogs are clean, groomed, healthy, happy and trained. Eighty five dogs is definitely an excessive number of dogs for a woman who cannot successfully raise a litter of 9 puppies without causing a tragedy that affects several people. On the other hand, dog sled racers in Alaska often have more than 100 dogs in peak physical and mental condition. If Thurston County really has a law that seeks to limit a dog owner to 3 dogs, that needs to be immediately and relentlessly battled until it is changed.
Breeders are usually exempt from laws limiting the number of dogs people can have. The current regulations in Thurston County specifically exempts them.
Seattle DogSpot: Can you tell me where to find the Thurston County law that limits the number of dogs you can have to 3? Thanks!
You can find them in this post – https://www.seattledogspot.com/dog-adoption-rescue/furever-homes-rescue-is-in-violation-of-thurston-county-codes/
only problem is if they set a limit they can refuse to grandfather some people in. i’ve know individuals with 8 to 10 dogs living inside and their house is clean, dogs are in good condition, obedience trained, microchipped and with all vaccinations up to date. then there are people with only one dog chained out in the yard living in it’s own waste. if you’re referring to a rescue with too many dogs than i agree. they won’t do it because then they would have to take a good look at the puppy mills. now that would be good.
https://www.facebook.com/Inside-Furever-Homes-1567655073553358/timeline
Please join us there.
I had to turn my Boston Terrier over to her because he went after my husband for no reason. I told her I wanted to meet the people who adopt him to talk to him about his stomach issues. I also told her the reason why I was letting him go was because I have little children. I loved this dog as one of my children it was heart breaking to let him go. She also told me I would be able to keep in contact with them and she would keep him for a week before she put him up for adoption. She took him home and my dog bit her son. He was then up for adoption with a price of $425.00 and was gone that same week. I could have sold him just like she did but I thought she would have more connections than I. After he was adopted the couple sent me a picture of him with their children. She lied all the time to me saying I could keep in touch with them. There is never a day that goes by that I don’t think of Dexter and wonder how he’s doing. If you know of anyone that got a Boston Terrier from her a year ago named Dexter I would love to know if he’s healthy, happy and alive. She is not a honest person and only after the money she gets for the dogs.
All you people need to keep your mouth shut about forever homes dog rescue because all you stupid people who have no lives go on this and try to bash people because you don’t have to be face to face with the actual owner you think you guys have all the power because you fat lards sit on your lazy ass and haven’t even met the rescue and don’t know what shes about…. Sharon is a very amazing humane who does a lot more than any of you can say just let alone last year she saved over 4,000 dogs just last year not even 2013 or 2012 or 2011 or this year that just started. 1 more main topic is that picture that the stupid low life inconsiderate loser posted is from 2013 when Sharon went to California to save 80 dogs from the horrible shelters and hoarders. She placed homes for all these dogs and not 1 of them got sick so get your facts right and if any of you can come and say the stuff you claim is true on this page to Sharon’s face i will show you that all these accusations are not true
thank you and stay out of peoples business that you cant say to peoples face..
have a great day you pieces of shit 🙂
FYI, this is Sharon Gold’s ex- or current husband.
All of these illiterate posts under different names, are Sharon Gold. The run on sentences, lack of punctuation, grammar and the spelling errors are all typical of her writing style.
Wait 4,000 dogs in just 1 year? Just 2015 alone, as per your words. At 350.00-500.00 per dog? Hmmm that’s very interesting. I’m glad to know this information just came from her husband. So in July when she was quoted to state she only adopts out 20-40 dogs how are you coming up with 4,000 in one year. That would make this rescue millions of dollars if none of have died as per your wife’s claims. Very interesting. Also isn’t it your wife who also hides behind a keyboard? Shows up at people’s work harassing them then being told to leave by police?? Im sure the IRS will be very happy to hear see the public words of her husband on just how many dogs she’s bringing into her home every year, well just 2015 as you stated. Maybe USDA also. I’ll be sure to forward that to them. Have a wonderful day.
4000 a year is about 30 a day. If that was true she wouldn’t have a house full of dogs.
I’m having a fantastic day ‘tina’.
Sharon ‘saved’ 4000 dogs in one year? That’s might impressive. Not even large, bona fide shelters like NOAH claim numbers like that. She ‘saved’ 80 dogs from California in one trip? How did she manage to move that many dogs at once? Quite frankly, I’m dubious and these obviously over exaggerated claims tend to lend credibility to those who criticize her. From everything I’ve read, I’m inclined to agree that she is a hoarder and dog flipper rather than a rescue.
This reply speaks volumes.
We had a similar experience. I had been looking to adopt or rescue a dog and came across her rescue. I was shocked that she did not need any background information from me like other shelters and rescues did. She literally let me come and leave with a dog without knowing anything about me, my home, other animals I had etc. I honestly wanted to adopt several. I felt I was rescuing them from the “rescue”. Our dog was so skinny. She said to watch him for kennel cough. The day after we were home he started to act really lethargic and had a fever. It took several days of texting back and forth with her, but I insisted on taking him to the vet when her treatment of on-hand antibiotics weren’t helping. She was not happy that the vet wanted to do an x-ray. After the proper dosing of antibiotics and worm meds our sweet dog was feeling better. Unfortunately, the kennel cough spread to our 12year old lab. She got so sick. It broke my heart. I was upset because I felt this lady knew that our dog we got was already showing signs of kennel cough and let us take him anyhow to our home. It turned out well, we love our dog. I felt she was a lady with a good heart but lacked knowledge and well, sense.
I’m so sorry – did both dogs survive?
I call bullshit on the tape worm issue. You can get a triple dewormer at a pet store and a lot of vets in thurston county sell them over the counter. My vet does. My vet told me that they get they from fleas, ingesting dead or alive.
Freaking out over that, I feel is a bit silly.
I have an idea, maybe instead of slandering people, maybe we can offer some help and guidance, seems like what needs to happen here. I’m so sick of rescues beating other rescues down. No rescue is perfect, I have worked with a few of them. I disagree with all of them on certain issues, but it’s not my place, since I’m not the founder.
Just saying.
I don’t think it’s silly for someone who has never fostered or had a sick dog to freak out when they see worms coming out of the butt of the dog they are supposed to foster.
Some rescues do have legitimate problems that can be solved if they ask for help. Others are simply a means of generating cash by bringing dogs in and adopting them out without vet examinations, behavior evaluations, or home checks. I believe Furever Homes is the latter.
No by Washington State Law a prescription can not be given to any dog without an exam first. With tapeworms there is no over the counter remedy. Tapeworms requires a prescription from the vet after they view the fecal sample with the tapeworms in it. Your dog may have been established at your vet within the past year of getting a prescription and that’s why they wrote the script right away. This dog had never seen a vet in the US so wasn’t established anywhere. So it’s illegal for any vet in Washington to issue medications to anyone without seeing the specific dog first. That’s a state and federal law. Tapeworms can not be killed with over the counter medications. Like I said vets have a requirement and that’s that they have to of seen your dog within 1 year to prescribe anything to them. No dog can be treated with prescription medications that wasn’t written to a specific dog unless the vet ok’s it but a physical exam must be done before a vet will ok the use of another dogs medication on a different dog. So self treating dogs that have never been to a vet is illegal and practicing without a medical license unless the dog has been see. Directly by a veterinarian and has had a physical exam. Call any legitimate veterinarian and they will tell you the law. Don’t talk to the receptionists talk to the director/ manager of Doctor’s themselves.
I use to work at a vets.I know what’s RX and what isn’t.
Apparently you don’t!!
This lady has no business being in rescue. As for the foster, I feel really bad for her as she just got the runaround from the lady at the so-called rescue and the pups died as a result. No good rescue allows that to happen. They take them to the vet or have one come in. As usual Robert. You Rock.
I know that what has been written here about Sharon Gold to be true. I had an interaction with her 5-6 years ago when she was using the name and identy of someone else ( Andi Henrich – I may be wrong on the spelling of the last name). Sharon Gold use this name to perpetrate fraud on getting dogs from SoCal shelters. I ultimately learned of this deception and in fact contacted the real Andi Heinrich(sp).
I totally believe that Sharon Gold is only in this for the money to live on and couldn’t care less about the welfare of the dogs/puppies involved. There is no legitimate transporter that will bring her any dogs from CA so she has resorted to having one of her cohorts go and get them and bring them to her in WA.
What REALLY bothers me is the very LAX animal rights/cruelty/neglect laws on the books in Washington State. How else could the Olympic Sanctuary get away with what happened there and the owner has NEVER been charged with any crime??
Until the laws in Washington change, rescues like this will keep winning and the poor animals will keep losing.. Washington State is home to a LOT of BAD rescues.
You hit the nail on the head. WA has NO laws regulating private shelters/rescues. Until that changes we’ll continue to see shady rescues using dogs to make money.
There are laws in WA covering the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, applying to any person, whether or not they run so-called shelters. Animal Control in Thurston county need to investigate and charge her. See Section 2a below.
Chapter 16.52 RCW
PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS
Section 16.52.207
Animal cruelty in the second degree—Penalty.
(1) A person is guilty of animal cruelty in the second degree if, under circumstances not amounting to first degree animal cruelty, the person knowingly, recklessly, or with criminal negligence inflicts unnecessary suffering or pain upon an animal.
(2) An owner of an animal is guilty of animal cruelty in the second degree if, under circumstances not amounting to first degree animal cruelty, the owner knowingly, recklessly, or with criminal negligence:
(a) Fails to provide the animal with necessary shelter, rest, sanitation, space, or medical attention and the animal suffers unnecessary or unjustifiable physical pain as a result of the failure;
(b) Under circumstances not amounting to animal cruelty in the second degree under (c) of this subsection, abandons the animal; or
(c) Abandons the animal and (i) as a result of being abandoned, the animal suffers bodily harm; or (ii) abandoning the animal creates an imminent and substantial risk that the animal will suffer substantial bodily harm.
(3) Animal cruelty in the second degree is a gross misdemeanor.
(4) In any prosecution of animal cruelty in the second degree under subsection (1) or (2)(a) of this section, it shall be an affirmative defense, if established by the defendant by a preponderance of the evidence, that the defendant’s failure was due to economic distress beyond the defendant’s control.
[ 2011 c 172 § 5; 2007 c 376 § 1; 2005 c 481 § 2; 1994 c 261 § 9.]
True, but the definitions of what is abuse are vague, so unless the dogs are in obvious medical distress or a witness sees someone abusing a dog, authorities rarely prosecute anyone, including Sharon Gold.
Can the author of this post PLEASE go thru and edit it to read the CORRECT organization? This org is FURever Homes… not FOReverhome. I run the organization Foreverhome Pet Rescue in Los Angeles and we are getting slammed with accusations and nastiness because of the spelling errors in this article. THANK YOU!!!
I apologize for the mistakes. I went through the article and corrected them. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Thank you for being so responsive 🙂
Thanks for alerting me to the typo. I certainly don’t want reputable dog rescues confused with Furever Homes.
I feel badly for these animals that suffered so. While I understand the animals belonged to Sharon Gold and that she refused to provide veterinary care, I wonder why Kimberly didn’t simply take them to the vet. I understand that Sharon Gold may have some issues, but had I been in Kimberly’s position I would have simply taken them to the vet regardless of the ramifications.