Over the last 3 weeks I’ve received multiple reports that Main Street Mutt Rescue, a new dog rescue group in the Bellingham area, has adopted out dogs that haven’t been vaccinated, dewormed, microchipped, or spayed/neutered while collecting $300-350 adoption fees for each dog.
Main Street Mutt Rescue adopted out Ina without a health certificate, vet exam, vaccinations, or a microchip. She also wasn’t spayed. The woman who adopted her had to pay for all of it herself. Photo credit withheld.
In addition, the rescue refused to authorize medical treatment for a sick puppy in foster care, and it’s bringing in dogs from California to Washington without health certificates, which is required by law.
This rescue hasn’t been around long – a woman named Amy Jo Millman started it last February.
I’m sure that most people who start rescues have the best of intentions but sometimes they don’t understand the time, effort, and money it takes to run one properly.
Running a rescue, even a small one, is full-time job that can take over your life and eat into your bank account, but understandably, these details are easily overlooked because rescuers number one priority is rescuing dogs.
But pulling dogs in danger of euthanization out of a shelter is only the first, and in most cases the easiest part of rescue. The tougher (and more expensive) parts are getting them properly vetted, finding foster homes to stay while they wait to be adopted, assessing their personalities and potential behavior problems, and finding them the best possible permanent home – these are the areas in which Main Street Mutt Rescue appears to be having problems.
In this text exchange with MSMR founder Amy Jo Millman, Ina’s foster mom said the 7-week-old puppy hadn’t been wormed. Image credit withheld.
Here’s what I’ve heard about Main Street Mutt Rescue (MSMR) regarding three of its dogs:
Ina
Ina is a dappled chihuahua mix that was fostered for about 4 weeks before she was adopted by a woman from out of state earlier this month. The woman who adopted her paid an adoption fee of $300 to Main Street Mutt Rescue.
For this fee she was supposed to get a puppy that had been vaccinated, dewormed, microchipped, and spayed, but as you can see from the screenshots of their conversations, Ms. Millman refused to pay for any vet visits.
Ina’s foster mom ended up having to pay $98 to cover the procedures Ms. Millman promised. When the adopter came to get Ina from the foster mom, she reimbursed the foster mom for the $98 she paid for the medical procedures that Main Street Mutt Rescue was supposed to have collected, bringing the total she paid for Ina to $398, $300 of which when to the rescue that apparently paid for nothing other than bringing the puppy to Washington.
Furthermore, she was never given an adoption contract to sign, and, because the woman was from out of state, Main Street Mutt Rescue never did a home visit to determine if the adopter’s home was appropriate for Ina (I have no reason to believe there was anything wrong with Ina’s adopter, but responsible rescues generally don’t put their dogs in homes they haven’t seen).
In this text exchange with MSMR founder Amy Jo Millman, Ina’s foster mom said the 7-week-old puppy hadn’t been wormed. Image credit withheld.
JACOBY
Jacoby is a 2-year-old high energy Pit Bull Terrier/Chesapeake Bay Retriever Mix that Main Street Mutt Rescue said was pulled from a high-kill shelter. While being fostered he growled at the foster’s kids and once acted aggressively towards the foster’s son and wouldn’t let him in the house.
MSMR placed Jacoby with a partially disabled veteran who is hard of hearing and a single dad with two kids. No one told him about Jacoby’s aggression problems towards kids.
MSMR brought him to the veteran’s house all they provided was a harness. He was not given a contract to sign, MSMR didn’t provide any health certificates or vaccination records. Jacoby also wasn’t microchipped or neutered.
Jacoby didn’t stay with the veteran very long. He escaped soon after he arrived and was missing overnight. When he was at the home he growled/acted aggressively towards the veteran’s mother.
Jacoby is back with MSMR because the home in which he was placed was clearly not appropriate for him. A responsible rescue would never have put a high energy, 2-year-old dog that has exhibited aggression problems with kids should have never been placed with a partially disabled dad with 2 young children.
RADAR
Radar is a black chihuahua mix. During the 4 weeks with his foster mom he had problems breathing but was never taken to a vet because his foster mom couldn’t afford it and Ms. Millman refused to pay for a for a vet visit.
Radar was a 7-month-old chihuahua mix that had breathing problems for the 4 weeks he was in foster. MSMR refused to pay for him to see a vet. Image credit withheld.
After almost a month Ms. Millman “washed her hands of him” and transferred ownership of him to his foster mom who then gave him to another rescue group in the Bellingham area where he finally got medical treatment he needed.
These stories could indicate that Ms. Millman simply didn’t anticipate all the critical details and minutiae necessary to follow in order to run a successful dog rescue group. If this were the case, she would have accepted the offers from well-established rescues in the Bellingham area to help her set up proper procedures that reputable rescues follow to ensure they put their dogs in homes most suitable for their temperament and behavior.
MSMR gave up on Radar and gave him to his foster mom so she could find a home for him. She turned the dog over to another Bellingham area rescue group. Image credit withheld.
However, Ms. Millman has refused to accept help from other rescues.
For instance, one rescue told her about a transporter called Rescue Express Transport that brings dogs from pulled from California shelters to Washington rescues in a comfortable, climate-controlled van for free. Ms. Millman replied that the van wasn’t free because it required the dogs it transported to be heart worm tested, have up-to-date vaccinations, and have health certificates, and she would only pay for the dogs to be tested for heartworm.
Ms. Millman’s response raises a HUGE RED FLAG for me because apparently Ms. Millman uses dog transports that don’t require her to pay for vet exams or vaccinations for the dogs she brings to Washington.
According to WAC 16-54-170, all dogs brought into Washington from out of state must have “a certificate of veterinary inspection.” This certificate “must identify each animal and certify that each animal at the time of entry is current on rabies vaccination according to the manufacturer’s label, and does not originate from an area under quarantine for rabies.”
Ms. Millman is violating this statue every time she brings a dog into Washington for MSMR from another state without a document certifying it was examined and vaccinated before its transport.
Furthermore, by bringing dogs into Washington without health certificates, MSMR could be bringing dogs here with communicable diseases like dog flu that could threaten the health of all dogs in the state.
MSMR gave up on Radar and gave him to his foster mom so she could find another home for him. She turned the dog over to another Bellingham area rescue group. Image credit withheld.
This is not how a responsible rescue operates.
In my opinion, Main Street Mutt Rescue should stop bringing dogs from other states into Washington and cease all its operations immediately until it can enact procedures that comply with Washington regulations, prioritize the health of the dogs they bring here, and ensure it puts its dogs into home where they have the best chance to lead happy lives with a permanent family.
I hope Ms. Millman accepts help from other rescues to put these procedures into place and doesn’t, as she has threatened, bring dogs into Washington and sell them directly out of the back of a van to anyone who wants one.
In my opinion, if she doesn’t accept help and change her procedures, she should get out of dog rescue because she is either unable or unwilling to prioritize what is in the best interest of the dogs she says she’s trying to help.
Isn’t that what dog rescue should be about?
MSMR’s adoption profile for Jacoby said he was good with kids even though he acted aggressively towards his foster’s children. MSMR placed with a single, partially disabled vet with 2 children w/out an adoption contract, health cert., or proof of vaccination. He hadn’t been neutered either. Image from MSMR.
Another scam! Wonder if she’s a “charity” like OAS claimed to be? Is she asking for pledges to get these dogs from out of state? Thanks for exposing this.
She’s not asking for pledges as far as I know.
She had been. She asked for urgent pledges from people constantly in order to be able to pull the dogs/get them to safety (supposedly). So basically, people donated their money to save these dogs, then she also collected 300-400 dollars per dog she adopted out.
Thanks for the info.
She had raised over 1.5k on a Gofundme account, at the very least. Looks like she’s trying to cover her trail and has deleted the account now, though. But if you search for it on Google, the old link will still come up so you can see it was there.
Thats right. Keep sending more dogs blindly to WA. We already have too many and guess what, now we have medical issues we did not have here before, including the flu and heartworms. The cali shelters are solely responsible for this, for not checking out rescues sending to, for allowing pets to move without altering, vax and health exams. Their numbers look good on paper, while oyrs are becoming worse. STOP SENDING DOGS TO WASHINGTON AND OREGON. We do not need more. Ours are dying because yours are taking open spots or spreading disease. I support no transports to here at all. Shoddy rescues pop up daily because of how wasy they can get out of state dogs. Try looking local first. Help those here.
It is almost unheard of for California dogs to have heartworms. Fyi. If you’re getting them, it’s not from Cali.
Our vet said they are in both CA and OR. Not saying you’re wrong, just passing along what he said.
Yes there is heartworm in Cali. All dogs that come from Cali must be heartworm tested. Our vet verified this as well.
First off I’d like to know who the author of this article is? Did you before you wrote this slanderous article do any fact checking? Did you interview Amy Jo Milman? Did you talk with anybody besides xxx and this person who fostered the chihuahua? By the way, 4 weeks is too young to worm a puppy. If this article is written by xxx and is just allowed to be posted there is something wrong. As far as Jacoby is concerned, b originally xxx stated he was aggressive and especially towards men. That’s a straight up lie. That lie didn’t work so now he’s child aggressive? He’s not. xxx called the Humane Society and turned Amy in. They came out, checked her records, spent time at her house and left saying all was fine. That didn’t work so now xxx is going on any public forum she can to slander Amy Jo Milman and her rescue. I would be careful before jumping on her band wagon. She is a very unstable, vindictive and emotionally challenged person. That was told me by a group of her peers. I would only hope that she seeks help before too many more rescues are hurt by her. Her anger and hatred are directly affecting dogs being rescued, so in the end their deaths will be on her. That’s not something I would want to be known for.
My name is Robert Pregulman. Seattle DogSpot is my website. I wrote the article. I got my information from several people, so I deleted the name of the person you’re trying to single out. I’m confident of the facts on which I based my opinions in the article. This isn’t the first time a supporter of a questionable rescue or “sanctuary” has threatened to sue me about something I wrote. I haven’t been sued yet, but if I am I will defend what I wrote in court.
4 weeks is not too young to worm a puppy. Using the right wormer they can be wormed at 2 weeks of age and should be if the mother was not wormed before giving birth. If this woman is in fact adopting out dogs & puppies that have not been vaccinated, de-wormed or spayed/neutered, then she is NOT a rescue. She is merely selling animals and profiting off of them.
Also Laura, how much is MSMR paying you to pull dogs for them in CA, and do you have a 501c3 group that’s pulling them? Are you providing health certificates that also certify the dogs have been vaccinated for rabies? It’s required for all dogs sent to WA: According to WAC 16-54-170, all dogs brought into Washington from out of state must have “a certificate of veterinary inspection.” This certificate “must identify each animal and certify that each animal at the time of entry is current on rabies vaccination according to the manufacturer’s label, and does not originate from an area under quarantine for rabies.”
My guess is that as much as they claim they want to “set the record straight,” you will never receive an answer to these questions. I hope I’m wrong.
California shelters do give vaccinations to animals and require sterilization unless they are sick, and if not too young (who would spay a 7 week old puppy?). If there is a pulling rescue, the dogs visit the vet in California and checked. Yes, WA requires health cert to enter the state as we do not have a Heartworm problem here (that I know of, only one confirmed case in Eastern WA). I do think this article is very one-sided. Sometimes placing a dog in one home may not work, not to mention, it takes a dog a good 17 days to decompress to reassess a personality. It seems that the bigger problem would be to alert a new foster or adopter the importance of introduction. As a writer myself, I think that you should get both sides of the story, and put Amy’s views on here as well.
I agree that sometimes placing a dog in a home doesn’t work out, but most rescues do extensive background checks to figure out the home where the dog has the best chance to stay permanently. MSMR didn’t do that in the any of the cases I mentioned. Most rescues give adopters vet records and health certificates, and that make sure the dog is spayed/neutered before it’s adopted. In at least one case MSMR didn’t do it.
Amy Jo’s explanations are in the comment section of this post. So are the extensive responses from women in other rescues that tried to help her.
I’m sure they would love to interview her!
I personally went out and searched for Jacoby myself when he ran away from his new home and also spoke with the person he was “adopted” to. (I put adoption in quotations because I personally don’t consider it an adoption unless adoption paperwork/contract is filled out and signed and the person told me himself that he did NOT fill out or sign any adoption contract or paperwork.) He told me himself that he was concerned that Jacoby had growled at his mother and would not let her near him when she came to his house to meet him. Jacoby’s foster family shared their concerns about Jacoby being protective and having some fear aggression issues with many people. So that is no secret. You are not helping the animals by being in denial about their issues. If you want to help them be successful in their future homes and not put the future adopter at risk you have to be honest with yourself and get the dog, in this case Jacoby the help he needs to become a confident adoptable dog. We have MANY amazing trainers in our area who are ALWAYS willing to work with rescues to help dogs become adoptable and successful in their new homes. We even have a local program called the Friends For Life Canine Scholarship fund who helps pay for training for rescue dogs. In our community there is no excuse to not get a dog the help they need. With that being said please let Main Street Mutt Rescue know so she can get some help for Jacoby.
I was extremely discouraged when I read this. I looked them up on google and found this gofundme page where she says they’re trying to raise money for vet fees and after reading this I really wonder where this money is going to…
Thanks for posting this.
Now she’s deleted the GoFundMe page. Highly suspect!
I also need to clarify that I fostered Ena (Ina is incorrect spelling) and am the person that put them on transport. Secondly, they went straight to xxx who took it upon herself to seperate mom and baby without talking to the rescue about that. xxxx is also the person who found the adopter for Ena (Ina) and took care of everything with this adoption.
I didn’t mention any names of the people who gave me information for this article so I deleted the name of the person you attempt to blame in your comment.
Everywhere I saw it mentioned with MSMR, on the listing, and in comments made by MSMR it’s been spelled “Ena”.
Moya (the momma dog) was sent to a different foster after she had been spayed and her incision was swollen and red because ena kept trying to nurse even though the vet at noah said that moya was mostly all dried up and couldn’t provide ena with milk while she was on meds for spay anyways. Amy jo was informed that ena and moya were having a hard time being in the same home while having to keep them separate the whole time. Amy jo said yes the foster could place the moya in another foster home if the current foster felt it was best for moya and baby puppy. At this point ena was fully weaned and not receiving milk from the moya and the ena was at an appropriate weight and eating dry and soft food on her own for a while.
So sad. I hope she learns to correct her procedures or gets out of rescue. I’ve heard so much about her mindset and seen so many comments that just break my heart.
I can only review what I have read. Nothing in my review is from any form of communication with Main Street Rescue. That being said, after reading the reviews, I am greatly disappointed. These animals have no voice. The rescue society is their only voice, their only choice. If indeed these accusations are true, they should not be in business because from what I have read, it is the exact opposite of what “Non-Profit” is all about. Please Main Street Mutt Rescue, if your heart is in the right place, you will do the right thing by these voiceless animals. A true rescuer does not profit in any way, they do it for the love of the animal. Either run your business by the book or find something else to do. Good rescue people are few and far between. BE ONE OR STOP! It is people who aren’t looking out for he animals best interest that will end up creating the endless bureaucracy, Government controls and Government standards that will ultimately take the “love” out of what the genuine rescue groups are trying to achieve. – sincerely – Johnnie Johnson
Thank you for your comment. I couldn’t agree more.
I personally know this woman, and many of these allegations are false. This is SLANDER. I hope whoever wrote this article will take it down, because this is a lawsuit waiting to happen.
I stand by what I wrote and will defend it in court if necessary. What I wrote is my opinion based on information I received from several sources. If you have proof anything I wrote isn’t true please send it to me.
Did you verify any of this information with the source of the article? I didn’t see where you had any comments from the rescue.
The information for this article came from several sources. I did not get information from anyone at the rescue.
I’d like to see the practice of bringing rescue dogs from out of state to be adopted out discontinued. The numbers in our shelters would go down, too. And the issue of ill dogs being transported would cease. Stressed dogs do become ill.
I’m starting to move in that direction as well. Too many scammers are doing it.
Main Street Mutts Rescue had a GoFundMe campaign that has been deactivated.
I’ve found on Craig’s List there are far too many people ‘fostering’ dogs and especially puppies for adoption that have high ‘adoption’ fees, but provide no pre-adoption medical – as indicated in the article. I’ve tried to point out to a couple that for half the price they ask, one can adopt a dog from the local shelter that has had a complete medical exam, vaccinations and spay/neuter.
All of these ‘rescues’ are suspect in my mind and I have no tolerance for them.
That’s the problem – Irresponsible rescues make people distrust good ones. In my experience, most rescues want to to the right thing for their dogs. Only a small percentage are questions. Alternative Humane Society, Rescued Hearts NW, and Happy Tails Happy Homes are 3 in the Bellingham area that do great work.
It is very sad that bad rescues give good rescues a bad name. there are so many great rescues out there doing great things for animals. Being the voice for those who have none is a heart wrenching job but true rescues do it day in and day out often through tears, and sadness. Thank you to the author for being a voice for these animals.
There is also a place called Furever homes in Tumwater/olympia that does these same things. Wish there was a way to get the word out on her also. I have heard she was in trouble in California where she came from. Her name is Sharon Gold.
I’ll look into it. If you have any other info you can send it to info@seattledogspot.com. Thanks!
THis is all bullshit! Amy is working her ass off to help dogs that are to be killed!!! People are dropping dogs off at her door! She works full time and turns around and works countless hours trying to save dogs!!! She is SELFLESS and because one lady is a bitch and didn’t have a perfect expierence you write all this bullshit!!!! Go to a source for ever one issue there are 100 happy dogs and happy families! I fostered 9 puppies for her and every single one got wormed, fixed, and chipped!!!!! Delete the lies the bullshit if anyone has questions or issues take up with her!
I’m sure some people are happy with their experiences with MSMR. Nowhere in the article did I say that there were problems with all her adoptions. And this article was based on comments and records from several people, not just one person that didn’t have a “perfect experience.” 3 reputable, well-established rescues in Bellingham offered to help MSMR – all were turned down.
It is unacceptable (and illegal) to bring dogs into WA without health certificates, even if those dogs are successfully rehomed. Reputable rescues spay/neuter their dogs. Adopting out dogs that aren’t contributes to pet overpopulation and euthanization. “Saving” a dog from a shelter and then adopting it out without spay/neutering isn’t really saving it if it has more puppies – it just makes the problem worse. Reputable rescues would never refuse to pay for treatment for sick dogs. Reputable rescues don’t get their dogs from breeders or craigslist. Reputable rescues admit their mistakes and try to correct them.
Finally, lots of people who run rescues work full time and still manage to run reputable rescues that provide ALL their dogs loving homes. Working countless hours trying to save dogs doesn’t excuse potentially harmful and dangerous adoption practices.
Language, people, language. The lack of professionalism and use of excessive obscenities really speaks for itself.. No legitimate professional would allow this sort of behavior from people who are supporting and representing their organization.
Rediculous we fostered and Amy was great, got all puppies spayed and neutered, shits, deformed, some butch has to much time on her hands thanks Amy for all you do for these dogs with no voices!
Meant shots
Please check your post for spelling errors before you post any comment.
Not that anyone really cares about the truth but
1. Ena was to go into my vet the Wed before she left and get all her shots. She was scheduled to be spayed at Noah the prior week but was turned down due to her size. The person fostering then went and shopped around to find a place that would spay a dog under the 3 lb or 12 week minimum that Noah has set in place as a safety precaution. Ena was wormed, spayed and had her shots before she left (spay was without my permission which is a big no no in the foster world) and I’m sorry but I trust Noah’s guidelines. I had talked to the adopter (whom I did background check and had pics of her house etc) and agreed to get her done at 12 weeks. I know not everyone likes spay/neuter contracts but many use them. I have also since learned from here that the adopter was charged another 98 and I have refunded her money. She never should have been charged as that was all included in her adoption fee and I had emailed the foster before leaving town the weekend before the adoption that if she went to the Humane Society I would reimburse her or call and pay with my credit card or I would get Ena and we would take to my vet as planned.
2. Jacoby was from another rescue. I let myself be pressured into taking him thinking he was fixed, had shots, and was a good easy dog. He’s not …he’s a 2 year old without any manners and was not fixed and agreed He’s been neutered, had all his shots and is chipped now. He is not aggressive and the people saying this do not know this dog. So much made up and so harmful to his chances of being adopted. Yes he is going to require a person with pit experience. A huge error was made in his first match and its partly my fault for letting another person handle it. Since its my rescue its ultimately my fault. We have remedied that. Just to be clear he had not been officially adopted yet..we had him scheduled to be fixed and chipped before we officially adopted but he didn’t like cats so we had let him go to the home earlier.
3. Radar was NOT given to another rescue. I had a disgrundled foster who had cut off my connection to her, was telling lies and causing problems so in order to cut ties with her completely (and since her fosters all disappeared so I had no foster) I emailed her and asked if she wanted to take him as her dog to finalize an adoption..something she’d fought me about constantly. Regardless how I feel about her behavior I know she’s taken care of animals and he would be safe and get a good home. If I’d known she was going to dump him on another rescue I’d have kept him.
Also just to be clear, I have never heard a word from any other rescue. So much is going around that is not true. I heard yesterday I have two pits I adopted out breeding. That is untrue…I have only adopted 3 pits..all fixed and the two we have in foster are also fixed. No dog is breeding. All my dogs have been vaccinated, spayed and neutered and microchipped.
I do not bring up vans of dogs (it was a one time thing and way to much for me to handle…learned a lesson). I do heartworm test my dogs and get health certificates…I have set up a protocol with my vet on what needs to be done when they come in. The majority of my dogs are vetted in California before they come up…the only thing I’m guilty of is taking on to much and I see it, I’ve changed it and will not be doing it again.
Thank you for your response. I appreciate the time and effort it took you to write it. As I said, my information came from several sources and I’m confident in the information they provided. I won’t repeat everything in the article here to respond to you, but just to be clear, I never said Radar went to another rescue. I said you said him over to the person fostering him and then she gave gave him to another rescue.
I also have a few questions:
Can you send screenshots of the health certificates? The dogs are supposed to have them when they leave the shelter in cA. In the 3 examples I wrote about the adopters didn’t get any paperwork, including health certificates. If you are getting them before the dogs leave CA I want to set the record straight.
Can you also say how you were able to get the dogs pulled in CA? I thought you had to be a registered 501c3 to request it. And can you say how much you paid the person to pull them?
Could you clarify if MSMR had Ena wormed and vaccinated before she was adopted? I was told her foster paid for all those procedures.
Thanks again for your comments.
Amy Jo I was on the facebook page rehoming and adopting pets in whatcom county. There was a post about Jacoby running away from his new home. It said he was not neutered, microchipped or vaccinated and fearful of men. He had no ID tag on his collar either. Concerned community members and several people from local rescues began commenting about their concerns. I can list the names of many of the people who offered to help you on that post. There were at least 10 that I can remember including myself. Many wanted to set up a time to meet with you and a couple people volunteered to help you put policy’s and procedures in place and someone even offered to help you keep track of medical records. Many asked you to join their rescue groups and get some experience under your belt before you continue on with your own group. You commented on that post and it was up for at least another week before it was deleted so I am sure you must have seen all the offers to help.
I have seen many cases of people who work for MSMR attacking those they assume to be responsible for sharing this information and publicly slandering them. If what is posted in this article is false, why doesn’t MSMR focus on clearing the record instead of just lashing out? There are screen shots that support the allegations in relation to these three cases in the article. Does MSMR have screen shots that prove them false? It would be great if MSMR would produce evidence to the contrary but it seems all they want to do is call names and lash out. The more we see them attacking people for exposing them, the more it seems they should be exposed! They are just trying to make people afraid to speak out. I know for a fact there are others that want to speak out but are afraid of being personally attacked like the others have been. For shame!
This is true. I had several messages sent to my inbox on my facebook page from someone on here. The messages were rude, mean disrespectful and threatening. It is my understanding that the same person sent threatening rude messages to many many other people as well. Most of the people who received these messages are rescuers who work tirelessly in our community to save animals and help with the pet overpopulation problems and who genuinely care about the ethical treatment of animals in our community. This same person along with others plotted their revenge against the other rescues and individual people who actually tried to help them while Amy Jo sat and watched in silence. They searched for sites to slander and attack these people personally. In my opinion this is in no way reflective of how a group who says their goal is to help animals in need and be the voice for those who have none should behave. I am sure their goal is to bully and threaten these people including myself into being too afraid to speak up. I would like to hear what they have to say and what their reason is for this kind of behavior. Maybe you could put the time and energy you are putting into threatening, bullying, messaging and planning your revenge into the animals that you are taking into your care. I am happy to share the messages with anyone who would like to see them.
Also one other comment and that will be all I say…all dogs from shelters have to be fixed…I have to provide them with a copy of the bill or certificate..whatever they give us. I have complied. If not the people helping would have their pull rights terminated.
Also I know there was a comment that a website says I’m 501c..that is out of my control as a person was going to help me do my website…began it..I asked for things to be fixed that were incorrect and never heard from them again. I can’t change it…I have no access. so for the record..I am NOT a 501c..I am going to be applying…but I have never ever told anyone I WAS a 501c…I am a registered non profit in Washington, I have separate books and track every dollar.
I was told Jacoby was adopted out before he was fixed – I have no idea if he came from a shelter or not.
I’m sorry you’re having trouble finding the person who did your website but legally it can’t say you’re a 501c3 if you’re not.
The horribly offensive language of her supporters really isn’t helping. Might I suggest having your “people” handle themselves with a bit more grace and tact. And by all means, if you have proof that these claims are false, please do so!
Ya, right? do you have receipts? Emails? Screenshots? Any documentation at all to prove that all of this is false? Because I see that it’s true. Screenshots of you saying “no you cannot take this dog to the vet”. Were these fabricated texts? Did you not actually write those? And that dog was sick for a month. If she could have afforded to bring him to the vet she would have by then. Of course she’s going to give him to a responsible rescue that can get that done.
I’m not saying any of the above comments are true or false. I’m just writing to say my wife and I just bought a dog from Amy and our experience has been very positive. Amy arrived Tuesday night with the pup and all required paperwork. We were interviewed for 30 to 45 minutes. We’d already fallen in love with the dog’s picture and the meeting just confirmed our feelings. We were charged a fair price for the pup and she was left with us that night. Yesterday we took her to our vet and everything checked out just great. The pup has a heart murmur (which Amy had declared) but got a clean bill of health beyond that. We are very happy with our new pup and with the treatment and service we got from Amy.
I’m glad you had a good experience. Hopefully all the problems they had before have been corrected.
This rescue just pulled a half dozen pit bulls from so cali shelters in JUST THE PAST WEEK! I have the impound #’s and shelters if you like. not even established rescues pull that many Pits!
If you have proof of this please contact me at info@seattledogspot.com.
Thankyou, thankyou, thank you so much! Finally the truth about “bad” rescues is being exposed for the bad business it is!!! So so many, please keep outing them please show the public what’s really going on! Enough already,WE HAVE HAD ENOUGH! If your a dirty rescue only in it for the money and slinging pups from one state to another only to dump them in bording and never come back! Your done! FINALLY PEOPLE ARE LISTING! Watching, and reading! !!!! KEEP up the great work exposing these low lifes!
I wish I had of read this website before dealing with this rescue. My boyfriend and I tried to adopt cookie. I can go into great detail on my knowledge of dogs and how I’m “bully savy”. Amy assured me she was great with small dogs both male and female. Now I have over $4000 in vet bills because she almost killed my 4 year old female chinese crested. My vet here in Canada told me to try and get the recue to pay for our bills, if not fully then at least some. After reading all of this though I’m unsure I will get anything from them.
And cookie is still on their site as being available. After my boyfriend got her to let go of sophie she continued to try and attack more. Then continued to growl at him. Will they diclose this if they choose to rehome her???? Or adopt her out??? Probably not by the sounds of things.
I’m sad I didn’t do my research further with this dog and the rescue.
If anyone had any advice for me please comment.
Thanks.
This rescue is now working with independent pulled in los Angeles, asking for pledges to pull dogs that have not been pulled yet. Puller is asking for pledges to be paid to a personal PayPal, not the rescue for which they claim to be transporting to.
Thank you for the info. Are there any links or screen shots that show this?
I am sorry but I completely disagree. I got my dog with Main Street Mutts and the experience has been fabulous. The documents and medical requirements were done. I also have fostered a couple and Amy has without hestitation provided medical, training, crates, collars, grain free quality food and toys if needed. I seen the costs of unplanned vet bills they have paid. I am sure they have made some errors but only because they we’re a new rescue and I bet not one other rescue can say the never made a error along the way
Good luck and thank you ❤️
I’m glad you’ve had a good experience with MSMR. I hope they’ve changed the way they operate to ensure they comply with WA’s regulations when they bring dogs here.
Any updates? The organization is still active.
I haven’t heard anything about them in quite awhile.
Good to hear. Considering adopting a dog from MSMR- the dog has stitches from his neuter, and appears to come with the paperwork I’d expect for their adoption fee.
I would discern this was a well-intended rescue that didn’t get off the ground in the best way, which lead to some messy/very concerning situations.
Adopted the dog from MMR. The dog is a perfect fit (arrived as described, healthy, trainable, quiet – such a great puppy!). Promptly given any necessary paperwork, checked dog’s surgery stitches(neuter) before adoption, the foster/coordinator was attentive, helpful, and very accommodating.
Good! Thank you for letting us know.
Sounds like they are still at it. A dog from them was surrendered to The Humane Society of Jefferson County for biting, going for the face. They would not take the dog back (first rule of a reputable rescue) No medical records and all just like 6 years ago!
Looking into it. Thanks for the info.
Hey, still checking this post however many years later… Amy/Main St Mutts is still at it in full force. I have months of personal correspondence w Amy herself, as well as logs upon logs of conversations and accounts from former foster families, adopters, shelter/rescue/vet partners, etc. The lengths this woman/her org will go in order to cover her tracks and avoid any shred of responsibility is astronomical, reprehensible, and quite frankly, inexcusable.
Among my favorite (least favorite?) documents is a screenshot from just over 4 weeks ago (beginning of Oct 2021) in which Amy Millman tells me directly, “I agree, this is bad rescue and I will not be having it happen again.”
..yet it continues to happen.
I would be more than happy to discuss further with you via email or phone. Thanks for keeping this thread active.
I found Main Street Mutt rescue on Petfinder when I was looking for a puppy to adopt. I found an adorable litter of pittie mixes and I was overjoyed. After my application was approved I was looking up the shelter to show my friends the litter when I noticed the mediocre rating on Google reviews. After many of the reviews stated having troubles with vaccines and other health issues I started to get more nervous.
I did some more research and found this article as well as complaint filed to the better business bureau. The BBB claim stated that the dog had preexisting medical conditions that were not mentioned and they would like a refund, and as far as I am aware the issue was not resolved by MSMR.
Because I still had my heart set on these adorable pups I decided to address my concerns to Amy and the foster parent directly. The specific issues I raised were whether there would be some record of the vaccinations administered, how they were administered, and whether they had been checked by a vet.
The foster parent was as helpful as I believe they could be and said that to their knowledge the puppies had not been to a vet, that the vaccines as well as the microchip would be administered at the time of adoption (by whom was not specified, but I assume the foster parent or Amy herself), and that they would be dewormed at 6 and 8 weeks. They also said I would receive a voucher for the neuter/spay. They even sent me a photo of the vaccines which was the “Nobivac Canine 1-DAPPv”
(I am not a vet so take what I say next with a grain of salt, but from what I read certain vaccines are not recognized unless administered by a vet.)
Amy was MUCH less helpful in my opinion. She simply said that she has no idea why there would be negative reviews and that I would get “a document stating what they were given and when”. As far as any of my concerns, they were not addressed and when I continued to press I was promptly told that I could no longer adopt the puppy because “they got too many applications and miscounted”. This was AFTER I was confirmed to adopt one of the 3 remaining puppies in the litter.
Overall I am not surprised that this happened to me as well but figured it was a more recent story to show that this is still continuing