Olympic Animal “Sanctuary” was No Sanctuary
December 24th marks the one year anniversary that the 124 dogs imprisoned in the Olympic Animal “Sanctuary” in Forks, WA by Steve Markwell were turned over to the Guardians of Rescue in Kingston, AZ.
Markwell touted the “Sanctuary” as a place where dogs with severe behavior problems that faced euthanization lived peacefully and happily.
Sadly, it was no sanctuary for dogs.
Markwell kept up to approximately 160 dogs locked in crates 24/7 inside an unheated warehouse. They lived on top of filthy straw soaked with their own urine and feces. They got no exercise. He fed then starvation rations that mainly consisted of maggot-filled meat stored on the dirty warehouse floor for days. They had no reliable access to fresh water.
While the dogs suffered, Markwell continued to collect hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations.
Fortunately, the “Sanctuary” is now gone, and Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson sued Markwell last summer for Washington’s Charitable Solicitations Act and Consumer Protection Act for failing to maintain records of how he spent $300,000 donated to the “Sanctuary.”
Markwell insisted that these dogs were extremely dangerous and unadoptable. He liked to say the dogs at the “Sanctuary” were the ones people “would rather see dead.”
However, many of them are not dangerous. Even those with had correctable behavior problems still found homes.
RAINBOW’S STORY
Rainbow didn’t belong in the Olympic Animal “Sanctuary” in Forks, WA, which supposedly was just for dangerous dogs.
In the picture above, you can see an extremely skinny Rainbow (on the right) in her kennel. A person who knew her both before and after she lived at the “Sanctuary” told me this about her:
“Rainbow was sent to the “Sanctuary” from a shelter that deemed “un-adoptable” for being under socialized, and potential aggression. (Markwell tabled her) with “potential aggression” because jump up at the kennel attendants and almost make contact with their face. That was enough to sentence her to a life of misery at OAS.
Steve Markwell sent updates to a volunteer stating that Rainbow was “living in the house” with him, and that she was completely rehabilitated and had no issues. I was also told that Rainbow was “living pack style”, meaning she was free to roam 24/7 and never spent any time in a kennel or crate. In reality, I later was informed that Rainbow was kept in a horrible dog run with her kennel mate Chance.
When we rescued Rainbow in Golden Valley she was in the best physical condition out of all of our OAS dogs. I believe this was because Markwell used her as a demo dog. You can see Markwell walking Rainbow in the interview that Jeff Burnside did on OAS. Even though Rainbow was physically ok, she was extremely fearful.
Upon entering her kennel she would flatten to the ground, and immediately go belly up. She was completely suspicious of any activity that occurred above her head or behind her. Rainbow also showed extreme fear of men. Once we started training with her she rebounded quite quickly, and demonstrated just how smart she really is. The fact that she was a quick learner, and loves to work helped her tremendously with her rehabilitation.
The volunteer said the rescue that sent Rainbow to OAS also paid Markwell “thousands of dollars” for her care. Clearly he didn’t use the money to give her anything but a filthy kennel and rotten food.
I think you’ll see from Rainbow’s pictures that calling her a dangerous dog was a lie. And after a few months of training, exercise, and love, a family adopted her last August.
Here is Rainbow just 2 weeks after she her rescue. Doesn’t she look dangerous?
Rainbow in early March at Lionel’s Legacy, the group that helped her recover and find a home. Here’s what one of their volunteers said about her:
“This is Rainbow! Although I am very aware of the conditions factory farm animals are raised in, (something I am fighting for every day) I cannot discount the similar conditions our domestic pets are raised in. These babies are subjected to deplorable conditions ( Rainbow was confined to a small filthy crate for years and without any human interaction) it takes a VILLAGE to rehabilitate them. I am a part of that village and I just want them to feel loved. I think Rainbow knows that!!!!”
Rainbow April graduated from her training program last April. Here’s what another volunteer said about her:
“Rainbow, a former OAS dog, has graduated from her training home at Doggy Hydeaway to her temporary foster home. We want to determine what her ideal foster/adopter home needs to have in order to continue to support her rehabilitation. So far she’s proving to be a good girl who’s willing to be on her best behavior for any potential foster or adopter. We will be looking for a foster for her soon.”
Rainbow with her trainer.
More pictures from April with another comment about how wonderful she is:
“Rainbow went to her first adoption event this past weekend in San Diego and did pretty good. Still needs to build her confidence around new places and strangers but we’re taking baby steps. We have an awesome team of people who’ve been working with her over the past 3 months in a rehabilitation center. She’s ready to take that next step and be reintroduced to the public. She’s also showing us she’s good with other dogs, good with older kids, and seems to be ok with cats too!”
Several pictures of Rainbow from last June. I think she’s the happiest dog ever (as long as she doesn’t have to live in a filthy kennel):
Here’s an extensive update on Rainbow from July. She made huge progress. Lionel’s Legacy did a great job with her.
“For those of you who are familiar with the OAS doggies we took in Jan, today marked a big day! There are lots of big days for these dogs but this one in particular hit me the most.
Here is Rainbow at the top of Cowles Mountain in San Diego. Today Rainbow went somewhere new and unfamiliar, crossed paths with multiple dogs and people, encountered walking sticks, lizards scuffling by, people running from behind her with loud music playing from their iPods. Through all of this Rainbow excelled and in each moment I expected to see fear and insecurity she showed me confidence and excitement. In fact, she wanted to say hello to all her new friends on the mountain instead of shying away like she had in the past.
It made me look back and reflect on how Rainbow and our other OAS dogs have been able to succeed and excel in the face of so much neglect and abuse. How were they able to move on and learn to trust new places, situations, and people again?
One of the biggest components has been time. We knew we couldn’t rush these dogs. They needed time to decompress, and a lot of it. Doggy Hydeaway Rescue Rehab, has been an incredible place for them to do that and get the necessary daily exercise and interactions with people they needed. Rainbow, Crockett, Willie, Jesse, and Buddy have had a great team of people interacting and working with them each and every day.
Volunteers come to walk them and interact with them and our incredible trainer, Randy Davis, has been working with them weekly to help them rebuild. Two incredible ladies, Lisa and Nancy, have dedicated their time to make sure each dog is successful and cared for. They take them to training, continue and extend their work while staying at Doggy Hydeaway, set aside time for calming massage and bonding time, making sure their supplies are aplenty and clean, and all of their needs are met. In addition,
we’ve had many people help to secure sources of funding to continue their care. Sue has organized fundraising campaigns and events to help us maintain the high level of care all of these dogs have needed. When we took these dogs on we didn’t really know exactly what to expect, didn’t even know if we could rehabilitate them.
The job is far from done but we now know that we can do it and that it takes a collective effort to make it happen for each of these dogs. With dedicated, committed, passionate, and focused individuals involved we have been able to make a difference for these dogs. Some may question why invest so much, why spend so much time and money on 5 dogs? The truth is that it is our duty. These dogs didn’t ask for this and they look to ALL of us to advocate for them like so many other animals do. Thank you to everyone for being a part of their journey and helping us succeed in caring for them. We’re eternally grateful for everyone who has stepped up to support us and the OAS dogs. From the top of Cowles mountain, Rainbow thanks you too.”
August was an exciting month for Rainbow – she went to a foster family!
“Rainbow is sooooooo excited, tomorrow she gets to go to her new foster family. This is a big step for this fun loving girl. Before January she had little hope for living a normal life. We no longer view her as an OAS dog, Rainbow is now just a dog and will get to do normal dog stuff! She’s a dog that isn’t wondering where her next meal is coming from, who doesn’t cower and drop to the floor when she sees men, a dog who is now excited to get to explore new places like the beach and hiking trails. And of course, we will be there to support her and her foster family every step of the way.”
Have a great life Rainbow. You deserve it!
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