
Sam’s adopter said he was 30 pounds underweight. He also had a “yeast infection of the right ear, parasites, and roundworm.” Photo from Ripoff Report.
I’ve written about some atrocious, negligent, and callous dog rescues over the years, but based on my most recent research, I think Rising Phoenix Mastiff Rescue (RPMR) in Yakima is the worst one yet.
LaTricia/Trish Porter/Prader runs RPMR (she uses more than one name).
Here are a few descriptions from adopters/potential adopters about the dogs they saw from RPMR:
- Adopter said the Mastiff/Presa mix looked “severely neglected, underweight, and sick”.
- After a potential adopter petted one dog he said his hands were “black as tar said they smelled like death.”
- Another adopter said their dog had “the stench of sickness that came off her I will never forget.”
- The man reported that the dog had broken teeth, infected eyes, ear mites, and infected paws.
- He had an infection on his neck with an odor so foul “it could make you gag.”
- Porter told them dog was “good with cats.” The adopters said it “tried to tear (their) cat in two” in front of their 6-year-old son.
- As Porter told them the dogs was “good with everyone, including cats, and toddlers”, it bit the husband.
These are just a few of the more than 2 dozen complaints about RPMR that I posted below. I found most of them on Facebook, RipOff Report, the Better Business Bureau, Scamorg.com, and Revdex.com. The others I found through a public records request to the Yakima County Sheriff’s Office.
Similar to other questionable dog rescue groups I’ve investigated, the complaints I found about RPMR are eerily similar.
Virtually all of them said the dog they wanted to adopt from RPMR had one or more serious health problems.
Some dogs had parasites. Others had parvovirus. Many people described the dogs they adopted as emaciated or starved.
They dogs had other maladies in common like mange, pneumonia, infected wounds, ear infections, diarrhea, and bloody stool.
Several adopters paid hundreds or thousands of dollars for the medical care needed to treat these medical problems.
Many adopters also said that the descriptions of their dog’s temperament and age provided by RPMR weren’t accurate.
Several adopters said they never received vaccination records or adoption contracts for their dogs.
Some said that when they reported their dogs’ injuries to Porter she claimed the dogs were fine when the adopters took them and accused them of causing their health problems.
And Porter didn’t refund the adoption fees to the people who returned dogs to her.
That a dog rescue group would adopt out dogs in such poor physical condition and with unpredictable temperaments is horrifying, cruel, and flagrantly irresponsible.
Porter has consistently denied the allegations against her and RPMR, but in my opinion, the large number of and similarity between the complaints make it difficult for me to believe her denials.
This why you MUST do your homework before you adopt a dog from a rescue. Some people will always try to game the system to make a quick buck.
If you’re not sure how to avoid dog rescues, the easiest and most important thing you can do is google the name of the rescue and/or the name of the person who runs it.
I’ll write more about RPMR asap. In the meantime, please share this post to get the word out about this shady dog rescue.
Here are all the complaints/reports I found so far about Rising Phoenix Mastiff Rescue written by people who either adopted or wanted to adopt dogs from them.
I’m sure you’ll find them as disturbing as I did.
If you don’t want to read all of them you can read the summaries I put at the top of each one.
Thanks to all the people who helped me put together this post. I couldn’t have done it without their help.
COMPLAINTS ABOUT RISING PHOENIX MASTIFF “RESCUE” POSTED ON FACEBOOK
Puppy was sick when they picked her up.
Dog got “violently ill” within 24 hours of arriving at home.
Puppy had parvovirus.
Dog diagnosed with “multiple hernias” that required surgery.
The adopter incurred “tremendous vet bill.”
Porter refused to provide medical records or name of vet that treated the puppy.
Porter claimed adopters didn’t provide a good home for the dog and threatened to take her back.
Adopter said the Mastiff/Presa mix looked “severely neglected, underweight, and sick”.
A vet diagnosed the dog with “pneumonia and worms.”
Vet said dog was a pit bull, not a mastiff mix.
The dog was 4 months old and only weighed 20 pounds.
Porter said adopter was “killing the dog by giving it the recommended treatment from the vet.”
Adopter had to put down her 10-year-old Pomeranian after adopted dog infected it.
Potential adopters said Porter brought 3 “emaciated” Mastiffs. One had “green snot coming from his nose and all three had goopy eyes.” Its hips and ribs were showing.
“These were obviously not healthy dogs and it is obvious they were going to HAVE to see a vet.”
After the potential adopter petted one dog he said “his hands were black as tar said they smelled like death.”
The female was only about a year old and had already had pups.
One of the potential adopters called the sheriff and animal control to file a complaint. They told her an investigator in Las Vegas called their office about Porter “ripping someone off by sending a sick dog that only survived several days.”
Complainant said someone she knows sees Porter show up at the same location every 2-3 days “with emaciated sick dogs she is meeting adopters with.” She can “see their hip bones and ribs and can tell they are filthy dirty.”
Below are comments posted on Facebook in response to the above post. Here are some of excerpts:
Two days after they adopted the dog, “horrible snot started pouring from his nose.”
The vet who treated him said the dog had “the worst case of pneumonia” he had ever seen.” He also said the dog had “an ear infection”, was “severely malnourished”, and “severely dehydrated.”
The vet bills the adopter incurred were “in excess of $1000 and climbing.”
Two hours after dog was home it, “snatched our neighbor dog by the head through the wood slats (of a fence) and would NOT let go.” The dog spent two weeks in intensive care and had to undergo several blood transfusions.”
RPMR said the dog was 2-years-old but he was about 8.
Vet report from Pasadena, CA was “bogus.”
Dog was “extremely skinny”, had “an infected wound on her cheek”, “a cough”, and “diarrhea”.
RPMR said the dog they adopted the dog was good with kids and dogs”, but she had “serious aggression issues.” She had been “in five fights with our other dog and snapped at the other one.”
The “vet records” they gave me for her “appear to possibly belong to another dog.”
Adopter received a “hand written vaccination paper and she have avoided multiple requests for official vet records.”
“Within 24 hours of getting her home she was violently ill.” She was hospitalized with parvovirus and was in “very bad shape.
The adopters had a “tremendous vet bill” for her hospitalization. Their vet said “she had multiple hernias that would require surgery to correct.”
The dog her mother adopted from Trish Porter “was very underweight, infection in both eyes, and many other things I could just go on and on about.”
“Not one day goes by that I don’t think about all the poor dogs being abused or even dying.”
Trish Porter gave adopter a dog with the “worst case of mange the vet had ever seen.”
The adopter had to treat the dog with “medicated shampoo, antibiotics, and vitamins for MONTHS.”
The adopter said after they got the dog it was “vet bills galore with health problems for awhile” and never got the $50 credit for spay that he was promised or the vet bills that Porter said was “lost in the mail.”
Adopter said the 8-week-old puppy she bought came with “a bunch of health problems, mange, and various health problems that cost quite a bit.”
Porter said the puppy was vaccinated but she claimed to have lost the paperwork, then claimed “SHE’D actually done it herself.” She also said the adoption contract was “lost in the mail and there was no second copy.”
Adopter “never received the voucher promised” for having the dog fixed which is something touted on the rescue’s website.
Adopter said it was “odd to have to rescue a dog from a rescue itself” and warned other potential adopters to “Avoid Rising Phoenix Mastiff Rescue at all costs.”
“The only truth she (Porter) told me was that the dog was a male St. Bernard.”
The dog had “severe elbow and hip dysplasia” and was blind “due to a huge facial skin fold and entropion.”
Porter claimed she didn’t know about the dog’s medical issues but adopter said it sounded like “she knew about his medical issues and just hid them from me.”
COMPLAINTS ABOUT RISING PHOENIX MASTIFF RESCUE FILED WITH YAKIMA COUNTY SHERRIF’S DEPARTMENT
Porter provided no vaccination/health history about Denver or information about previous owner, but the woman who gave the dog to RPMR said she provided Porter all the dog’s vet records to her.
Adopter never received copy of adoption contract.
Denver had tag on collar that belonged to a poodle in Olympia.
Porter claimed she had Denver was neutered, but the owner that turned Denver over to Porter said she had dog neutered at 6 months.
The owner said Denver bit her husband and she gave up Denver due to “aggressive behavior.”
Denver’s owner told police he gave Porter a “four page letter” saying the dog “had not had any contact with young children due to his aggressive behavior” and wouldn’t recommend placing it in a home with kids. Porter placed it in a foster home with kids.
The owner also said Porter’s description of Denver on Petfinder was “incorrect and misinforming.” The Petfinder ad for dog said she was a “Loving, friendly dog. Good with children and pet(s).”
Porter told adopter the dog was 3. Papers from owner said she was 6.
Adopter noticed cut on Buster’s mouth when he took the dog from Porter. Porter claimed he was a “fence-biter” and injured lip in a park.
When Buster arrived at his new home the adopter’s wife said the wound was “open, bleeding, and appeared infected.”
The right side of Buster’s face was “scabbed and bleeding from scratching.”
Adopter’s vet said Buster’s face wounds were infected and would require antibiotics.
The vet also said Buster had a torn cruciate ligament in his right hind leg.
Initial vet bill was $115.
When the adopters contacted Porter about Buster’s health problems she said the dog was fine when she turned it over to adopters and contacted the local SPCA to accuse adopters of causing the injuries.
An SPCA officer examined Buster and said the adopters didn’t cause his wounds.
Adopter said 4 days after he adopted Emmit she was “extremely ill and had to be hospitalized due to the extent and severity of the illness.”
Porter claimed to police she advised the adopter that the dog “was not 100 percent” and wasn’t ready for adoption.
Adopter’s vet told police the dog had an upper respiratory infection that turned into “full blown pneumonia.”
Vet also said dog should have been on antibiotics for at least 30 days and possibly up to 6 months. Porter claimed that vet in CA gave her a prescription for only 2 weeks of antibiotics.
A man filed a report with the Yakima County Sheriff regarding a Mastiff he adopted from Porter that he believed had been “abused and neglected.”
The man reported that the dog had broken teeth, infected eyes, ear mites, and infected paws.
Porter told him the dog was 4-5 years old. His vet said it was at least 8.
He never received an adoption contract as promised and got no response to the “numerous” emails he sent asking for it.
Potential adopter met Porter about a St. Bernard name Wiley that was supposedly 10-12 months old. She was “mortified and horrified” at the appearance and smell of the dog.
Wiley appeared to be “significantly underweight” and had “multiple open sores on his body that were oozing pus.” She told police it looked like Wiley had been kept in a crate so small he couldn’t move.
Wiley had multiple abscesses in his mouth, one of which was “the size of a quarter” and oozing pus. He also had a large, “very crusty” sore under his collar.
The potential adopter’s husband called the Mapleway Vet Clinic about the Wiley and was told she was about 3-years-old and had 2-3 litters of puppies.
Porter claimed Wiley was up to date on her vaccinations but couldn’t produce a shot record or rabies certificate.
The potential adopter told Porter she wouldn’t take Wiley because she was “in extremely poor health and emaciated.”
Laguna was a stray Great Pyrenees that someone found and turned into the Humane Society of Central Washington. The person who found him said he had an infection on his neck with an odor so foul “it could make you gag.” Laguna’s collar was so tight the man’s daughter had to cut it off.
A woman named Annie Dickens called the Humane Society and claimed Laguna belonged her. When questioned by the Yakima County Sheriff’s Office about Luna, Dickens lied twice about where she lived before admitting she lived with Porter.
Dickens told investigators that Laguna neck’s was fine when he escaped, but the veterinarian who examined the dog the day after he was found said Laguna’s injuries were “likely caused by a pinch collar that was too tight” and the wounds on his neck were “3 days to a week old.”
Dickens said she was fostering Laguna and claimed she adopted him on April 28, the day before he was found.
The officer who interviewed Dickens wrote the following in his report: “I believe that based on my experience and numerous complaints about the business practices of Rising Phoenix Mastiff Rescue, Latricia Porter was, at the time of the Laguna’s injuries the rightful owner of the dog. The adoption paperwork was signed and post dated by Dickens in an attempt to claim ownership of Laguna and have Laguna released into her custody by the Humane Society.”
COMPLAINTS ABOUT RISING PHOENIX MASTIFF RESCUE FILED WITH THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU
Adopters thought they adopted a rescued English Bulldog. But someone crossed out “Boxer Mix” on paperwork and replaced it with “English Bulldog.”
Dog had “several open bite wounds on him.”
Porter told them dog was “good with cats” but adopters said it “tried to tear (their) cat in two” in front of their 6-year-old son.
They returned the dog but didn’t get refund for $450 adoption fee.
Adopters spent $750 on medical bills for the cat.
Porter told adopter that the dog “was very good with other dogs, was ok with cats but may need a little bit of training, and had a microchip.” The adopter said the dog was “extremely aggressive toward all other animals, including all dogs, cats, even our turtles.”
Dog was very sick due to what the vet said was “severe and recent neglect.”
Adopter incurred over $1500 in veterinary expenses after having the dog for a week.
Adoption profile said dog “ADORES dogs, cats, kids, etc.” RPMR also told adopter that dog was “great with other dogs.”
Rescue told adopter the dog had been bathed but it had a “foul” stench.
Dog was very skinny and looked like “it hadn’t eaten for days.”
When adopter introduced it to one of her dogs it attacked her boxer/cur mix without warning and latched onto its throat. It also bit their Labrador Retriever in the ribs.
Porter blamed the adopters for the dogs health problems.
RPMR told adopter the dog was young but it had a “graying face.”
Adopter was told “the dog was gentle and had not been aggressive in any way. A minute after meeting her small dog it “viciously attacked him.”
Porter blamed adopter for attack, said she wouldn’t return adoption fee because of her “bad decisions.” Adopter returned dog anyway.
Adopter had to pay vet $250 to treat her dog that was attacked.
Adopter said Porter “lies for a living and abuses dogs for profit. She has no compassion or guilt for what she’s done.”
COMPLAINTS ABOUT RISING PHOENIX MASTIFF RESCUE POSTED ON RIPOFF REPORT
A woman surrendered her Great Dane to Porter due to “aggression issues.” Prater said they would wait a month before adopting her out to monitor her behavior. She then put and ad for the dog on Petfinder “a few days later.”
She said Porter’s ad contained 3 inaccuracies “to make her seem more adoptable”:
The ad said the dog was young, but she was 4 (“middle aged for a Great Dane”).
The ad said “they had not seen any aggression towards people.”
In reality, the owner surrendered the dog because “she tried to attack a neighbor twice.”

This is Sam, the emaciated Mastiff that is the dog described in this post on Ripoff Repot. Photo from Ripoff Report.
“I could not believe my eyes. This dog was so skinny. A Mastiff should be about 150lbs or a little more, this dog was 118lbs.”
“This dog could hardly walk. His eyes were full of gunk. You could see his bones. He had a very bad odor and scars.”
“…I knew this lady was a liar and this so called Rescue is a scam.”
Vet examination revealed Sam had a “yeast infection of the right ear,” parasites, and roundworm.
Porter told adopters the dog they wanted was a “healthy dog, who has a microchip, who loves kids, is good with other dogs, and most likely ok with cats.”
Instead, they got a dog that tested positive for giardia, and no one microchipped it. On two separate occasions it lunged at small kids while on leash and was highly dog aggressive.”
“They are completely unethical and untrustworthy!”
“DO NOT support the continued dog flipping for profit that this rescue is running.”
“This woman is a liar, an animal hoarder, abuser, and is absolutely dangerous.”
RPMR took pictures of the dog an adopter wanted at an angle “to hide her emaciated and bite ridden, poor sickly Staph infected body.”
The dog “tried to kill my cat” and “attacked my sweet male Mastiff.”
“…the stench of sickness that came off of her I will never forget.”
She would “kill another animal, probably even for food as she was that starved. Who knows what she would have done to a small, quick moving child.”
Adopter said euthanization “would have been a better fate than going back to whatever hell hole Trisha Prater hides them in.”
COMPLAINTS ABOUT RISING PHOENIX MASTIFF RESCUE POSTED ON SCAMORG.COM
Rescue told adopter a South African Mastiff named Fergie was 3-5 years old. Info on microchip said he was 8.
Health problems: Weeping eye, ears filled with earmites, dirt, and debris, rough/cracked paws, most nails broken, infected paw.
Porter said King “was healthy” when adopted and refused to give adopter the number for Fergie’s chip.
Adopter said Fergie could “hardly walk” and was “in so much pain and sick.”
Porter told potential adopters that wanted a Great Dane that a Beauceron was a better fit even though they filled out no paperwork and Porter knew nothing about them.
The house where they met the dog was “just falling apart.”
And it had “dog crates line up around the outside of it, filled with dogs out in the extreme heat.”
Porter told them the dog was “good with everyone, including cats, and toddlers.” Then the dog lunged and bit the husband on the hand.
Porter told adopter a puppy was a Mastiff, but it turned out to be “a 20lb terrier.”
She described the puppy as “covered in faces, riddled with whipworms, with falsified vet paperwork.”
COMPLAINT ABOUT RISING PHOENIX MASTIFF RESCUE POSTED ON REVDEX.COM
Porter told adopter that the puppy they purchased was a Great Dane/Dane mix, but it’s a pit bull.
Puppy was very sick when they adopted him – blood in stool, mange, worms.
Vet said “poor care” caused puppy’s health problems.
I think it is worthy to note that most of the dogs RPMR takes in, come from out of state shelters and have pledges attached to them. This means the dogs arrive with pledge money, most of the time between $200 to as much as $700, which is supposed to be used on the dog for medical treatment and upkeep. It is obvious the money is attractive to Ms Porter and clearly not spent on the dogs, given their horrible conditions.
I had a terrible experience with this rescue as well. It really changed our lives and it caused us a lot of heartache.
I’m so sorry. I’m sure it was traumatic.
Anyone here that has adopted or had negative experiences with Trisha please reach out to me if you want to be added to a private group to get her shut down, it is growing everyday and we all have the same desires as far as what we want to see happen with her and her “rescue.” Strength in numbers!
I would sure like to be added to your group. I havent adopted from her but did have quite a bit of contact with this rescue about some catahoulas she was taking in from a local puppy peddler.
Hi, sorry I am now just getting to this…Please find me on facebook: Stefanie Cady, and I will get you added to the group ASAP 🙂
What catahoula breeder was she taking them in from? Was it Camano Island Catahoulas?
I have been trying to research that breeder and cannot find anything and have read terrible things about them. Found out she was associated with this rescue and then found this wedsite and all these complaints. Both sound to have done some terrible things. Sad.
Sorry I don’t know.
I’m going through a bad experience right now.
Could you please contact me at rpregulman@seattledogspot.com. I’d like to learn more about what’s happening.
Please contact me. My daughter adopted a dog from them 4 years ago, the dog was under weight and had serious behavior issues which we were not told about. They do zero background checks, no trial period, I was shocked when I realized they had us meet them in a parking lot and just sent her home with us that day. Not how adoption is done! My daughter had to return her which broke her heart, she sobbed, and the husband just rudely took the dog back in a parking lot again. No refund of the $400 adoption fee. I looked this up in hopes they had been shut down by now. Horrible situation for the dogs and adopters.
All animal shelters need to be notified of these incidents so that they stop handing dogs over to her as a rescue and she is posing as a national rescue which isn’t the case she’s lying. We in Fila Rescue abhor her, we have had this Pariah in our breed for many many many years and we tell everyone not to let her have dogs. She takes rescue dogs and she breeds them bad news all the way around Trish if you’re reading this you can give me a call you have my number I’ll talk to you anytime I dare you to call me. You are in no way associated with Fila rescue on any level. Her own father has spoke out against her and her care and practices.
She is known in the rescue community for being a flipper. Most groups who know of her will not work with her. She claims to use the 501 associated with the name Rescue Me Pups…that in itself is a red flag.
We adopted a dog from RPMR nearly 5 years ago and he was just over a year old then. He’s a Cane Corso. He was 100 lbs and you could see every single rib and bone in his body. I think they’d had him for 3 months before we adopted him. He was super dirty and stinky…we met and adopted him at that same bar parking lot that another person spoke about. The guy who met us said just tie him to the fence and hose him off. I was appalled. He’s been a very good dog, but is extremely nervous. Other than being starved, he was healthy, thank goodness! His ideal weight is about 130lbs. This place needs to be shut down!!
I’m sorry you had to go through that but glad you stuck with the dog and gave him a good home.
Anyone here that has adopted or had negative experiences with Trisha please reach out to me if you want to be added to a private group to get her shut down, it is growing everyday and we all have the same desires as far as what we want to see happen with her and her “rescue.” Strength in numbers!
We recently adopted a dog from RPMR. Had serious reservations at first glance – at both her Mama June schtick and the general set-up – but once we saw the dog we’d come for, we knew we couldn’t leave without him. He had a fairly fresh, large, scabbed-over laceration on his brow, and one spot on the side of his head that was clearly a small, ruptured abscess, oozing pus. She told us he “probably ran into a fence”. She also told us he was three. There was no way.
He seemed reasonably fat and happy, if fractious, but he hadn’t been there for long. Four hundred seemed steep – especially for a mastiff that was probably a mix, and not a purebred – but we paid it, reasoning that gas and transportation and meds for big dogs is expensive.
If half the above is true, she’s clearly a textbook sociopath.
As for our dog – he’s doing very well and we love him – a total angel. In retrospect, I think of it as buying a hostage.
I would be interested in joining your group.
Thank you so much for taking the dog and saving him from more suffering. We don’t really have a group – just a website – but you can join our Facebook page and sign up for our monthly updates.
Thanks, Seattle Dogspot – I was replying to SC above who mentioned a secret Facebook group pertaining to RPMR. 🙂
Hi, sorry I am now just getting to this…Please find me on facebook: Stefanie Cady, and I will get you added to the group ASAP 🙂
We adopted from Trisha in August. Had conflicting info from her, on vet records, etc. Trusted what she said, just now finding these reviews and realizing the issues were more than just miscommunication.
We have kept our boy but have been working constantly on behavior issues and now I’m wondering what his age actually is…
She does often lie about age. Your vet should be able to estimate. Thank you for saving this dog. He’s lucky you adopted him.
I’d love to be added to your group – we “rescued” a puppy from Trisha in December of 2010, we picked up our 8 week old boxer and a day later she was diagnosed with parvo. We spent a week at home doing IV’s and meds and trying to get her healthy again but she wasn’t strong enough and died. We contacted Rising Phoenix as soon as we got the diagnosis – we figured they needed to know that there was parvo exposure in their rescue – they told us it “wasn’t their problem”. WTF?! yes, yes, it’s very much your problem. They tried to tell us that the puppy didn’t get parvo in their care. Our vet assures us there’s no place else she could have gotten it give the timeline. Petfinders helped get our adoption fee refunded (and they said that Rising Phoenix wouldn’t be allowed to advertise on there anymore – obviously not the case anymore…darn it). But I’d love to help get this shut down. And see Trish and her mom in JAIL. What’ they’re doing is absolutely horrible!!
I’m so sorry. When did this happen?
I am confused. Is she Tricia Porter or Trisha Prater? The story says Tricia Porter but according to people above and Facebook, it’s Trisha Prater…. Hmm. Or is it Patricia Porter as posted in some of those crime tables above. I think this is important and should be acknowledged…
I did that because she has used several names and those were the ones people told me about. I think I said that but probably didn’t make it clear enough.
She goes by about 4 different names, which in itself should be a red flag. I found an article that said she got chased out of California doing the same thing.
Thanks! Do you have a link to the article?
Thank you for reaching out with this information. We adopted a mastiff mix from her about five weeks ago. Picked him up in the same pizza parking lot others mention, which seemed strange. We seem to be fortunate in that he is fairly healthy. And although he is a bit spooked by certain things, he has been very loving and is adapting well. I will be checking into some of the records she gave us on him to see if they are in fact true. And I have not been able to get his microchip updated which is a mystery and I will continue to check on that as well.
These reports are horrifying. If we can find anything to contribute to your investigation, we will definitely do so. I am sick over what is happening to these poor dogs and the families that are having to go through these experiences. It is just so horrendous and upsetting that she is allowed to continue and that shelters continue to give her more animals.
We have noticed discrepancies in things she told us and things we have observed with our dog. As I said, we seem to be one of the lucky few (as is he too it seems) and I pray our good fortune with him continues. It’s so upsetting thinking what he may have been through before coming to us.
I’m so glad your dog is ok. Thank you for sharing your story and thank you for giving her a home.
Trisha prater has a gofundme page “our medical dogs” for her rising phoenix mastiff rescue.
Thanks, I’ll check it out.
We had a terrible experience with them. Our 6 yr old son watched as the dog tried to rip our cat apart and then proceeded to bite me. We had the dog for less than 2 hours and between the adoption fee and the vet bill we were out over $1200. Very expensive lesson. Trisha blamed us for everything. Should of known something was shady when we had to pick up and drop off the dog in a bar parking lot. Totally soured us on adopting unfortunately. Please do your research before hand.
I think I included your story in the post. I can’t image how horrifying that was for you. There are plenty of good rescues out there so I hope you consider adopting again. If you need help finding them let me know.
I was looking at adopting a Cane Corso and she admitted the dog was sick with a respiratory infection. I told her that I thought it was best that the dog get well before being moved to any new home. She was extremely put off by my suggestion. I guess I dodged a bullet. Sorry for everyone’s experience with her. I believe there is a special hell for people like her.
We just adopted a dog from RPMR. Found the listing through petfinder and didn’t think to google them since petfinder is supposed to work with legit organizations! Our dog was said to be good with everyone, no health problems, chipped/fixed, etc.
Multiple health problems have shown up, and we have been given none of the vet records we requested. The dog is not chipped, and came infested with fleas. Wish we had looked up this information beforehand!
I’m so sorry you went through that ordeal. I believe she’s been removed from Petfinder so hopefully that will help.
I Googled mastiff rescue last night. She is still associated with petfinder.com. Relieved I did a little research before inquiring about one of her dogs.
Glad you avoided them. I checked again and didn’t see them on Petfinder. Can you send a link?
Thanks. People can contact adoptapet.com and ask them to remove it from their site.
This is an awful situation, and I feel so sorry for the animals and families involved. Thank you for sharing these stories to create visibility around the situation so that she can be shut down. I was just going to contact her, but I’m glad I found this first. Wishing everyone involved the best for a positive outcome!
Thank you for doing your research. If everyone does that she will be out of business. I know some legitimate Mastiff rescues you can adopt from. Let me know if you need their info.
I am or (probably not now)..in the middle if an adoption of a Black and atan Coonhound. Luckily I have only paid 100.00 deposit. I am to meet someone with him next week at a house in Union Gap, Wa. She called it a safe house. I have asked for pictures of “Hendo” once by the unknown person answering my emails and then twice to a number who I we told is fostering the hound. First message said they would send them when they got home..that was Friday afternoon. I heard nothing…then I text again and got a story that there friend was in an auto accident. Its now Sunday afternoon two days later and nothing. That’s when I got suspicious and did a search and ended up here. Pictures these days take seconds..
Thanks for letting us know. I’m glad you got out before it was too late.
We did “buy” a dog from them as we wanted to get the dog out of the bad situation she was in. There were so many red flags, but the dog was so sweet and we did not want to leave her with them. Unfortunately our selfishness will perpetuate their abuse. The dog came severely malnourished even though they had the dog with them for a month. We saw her initial vet report when they spayed her, and then when we picked her up a month later she had actually lost 2 pounds. In the first 9 days we had the dog we got her treated and she gained 9 pounds over that period. The dog also came with recent scars from bite marks from other dogs, as well as a very visible scar on her nose, and an ear infection. Like others we met at a “safe house” and were only allowed to stand outside the front. After 3 minutes she asked about money then gave us the dog.
I’m so sorry, but thank you for saving that poor dog. I’m beginning to thing that Rising Phoenix Mastiff Rescue is the worst rescue in Washington.
We got a dog from them several years ago. I was just thinking about him and wondering if the rescue was still in business since it had seemed so shady, and found this after Googling it.
He was a purebred male Great Dane, supposedly rescued from a home where the owners were letting him starve to death outside before deciding to sell him (so she flipped him). We thought the pictures online were initial intake and he’d be healthier in person. Nope. We went to a parking lot in Yakima to meet his foster mom and picked up a timid, absolutely filthy, 97 pound adult Dane. Every bone was visible. (I will say this: he was always very skinny even after we fattened him up, but this was clearly poor treatment since she’d had him for some time.) She knew his ears were damaged from sun exposure and fleas but did nothing to fix them or even clean them. His eyes were runny and filthy and clearly needed treatment as well.
But he wasn’t too sick overall and a bath and our excellent vet fixed him right up. He stopped being quite so terrified of men and became even clingier than our other Dane (whom he adored). He had four years of being treasured and happy and safe before he passed from a condition unrelated to his treatment. I’m glad we got a happy ending, but it breaks my heart to think we enabled this abuser with our money.
Thanks so much for saving that dog and sharing your story.