ANOTHER ADOPTION EVENT, ANOTHER SICK PUPPY
A family adopted Rubble from Scalawaggles Pet Rescue last weekend. They returned him the next day after he was diagnosed with parvo.
Last weekend a family adopted a puppy infected with parvovirus from Scalawaggles Pet Rescue at an adoption event at Civilized Nature Pet Supplies in Issaquah.
The family adopted the puppy, which they named Rubble, at about 1 PM on Sunday. Early Monday morning it began throwing up mucus. They took it to the veterinarian Monday morning where it tested positive for parvovirus.
Parvo is highly contagious. Unvaccinated adult dogs and puppies less than 4 months old are the groups most at risk. No drug will kill the virus. Vets can only treat their symptoms until their immune systems can fight off the viral infection. Puppies and dogs with compromised immune systems can still die after undergoing treatment.
The family returned the Rubble to Scalawaggles because they didn’t want their kids traumatized if he didn’t survive.
They paid $450 for the puppy but cancelled the payment before the credit card company processed it.
HOUSE TURNED INTO PARVO PETRI DISH
Unfortunately, returning the dog did not end their parvo nightmare because the virus can survive in the environment for up to a year.
So even though the family only had the puppy for less than 24 hours, every surface of their home the puppy touched, every piece of clothing they wore while holding it, and every part of the yard it peed or pooped could be contaminated with the virus.
Rubble was not only diagnosed with parvo. The vet also noted he was underweight.
And every time either they or the puppy touched a contaminated surface, they spread the virus to other areas of the home, making it a veritable parvo petri dish.
The only way to make their home parvo-free is:
- steam clean all their carpets and furniture
- wipe down all bare surfaces with bleach
- wash all blankets, clothes, and bedding in warm water with bleach
- remove or treat the contaminated soil in their yard
Adopting a new puppy should have been a happy event for this family. Instead, they have an infected house, a smaller bank account, and two devastated young children who lost their puppy less than 24 hours after adopting it.
PARVO PUPPY ADOPTED LAST MONTH DIES
Scalawaggles sold another puppy with parvo at an adoption event at Yummy Tummy Pet Supply in Covington on February 10th.
A vet diagnosed Bo with kennel cough almost immediately after he was adopted from Scalawaggles Pet Rescue. He died from parvo a few days later.
It died days after its adoption.
Michael and Carol (not their real names) adopted the puppy, which they named Bo.
Carol gave Bo to Michael as Valentine’s Day present. He lost his 18-year-old poodle last fall and until recently couldn’t consider adopting another dog.
Like the sick puppy adopted last weekend, Scalawaggles put this puppy up for adoption almost immediately after it arrived in Washington on February 8th.
On the drive home Bo began to cough. Michael also noticed he was congested. When he contacted Scalawaggle’s co-founder Sherry Halfon about it, she said Bo hadn’t adjusted to Washington’s cold, wet climate after living in a warm, dry region in California.
FIRST KENNEL COUGH, THEN PARVO
Bo infected the couple’s other dog with kennel cough. Fortunately she’s ok now.
Bo’s symptoms didn’t clear up after a couple of days, so on February 10th Michael took him to a vet who diagnosed him with kennel cough.
According to PetMD, kennel cough is usually caused by “several infectious agents working together to damage and irritate the lining of the dog’s trachea and upper bronchii.”
None of the sources I checked said that a sudden change in temperature could cause kennel cough.
The vet also told Michael that because the incubation period for kennel cough is at least 7 days, Bo contracted it before Michael and Carol adopted him.
The next day, Bo stopped eating and drinking and began to vomit. Michael and Carol took him back to the vet on February 15th where he was diagnosed with parvo.
They left Bo at the vet for treatment, but two days later he died.
AN INFECTED DOG, THOUSANDS IN VET BILLS
A couple of days after Bo’s death, Michael and Carol learned he infected their other dog Cammie with kennel cough. Fortunately she’s ok now.
Scalawaggles co-founder Sherry Halfon told Bo’s adopters she would start a fundraiser on GoFundMe.com to help them pay the more than $3300 they spent for his treatment. Three weeks later, she hasn’t started the fundraiser yet.
Bo’s death also left them with over $3300 in medical bills for Bo and Cammie’s treatment.
After about 3 weeks Ms. Halfon reimbursed Bo’s adoption fee.
She also said the rescue would post a fundraiser on GoFundMe.com to help them out with the vet bills.
As of today, no fundraiser has been posted.
I asked Yummy Tummy if they knew Scalawaggles sold an infected puppy at an adoption event at their store. They replied, “Yummy Tummy is not going to host +ANY+ adoption events going forward, Scalawaggles or otherwise.”
TWO SIMPLE SOLUTIONS
As I said in a previous article, Scalawaggles founders Sherry Halfon and Pam McBride are not dog rescuers. They are dog brokers. To them, dogs are pieces of merchandise to buy low and sell high.
If they were truly concerned about adopting out sick puppies, they would do two simple things before putting them up for adoption:
- Quarantine the puppies they bring to Washington for a few weeks to ensure they are healthy.
- Take every dog to a vet for a comprehensive exam.
That’s what responsible dog rescues do.
If taking these 2 steps would reduce/eliminate the number of sick puppies that people adopt from Scalawaggles, why don’t Ms. Halfon and Ms. McBride do it?
In my opinion, it all comes down to money.
PROFIT OVER PUPPIES?
I wrote previously that Scalawaggles’ website claims the organization found homes for 1468 dogs since it started in March of 2016. They sell puppies for $450 and adult dogs for $400.
This puppy adopted from Scalawaggles in February 2017 was diagnosed with mycoplasma pneumonia and canine herpes.
After dividing the total number of adoptions evenly between puppies and adults, I calculated that Scalwaggles made $624,000 since Ms. Halfon and Ms. McBride founded the rescue in 2016.
That’s staggering amount of money for a small, 3-person, nonprofit rescue to make, especially in the first two years of its existence.
For Scalawaggle’s to sell that many dogs, they had to adopt out about 15 dogs a week. Quarantining the dogs and taking them a vet exam before adoption would reduce its income significantly because:
- Vet exams are expensive.
- They would have to have a proper facility to keep the dogs.
- The cost of feeding dogs/puppies for 4 weeks vs. 1 week is exponentially higher.
- They would have to pay for a kennel license.
But that’s not what Scalawaggles chooses to do. Instead, they bring dogs in and adopt them out as quickly as possible to make room for the next batch to sell. Slowing down this process would inhibit the rescue’s steady income stream.
NO EXCUSE JUSTIFIES SELLING SICK PUPPIES
People defend Scalawaggles because, they say, it still saves lots of dogs from euthanization.
This woman’s daughter adopted a puppy from Scalawaggles with pneumonia AND giardia in Feb. 2017. She said 4 other puppies adopted at the event were sick as well. Her daughter’s dog also infected her chihuahua with kennel cough. PetSmart paid for the medial treatment for both dogs and has since banned Scalawaggles from holding adoption events at their stores.
This is a simplistic argument that ignores the ramifications adopting out sick dogs. What about:
- the pain/suffering sick dogs must endure because no one took them to a vet for treatment
- the other dogs in a transport these sick dogs infect
- the emotional distress on adopters and their families that watch their new dogs suffer and/or die
- the financial damage to adopters that spend thousands of dollars on vet bills to treat the sick dogs they adopted
- the health of an adopter’s other dogs infected by the newly-adopted dogs
- the cost to adopters to treat their own dogs exposed to the sick dog they just adopted
- the cost and disruption to adopters and pet store owners who must sterilize their homes and stores contaminated by sick dogs
Furthermore, what about the pet stores owners who never realized they hosted an adoption with one or more sick dogs?
Viruses like parvo can live for months, or even years unless they are cleaned properly. Every person and every dog in a contaminated store can spread it to places where it will infect other dogs.
Does saving some dogs from euthanization offset all these consequences of selling sick puppies?
I don’t think it does.
Regardless, if adopting out health dogs was a priority, Scalawaggles could implement new policies that virtually eradicate the chance of adopting out sick dogs.
Ms. Halfon and Ms. McBride don’t deny they have adopted out sick dogs. If they continue to ignore this problem, dogs will continue to suffer and/or die, and they will continue to throw the lives of more adopters and pet store owners into disarray.
RESPONSE FROM SHERRY HALFON:
Sherry Halfon sent copies of bills and screen shots to respond to some comments people made. Her main concern I think was responding to the statement that she pupped a dead puppy out of the crate with Rubble. She claims it didn’t die until after the event.
I can’t tell if the screenshots are talking about the same puppy but regardless, at least one of the puppies died. Whether or not it died before or after the event doesn’t matter to me.
The fact is another puppy died at Scalawaggles.
She also appears to blame a foster in CA infecting the puppies with parvo. I don’t know if it’s true or not but it doesn’t change the fact that if she had quarantined puppies until they were fully vaccinated she could have treated the parvo before putting them u for adoption.
And remember, more than a half dozen people have said they adopted other sick puppies from Scalawaggles.
Here’s her statement followed by the files she sent me:
This was a AWFUL ordeal for my family to go though. It was so hard watching my brother in law and sister go through this. This woman must be STOPPED!
We are the ones who adopted Bennie- which was previously written about. It is absolutely ridiculous this woman is still in business.
Im so sorry your family had to go through this!
I can’t imagine how awful it would be.
I am appalled that people believe that this is the way to do rescue. You don’t just bring a dog up from out of state and adopted out the very next day. And if you are sitting there trying to imply that a health certificate is proof that the dog is healthy then you are not only lying to other people but you obviously must be lying to yourself if you believe such nonsense. A health certificate only ensures that a dog is fit to travel. It does not imply that any tests have been done or anything but a cursory exam has been done which generally lasts less than 5 minutes.
This rescue should shut its doors immediately! They are not saving lives they are bringing contaminated animals into a new environment potentially making hundreds more animals sick.
Disgusting! Poor Rubble. Is he doing better?
Rubbles brother was found dead in his crate with him Morning of the event and Sherry stilly took the puppies knowing more than likely it would hurt a family. Pure evil hiding behind the guise of loving animal rescuer— not! Puppy flipper who only cares about her pockets.
100% untrue! Emailing proof to Robert now so you can stop. Hopefully he will keep his word and remove all the untrue statements you have made!
Sherry what’s not true???That you sold a family a sick dog.Shockers it’s true!!!!Maybe you should be diligent and clean the house and yard you keep these dogs in so you don’t expose more puppies to this horrible disease. Wait that takes years. .At least you canceled your event this week so you don’t sell people more sick puppies. And add to more heart ache for families. This family went to get a new dog and now are sanitizing their whole house.
Your screen shots do not prove the puppy died Monday, that’s simply when you came forward about it. Find it pretty hard to believe these poor pups didn’t have a single symptom and your first indication anything is wrong was finding a dead dog.
Do all your dogs live in crates. Absolutely disgusting to see a puppy in a crate with bloody stool.
She is now saying that the people who adopted Rubbles might want him back. That is an absolute lie!
Also, 8 dogs that still had 14 days to shed the virus were given to someone in Ritzville, WA today. I wonder if that person knows they were exposed to Parvo?
J
She also said they would get checked by a vet before they left but I doubt that’s true. She won’t pay for exams for 8 puppies.
Yes, it is. I’ve been in contact with them and they will NOT take him back.
Thank you again DogSpot for not letting this go until something changes. As rescuers we often say we are the voice for the voiceless. In this situation you are championing the fight.
Please don’t stop being their voice!
What can we do to have them shut down? Seriously—they need to be stopped.
I have called Jesse Jones with Komo 4 news and left a message regarding this entire issue. It has gone on FAR to long. She is now not only impacting the poor dogs she takes in, but innocent family dogs, and the community. Please contact Jesse Jones either by email or phone and lets see if we can get this aired on the news. It has to end.
Not sure why you folks don’t all get together and start a class action lawsuit against this horrible person. She needs to be stopped!
This is beyond disgusting! These poor adopters having their hearts broken and these puppies don’t stand a chance. Any puppy coming into either one of these women’s homes is going to be infected. They’re parvo homes now!! They need to be put out of business and charged with neglect and or cruelty. Any shelter or person that gives them a dog to “rescue” should be charged as accessories!
I’ve posted the documents Ms. Halfon sent to me at the end of the post because I couldn’t post them here.
As far as I could tell they didn’t prove anything I posted was inaccurate. If anyone else sees something that’s not true let me know.
Thank you for standing behind my friend’s, I find those women irreprehencible for their behavior and what they are doing to hundreds of innocent canine and human lives. While little Bo rests in piece i pray justice is served by them female swindlers.
I know the couple who adopted Bo. It was heartbreaking to lose him. The same thing happened to us with parvo puppy years ago from a pet shop.
Which rescue is the person in the screen shots associated with. Why does the shelter let them pull and send— Jacquie. Can someone look into who they are associated with.
Sherry knowingly took parvo dogs in February and now admits it and still takes in more and more puppies. Why are all the dogs always in cages and always pics right off transport or at events in cages. Do they have to live 24/7 in cages.
Seattle dog spot, Who can we call to complain. Is there a list somewhere that all of us concerned can contact and send in calls and emails?
Can you ask her to provide documents from the e vet for titan as mentioned in screen shots. Did that dog live ?
If you look at the end of the post you’ll see a list of actions you can take. I don’t know if Titan lived or not.
I thought Sherry claimed that she paid for comprehensive exams forvthese dogs. I see 0 exam fees paid rather just “vaccines exam” done at no charge. Guessing it simply means a temp was taken and then vaccinated since it’s a shelter not a vet. Nothing but lies come from her mouth.
I have adopted two rescue pups from Scallawagles, and couldnt have asked for a better experience. They were very professional in every aspect. I am a bit shocked reading these comments because there is no way we could be talking about the same rescue. When i was looking for our first dog, Sherry set up a couple meetings with different fosters so that i could meet some of the dogs she thought would be a good fit for our family. Both fosters were so nice and very knowledgeable about the dogs. After i adopted my first pup, i needed help clipping her nails. Sherry offered to help me, and invited me over to her home so i could meet another dog since i was still looking for a companion for my first. Again, Sherry was very professional, and made us feel right at home. All in all, i was very pleased with my experience, and would recommend to anyone looking to adopt.
I’m glad you had a good experience. I’ve said that I know some people were perfectly happy with Scalawaggles and had no problems with the dogs they adopted from them. But in my opinion, successful adoptions from Scalawaggles due to luck and not by design. They have no procedures in place to ensure the dogs they adopt out are healthy. That’s why PetSmart, Petco, Pet Pros and many independent pet stores no longer allow them to hold adoption events. I don’t think the owners of the stores Scalawaggles contaminated or the people who adopted sick dogs would recommend them.
I am in California and I am familiar with all parties involved including Sherry. The puppies in question were held at one location up until the time of transport. I can vouche for this first hand. Sherry’s story of them being moved to foster (screen shot 3 of her evidence) is simply untrue.
Furthermore, screenshot 3 turned out to be a case of coccidia, not parvo.
I am not familiar with Titans situation so I cannot speak to it. However I would offer my opinion that once again Sherry deflects the issues that she bears responsibility for and tries to make it someone else’s fault other than her own. I suppose some people will fall for that diversion but I believe the majority will see through it and continue to press her for better procedures.
I can confirm the rescue in question has completely cut ties with Sherry as a result of this situation and the things that have come to light. They are now left with the task of resolving financial matters with Sherry.
Thank you so much for that info. She always blames other people or claims the people who expose her are lying. She has yet to provide a shred of evidence that anything we’ve written isn’t true.
I’d also like to draw attention to Sherry’s own comment on her recent response about the parvo puppies:
“we paid a ton of money to get them safe here for nothing.”
Let that sink in…. for nothing.
Sounds like words of someone whose first priority is money.
Thanks for pointing that out. Not much concern for the health of the puppies.
So incredibly sad. I’m sure there’s a lot more that no one knows about. The practice of transporting dogs to Washington and then taking them directly to a pet adoption is ridiculous.
I would be curious to know who is giving out these health certificates as well. As who is doing the transporting. The Parvo virus can live a long time and infect others.
I noticed in your writing that you mentioned she blamed a California Foster for infecting the puppy. Does this Foster have liability insurance through the rescue, hasn’t had a home visit, an application on file?
Lastly, is this rescue listed with the Secretary of State here in California?
The rescue is registered in WA and has an EIN from the IRS. They refuse to give out their 990 tax forms to people who request them which violates IRS policy. People who requested the tax forms and don’t get them within 30 days should file a complaint with the IRS.
I don’t know anything about the CA foster or who signed the health certificate. The HC doesn’t require parvo testing so it’s not surprising they didn’t catch it. That’s why she should quarantine puppies she gets until they’ve had all their vaccinations and are healthy.
A health certificate for transport is a joke. A cert for ground transport can be done on the day a dog comes out the shelter, when it appears healthy, and its good for 30 days. During that time, the dog can develop any number of illnesses and still travel. Good rescues wait until right before Transport to get a health certificate and don’t sent dogs for at least 10 days after they have taken possession of the dog. Good rescues do their best to only send healthy dogs on a transport so other dogs won’t get sick and to protect the dog they are sending from getting sicker. It is the responsibility of everyone involved in the chain of rescue to protect dogs from illness and to protect them from poor “rescues” who behave badly. That includes the rescue that sends the dog, fosters, transporters — every single piece of that chain is responsible for every single dog!
And now they’re posting on their FB page that they have “a ton of rescue supplies we no longer use or need” including “cages and crates, all in great condition and great sizes”, trying to sell parvo contaminated items to unsuspecting people.
In this post I referred to the people who run Scalawaggles Rescue as dog brokers, not dog rescuers.
This article says “adopters also beware of anyone posing as having animals for “adoption” that either ask for a deposit, or money up front, that ask for cash only, that do not have a thorough screening process, that are willing to sell you a dog for money, no home visit or follow ups.
Those are animal brokers
(and because it is so easy for anyone to get a 501c3, they almost always operate under the guise of a non profit, when they are really just flipping dogs to support themselves with the cash).”
Please read the rest of this article to see how to spot con artists like Sherry Halfon and Pam McBride run their group.
https://www.facebook.com/notes/camp-cocker-rescue/why-is-animal-rescue-rife-with-con-artists/1803531233062370/
I have been reading the comments here over the past few days and feel like I need to share some information. I understand there are some people who have had successful adoptions and I am glad that is the case! But I would like to give you the perspective of a day in the life of your dog before you adopted. He/she wakes up in a filthy room that reeks of urine and feces. Some days the ammonia smell is so strong from the urine that it’s hard to breathe. Your cage is full of feces. You had little room to move since you are in your cage about 23 hours a day so the feces is on your paws and your fur. You get to go outside for a short time just until your cage gets cleaned once a day. You have a big bowl of food waiting for you when you come back into it. But that’s the only time it’s clean for the next 24 hours. Your water bottle gets filled once a day but is usually nice and cold so that’s good. You then rest in your cage until the next day when it’s time to do that all over again. You sit and wait until your forever family finds you & then it’s all over.
Your pup is so lucky to have found you.
Thanks for showing a perspective most people don’t think about. And while I’m glad adopters from Scalawaggles are saving these puppies, they are also putting money in the pockets of Sherry Halfon and Pam McBride that allows them to keep bringing dogs up here and putting them in horrible living conditions.
There are plenty of reputable dog rescues out there. Adopt from them, not Scalawaggles.
They posted on Facebook they have having an adoption event at ideal pet stop in Kent Washington tomorrow. They are asking for “best offer” on all dogs. They also show that one of the parvo pups litter mates will be there. One week after arriving and still very at risk of either breaking with parvo (can show up to 14 days after exposure) and or still shedding if it survived parvo. Someone needs to show up and warm potential adopters!! Disgusting !!!
Warning: Scalawaggles is at Ideal Pet in Kent this weekend. They posted on Facebook that they “need to find homes for the remaining dogs in the rescue”. Someone asked “will you still be doing rescue?” Sherry responded with “we are changing things.”
What a despicable excuse for a “rescue”! The PAIN and SUFFERING the dogs endure is horrifying when they have parvo. The agony the adopters endure is beyond inexcusable. No ethical “rescue” should have to be called out OVER and OVER for them to get it together and learn how to safely “rescue” dogs. If they are too lazy and or sloppy to do it right then don’t rescue at all. How these people sleep at night is beyond me. FLIPPERS are what these losers are! Their actions demonstrate all they care about is flipping as fast as possible for $$$. Get a real job where you are not harmong innicent lives!!! So sick of these bottom feeder type “rescues”. Who raises such heartless losers who exploit dogs and adopters. They are no good unethical pieces of trash. If you had 1 puppy get sick and die an ethical rescue with a conscience would have changed their policies and procedures IMMEDIATELY to stop the suffering! Clearly these losers did not. Bravo you dog killers! Victims need to all band together a SUE. Maybe affecting their pocketbook will help stop them since their morals and ethics are not impacted. WHO is PULLING dogs in CA and sending to these flippers?
Looks like they removed the scalawaggles Facebook page. Be on the look out as these sick dog flippers create a new rescue name to operate under. Keep us posted as soon as you find out what it is!
Will do!
So Sherry has resorted to selling dogs online. If you google meetapet.com and put in Scalawaggles she has 19 dogs listed but no pictures of them. In the past she has talked about changing the rescue name and putting it in someone else’s name. Be on the look out. She has got to be stopped & shutdown.
Omg, this has got to stop! This evil woman will stop at nothing!
You can use the “contact us” form on meetapet.com and send them a message about Scalawaggles (zip 98178). Ask the site to remove their profile.
Thank you!
Desperate times call for desperate measures. Sherry is clearly desperate now as she is selling puppies with parvo. I think we should all keep eyes out to see if she is changing the rescue name and selling dogs online. Please check Craig’s list often as they do allow animals to be sold on there.
Good reminder, thank you.
Scalawaggles has a brand new Facebook page. Adopters should make sure to fill out a review to let the public know what they are really about.
I also adopted a puppy from Scallawaggles a year ago. Luckily he is healthy now but when we adopted him he had kennel cough. I took him to the vet and the pills they gave me didn’t work because my pup was from California and had the harsher California strain. Since I paid the full $450 I wanted to make sure my puppy got the rest of his shots because in the contract it stated that the fee covered them all. Sheri came by and gave me meds that worked for his kennel cough and gave him one shot but she never could get back to me on completing his shots. I got lucky with my dog but would not adopt from them again.
I’m so glad he’s ok. Thank you for saving him from that rescue.