SCALAWAGGLES’ POOR TRACK RECORD
Last November I wrote that multiple people said they adopted sick puppies and dogs from Scalawaggles Pet Rescue in Renton.
Last month I wrote about a couple who adopted a dog from Scalawaggles with kennel cough and tapeworm.
And last week, people with direct knowledge of how Sherry Halfon and Pam McGriff operate Scalawaggles sent me information regarding what goes on behind the scenes at this fake rescue group.
A vet diagnosed Benny with both kennel cough and tapeworm shortly after a couple adopted him from Scalawaggles. Photo credit withheld.
The information paints a disturbing picture of a dog rescue that appears to be more concerned about making money rather than ensuring their dogs and puppies are healthy and finding the best possible homes for them.
Here are some descriptions of what people witnessed at Scalawaggles. I made some minor edits for clarity.
DIRTY AND DISGUSTING
“Their cages were almost always filled with feces. At times I had to take the dogs to the bathroom in Petsmart and bathe them because they were so dirty.”
“The yard was filled with feces. There were flies everywhere.”
“The house is absolutely disgusting. She has about 6 dogs of her own. They laid down pee pee pads because not all are house trained. They leave them on the floor for hours. There are random turds on the floor.”
“Someone cleaned the dogs crates once a day. If they pooped in the crate right after someone cleaned it they sat in it until the next day. Sherry would say ‘we can’t chase poop all day'”.
“One time Petsmart caught us bathing a puppy in the restroom sink. They got very mad (understandably) but there was so much poop caked on that wipes weren’t helping.”
SICK DOGS, DEAD PUPPIES
“The first small room that you walk in is considered “quarantine” for Parvo puppies. I volunteered for months and in my time there I pulled out 2 dogs who has passed away. Sherry pulled out several.”
“She put sick puppies in crates with puppies who didn’t show symptoms of being sick. There was a litter of 4 beautiful pitty pups that all died. When they got sick no one took them to a vet. Sherry had her own “meds” to treat them.”
“I read the story about Brownie. Brownie was absolutely ill prior to his adoption because he had diarrhea.”
“So many of the dogs had ticks and kennel cough and I was afraid I would bring it home to my 2 dogs.”
“… they had an event at the Hangar bar over by the Renton airport. A young couple who had just lost a baby due to a miscarriage adopted a small brown puppy. Sherry got a phone call from the husband saying they had to take her dog to the vet because it was sick and just as they arrived the puppy died. They were devastated.”
Shortly after Kayla Hanus adopted Brownie/Rico from Sclawaggles, a vet diagnosed him with bronchopneumonia, which is “an inflammation of the lungs in response to a disease-causing bacteria.” Photo from Kayla Hanus.
“there was a puppy she adopted out and it was sick (not sure the symptoms)… she refused to deal with it so the adopters called Petsmart and they agreed to cover all the medical expenses since the dog was adopted from one of her Petsmart adoptions.”
“At Petsmart Issaquah they had to euthanize (a dog) because they suspected it had distemper. It’s name was PeaBody.”
“(PeaBody) was lethargic and was bleeding from the gums. They took it over to the Banfield vet area to be seen. The vet then walked over to he adoption area and asked to speak with Pam alone. After she returned I asked what happened and she said they think it might be distemper. I believe they did blood work also. Sherry tried to see if they could take the dog to the SPCA for care because she couldn’t afford it but she couldn’t contact anyone so they put the dog down.”
“She mostly has puppies. Otherwise they are younger dogs between 1-3 years old. She says they are from shelters on the euthanization list. But (she told me) the litter of pit puppies who all died were “’hand raised for me.‘”
“the backyard was off limits because she said it was “‘infected with parvo.‘”
CRUELTY AND DECEPTION
“Animal control set up an appointment (to do a home visit) with Shery so she rented a Uhaul and put all the dogs except 10 in there so animal control wouldn’t see that she had so many (dogs).”
“The girl (redacted) who works for her drove it around until Sherry called her and said she could come back. They always rent a big white UHaul van.”
“She had to use a poor quality transport system because she could no longer afford the better one. They were not fed or given water with the poor quality transport because the drivers aren’t allowed to touch the animals.”
“She sent senior dogs to a place in Colorado… if no one adopted them soon enough.”
“The reasons Petsmart asked them to leave were #1- the smell. Several times the employees came to us and said we needed to do something about the smell. #2- sherry was using another rescue’s information.”
“PetSmart, Mud Bay, Pet Pros, and Reber Ranch” no longer allow Scalawaggles to have adoption events at their stores.
BIG MONEY
Scalawaggles claims it’s a pet rescue. It’s not. Selling a healthy dog to a loving home is more of an accident rather than its mission.
Sherry Halfon and Pam McBride are just dog brokers. Their buy dogs as cheaply as possible and sell them for as much as possible.
They sell puppies for $450 and adult dogs for $400. Their website claims they have found homes for 1468 dogs.
This person said she adopted a puppy with Parvo from Scalawaggles last year.
After dividing the total number of adoptions evenly between puppies and adults, I calculated that Scalwaggles made $624,000 since Halfon and McBride founded the rescue in 2016.
Since they don’t pay taxes and spend negligible amounts of money on medical care, their bank account should have a substantial amount of the money they charge for adoption fees.
I asked Scalawaggles to send me its tax forms to check out its finances. I wanted to know if Halfon or McBride pay themselves a salary and how they spend the money the rescue makes.
Despite the fact the IRS requires 501c3 charities to provide tax information to anyone that asks for it, they ignored my request.
TAKE ACTION
After I write a post like this, several people usually ask me what they can do to stop these fake dog rescues. Here’s what you can do about Scalawaggles:
Ask for its annual tax returns
The IRS website says, “501c3 charities must make available for public inspection and copying its annual return.” Anyone can do this regardless of whether or not you live in Washington. You can email a request to Scalawaggles for its tax forms (also called 990s) at scalawaggles@gmail.com or call 425-652-0819.
If Scalawaggles doesn’t respond or refuses to send its 990s within 30 days, report them to the IRS. You can do this by filling out Form 13909 and email it to eoclass@irs.gov.
An organization that doesn’t file tax forms annually could lose its status as a charitable organization.
The State of Washington also requires charities to provide its 990s to anyone that requests them; if Scalawaggles refuses to do this, report it Washington Secretary of State’s Office at charities@sos.wa.gov.
This woman adopted a puppy with mycoplasma pneumonia and canine herpes from Scalawaggles.
Ask for a health certificate
Washington Administrative Code 16-54-179 requires each dog or cat over 3 months old brought into the state for adoption to have a health certificate signed by a veterinarian.
The health certificate must show a dog/cat at least 90 days old “is current on (its) rabies vaccination”; all dogs over 6 months old must have “tested negative for heartworm or are currently on a heartworm preventative.”
If Scalawaggles can’t/won’t provide a health certificate to an adopter or potential adopter that asks for one, they should file a complaint with the Washington Department of Agriculture’s Animal Services Division.
Speak Out
Several pet stores in Puget Sound banned Scalawaggles from holding adoption events. The only store I know that allows it to hold adoption events is Yummy Tummy Pet Supply in Covington.
I hope Yummy Tummy allows Scalawaggles to hold adoption events because its owners/staff doesn’t know Scalawaggles’ history of adopting out sick dogs; to ensure they do know this, click here to send an email explaining why you think the store shouldn’t allow Scalawaggles to hold adoption events there.
If you send an email, please be respectful. Your goal should to educate people at Yummy Tummy about Scalawaggles by presenting facts regarding how the rescue operates. Ranting or using accusatory language will put them on the defensive and could make them less receptive to your message.
If you want to stop Scalawaggles from continuing to import and sell sick puppies/dogs in Washington, please take one of more of these actions.
While dog rescues in Washington are virtually unregulated, we do have some tools that can hamper their ability to operate here.
All I will say is we have proof to the contrary! We provide a Health certificate and vetting paperwork on each and every dog. We have vets here we use to examine all our dogs. If anyone has any further questions or concerns please feel free to contact us directly. Not one person has tried contacting us. Everyone just assumes because this blogger writes these articles they are true. I encourage you to reach out and ask questions to those of us doing the work. And I only have 3 of my own personal dogs.
I’ve contacted you multiple times in the past. Most of your responses were misleading or untrue. And the fact that so many people said they adopted sick dogs from Scalawaggles confirms what I have written. And several people told me they never got health certificates or vetting paperwork from you. And they had to pay their own vet bills for treatment of their sick dogs.
As I’ve said before, if you have proof that something I wrote is not true you are welcome to post it here. Just saying what I wrote isn’t true doesn’t mean anything unless you have documentation to back it up. For instance, if you do vetting for “each and every dog” before they were adopted then please post the vet bills for the sick dogs I’ve written about. That should be easy enough to do if you have them.
Or if it’s not true that PetSmart, Mud Bay, Pet Pros, and Reber Ranch no longer allow you to have adoption events, I’ll correct what I wrote. Can you still hold events at any of these places?
I will make a correction about the number of dogs you have if you can tell if anyone else in your house has their own personal dogs there. I’ve been told your son has some as well.
BTW you still haven’t sent me the tax forms I requested months ago.
I have sent the tax forms and I have sent you vet records. I have also tried posting this stuff here and you can’t. You can only type! Every single adopter to date receives a health certification as well as the dogs exams and shots. If someone says they didn’t then they dont know what your asking for! Also I don’t get free dogs and I pay between $60 and $155 per dog to transport. Yes we used Rescue Express for a short time, which is who Michelle is referring to but after we seen the conditions we stopped using them. And they are highly recommended! We have changed a lot of things over the last year! Anyway all I’m saying is not one person has reached out to us!
No you didn’t send the tax forms. You sent something from the Department of Revenue I couldn’t read and I responded that I wanted your 990s that you filed with the IRS. I never got them. Here’s our conversation:
Seattle DogSpot
Thanks but this is unreadable. Can you scan and email it?
Sherry
My printer isn’t working but wanted you to have what I could get now. It didn’t give an option to email it. I should have a new printer Monday.
11/30/2017 7:59AM
Seattle DogSpot
This looks like it’s from WA state. What I also want is the Form 990 you’re supposed to file with the IRS.
If you can’t post them here then send it to me by email to rpregulman@seattledogspot.com.
I’ve contacted adopters who never got a health certificate or proof that the sick dog they adopted was seen by a vet in Washington. The dogs do get examined by a vet for a health certificate but only to be sure their rabies vaccination is up to date and they don’t have heartworms. It is not a comprehensive exam. What I’d like to see are vet bills showing your dogs get a comprehensive health exam from a vet in Washington before they are adopted out. Since so many people have adopted sick dogs from you I doubt they do, but email me the proof if you have it.
To confirm you have the health certificates I’ll come to an adoption event to see if you have them for all the dogs.
That would be awesome! I welcome you.
Great! When can I see your 990s?
So, from another point of experience with Scalawaggles Pet Rescue…
I Adopted a little pup from them that had been in an accident and broke both front legs very close to the “wrist”. Many people told Sherry to put this little girl down, yet she spent several thousand dollars to save the dog. Since we have had the dog in our home, it has thrived and is a loving sweet member of our family. That Sherry went so far to save this pup means the world to us.
I contacted Sherry this past Friday about my sister losing her long time service dog of 15 years and explained to Sherry that my sister could not afford the fee. Sherry gifted us an amazing 2yr old male minpin mix at no cost no fees. She even provided a very nice harness and leash to help us get the dog to my sister in Vancouver, Wa.
Sounds to me like DogSpot has a chip on their shoulder and might not really care to hear the good stories from Scalawaggles Pet Rescue.
ANY shelter no matter how clean and cared for will have cases of kennel cough. Some dogs will have unseen medical issues, and emotional/behavior problems that go unnoticed until they are placed in a home. This happens at all shelters and rescues.
The people at Scalawaggles care about the animals they adopt out. Both of the dogs I have picked up from them had full veterinary paperwork and shot records. The little one with the broken legs had a minor cough but Sherry covered the vet and meds immediately.
If I needed another dog, Sherry would be my very first call.
keman@mail.com I am not part of, nor in any way involved with Scalawaggles other than having two wonderful dogs from them.
Thanks for your note. I’m glad you had a good experience with Scalawaggles. As I said in my post, I’m sure some of their adoptions had happy endings. But it simply isn’t true that any shelter adopt out dogs with medical or emotional/behavior issues. No reputable rescues that I know would ever adopt out a sick dog. That’s because they don’t adopt out dogs as soon as they get them to ensure they are healthy enough to be adopted. And all their dogs get comprehensive vet exams that identify and treat any ailment or infection.
These shelters also keep dogs long enough to determine whether or not they have the temperament to be placed in a home and if the dogs can be around kids and/or other pets.
These dogs didn’t just have kennel cough. They had serious infections that would have eventually killed them if their new families hadn’t taken them to a vet.
I can assure you that Sherry would not be the first person any of the adopters who told me about their terrible experiences with Scalawaggles would call. If you read their stories you’ll see that adopting from Sherry left them emotionally traumatized. Many of them also took a big financial hit paying for medical treatment to treat the problems Scalawaggles ignored.
Again, responsible reputable shelters and rescues do not adopt out sick dogs or dogs with unknown behavior problems. Scalawaggles does both consistently.
No one should adopt a dog from them until they fix these problems.
Posted today, 3/5/2018, on a community Facebook page:
“Did you, or anyone you know, adopt a dog at the adoption event at Civilized Nature in the Issaquah Highlands this past weekend?
WARNING: 3 of the dogs that were adopted, have Parvo. That means all the others either also have it, or they were exposed to it. If you didn’t adopt a pet but you went into that store, the virus can be on your shoes, clothing, etc and can be transmitted to your pet. Scalawaggles Pet Rescue is who was selling (not actually adopting out) these sick animals. I advise against ever getting a pet from them!”
Please correct these facts. This is untrue.
Scalawaggles strikes again. Someone posted to the Issaquah Highlands FB group their new puppy was diagnosed with Parvo today. Adoption event was this past weekend at Civilized Nature pet store in Issaquah, WA.
A dog with Parvo was also adopted out from Yummy Tummy in Covington from Scalawaggles. See Yummy Tummy Facebook page and click on Reviews. I wonder if Yummy Tummy informed the public so that anyone who came in contact with any of the dogs there is aware that they could bring the virus home to their own pets.
I just heard from Sherry:
“We are bankrupt and closing the rescue.”
Can you provide proof? I can’t believe anything she says without documentation.
We are considering this due to the fact that we were just sent several sick dogs. I fail to see how us getting sick dogs is our fault. But according to most of you everything bad is…. BTW we are no longer taking dogs from them by our choice!
Of course it’s your fault. You adopt out dogs as soon as you get them without quarantining them until enough time has passed to ensure they aren’t sick. Why can’t you do that instead of putting them up for adoption as soon as you get them?
Ok since you spin everything I say I will try to be clear as possible. We take full responsibility for what happened with the one pup who was adopted with parvo at Civilized Nature. What is not our fault is that they got parvo. The mistake we made was trusting the sending rescue. They stated the dogs were quatentined for 14 days before transport. They failed to tell us that 24 hours before transport they moved the dogs to another foster. I wasn’t told this until I started to investigate the time line on 3/5/18. Had we had this information upfront none of this would have happened because we would have requarentined them. So this being said all dogs will be quarentined once here no matter what. So in short yes our fault the dog got adopted but not our fault he got Parvo. Oh and incase anyone actually cares about the dog he is doing good and will make a full recovery. The adopters were fully refunded for the adoption fee and will be for the vet bills. TY
I don’t think I ever said it was your fault the dogs got parvo. If I did please point it out and I will correct it. You are responsible for adopting out dogs with parvo though.
You just explained why it’s a rescues responsibility to quarantine all dogs coming in from out of state. You can’t count on other people to ensure the dogs are healthy.
You also speak as if the puppy from Civilized Nature is the only sick dog you’ve adopted out, but that’s not true. Over a half a dozen people have said they adopted sick dogs from Scalawaggles.
How long are the dogs in your care after they arrived from out-of-state shelters and on Multi shelter transports?
The morning of the event a dog in that litter was found dead and it’s siblings were brought to the event 3/4. They arrived 3/3 into the state of Washington. She didn’t care one was dead. She wanted the money for the siblings in case hey died too since she won’t reimbusr adopters for the sick animals she sends out.
All dogs pulled from a shelter are quarentined in the state they are pulled from for 10 to 21 days before being transported. If dogs come by public transport with other dogs they are quarentined here for another 10 to 21 days. If the dogs come on private transport without any other dogs which is many times the case we weren’t requarenting but due to the resent events we will be requarenting no matter how they are transported.
If these dogs are really being quarantined why have you adopted out so many sick dogs?
We haven’t. Those are the only few you hear about!
Contact rescue express. Their conditions are top notch and she was banned from using them as well. Not the other way around like she claims!
Thanks!
News to us.
Scalawaggles pulls often under Animal debt project. Another terrible rescue based in Colorado. When using rescue express transport, they were under that rescue name. According To that transport service she is not welcome to use them anymore.
To R, can you please email me? I have a private question for you regarding this rescue. cynthiasaveslives@gmail.com
I find this odd because RE is the transport that is being referenced in this very article as being cheaper and horrible. “Not giving the dogs food or water”. She just didn’t name them. They are free. We started using them because of the group we were getting dogs from used them and to save money. We were recieving to many sick dogs right off transport, not saying it was their fault at all. So we stopped using them because we trusted another transport more. Even though it costed a lot we felt it was better for the dogs. So really what’s true here?
FYI: scalawaggles is planning an “adoption” event at Ideal in Kent WA this weekend.
No we aren’t Gingers pet rescue will be there. Again incorrect facts!
You might consider contacting the shelters who continue to send her dogs. How is she getting them into the state without Health certs which are required by state law. Is she driving them up herself and hiding them? Is someone transporting. We need to know whose supporting this awful rescue.
They do have health certificates. The problem is that in WA dogs only have to be current on their rabies vaccinations and don’t have heartworm. It doesn’t have to say if the dog have parvo, worms, or any other infections/parasites. Responsible rescues keep dogs they bring to WA for several weeks before putting them up for adoption to ensure they aren’t sick. Scalawaggles puts up dogs for adoption as soon as they arrive here. This doesn’t give them time to determine if the dog is healthy and is why they’ve sold so many sick puppies.
We are required to have heartworm testing and do it on every single dog requiring it!
The papers that come out of some of these shelters are pure fiction so you cannot always blame a rescue. I know for a fact “healthy” dogs we got from Roswell had distemper, parvo and a myriad of other diseases.
If you’re talking about health certificates, most shelters and rescue take the dogs to a independent vet who fills out the paperwork. Some of the health certificates could be suspect, and that’s why responsible rescues quarantine their dogs for several weeks until they can be sure they are healthy.
Did your shelter quarantine the sick dogs or adopt them out right away?
I have sent you proof of other rescues adopting dogs out right off of transport but I don’t see anything here about that. I can resend it if you like!
I’m know other rescues do it. I’m written about them. And what other rescues do is irrelevant anyway. Are you not concerned you adopt out sick dogs?
Did you adopt those dogs out immediately after receiving them in Washington state or did you hold him in quarantine for a minimum of 10 days?
Thank you! Much of this is just that! Only one person has actually reached out to us to get the facts. Even with invitations.
A rescue in CA had the dogs in their possession for over 2 weeks. They received a required health certificate to enter the state of WA on 3/1. If a vet didn’t catch the fact that the puppies were sick and they are medically trained how is a non-medical person expected to diagnose a disease? The dogs had to be exposed to the virus several days prior to being symptomatic. Why dont you contact the sending rescue, the foster that had them in quarantine or the certifying vet?
Vets who issue health certificates only have to ensure that a dog coming has a current rabies vaccination and doesn’t have heartworm. They don’t have to test for parvo and other viruses. That’s why responsible rescues keep dogs they bring in for a few weeks before putting them up for adoption to ensure the dogs are healthy.
They are supposed to. We pay for comprehensive exams plus a HC. So yes they should have caught the issues
Did the dog with Parvo you adopted out Sunday have a comprehensive exam? If so could you post it here?
Podt receipt showing you paid for the HC and comprehensive exams for those puppies.
The hc also says that the vet certifies the animal is free of disease.
According to WA regulations this is what a health certificate must contain:
Dogs, cats, and ferrets—Importation and testing requirements.
(1) Dogs, cats, or ferrets entering Washington state require a certificate of veterinary inspection.
(2) The certificate of veterinary inspection for dogs, cats, or ferrets 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.
(3) Dogs six months of age or older must be tested negative for heartworm or are currently on a heartworm preventative.
It doesn’t mention that the hc certified the animal is free of disease. Am I missing something?
And given that the incubation period for many viruses are a few days to a few weeks, I don’t understand how a health certificate can certify the animal is disease free. That’s why quarantining animals when they arrive is so important.
I will send them to your email Robert. I can’t post photo’s here. I will have them to you tomorrow.
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/resources/forms/ct_aphis_forms
Go to APHIS Form 7001
There you will see where the doctor is to mark and say that at the time of exam that the animal is free of infectious disease to the best of their knowledge.
With my experience, yes some vets do a very thorough exam while others do not, however they sign the document so they should be held responsible to a point. Can an animal be exposed to a disease after the health cert is issued? Absolutely, but it will not show immediate signs. A health cert is valid 30 days after it is issued and ALOT can happen in that time. Even when an animal is quarantined before it goes on a transport, there is always a risk of cross contamination while in transit. This can happen with all transporters.
Now with all of that being said, should a receiving rescue quarantine upon receiving animals off of a transport that had other animals on it from various places? Absolutely!!!
Thanks for pointing that out. You originally said the vet had to certify the dog is free of infectious disease, but as you noted here the vet only has to say the dog is free of infectious disease “to the best of their knowledge.” That’s a huge loophole that give the vet a ton of leeway. Bottom line is a health certificate is not a guarantee the dog is disease free which is why reputable rescues quarantine dogs they get from out of state.
I have the timeline from the sending rescue but can’t post photos here. I was trying to keep their names out of this because I don’t bash other rescues.
I have a timeline from the sending rescue. I will email it to Robert as well.
We adopted a beautiful 16 month old German Shepherd mix from Sherry’s rescue just about a year ago now.
This boy had been in shelters in California since he’d been 4 months old!!!
He had medical issues including a bad job of neutering by the group that released him. Sherry Halfon brought him up anyway.
He was cared for by a vet clinic and was in wonderful health when we brought him home to our farm. He remains so today a happy, healthy & functioning part of our household.
I am always cautious in reading an expose’ on an individual where many people jump on the bandwagon to become part of the drama.
I admit to knowing nothing about the rescue/animal adoption business.
However, I do know our boy had a chance for a real life because of this rescue.
Thank you! Much of this is just that! Only one person has actually reached out to us to get the facts. Even with invitations.
Only one person has reached out to you to get the facts? What does that even mean? You continue to adopt out sick dogs and then pass the blame to someone else. If you receive a dog that is sick, it is YOUR JOB to get them healthy so they can find their forever family. Instead, you quickly adopt them out to innocent families that are expecting a healthy pup.
If we get dogs we know are sick we do not adopt them out! You are incorrect!
You don’t know they’re sick because you put them up for adoption almost as soon as you get them. You don’t dispute you’ve adopted out sick dogs yet you’ve done nothing to solve the problem. Why not quarantine them for several weeks to ensure they aren’t sick before adopting them out?
You literally pulled a dead dog out from your new litter and brought it’s siblings tonthe event not even knowing what was wrong. You didn’t care. If all are alive, post photo with news paperwork showing the date that ALL are alive and well.
Hi all. First of all I want to let folks know I am not affiliated with Scalawaggles. I happened to be at my local pet store this past weekend when they were there with puppies. I was devastated to read on Nextdoor that some of the dogs were being treated for Parvo. I contacted the rescue to see if there was anything I could do to help. These were puppies after all.
I have been volunteering at rescues and shelters for over 10 years. I have seen it all. The last rescue I volunteered at outside of Denver was by any standards disgusting. It was old, over crowded not enough staff and not enough volunteers. It was heartbreaking for me to see animals here but the alternative was death for those animals. They were fed everyday, had fresh water, shelter over their heads, medical care when needed and when volunteers could be there, they had all the love we could give them. It’s not a perfect world the staff sacrificed their time and money and so much so these dogs could have a chance. Twice a week they drove to Roswell or Texas to pick up dogs that were going to be killed. Pregnant momma dogs, puppies – it didn’t matter to Roswell or Texas – you were not adopted in 5 days you died. So yes we took in more dogs than made sense, which meant we were always stretched thin but else could we do.
I chose to believe people are decent most of the time, and I chose to believe that Sherry is doing her best and is overwhelmed. Perhaps instead of constantly asking her for her tax returns someone could offer to help her.
Don’t get me wrong I appreciate that we are having a discussion about how we could best serve the animals and the people best here. But instead of name calling and he said/she said I would like to have a discussion about how we can help.
Getting back to my conversation with Sherry. You know what she asked me to help her with? Finding another venue for an adoption event so that the healthy animals could find homes.
I don’t know who the people are that work or worked with Sherry, there names and information are not given. Maybe they are legit, maybe not.
This is me, just so you know I am real. https://www.linkedin.com/in/erikalarson1/
I care about animals and I care about people and I wish people would come to the table with solutions and not insults.
And as far as papers go. The papers that used to come out of Roswell shelter were pure fiction. They said the dogs were healthy only to find out some had distemper or Parvo or a magnitude of other issues. It is not always the rescues fault. We learned the hard way.
Thanks for your comment and concern. I’ll try to address all the issues you raised.
I know nothing about the shelters where you have volunteered but my opinion is that shelters should never take in more dogs than it can handle. Yes some dogs they don’t take will be euthanized, but in my experience, taking more dogs to an overcrowded shelter degrades the level of care for all the dogs, increases the possibility of spreading disease, and makes it more difficult to find appropriate homes for all the dogs.
I agree that Sherry is overwhelmed. People have been saying that since I started writing about Scalawaggles. But if she’s overwhelmed, she should stop bringing in so many dogs. No one is forcing her to take in more dogs than she can handle. Responsible rescues understand that, regardless of how many dogs are being euthanized, there is a finite number of dogs they can handle. They also never adopt out dogs immediately when they get them. They quarantine them for 4-8 weeks and take them in for a full health exam before they put them up for adoption. If Sherry would follow their example she wouldn’t be so overwhelmed and wouldn’t consistently adopt out sick dogs. If she didn’t want to be so overwhelmed and was concerned about adopting out sick dogs, she would have done this months ago.
I wouldn’t keep asking for tax returns if she would simply send them. Every shady rescue I’ve written about refused to provide me their financial records acquired by both state and federal law. Refusing to provide the public with financial records indicates to me that a rescue is trying to hide something.
And we aren’t talking about an insignificant amount of money. If Scalawaggles found homes for 1468 dogs since 2016, which they claim on their website, and sold them for $400-$450, they’ve generated over $600,000 in adoption fees. I think it’s important for rescues, especially those that make hundreds of thousands of dollars, to be completely transparent with their financial records to show the public how much money they take in and how they use it. If Scalawaggles has nothing to hide and has accurate financial records, then I believe either they don’t keep financial records or they are trying to hide how much money they make and how they spend it. Because charities have the privilege of not paying taxes, they have the legal and ethical responsibility to provide their tax forms to anyone who asks for them. You may think this is trivial, but as I said, it indicates the rescue isn’t operating ethically in other areas as well.
I DO know the people who have worked with Sherry and they ARE legit. I’ve talked to them independently, and their accounts of what happens at Scalawaggles are very consistent – sick and healthy puppies are kept in the same crates, the dogs are adopted out as quickly as possible before they can determine if they are sick, filthy living conditions, hiding the number of dogs they have from animal control, etc.
Furthermore, they don’t give their names because Sherry has a history of retaliating against anyone who she thinks is telling me the truth about what happens at Scalawaggle. She harasses them both online and on the phone; she has also called their employers to spread rumors about them.
It’s great you offered to help Sherry, but instead of finding another venue, wouldn’t it be more helpful to help her put procedures in place that would ensure she didn’t keep adopting out sick dogs?
Also, have you thought about the ramifications of adopting out sick dogs?
She is literally spreading disease in our state which puts hundreds/thousands of dogs at risk.
She is forcing families to spend thousands of dollars to save sick dogs adopted from her and inflicting emotional trauma on people who see their new dogs suffer and/or die. And in some cases, the sick puppies they adopted infected the dogs she already have.
She’s forcing store owners to spend time and money to sterilize their stores when she brings infected puppies to adoption events.
She’s forcing adopters to spend time and money to sterilize their homes after discovering they adopted an infected puppy.
If you think this is OK because she’s saving dogs from euthanization, then we’ll have to agree to disagree. But in my opinion, no rescue should sell sick dogs which spread disease, putting a financial burden on adopters and store owners, and put countless other dogs at risk. It’s reckless, irresponsible, and not how reputable rescues should operate.
As you requested I’ve outlined the solutions that would solve this: reduce them number of dogs she brings in and quarantine them until she is sure they aren’t sick. Pretty simple.
This last comment is 100% untrue and complete slander! I did provide you with our tax information although it wasn’t the exact form you wanted you got it! I have never harrassed or retaliated against anyone and AC has been out several times unannounced. I could go on but this is all complete slander!
Untrue. AC has been out several times and I have 100% cooperated!
Erika: I really like your point of view and I agree Sherry is very overwhelmed and WAY in over her head now that so many people are bringing their stories out about their experiences with her. There is a civil suit started against her with many people involved that adopted sick puppies from her.
I am one of those people that ended up with a very sick puppy from her. My story is real. I adopted a near death puppy from her and then was accused of making him sick and torturing him because I didn’t give him back for her to care for. She avoided my lawyer when it came to refunding me for the vet bills I took on to get him healthy and stated I was after money to pay for my vacations. I have a very close friend that works at Blue Pearl, the local animal ER and constantly shares stories about sick puppies arriving that were adopted from her. These stories are real. This issue is real. The stories from volunteers that worked with her are real. The conditions they spoke about are real.
Sherry definitely needs help in more areas than just improving her rescue. Maybe taking on less dogs is the answer. I do believe she is a good person trying to do the right thing. But unfortunately people continue to take home sick dogs from her rescue.
Thanks for bringing that up! Because that is a place I vet at. That is against Hipa laws!
HIPAA applies to humans, not animals.
Not correct from what I’m being told by several people in the business
Wrong. Here’s my source. There are many others. You’re talking to the wrong people.
https://animallaw.foxrothschild.com/2015/07/27/hipaa-type-protections-are-not-just-for-humans-when-it-comes-to-medical-records-animals-have-privacy-rights-too-part-1/
Legally, dogs are considered property, and HIPAA applies to people, not property.
“HIPAA for Veterinary Medicine
One of the major differences between human and veterinary medicine is a little, well-known piece of legislation called HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act). HIPAA calls upon the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to issue patient privacy protections.
So why dos HIPAA not apply to the veterinary profession? Simple. Legal relations in our laws exist only between persons. Currently, most states consider pets to be property. And by law animals are things not persons. Some say that safe veterinary practice would be to follow the HIPAA guidelines even though they do not apply to veterinary medicine. The AVMA code of ethics states that a practice should act as though pet records are priveleged and confidential.”
It is posted on social media… it is no secret that dogs come into Blue Pearl from your rescue all the time.
I will say I and my family have gotten 3 dogs from her. All perfectly healthy. I personally have helped her at her place with the dogs multiple times and never once has she miss treated any of the animals. She runs a very good system and does her best. I am very disappointed to hear such horrendous things about her and her lovely dogs. She has done her very best for her animals cause she loves every single one! She has put many many fundraisers on for animals she’s taken in that need specific help she can not offer.
Oh and FYI I was one of the 3 puppies who got adopted over the weekend and my dog is COMPLETELY HEALTHY! Stop spreading rumors and trying to bring negativity into these peoples lives.
Everything I wrote is factual. If it isn’t please provide evidence and I’ll remove what isn’t correct.
Healthy for now. It can take up to 14 days to show signs of illness according to the vet. We all hope your puppy is and stays healthy. No one is suggesting she purposely gets the dogs sick. She can not control if an animal arrives and is sick the next day. If that’s the case more than likely was sick prior. But she can control how long she quarantines for and preventing sending out u healthy dogs to the public. Is that asking too much?
Oh but in this story and many comment everyone is planning her for the dogs being sick. It’s not her fault animals get sick. She rescues animals. So many animals come sick to her and she tries her best to keep them from others and get them back to health.
That is exactly the point. I can confirm these puppies that arrived on Saturday were in quarantine for 2 weeks prior to traveling. They got on transport Friday, arrived in WA on Saturday and went to an adoption event.
Implementing a quarantine process on the recieving end is key. Had that been in place, we likely would not all be on here commenting on this thread.
And why do I need proof when the ones saying there dog was sick or unhealthy or mistreated don’t need proof? Not saying they are true or not true but I just don’t get how you only want one side of the story. Reporter are all the same. Only want what helps fuel their story not actual truth.
I have vet bills that verify what they said.
Alot of what you are saying isn’t in the vet bills. It’s hearsay and slanderous at best.
Let me summarize all of this up. When decisions are made in the best interest of animals, everyone wins. When decisions are made in the best interest of making money, there are casualties.
And lastly… where there is this much smoke, there is a fire.
Thank you Dogspot for continuing to bring all of these issues to the forefront, in the best interest of these animals.
Thank you.
We adopted an amazing family member from this rescue. When we adopted she did give us meds as he had gotten kennel cough. Cleared up shortly after and he has been home since December with no issues and has cleared all health check ups….Sherry has been nothing but supportive with all our puppy questions and answered any question I had regarding dogspot articles. I can guarantee sick puppies happen and its horrible but there’s no way I believe this rescue would knowingly send home puppies with serious issues. One article and a few issues don’t outweigh all the good a rescue in general does.
I’ve said that she has put dogs in good homes with good families, but I believe this is more chance than by design. And it’s not true that “sick puppies happen.” Responsible rescues quarantine dogs for a few weeks to ensure they aren’t sick when they’re adopted. At these rescues, adopting out sick puppies does not happen.
I’ve spoken to people whose homes were contaminated by sick puppies, who paid thousands in vet bills to treat sick dogs they adopted from Scalawaggles, and whose puppies died within days of adoption. I don’t think they would agree that what they went through doesn’t outweigh the good a rescue in general does.
You want to hear things straight from a reliable source? Well here I am. A rescuer in California who was deceived by Sherry. We secured, held, acquired health certificates and loaded dogs for Sherry on transports until last year.
We stopped sending dogs to her when we were informed that the precious animals that we were told would be treated appropriately were absolutely being poorly cared for.
We were told these animals would be held for a 14 day quarantine period in quality foster homes for decompression and medical clearance after stressful transports filled with other animals. We were deceived.
We were told that home checks and spay and neuter were completed prior to adoption…again we were deceived. As testified to by the transports services (who have all unanimously stopped bringing dogs to her now) Sherry places animals immediately up for adoption. This is abundantly clear for all to see as true given the most recent adoption of parvo positive dogs on 3/3/18 immediately after arrival.
This not only places the public at risk, but also contaminated any animals that did manage to remain healthy prior to the events.
No trustworthy rescue organization relies on a quarantine period completed in another state, prior to a large transport with animals from dozens of pick up locations. Regardless of the quality of transport service, nor the word of the transfering shelter or organization! No one!
This is contrary to what we were being told, this is contrary to what is standard, and it is contrary to what is ethical.
Sherry, instead of these ridiculous back and forth arguments, please focus your efforts on improving your standards of practice. You know better and you have lost so many relationships to cutting corners and deflecting your blame. These people trusted you. These animals needed you. To date you have failed an unacceptable number.
The collective community is requesting that you do what you know is right. You follow the tried and true methods of rescue practices and procedures and your problems will disappear. You keep this up and you will continue to find yourself in the hot seat.
Thanks for sharing your experience and confirming what many people have said already.
You are right! Argueing needs to stop. We plan on following proper quarenting no matter what we have been told going forward. The mere number of dogs we have saved and successfully rehomed speaks for itself and that is all we want! It’s unfortunate that has become the focus!
For the past two years people have been criticizing you and your rescue for one reason or another. At what point do you stop and realize that the only consistent in the equation is you?
Everyone else can’t statistically be insane.
It’s you and it’s time to either throw in the towel or make the changes that you know are needed and show everyone that you can be better.
Stop falling back on your successes and address these fails that continue to be brought up. That’s what a good business would do.
Rise to the occasion Sherry and make things right.
We adopted our puppy from Sherry last May. He was perfectly healthy, you can tell she cares very deeply for the dogs she takes in.
So glad I found this article. I adopted my pup in April of last year from her. When we arrived to pick him up, it was at an adoption event at a Petsmart. He was covered in his own feces and urine and the pads of his feet were raw (I’m assuming from standing in his own filth for an extended period of time). While we were hesitant to still take him, I knew we had to get him out of there. They had over 40 dogs (mostly puppies) and only 2 volunteers. We took him to the vet as soon as we got home and discovered he had worms and kennel cough and the worst part was we were told he was 8 weeks old but after the vet examined him she said he was probably closer to 4 weeks old! We were told he came from Cali so who knows how early he was away from mama. Fast forward a year and he is completely healthy but his attachment issues are insane.
Sherry was always responding to my texts and emails until I asked about the puppies real age -then I got radio silence. When I asked about the worms and cough she casually said that a few others had it and it was easy to treat… What confirmed his age for us was when Petsmart email us his adoption info a few weeks later, his birth date was indeed a few weeks earlier than what we were told. We’ve been working with a dog rehabilitator here in BC and he is astonished that Scalawaggles hasn’t been shut down.
Good to know I’m not the only one that had issues..
Thanks for sharing you story and providing a home for that dog. I’ve heard from others that had the exact same experience as you. She said she closed the rescue but I wouldn’t be surprised if she just said it to stop the attention on her shady rescue.
I adopted a dog from Sherry (PetSmart in Bellevue) and it had all the papers and it was a wonderful experience. My little Chihuahua lived with her and when we went back to see her a few weeks later my dog was clearly very happy to see her again. I am saddened if Sherry is not able to continue to do the work that she was inspired to do. Sherry saved my dog from a high kill shelter in CA. Thank you Sherry for everything you have done. Sweet Pea (now Lucy) has been a wonderful addition to our family. I realize when you are saving animals there could be something wrong that is out of your control.
I’m glad you had a good experience. I agree some things are beyond the control of a dog rescuer, but repeatedly selling sick dogs is not one of them. The reputable rescues I know keep their dogs long enough to determine if they are sick before they are put up for adoption. Sherry Halfon sold her dogs almost immediately regardless of their condition. To her, rescuing dogs was simply a means for making money.
We spent thousands of dollars saving a dog that we rescued from this woman last year. He was supposed to be healthy. Two weeks after we adopted him he had to be admitted to the vet hospital. He was in an oxygen kennel with tons of IV antibiotics and fluids for three days. His lungs never healed properly due to the LARGE infection he was fighting at 10 weeks old. Most of his lungs are just scar tissue and so he can’t do normal dog things. Our vet doesn’t think he will live to be last 5 or 6 years old. I have multiple emails from Sherry claiming that she would help us pay for treatment – all lies. I hope that this rescue has been shut down for good. Honestly this woman needs jail time for her large negligence.
I’m so sorry. She’s done that to so many people. She says she shut it down but others have said she’s working for another group now.