In 2010, Jennifer arrived in Yakima to adopt a dog from Rising Phoenix Mastiff Rescue.
She wanted to adopt a large dog because she read that “large dogs (were) being put down without option of adoption due to the economic downturn and recession.”
Ciccino. Photo credit withheld.
Through Petfinder she found several large dogs on the Rising Phoenix Mastiff Rescue (RPMR) website. After arriving at RPMR she chose a Neopolitan Mastiff named Dudley.
Dudley had no behavior problems or health issues when she adopted him, but he died of cancer within a year.
Although Rising Phoenix Mastiff Rescue has adopted out dozens of sick dogs, Jennifer doesn’t believe that Dudley had cancer because her vet gave him a clean bill of health the day after she brought him home.
After Dudley died she wanted to get a another large dog, so she went back to RPMR to adopt one.
RPMR told her they didn’t have any large dogs, so she tested a couple of their other dogs with her dog, but she didn’t like either one of them.
That’s when her dog started barking at a dog in the distance in a pen by itself, so Jennifer asked she could meet it. Here’s how she described the meeting to me:
“He was tall, thin, and almost sickly looking. My dog thought he was the greatest thing in the world. She danced and pranced in his presence. I immediately thought a “perfect match”. They didn’t say much about him, other than he was an abused dog and the owners threw him away.
They also said he didn’t care for young men and that he had a tendency to nip at the owners bathrobe tie. I didn’t think that what they said was unusual, my old dog didn’t care much for young men either. She barked at them a lot. Now the nipping at a bathrobe belt.. I did think that was odd, but I let it go.
I gave the money, signed the paper, and loaded him up in the cab of the pick up truck. One person who appeared to work there said, “You have a crate in your truck. That dog should ride in the crate. My friend who had gone with me, says that when the dog was brought out for me to see, the staff people stood back. I was busy watching my dogs’ reaction to the stranger dog, to make sure he was a good match for her and didn’t notice everything my friend did.”
Ciccino. Photo credit withheld.
She named the dog Ciccino.
On the way home, Ciccino first showed signs of behavior problems at a drive-thru Starbucks. Jennifer told me that as they drove up to the window to order coffee, Ciccino “went ballistic” and rocked the truck back and forth as his tried to get to the barista.
After they got home Ciccino explored the yard and house with Jennifer’s other dog with no problems.
His behavior changed as soon as Jennifer turned out the lights and got ready for bed. He could not relax and paced from room to room until foam accumulated around his mouth.
Jennifer stayed up with him all night to keep him calm.
Jennifer said her first five days with Ciccino were “filled with chaos and concern.” She also noted that she had “never observed behavior in a dog quite like he exhibited.”
Here is what Jennifer said Ciccino did during his first five days at her house:
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- He would go from looking very relaxed to flying into a rage at a moment’s notice
- He attacked and dented the dishwasher and vacuum.
- Unusual sounds like the garbage trick sent him into “a state of frenzy.”
- He bit her son’s hand when he walked in the front door the first time they met.
- When he woke up “he would lunge, ready to attack.”
- He wouldn’t let Jennifer back in the house when she took out the garage.
- He wouldn’t allow Jennifer to touch him.
After her first five days with Ciccino, Jennifer realized that she “was in no way qualified to deal with a dog of his deposition.”
But despite all this disturbing behavior, Ciccino stayed attached to Jennifers’s side “like Velcro” and followed her wherever she went. He clearly wanted companionship and attention, but he was too frightened and hesitant to get it.
This makes sense as Mastiffs often bond closely with one person. Ciccino must have struggled to reconcile his fears to his desire to bond with Jennifer.
So, after Ciccino had been with her for 5 days, Jennifer called RPRM and told the person who answered the phone that she had to return Ciccino. But whomever answered the phone said they would only take him back if Jennifer paid double the amount she paid to adopt him, which was about $450. And they wanted additional money to retrain him.
Yes, you read that correctly. This terrible, money-grubbing rescue group wanted to charge this woman over $1000 to return a dangerous dog that never should have been up for adoption.
Reputable rescues I know will ALWAYS take back one of their dogs at no cost if an adoption doesn’t work out.
Of course, no reputable rescue would have adopted out a dangerous dog with severe behavior problems either.
Here’s how Jennifer reacted to what she called a “scam”: “My jaw hit the floor. I couldn’t believe it. I was literally stuck with a dangerous dog unless I paid a great deal of money to return him.”
Fortunately for Ciccino, Jennifer is a dog lover with a huge heart and she refused to send the dog back to the RPRM hellhole or have him euthanized.
Ciccino. Photo credit withheld.
Instead, she paid a trainer to work with him for several months. I asked him how dangerous he thought Ciccino was when he first started working with him.
Here’s how he described Ciccino’s behavior problems to me:
“He was exhibiting aggressive behavior that was mostly fear based. He was also showing signs of being protective over what he believed was his territory (the home & car). Ciccino exhibited all the various behaviors that come along with this type of aggression. He would give off low guttural warning growls and had bitten in the past but never attacked. Bites were relatively minor even though he could have done as much damage as he wanted given his size.”
After several months and thousands of dollars of training, Jennifer said Ciccino was “a changed dog.”
Working with a trainer allowed him to be much more “calm and relaxed.” He also learned to enjoy “going out and being part of the world.”
But despite Cicino’s progress, Jennifer reiterated that she must “remain vigilant” at all times with him.
She keeps him muzzled around kids and avoids strangers when they are out. Sudden movements can still startle him as well.
Due to Jennifer’s hard work and dedication, Ciccino hasn’t bitten anyone since she had the trainer work with him. He’s even best friend’s with Jennifer’s son who he bit during his first few days with her.
“Keep in mind, I did not have enough experience with dogs to understand any of his signals or actions that he exhibited to communicate what he was feeling or how to treat it. The constant growling was unnerving. The pacing and panting was difficult to watch. The shaking and trembling would eat at your heart. You never knew if he was going to attack or wet himself and cower in the corner.
He exhibited a wide range of behaviors that you didn’t know how fix, comfort or treat. Was he more dangerous than a loaded pistol that you should hide from, or was he a sad pathetic mess that you put your arms around and love. I bounced back and forth with my own emotions.
I felt so sad for what the dog was going thru, to total complete fear that he was going to harm me. The more he shifted behavior, the more I did too. At one point, I think we feed off each others insecurities. I wouldn’t be surprised if we were scaring each other. Not only, was I consumed with the dog and myself, but the worry of; is he going to hurt a family member? What if he gets out of the house, or yard? Is he going to go after a neighbor, a kid or some one walking down the street?
Ciccino. Photo credit withheld.
I never want to be one of those people who was irresponsible with a dog the could seriously injury someone. The feeling of helplessness was overwhelming. Who do you turn to. Where do you find help. Who has the answers? How do you fix it? The icing on the cake.. I, according to the rescue, was the one to blame for the dogs behavior. Ciccino isn’t a regular dog, and he didn’t come with instructions. I had to wing it until I could get help and hope everything worked out.”
Jennifer’s description of her initial days with Ciccino shows what often happens when someone adopts a dog from a dishonest rescue group.
Ciccino should have NEVER been adopted out due to his aggression and fear problems.
A competent, honest rescue that took in a dog with a bite history would have hired a qualified trainer or behavioralist conduct an extensive evaluation to determine if he could be adopted.
But to dog flippers, the only thing that matters is taking in dogs and adopting them out as quickly as possible while spending as little as possible on them. That means no behavior evaluations, no training, and no home visits.
Adopting a dog from an unscrupulous rescue like RPMR is like playing Russian Roulette. You might get a healthy, obedient dog that’s perfect for your and your family. However, like Jennifer, you could also get a dog with numerous health and temperament problems that you are can’t handle.
In a previous post I wrote about dozens of people who adopted dogs from RPMR that either had serious health problems, behavioral problems, or a combination of both.
These people end up paying thousands of dollars to provide training and medical care that should have been covered by the “rescue” group where they got it.
Jennifer’s story is just another example of how Rising Phoenix Mastiff Rescue is a fraudulent, irresponsible dog rescue group.
It with only one goal: making as much money as possible.
To them, dogs are nothing more than products they use to achieve this goal.
(Note: I changed the name of the woman who adopted Ciccino to protect her privacy.)
We also adopted a neo from them . When she started having the same problem with small kids I called them to let them know that we could no longer keep her. With a new baby in the house. It was just a week before Christmas so I was told I had to email them with all the problems . They didn’t have the time to talk to me . So I email which they said they never got . A few weeks later we found the dog a new home bc I never heard anything from them . Then had to get dog back and take it back to them . It was my bad bc they never took the time to listen or email back . I will never go through them again. Our dog look like crap when we got her and it took us months to get her healthy .
Thanks for sharing your experience. It sounds similar to many I’ve seen
I have also had a very bad experience with them. I was trying to find a new home for my Great Pyre mix on Craigslist. They contacted me and offered to take him, they stated that they would be able to find him the perfect home, and give him knee surgery since he had a joint issue. When they put him up for adoption on their website, they stated that he had been abused. He was never abused! They also decided to state he was a Caucasian Shepherd, they stated they had him DNA tested. I got him from the breeder and saw they parents, they completely lied. Caucasian Shepherds are usually very expensive, while Great Pyres don’t go for as much money. He has a problem with one of his knees, the vet said he may need surgery at some point. They stated in their add for him that the injury was due to be kicked and it was inoperable. I was able to contact the people that adopted him. Their vet told them it was a genetic problem and they did give him surgery. They were specifically looking for a Caucasian Shepherd, they got scammed by this rescue. — When I confronted this rescue about the lies they were telling about this dog, the woman attacked me. She accused me of the being the liar. — This “rescue” should be shut down!
Thanks for letting us know your story I’ve heard the same thing many times. She attacks anyone who raises questions about her or the dogs.
We are the ones who got the Great Pyrenees mix Jennifer is talking about! I was looking for another breed, but wouldn’t trade Otis for anything now that we have him. It was meant to be. I would have never known the true story about Otis if I wasn’t able to find Jennifer and hear it from her. Rising Phoenix lied the whole time about him. Jennifer had left vet records with him and a joint supplement; I received neither. My vet and I went back and forth with them trying to get the real story. I finally told them they were lying, but they didn’t care. We are so lucky to have gotten Otis out before he got sick or something worse happened, which there have been rumors of. If you see this, Jennifer, Otis is very happy and very safe. We love him to death.
Thanks SO much for commenting. Do you remember how much she charged you?
They charged us $400. It seemed really high, but I really wanted him. I remember Jennifer said they were pretty aggressive with trying to get him so they could flip him. They told me he had been groomed which was a lie and he was pretty thin. He put on 40 lbs pretty quickly and got to a healthy weight.
Thanks for sharing your story. Did you have to pay them money to take him?
Dumped your dog on Craigslist?
I wrote in the post that I changed the name of the adopter to protect her identity because Tricia Porter, who runs the rescue, will often harass people that raise questions about what she does. If you have any documents that confirm your statement that the dog was adopted in CA please let me know.
Rising Phoenix (and Trish Porter) is literally the worst. How can they be stopped??? they sold us a dog (under the guise of “adoption” or “rescue” but let’s be honest here…) with parvo. She was 8 weeks old, we have always gotten our dogs from rescue and took a chance on a new “rescue.” The day after we received the puppy from Rising Phoenix (Trish Porter) she was diagnosed with parvo. We called to inform them that they had parvo at their facility and she told us “that’s not my problem” REALLY?!?!? Parvo at a dog rescue facility that you own is not your problem? I can’t think of anything that is more YOUR PROBLEM. We weren’t even asking for anything (at that point – we eventually asked for our money back for the adoption – Petfinders interceded on our behalf and we received our adoption refund, much to Trish’s dismay). Negligent, uncaring, and cold-hearted. They are literally the worst. Our puppy spent 8 days being cared for by us before she died. At least she had that. This was in December of 2010 – so she’s been doing bad business for over 6 years now – how can we stop her?? This is just insane. Is she still registered as a non-profit as well?? I’m still angry at the response we got from her.
I feel it prudent to chime in myself here. I am sorry to hear of the bad experiences you had with the rescue.
I have personally adopted 3 dogs from Rising Phoenix and my experience has been the opposite of what I am reading here. All 3 of our dogs are wonderful and are so very loved. Are they perfect? Absolutely not! Were they dirty and a bit stinky when we got them? Yes. Did they need some minor veterinary care? Yes they did. Were the adoption fees a bit on the high side? Yes they were. I also went into it knowing that these are in fact rescue dogs and they are not going to be perfect. None of them had happy lives before and I am happy we were able to step in and give them the good home they all deserve. This rescue takes in dogs that have behavior issues, Medical Issues, and breeds that are hard to place in homes. We have a Saint Bernard, a Daniff, and a Dogue De Bordeaux all from there and each time I drove 3.5 hours each way. They are our babies and we love them dearly.
This is in no way meant to devalue the bad experiences others have had. I find that to be sad and very unfortunate. However, it is important to me that someone who has had positive experiences with this rescue also speaks up. I would certainly adopt from them again in the future.
Thank you for sharing your experience. Not every dog adopted out from disreputable rescues have behavior or medical problems, and I’m glad your adoptions worked out. I wish I could say that for the dozens of people that had horrible experiences with Rising Mastiff.
As someone who has been involved in rescue one way or another for 20 years… Rescue dogs SHOULD be clean and should be healthy and completed vetted… If they are not that is NOT a good group. Any incurable disease or ailment should be explained in the dogs bio on the website and also all adoption listings such as petfinder. That is the literal definition of rescue dog. That is why there is an adoption fee – you should get a dog that you should expect to not have any vetting expenses to shell out of pocket for a year from adoption (unless of course it is something you were made aware of in bio prior to inquiring on dog and agreed to take on financially). To make excuses for this dog flipper and say your adopted dog was dirty and stinky and you had to pay out of pocket for certain things esp after paying an unseemingly high adoption fee – reputable rescues keep a dog in its care until healthy and send the dog to adopters bathed and groomed. Usually the adoption fee rarely covers all of vetting for the one rescue dog that the rescue shelled out and all rescues take abused and neglected dogs.
Now that RPMR is closed down, I hope you will seek out a reputable giant breed rescue group and adopt… Then compare experiences and I think you will realize just how a real positive adoption should be.
I am currently emailing rising phoenix mastiff rescue to adopt what the website says is a mastiff. It looks like a mix between English and bull mastiff. His name is Jake. My contact says he is about 3 years and 130 lbs, when I asked what type of mastiff it was, as saying something is a Mastiff generally means English Mastiff, they said he was bull/French from the mother and English from the father and that 130 was a good weight. From all my research I believe that to be provably false, especially for a male. I’ve always wanted a Mastiff, and I really hope this isn’t a scam, and if it is I would want to give the dog a better life, I just hoperfect there aren’t going to be tins of medical issues hidden from me.
Please let us know what happens.
I see that I’m years to late, but is there anyway to track a dog that was “rescued” by these terrible people? Any records of the dogs they sold or put down? Anything like that or am is my request as far fetched as this comment 2 years to late
I don’t think so but if you send me some of the details about the dog I can check. Please email them to info@seattledogspot.com. Thanks!