"You need to check this out".
From Veronica Covatch, co-owner of Piper:
Central Ohio Sheltie Rescue director Penny Sanderbeck refuses to return lost dog to rightful owner! While I was at the sheltie nationals my finished champion female Piper was being dog sat by a friend in Columbus, Ohio. Her father had a heart attack and Piper got out of a fenced yard (we do not know how she got out). On Thursday 4/17/14 Piper was taken to the Franklin County Dog Shelter. On 4/18/14 (Good Friday) the shelter scanned her microchip and received the contact information for the vet that implanted the chip. One call was placed to that vet Good Friday afternoon. The vet explained the office had been sold and he could not pull the owner info up on his computer but could look it up in his paper files...asking for time to do so. They were NOT given any time over the holiday weekend when they were closed to look through the paper files. The shelter then violated their own 14 day hold policy for ID'ed dogs and called COSR to pick up Piper Monday morning 4/21/14 making no other attempts to contact the vet for Piper's legal owners information. On 4/22/14 upon returning from my trip I learned of this and within 2 hours tracked Piper down. I immediately sent PROOF of ownership to COSR who is still refusing to return my dog. I sent AKC papers, breeding records, microchip number, show win photos, ect...as well as offered to pay for DNA parentage testing (both sire and dam are already tested). I also offered to go to Ohio to meet privately with Penny with all my proof of ownership or invited Penny to come to my home to see how well cared for my dogs are and how they live! Nothing was good enough! She pubicaly posted on COSR website she will NOT return Piper to me! I am now raising funds to file a lawsuit.
"You need to check this out"
These six small words, arriving in a message from a friend, is how dkos’ Edrie was alerted to Piper’s horrible situation– and these six words have quite literally changed the course of more than a few lives.
Since that time, Edrie’s stellar, completely factual reporting, both here at Daily Kos as well as in Best In Show Daily, has been in the vanguard of what has become a national Bring Piper Home movement.
I’m here only as Edrie and Veronica’s farm team, third string, so to speak! My only hope is that the dkos pootie and woozle peeps, and maybe even a few others in the greater dkos community, will stand up, be heard, and support Piper’s owners in this incredibly important case – Please donate to Piper's legal fund if you can, please, every little bit makes such a huge difference in this historic case to Bring Piper Home!
As most of you know, I’m an animal rescuer here in Puerto Rico, and, in my opinion based on 30 years of actual animal rescue, the despicable actions of Penny Sanderbeck have left a black mark on all of us whose actual mission is animal rescue and welfare. This is very personal, so please forgive me in advance when my emotions may get the best of me.
Before I go any further, I’d like to start off with sharing Edrie’s thoughts with me yesterday about Piper:
Edrie (link):
"A purebred Sheltie, having been left with a caretaker while the owner was at the Nationals, got out of that friend's yard and was picked up by animal control. Three days later, Piper (the pup) was snatched up by one of the "purebred rescue" groups, Central Ohio Sheltie Rescue. Despite being given ample proof of the dog's owners, the Central Ohio Sheltie Rescue (who collected the dog from the Franklin County Shelter after three days) has refused to return the sheltie. The pup was picked up and held three days, the rescue grabbed her on the fourth, was contacted by the owners on the fifth day. Then, this ugly story takes a very unhappy turn.
I'm not condemning all rescue organizations here - some are sincere and work hard to place dogs that are in real danger. What I AM condemning are these so-called "rescues" that have close ties to shelters to go in and grab any purebred dog that is found, will quickly change the name of the dog (even if they are able to trace the owner) and "sell" that dog for a hefty "adoption" fee (which, btw, is illegal under the terms of the 501(c)3's they operate within).
This particular case is very disturbing - the dog's owners have provided ample proof to this rescue - however, this self-appointed "dog rescuer" has "decided" the best place for the dog is where it is!"
This all seems very straightforward, right? And Edrie certainly doesn't condemn all rescue orgs, I have nothing
but her constant support and encouragement, and we also put to bed the myth that breeders and rescuers cannot be good friends or work together. A truly ridiculous notion.
But, here we have a beloved pet that escapes from a backyard - something that happens all too often as any pet owner knows – and shortly thereafter Piper was picked up by animal control.
Upon arriving back from her out-of-town-trip, owner Veronica Covatch was able to track her dog from the Franklin County Animal Shelter, right to COSR, Central Ohio Sheltie Rescue and Penny Sanderbeck’s front door. Then, as Edrie says, “this ugly story takes a very unhappy turn.”
Sanderbeck refused to return Piper to her rightful owner then, and she refuses to return her now. Sanderbeck has had possession of Piper since the Monday following Easter – almost 6 months – knowing full well who the owners are and just how desperately they want Piper back with them. I just don’t know how I’d react – knowing where my pet is, the person in possession of my pet knows beyond any doubt that it’s my dog… and that person still refuses to return my family member? I just don’t know.
If you’re a pet owner, you may be asking yourself, how can this possibly happen? And you wouldn’t be alone with your questions. Now, what if I told you that Piper has a microchip? You read that correctly – Piper has a microchip implant that when traced shows definitively WHO she is, as well as WHO her owners are. Isn’t that the whole point of microchip implants, Penny Sanderbeck?
And still, Sanderbeck, a supposed “animal rescuer”, refuses to return a beloved pet to her owners – clinging fast to her ridiculous, absolutely laughable claim that Piper “belongs” to her since the moment she picked her up from the shelter.
Well, no, Penny Sanderbeck, we’re not quite to the end of this story…
This case should scare the crap out of every pet owner in the country - no matter your records, no matter your evidence, no matter that you have your animal implanted with a microchip - if your animal gets loose, a left open gate, a pet slipping through your legs as you open the door - then any unscrupulous "rescuer" can take possession of your animal, and you, too, can amass over $40,000 in legal fees trying to get your pet back home. Please let's stop this once and for all. Please donate to Piper's Legal Fund. Please
From the very beginning this sad tale is puzzling, see if you “see” what I “see”...
Here we have a dog picked up by animal control. It’s obviously not a dog long on the streets with mange and bleeding ears and tail. This was a purebred Sheltie, a well-taken-care-of, pampered family pet - who also happens to be Champion Legacies Pipe Dream, lovingly known as Piper. Everyone reading here knows exactly what I’m talking about – any one of us could have seen that this was someone’s lost pet, not an abandoned animal in the streets, so from the very beginning something is not quite right...
Sanderbeck knew this. Just imagine what she knew, compared to any casual observer, with all her experience in the breed-specific rescue of Shelties. Yes, Sanderbeck knew from the very beginning what was in her hands, no doubt about it at all.
The staff at the Franklin County Shelter knew this, as well – they deal with animals from the streets every day – they knew this was someone’s lost pet. It's no use for any of them to deny it.
Beyond this, I just can’t imagine why the shelter would ignore Federal Law by not holding an animal with a microchip implant for 5 days, or why they would ignore their own internal policy of holding an implanted animal for 14 days – this time period for implanted animals exists for only one reason – to give an owner ample chance to reclaim their lost pet.
And here's a kicker - neither the day of Piper was picked up, nor the day of her release are counted towards the federal 5-day holding period. That means Piper, a microchip implanted animal, was only given Friday through Sunday - Good Friday through Easter Sunday, 3 days for her owners to find her. This is an outrage and The Franklin County Aminal Shelter should be doing all it can to make sure Piper is returned to her rightful owners. No excuses.
The shelter did call the microchip company, good for them… not that it made a bit of difference. The microchip company then directed the shelter to the vet who implanted the microchip. It really is this simple. Two phone calls. However, the vet’s records were in paper files, not available electronically, and the office needed a bit of time to get the info together. It was Easter weekend, the office was closed.
Ignoring Federal Law and their own internal policy, the Franklin County Animal Shelter turned Piper over to Penny Sanderbeck, who had obviously been alerted of a Sheltie in “need of rescue”. I mean, she didn’t just wander in to The Franklin County Animal Shelter the Monday after Easter and say, “oh my goodness, what do we have here?” Though I can definitely imagine her saying those exact words upon seeing Piper for the first time… This was no diamond in the rough, this was beautiful diamond.
Within 24-hours of Piper being released to Sanderbeck, Penny Sanderbeck had already been contacted by Piper’s owner, Veronica Covatch, to let Penny know that her “rescue” was Veronica’s missing pet. Silence.
Another kicker - Sanderbeck had in her possession Piper’s microchip implant information from the very beginning. She could have found the owners of this obviously lost pet with a simple phone call. But she never tried – never even bothered to call, follow up, verify or make any effort whatsoever to locate the owners of Piper – a dog that was clearly lost, not abandoned and certainly not abused. What kind of “rescue operation” are you running, Penny Sanderbeck?
And what was the rush and hush all about? How is it possible that Piper disappeared so quickly, first from the shelter, and then from COSR, almost as if there was an “adoptive parent” already anxiously waiting for her? Is this possible? Where is Piper, Penny?
Sadly, we know “how” this happened, the facts are pretty straightforward and we’re not an ignorant bunch around here. This diary includes all media reports of this incident, and like me, we can all come to our own conclusions. But, even after studying every aspect of this case as if it had personally happened to me, I’m still left with the burning question of “why?” Why have you done this, Penny Sanderbeck – why are you absolutely refusing to return a beloved pet to her rightful owner?...
Why?
As an animal rescuer, I can’t even begin to wrap my head around why Sanderbeck is not joyfully returning Piper to her heartbroken owners – and I mean with a smile on her face and a dance in her heart. Because that’s exactly the kind of happy it is. Every time. There simply has to be reasons other than the ones Sanderbeck’s posted - her excuses are so patently ridiculous on their face that I discarded them months ago. Nothing since has changed my opinion. What is your real reason, Penny Sanderbeck?
I think now would be a good time to jump in with the following - and I’m only using myself as an example because this just happened a week ago, Tuesday, and I think it illustrates a very clear difference between what I do in the rescue community, and what Sanderbeck claims to do.
I rescued a Chocolate Lab 10 days ago, though I’m not breed-specific by any stretch of the imagination. I simply respond to the last minute calls from rescuers whom I trust or shelter staff who can’t bear to see a particular animal euthanized. I’m one of the chief advocates for No-Kill on the island, so I literally have to back up my beliefs with real actions.
Arrangements were made for her to be vaccinated before leaving the shelter that same afternoon, and I scheduled her vet check-up and sterilization for the following Monday, 9/29. That fast, and nearly too fast - definitely a lesson learned.
The day after getting the new rescue home from her vet appointment, on Tuesday, 9/30, I received a Facebook message with a pic, from the very person who alerted me to the Lab in the first place only a few days before. The pic in the Facebook message was of a lost Chocolate Lab – same general area, same description, almost identical pics. Take a look and tell me if you wouldn’t do a double take…
here's the Chocolate Lab I named Cocoabear Gorilla Bananas
and here's the pic of the lost Chocolate Lab
No microchip, no possible trail back to the original owners, only a shared pic on Facebook with an unmistakable concern. The concern for the owners as well as concern for this lost pet was more than enough for us to immediately contact them. It turned out that our rescued Lab
was not their lost Lab, but due to the flurry of shared concern, another member of the rescue team did spot, and then lead the owners to their lost girl – and it was such an amazing reunion.
That’s the thing… for anyone who’s ever experienced the absolute joy when a family is reunited with their missing pet, then you know exactly what I mean when I say there’s nothing quite like it. Talk about putting a flood of tears in your eyes and a huge smile in your heart!
Yet, Penny Sanderbeck, animal rescuer extraordinaire, refuses to allow such a reunion... a reunion that the owners are desperate to have. Why, Sanderbeck… why?
Please contribute, if you can, to help Veronica and Piper have their joyful reunion.
Sanderbeck claims that her actions are solely for the welfare of the dog! That’s right, and I’m a purple leprechaun.
We’re talking about a beloved pet and Champion Sheltie, a pampered family member, even down to having her nails clipped every single day, not to mention only the very best nutrition and care since her birth - a birth that her owners witnessed. Let THAT sink in for a moment...
And this “rescuer”, Sanderbeck, says she’s doing this to save Piper from harm? Dios mío.
Why, Sanderbeck, why? What is your real reason for not returning Piper to her heartbroken owners?
It’s known within the rescue community the enormous amounts of money being made from “retail rescue”, a term used for the “boutique” industry that profits mightily from the “sale” of rescues. Is this what it’s all about?
Just to be clear, from my very personal viewpoint, when a “boutique” charges $1,000 or more for a rescued animal, then this is no longer an “adoption fee”, but the sale of a sought after commodity – to shroud this in the altruism of animal rights, or animal protection or rescue is despicable. And this concerns not only “street rescues”, but also the actual theft of people’s beloved pets… a reality that eerily reminds me of Piper’s current situation.
Close to two months ago I received an urgent call at 11pm asking if I could go and check on 3 dogs that needed rescuing. I was given a description of 3 Shih-tzus, 2 adults and a puppy, and they were apparently abandoned at a local restaurant. I got the call because I was the closest, so I got in the truck and headed off...
When I arrived a few minutes later, and saw the animals in question, I immediately knew something was wrong. All three animals ran for a home just behind the restaurant, and they made their way easily onto the balcony through the railings as if they’d done it a thousand times, then barking their heads off alerting of a stranger… me. It was obvious, at least to me, that these dogs actually lived there, and I got back in the truck as fast as I could and got the heck out of there. No way was I going to get shot in the pitch dark, close to midnight, in an unfamiliar neighborhood… trying to rescue dogs that Did. Not. Need. Rescuing.
I got home and called everyone back who had contacted me and told them my experience – the dogs entered the balcony of a home, and it was my opinion that the dogs actually belonged there and were NOT in need of rescue.
By the following morning my inbox was flooded with requests for one of the dogs in particular – what appeared to be an all-white purebred Shih-tzu, and several people expressed their desire to “send it to the U.S. for a better life” - they all thought I had actually picked up the animals. My internal radar started sounding, so I again went to the home where I last saw the 3 dogs, arriving at 9am. What I found was an older woman in tears. Earlier that morning her pets were “rescued”, no doubt by someone else alerted to these animals just as I was – and in their corner of the world these "rescuers" are social media heroes, untouched by authorities. The theft of pets cloaked in the mantle “rescue”. They are thieves, not animal rescuers. Thieves that are walking free, not concerned in the least for the broken hearts they leave behind.
"Lost to Rescuers” should be the new headline...
"Rescuers", who in far too many instances appear to be above any laws, and from what I’ve also observed, far too self-righteous for common sense or common decency. They claim that an animal is abused or in need of rescue, and that’s that. There simply is no real regulations or the necessary enforcement mechanisms in place.
This experience leaves me with a sorrow for Piper that I just can’t shake.
Where is Piper, Penny Sanderbeck, and why haven’t you returned her to her rightful owners? You know who the owners are. You know what you’ve done, from the first moment you received the call from the shelter. Please don’t pretend otherwise, we’re not as stupid as you seem to think.
The national attention of this case has cost Sanderbeck dearly. It is certainly not true in animal rescue that publicity is publicity, even bad publicity. Even the National Sheltie Rescue Org. has cut all ties and support of Sanderbeck and COSR. COSR’s necessary funding is drying up, and her reputation has taken a beating from which I don’t think she’ll ever recover. So, why exactly have you done this, Penny Sanderbeck? I know it’s not to “rescue” or “protect” an abused animal. Everyone knows this.
Why?
An entire nation is waiting to hear the truth, Penny Sanderbeck, and in my well-researched opinion, we’ve heard nothing even close to the truth from you.
WHY won't you return Piper, a dog who is so obviously wanted and loved!?! WHY?
What say you, pootie and woozle peeps? Can you please chip in just a little bit to help bring Piper home? This case is so important to every animal owner - it is no stretch of the imagination to see this happening to any one of us, and it’s gutwrenching.
Here's a complete rundown of all media reports concerning Piper. I know it's an awful lot of information, but it's so important. Deep thanks, again, to Edrie for her untiring contributions.
Daily Kos Reports:
Ever Had a Pup Stolen or Lost? BEWARE of Rescue Groups
Piper's Story Continues
Piper's Story Continues - When Wisdom of Solomon is Not Enough
She's Taken Something as Natural as Death and Birth, and Turned it Into Something...
Four Months and Counting, Piper's Case Moves to the Courtroom
Best In Show Daily Reports:
When a Rescue Goes Wrong
Piper's Saga Moves to the Courtroom
Breaking News - Rescue Posts $10,000 Bond to Keep From Returning Piper
$200 For a Champion Sheltie - An Update on Piper
Piper Update - Attorney Bell Breaks His Silence
Piper's Saga the Early Days - A Closer Look
Abuse Allegations Trail COSR Director
Veronica Covatch, Piper's Owner, Speaks Out
Supporting Documents Piper Case 2014 cvf 024571
Sanderbeck COSR Answer to Complain Analysis
Other MSM Reports:
NBCi4
Columbus Dispatch
Philly.com
Examiner
ABC13
CBS Philadelphia
And what say YOU, woozles? Are you united in one voice against the atrocious actions of Penny Sanderbeck!?!
Thanks for reading, and please contribute to
Piper's Legal Fund, every tiny bit helps to bring a cherished life back home, and your support will help assure this never happens to one of us. Never again.
Bring Piper Home!