Imagine the following scenario:
You are pregnant. You and your husband are just celebrating the purchase of your first home. The move is stressful and tiring but you are both filled with so much joy at having your own home. A short time later you suffer a miscarriage and your baby dies. In your devastation you look for causes... was the move to stressful? Did you hurt yourself? Is there something in the environment? What happened? What you will never think of... (and not even know) was that the sellers of your home owned a brucellosis positive dog who pee'd on every inch of the property in the 5 years that dog lived in your home.
Thank Retail Rescue for that one. These rescues love to blame 'breeders' for brucellosis but in reality, American dog breeders had almost irradiated brucellosis from their kennels. Brucellosis in dog breeding kennels was becoming very rare. Instead, thanks to money hungry cons passing themselves off as 'rescuers' importing disease ridden foreign street dogs, brucellosis is making a major comeback in America. The number one source for brucellosis is now these stray and un-owned street dogs they are reselling into a home near you. Most Americans and veterinarians don't even know its happening. Retail rescues are simply quietly reselling these dogs to new homes without talking about it.
No one is tracking it. (though legally they are required too)
No one cares.
Rescues only care about the $$$ they are collecting and polishing that halo that they 'saved' something. While every state in the nation requires a health certificate to ship a dog across state lines, almost no rescues comply with this law. Many states require that dogs from 'high risk' situations like stray or un-owned dogs be tested for brucellosis, most rescues don't comply with that either. Many states either mandate the dog be euthanized or quarantined for life. Many rescues don't comply because there's no money in that. They need product to sell to you and a sob story to rake in those donations.
Retail rescues claim the disease can be 'managed.' It can't. They claim that if the dog is spayed or neutered it can't pass the disease on. It can. While infertility is a major symptom of a dog infected with brucellosis, the bacteria IS shed in the dog's urine and saliva. The most common route of infection between dogs is NOT SEX but instead licking contaminated urine and grooming each other. A common infection route is the membranes around the eyes.
Imagine the following scenario:
Your beautiful child has been battling leukemia for several years. After intensive treatment, many hospitalizations and years of pain, your child is in remission. Can you imagine the relief? The joy? One day, suddenly the cancer is back with a vengeance. It quickly escalates and your child dies. You and your family are devastated. What you will never know is.... one day your child was walking to the bus stop to go to school. A neighbor down the street owns a brucellosis infected dog they bought from a 'rescue.' The dog was outside in the yard. Your child approached it and since it seemed very friendly, spent 5 minutes petting it. The dog licked your child's face and hands. It was shedding brucellosis bacteria. Your child had a severely compromised immune system due to the cancer and chemo. That dog was a risk to your child and you will never know it, and never make that connection. Instead, all you can think of is how 'sweet it is' that your neighbor owns a 'rescued' dog.
Dog breeders have always immediately euthanized brucellosis infected dogs because it cannot be cured. Period. With the rise of retail rescues desperate for profit, treating the dog with antibiotics is now being pushed as a solution so they can keep selling dogs. Antibiotics cannot cure a disease that has no cure.
Infected dogs are a health hazard to humans. Period.
You can imagine my surprise when I saw a post by one of these intensive halo polishing rescues in Texas called This Is Houston. They are offering for public sale, a brucellosis infected dog named Ozzy.
Ozzy was at Texas A&M for a month. How many dogs were exposed to him before they knew of his diagnosis?
This Texas rescue sells dogs across state lines as far away as Michigan. They admit that they are overcrowded but guess what? They don't stop taking them in!! They claim there are just so many in need of saving.... hint, hint, GIVE US MONEY.
Back to Ozzy. They are looking to resell him to any member of the public that's not pregnant, have children or immune compromised. Like that will solve this problem. Oh, and he'll need to be tested every 1-3 months for the rest of his life. Let's not forget, he must always live in quarantine as well. Oh, and he still may have to have a leg amputated.
While I was happy to see that several hundred people had protested this situation, sadly among the numerous posts about Ozzy were over 1,000 comments from people SUPPORTING the sale of a infected dog out into the public.
It is no surprise that this rescue started blocking and banning people. Deleting hundreds of comments from their page. Editing their own comments to make it look like they are such saviors for what they are doing.
There is nothing responsible about this situation. Nothing. The dog has a highly infectious zoonotic disease. They proudly boast that they have already spent $25,000 (hint, hint, GIVE US MONEY) and are fundraising for a $40 a day stay for Ozzy in a boarding kennel.
Imagine the following scenario:
YOU can act in these situations. Here's some steps to take. "This Is Houston" is run by Tom Heller and Laura Jean Forma out of a 2,200 sq. ft. house: 3219 Kings Mountain Drive, Kingwood, TX 77345. Report them to the USDA via their online complaint form.
Report them to the State of Texas.
Call Texas A&M and Gulf Coast and tell their staff that you object to dogs being exposed to a brucellosis infected dog at their clinic and demand to know if the dog has been reported to the government and why they are not insisting on euthanasia? Both entities are required by federal law to report Ozzy to the CDC within 24 hours. Have they done so? Brucellosis must be reported within 1 working day to the Texas Department of State Health Services at: (800) 705-8868 or (800) 252-8239. Has Ozzy been reported?
Part 2: A supporter of "This is Houston" steps forward to boast that they resold a brucellosis positive dog as well.
Update: This has turned into a multi-part series.
Part 1: Could Your Neighbor's Dog Kill Your Child?
Part 2: Another Brucellosis Positive Dog Sold In Virginia
Part 3: Living Off Animal Suffering - Retail Rescue Exposed
Part 4: Exposing Cons Brings The Home Girls Out
Dog breeders have always immediately euthanized brucellosis infected dogs because it cannot be cured. Period. With the rise of retail rescues desperate for profit, treating the dog with antibiotics is now being pushed as a solution so they can keep selling dogs. Antibiotics cannot cure a disease that has no cure.
Infected dogs are a health hazard to humans. Period.
You can imagine my surprise when I saw a post by one of these intensive halo polishing rescues in Texas called This Is Houston. They are offering for public sale, a brucellosis infected dog named Ozzy.
This Texas rescue sells dogs across state lines as far away as Michigan. They admit that they are overcrowded but guess what? They don't stop taking them in!! They claim there are just so many in need of saving.... hint, hint, GIVE US MONEY.
Back to Ozzy. They are looking to resell him to any member of the public that's not pregnant, have children or immune compromised. Like that will solve this problem. Oh, and he'll need to be tested every 1-3 months for the rest of his life. Let's not forget, he must always live in quarantine as well. Oh, and he still may have to have a leg amputated.
While I was happy to see that several hundred people had protested this situation, sadly among the numerous posts about Ozzy were over 1,000 comments from people SUPPORTING the sale of a infected dog out into the public.
There is nothing responsible about this situation. Nothing. The dog has a highly infectious zoonotic disease. They proudly boast that they have already spent $25,000 (hint, hint, GIVE US MONEY) and are fundraising for a $40 a day stay for Ozzy in a boarding kennel.
Imagine the following scenario:
After working on a long intensive project at work, you and your wife go on a cruise. You have a splendid time. While you are gone, your dog is boarded at the local boarding kennel. You come home and pick up your dog. Everyone is happy. Your dog is happy to be home. You had a great cruise experience. You think nothing of the fact that your wife is a breast cancer survivor when a year later your wife is diagnosed with brain cancer. Damn cancer!! Your wife dies a quick and terrible death. No one ever knows or makes a connection that at that boarding kennel, the dog in the next run was from a rescue and was positive for brucellosis. There was only chain link between the dogs, not solid barriers. The dogs licked each other and exchanged saliva. Your dog has been spayed for years, you are not a breeder. Your dog has no symptoms it is ill.... you will never know your dog caught brucellosis from that dog and your wife was exposed.
This is why American dog breeders have always euthanized the infected dogs. You think us cruel and heartless while we quietly sob into our pillows at the devastating loss of our dogs. Veterinarians blame us for the problem. Everyone gives these rescues a free pass when they deliberately and knowingly place these dogs out in society.
It is American dog breeders who have funded medical research studies through the AKC Canine Health Foundation and a number of direct grants from purebred parent clubs in an attempt to develop a vaccine to protect our dogs. Retail rescues haven't done a single thing to solve this problem. American dog breeders have. They have put their money where their mouths are. Retail rescues put your money in their pocket while blaming breeders for the rescue's irresponsibility.
The highest risk for brucellosis comes from Asia (those 'meat dogs' rescues are importing by the tens of thousands), close behind that, Mexico. Guess where the majority of stray street dogs in Texas come from? They are from Mexico. But, sure retail rescues, go ahead and continue to blame American dog breeders for your brucellosis infected dogs. Meanwhile their media lapdogs continue to report that human brucellosis is rare while not telling you that absolutely no one is tracking these infected rescue dogs in your communities. They don't tell you that brucellosis is really hard to detect in humans and they have no viable research on how much animal to human transmission there has been. Public health officials don't even know these animals are in their communities.
And you don't either.
After a public outcry, its no surprise that "This is Houston" started blocking, banning, purging their website of negative comments and threatening legal action against anyone objecting to their attempt to sell a brucellosis positive dog out into the community.
Don't worry, they are now boasting that they have found Ozzy a home!! Someone is apparently gullible enough to take on this train wreck. Unfortunately you will never know if that person is your neighbor, co-worker, random person you met at the dog park, etc.
This is why American dog breeders have always euthanized the infected dogs. You think us cruel and heartless while we quietly sob into our pillows at the devastating loss of our dogs. Veterinarians blame us for the problem. Everyone gives these rescues a free pass when they deliberately and knowingly place these dogs out in society.
It is American dog breeders who have funded medical research studies through the AKC Canine Health Foundation and a number of direct grants from purebred parent clubs in an attempt to develop a vaccine to protect our dogs. Retail rescues haven't done a single thing to solve this problem. American dog breeders have. They have put their money where their mouths are. Retail rescues put your money in their pocket while blaming breeders for the rescue's irresponsibility.
The highest risk for brucellosis comes from Asia (those 'meat dogs' rescues are importing by the tens of thousands), close behind that, Mexico. Guess where the majority of stray street dogs in Texas come from? They are from Mexico. But, sure retail rescues, go ahead and continue to blame American dog breeders for your brucellosis infected dogs. Meanwhile their media lapdogs continue to report that human brucellosis is rare while not telling you that absolutely no one is tracking these infected rescue dogs in your communities. They don't tell you that brucellosis is really hard to detect in humans and they have no viable research on how much animal to human transmission there has been. Public health officials don't even know these animals are in their communities.
And you don't either.
After a public outcry, its no surprise that "This is Houston" started blocking, banning, purging their website of negative comments and threatening legal action against anyone objecting to their attempt to sell a brucellosis positive dog out into the community.
Don't worry, they are now boasting that they have found Ozzy a home!! Someone is apparently gullible enough to take on this train wreck. Unfortunately you will never know if that person is your neighbor, co-worker, random person you met at the dog park, etc.
YOU can act in these situations. Here's some steps to take. "This Is Houston" is run by Tom Heller and Laura Jean Forma out of a 2,200 sq. ft. house: 3219 Kings Mountain Drive, Kingwood, TX 77345. Report them to the USDA via their online complaint form.
Report them to the State of Texas.
Call Texas A&M and Gulf Coast and tell their staff that you object to dogs being exposed to a brucellosis infected dog at their clinic and demand to know if the dog has been reported to the government and why they are not insisting on euthanasia? Both entities are required by federal law to report Ozzy to the CDC within 24 hours. Have they done so? Brucellosis must be reported within 1 working day to the Texas Department of State Health Services at: (800) 705-8868 or (800) 252-8239. Has Ozzy been reported?
Part 2: A supporter of "This is Houston" steps forward to boast that they resold a brucellosis positive dog as well.
Update: This has turned into a multi-part series.
Part 1: Could Your Neighbor's Dog Kill Your Child?
Part 2: Another Brucellosis Positive Dog Sold In Virginia
Part 3: Living Off Animal Suffering - Retail Rescue Exposed
Part 4: Exposing Cons Brings The Home Girls Out
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