Need Advice From People Working In Rescues? Does This Sound Shady???

[Staceybush96]

This maybe off topic but I have no place else to turn. I Recently started volunteering at a new rescue as a foster. I currently have 4 six to seven week old kittens. These kittens were in a horders house. I asked the director when I could bring these kittens to the vet to be Tested for feline leukemia, first distemper and dewormed. I thought her answer would be around 8 weeks but she said they get tested and first shots when the get fixed at 12 plus weeks and they ONLY get dewormed if I see worms in their poop. Her vet will not spay or Neuter till the kittens are at least 12 weeks. I questioned this as the kittens will be adopted out at 8 or 9 weeks old and BEFORE they get their first shots or tested. She said people don’t want to wait they want the kittens when they are around 8 or 9 weeks. Her response was if the adopter has another cat just to tell them to keep the kitten locked in another room till they go to be fixed. Big WTF in my book. I pushed the issue and asked her why we could not test or vacinate sooner and she Blamed her vet saying the vet won’t do it as The blood test for feline leukemia would not be accurate at eight weeks. I know she’s lying as she “slipped” and said she would have to pay extra if she brought the kittens in early for their shots and testing. It’s cheaper if she gets everything done at once. I get it rescues run on donations but waiting till AFTER the kitten gets adopted to vaccinate them and test them just seems wrong. What is everyone’s thoughts on this??

 

[Mamanyt1953]

It sounds off to me, but you did say "new rescue." New to you, or just started up? If that's the case, she may be overwhelmed financially and doing the best she can. That said, those kittens should be checked before they are adopted, and ideally they should be sterilized before being adopted. Even with low-cost vouchers, all too many people just...don't follow through.

 

[theyremine]

Not the way it works at the rescue I volunteer for. Kittens are vetted at 8-9 weeks, spay/neuter, first distemper, and microchipped. They are also tested for feline leukemia and FIV. Advantage/Revolution applied. Of course, any kitten with fleas would be treated as soon as the rescue took possession. All before they are adopted out.

 

[ArchyCat]

And shouldn't the kittens be dewormed at three or for weeks of age? Thought kittens would get round worms from the mother cat?

 

[Staceybush96]

This rescue is new to me BUT the director (Lori) has been doing it for over ten years. I have also found out (thanks to Facebook/social media) Volunteers have left due to her shady dealings with the rescue. Yes there is ALWAYS two sides to every story BUT I know what I see. I see her and her husband going out to the movies every weekend/eating out EVERY NIGHT( thanks to Facebook) BUT she complains all the time they have no money and living on a fixed income. Its been rumored she is spending the donation/fundraiser money for the rescue on herself. They are a 501(c) non-profit organization how do they get away with this? Don't they have to report all the money somehow?

Another thing I noticed is Lori has NO CLUE what cats/kittens she has either in foster homes or at the stores. More than once she has called me asking if I had a certain foster cat as she lost who had them. I told her maybe she should write down who has what cat and she was like "oh I don't have time for that". BUT she has time to go out to dinner every night and movies on the weekend?She does absolutely no hands on with the cats. The Volunteers do ALL the cleaning/feeding of the cats in the stores. She will show up late for adoption events and acts all frazzled/busy/sick like she's been doing a hundred things. I figured out pretty fast it was all an act to get out of doing anything at the adoption events and just sit around watching Youtube videos when everyone else is running around doing things.

Well I have to play nice till my kittens get adopted and hope they don't get sick since she refuses to get them their first shots till at least 3 or 4 months. Then I'm leaving this group.

 

[FelisCatus]

If you honestly think something shady is going on, you leaving the group won't do much besides turn a blind eye. You should continue to gather physical/digital evidence and report her/them.

By you leaving and nothing changing with the organization, cats/kittens will continue to come and the bad care will continue.

 

[Staceybush96]

I would love to report them but the person who is doing this is the owner of the rescue. Do you know how I would go about reporting her?

 

[FelisCatus]

If you believe they are doing wrong and have proof then it would go to the BBB.

A non-profit organization, is still a business so the Better Business Bureau.

BBB Online Complaint System | Get Started

You should first speak to her first though, no matter how intimidating it might be and let her know of your intentions. She should get a chance to shape-up. Maybe in the beginning everything was good and it just went bad once it became too much (or greed?), who knows. In the end cats/kittens will get the short end of the stick regardless.

 

[ArchyCat]

First, I would consult a lawyer. Specifically, I would ask:

1. Would the IRS be interested in learning about a 501(c) that is possibly being abused by the leader/owner of the organization?

2. What is the type/nature of proof that the IRS would want?

3. What is the potential legal exposure that I have?

On the other hand, you could make an anonymous complaint to the IRS.

The best outcome, I wold think, is that your anonymity would be maintained, the organization's 501(c) classification would be revoked, and the owner would be sued by the IRS to account for all the donations and expenditures. Then sued by the IRS for taxes on the donations she put to personal use.


I do believe the BBB is a voluntary, nongovernmental organization. The only enforcement powers they have is to revoke your membership. If your business is a member.

Good luck with this. But I think even a complaint to the IRS world have a slim chance of having a result, given their being chronically underfunded.

 

[theyremine]

I don't know what state you are in, but in NH rescues are licensed by the state and in NH, they are quite stringent. Perhaps, contacting the state?