Maine: Animal cruelty suspect Nicole Bizier (aka Sarah Lancaster, Sara Plummer) may have flipped stolen pets say police

MAINE -- A woman under investigation for animal cruelty and operating an illegal pet shop may have been involved in "pet flipping," according to police in Skowhegan, Maine.

Nicole Bizier, 32, of Skowhegan, was arrested last week and charged with theft by deception, animal cruelty, and operating an illegal pet shop.

Note: A Craigslist ad said that police stated that Bizier used aliases: Sarah Lancaster, Sara Plummer, and possibly others to cover her tracks.

Authorities began investigating Bizier, 32, earlier in March, when the state Animal Welfare Program received an animal cruelty complaint for a stray dog found in Pittsfield. The state agents determined that Bizier last owned the dog, which had severe tissue damage around its mouth from wearing a muzzle for a long time.

 

Before walking into Nicole Bizier’s garage on March 17, Detective Katelyn Nichols hadn’t worked on an animal cruelty case.

“It was disturbing, walking into the garage and seeing dogs basically stacked in cages,” said Nichols, who works for the Skowhegan Police Department.

Nichols was one of the Skowhegan Police officers who took part in the search of Bizier’s home.

The one-car garage, which held tools, yard equipment and toys in addition to the four adult dogs, was very cold, Nichols said, and had no form of heating. The dogs were in cages that gave them just enough room to turn around, she said, and they didn’t have water or food bowls. The cages had hay and some had dog beds, but those were “so dirty they almost looked brown,” according to Nichols.

The space smelled like “urine and dirty animals,” which was accurate, as the dogs were relieving themselves in their cages.

While Nichols was in the garage, another Skowhegan officer called her saying there were puppies locked in a closet.

Nichols, who has a dog herself, was shocked.

“It’s hard to believe a human being could keep animals locked up in a closet,” she said.

Inside the house where Bizier lives, which is a small single-wide trailer in Skowhegan, it smelled “like old food and animal urine,” Nichols said. There was clutter everywhere.

“It was very, very dirty inside,” Nichols said. “It was not a place I would choose to live.”

In the home’s only bathroom, police found four puppies in the bathtub. They had a blanket, but it was soaked in urine. There was a bowl of wet cat food and no water bowl.

 

“It looked like they were expected to drink from the dripping faucet,” Nichols said.

It seemed the 4-week-old puppies were not allowed to leave the tub. They acted lethargic, she said.

“Normally, puppies at 4 weeks old, they’re excited and jumping around. But these seemed exhausted,” Nichols said.

In a house closet three more puppies were found. The total space for the dogs was about 2-feet-by-2-feet when the door was closed with a small cardboard box filled with cat litter, which they didn’t use.

The puppies slept through the transfer from Bizier’s residence to the Humane Society of Somerset County, Nichols said.

Skowhegan Police Detective Katelyn Nichols told the Morning Sentinel that it appears Bizier was involved in pet flipping, or receiving a free or stolen animal and selling it online for profit.

"There are pet flippers out there, but I didn't make nothing off of them," Bizier told necn. "I was doing it to help the animals."

Nicole Bizier, 32, stands by her silver Jeep in the Pizza Hut
parking lot with the dog she tried to sell to state animal
welfare agents and Skowhegan police on Feb. 2. 

Bizier admits to selling pets online, and even falsifying veterinary documents, but insists that people gave her the animals and that she took good care of them.

Skowhegan Police say they found 11 dogs in poor conditions, and received reports from customers that Bizier was selling unhealthy animals.

"I think the take away is that if you're unable to care for your pet, use your shelter as a resource," said Animal Refuge League of Greater Portland spokesperson Jeana Roth. "We're here to provide medical care and shelter for animals in need. Use your shelter. It's what we're here for."

At this point, it sounds like Bizier was “pet flipping,” Nichols said. Pet flipping is when someone gets an animal for free and then turns around and sells them. While Nichols said she’s never seen this type of behavior before, she suspects it may happen more often than people realize.

Typically, those who “flip” pets are stealing them, said Brandi Hunter, vice president of public relations and communications at the American Kennel Club.

Someone will let a dog play in the yard or leave it tied up outside a store while running errands, and the dog will be stolen. The club has even heard of people stealing dogs from cars, Hunter said, though she added that not every theft is about pet flipping.

According to the club’s National Pet Theft Database, the number of stolen dogs has increased dramatically since 2008, when 71 were reported stolen. In 2015, 831 dogs were stolen.

While there is no data on dogs stolen in Maine, Natalie Messier, president of the nonprofit Maine Lost Dog Recovery, said they received 804 reports of lost dogs in 2015 and 12 percent were unaccounted for. In 2016, the number of reports increased to 924, and 11 percent are still unaccounted for.

With this case, however, it seems that Bizier was getting the dogs for free from people who were looking to re-home them. Nichols said a number of possible victims have come forward, as well as a number of people who say they gave her their animals, thinking they were going to a good home.

On average, Bizier was selling the dogs for $250 to $500, Nichols said.

Bizier said she didn't give the animals to a shelter because she has heard "horror stories" about shelters.

"Innocent until proven guilty — and I'm not guilty of animal abuse," she said.

Bizier is expected to make a court appearance next month.

(WCSH - March 28, 2017)

New York: Lisa Birdsall is accused of adopting out sick pets and sticking new owners with thousands of dollars in vet bills

NEW YORK -- A northern Westchester animal rescue operation is under fire for allegedly adopting out sick pets and sticking new owners with thousands of dollars in vet bills.

Alleged victims are still coming forward with videos and pictures of sick animals which they say were adopted from the mobile non-profit, "Recycled Paws Rescue."

Four years ago, Bob Pidgeon and Kyle McCarthy, of Cortland Manor, adopted McGee, a Shepard mix, from the non-profit Recycled Paws Rescue.

They said they were told the puppy was given a clean bill of health by a veterinarian, but almost immediately, things with McGee went terribly wrong, CBS2’s Scott Rapoport reported.

“He vomited. He had diarrhea. He was lethargic. He didn’t run around, he just laid there,” McCarthy said.

The McCarthys adopted McGee from Lisa Birdsall only
to find out later that he had Distemper

She said the dog had a case of distemper, which is a potentially deadly neurological disorder. She feared it might kill him.

McCarthy said she paid more than $3,000 in veterinarian bills for a puppy she was told was healthy but obviously was not. She is furious at Recycled Paws Rescue.

 

“Deceitful. Disrespectful. They are essentially just flipping puppies,” she said.

Her case against Recycled Paws Rescue is apparently not the only one.

Westchester officials confirm owner Lisa Marie Birdsall has outstanding civil penalties for operating without a permit in the past. They say she also voluntarily surrendered a number of sick dogs during an investigation.

Birdsall surrender many dogs that were sick
and had not been provided with vet care

"We provided medical care for those 10 dogs. There were still dogs sick. One of the problems we faced with this, a vet said those dogs were under their care," says Ernest Lungaro, of the Westchester SPCA.

SPCA officials say they are investigating a number of complaints.

Birdsall and her attorney had no comment to News 12. However, in response to the accusations against Birdsall, her attorney sent a statement, saying “She has not done that knowingly. She has adopted out thousands and just a few complain. They are animals, not goods with a warranty. The allegations are unfair.”

The MCarthys say Birdsall is nothing but a dog flipper

(News12 - November 30, 2016)

Canada: Golden Retriever attacked and dies from pit bull attack; owners feel like authorities blowing them off

CANADA -- A local couple is hurt, frustrated and angry after their dog died following a vicious pit bull attack in the city's west end.

Bruce Eddy took his golden retriever Jasmine, and a young puppy, for a walk in his Hillside Drive neighborhood early on the evening of Oct. 6, and his dogs were attacked by three pit bulls that raced out of a nearby yard.

Seven-year-old Jasmine was bitten twice by the biggest pit bull and later treated by a veterinarian and died two weeks later from injuries suffered in the attack, Eddy said.

The pup ran away and escaped unharmed, but Eddy and his wife Pamela haven't been the same since.

Much of their time during the past seven weeks has been spent trying to get authorities to track down the woman that owned the pit bulls, and getting her dogs out of the community so something worse doesn't happen.

“Before some innocent child has to witness their animal attacked or another death, or a kid being attacked,” Pam said.

Despite their persistent efforts, Pam and Bruce say they've been frustrated and feel most local authorities have blown them off.

“There's a lot of red tape and it's been over a month. It shouldn't take that long to go and retrieve those dogs,” Pam told The Sault Star.

“If it was a child bite, the dogs would have been picked up immediately.”
Quebec municipalities pondered banning pit bulls earlier this year after a 55-year-old Montreal woman was mauled in June by a pit bull in the backyard of her home and died, Canadian Press reported.

Ontario imposed a ban on the dogs more than a decade ago. The province banned pit bull ownership in 2005. The ban made it mandatory for all pit bulls in the province to be spayed or neutered, leashed and muzzled in public, CP reported. The ultimate goal was to remove pit bulls from the province altogether by preventing them from breeding, and to keep new pit bulls out of Ontario.

Pam said the Sault Ste. Marie Humane Society knew for almost a year that the three dogs that attacked her dogs were a problem.

A pet control officer told Bruce on the night Jasmine was attacked that the humane society had been trying for nearly one year to track down the woman who owned the dogs, but was unable to find her because she “moved around a lot and hides herself and the dogs,” Bruce said.

“She (the officer) said they can't find her to serve her papers,” he said.

Later, a highly-placed humane society official told Pam the dogs had been on their radar for most of a year.

“(She) said, 'We knew it (the problem) would surface again.' Well, why didn't they have all this paperwork in order a year ago so then when I told them our dog was bit, they could have seized them (the pit bulls) that night,” said Pam, who is not at all satisfied with how things have been handled.

The Eddys have contacted the humane society many times since the incident to find out what was being done to secure the dogs.

“I'm disgusted,” Pam said.

“They say they're doing their job, but they're not. It's telling somebody what they want to hear and not what's really going on,” Bruce added.

Calls Thursday and Friday to Cindy Ross, manager at the SSM Humane Society, were not returned to The Sault Star.

Eddy said he was walking his dogs only a few houses away from his home at about 7 p.m. on Oct. 6.

Jasmine was on the main leash and the smaller puppy was on a secondary leash that was attached to main tether when the three pit bulls, which he hadn't seen before in the neighborhood, came roaring out of a driveway after his dogs.
He turned to protect the pup, but she got off the leash and took off running.

“She broke loose and ran and two of the pit bulls tried to chase her halfway home, which was only about four or five houses,” he said.

“I turned around and the big pit bull, which is named Princess I found out after, had my golden retriever pinned on the road and had her teeth sunk into her neck.”

As he tried to pull the pit bull off Jasmine, a woman came running out of the nearby driveway, “yelling and screaming at her dogs to get off mine.”

He yanked Princess off his dog and had a hold of the canine when the woman grabbed her dog out of his hands.

Then I turned around and saw my dog laying on the ground with blood and fur “all over the place,” he said.

The owner of the pit bull took hold of Princess's collar, called her other two dogs and she and the three animals disappeared into the yard they came from, while Eddy took his dog into his house.

He told his wife what happened and asked her to call city police.

“They said they didn't act on dog incidents,” he said, but they would pass his information on to the humane society.

A few hours later a pet control officer showed up at the Eddy home. Meanwhile, Pam went to the neighbour's house where the dogs had been to find out they were gone, and so was the woman who owned them.

The home owner told Pam who the woman was that owned the dogs.

“They weren't my dogs ... I found out all I could about them,” said the homeowner, who did not want to be named.

He said the woman was an acquaintance who called him a few weeks earlier saying she had no food for her dogs and no place to stay.

The neighbor, who is allergic to dogs, agreed to let her and the dogs stay in a trailer outside his home for the night.

“She went into the trailer and two weeks later she was still in the trailer,” said the neighbor. “She wouldn't leave.”

He went to city police in an effort to get the woman off his property, but when he was later in his driveway with the woman and her dogs in his car, she opened the back door and the dogs ran out after Eddy, who just happened to be passing by while walking his dogs.

“Her dog, I guess the female is the bad bitch, she just lunged across there. I turned around and the dogs were gone and they were on this guy's dog and they ended up killing it,” the neighbor said.

Eddy contacted police several times since the attack and says he's also been to the police services building about his dog.

“They've been no help at all,” he said.

Deputy police chief Sean Sparling said he spoke with Eddy, but refused to comment on the issue.

“I'm aware of it but we can't really provide much comment because it's an active matter,” he said. “A dog incident such as that would be normally investigated by the humane society, not us.”

A call by Eddy to city hall eventually put him in touch with city solicitor Jeffrey King, who spoke with the Crown Attorney's office.

An assistant Crown contacted Eddy to say they intended to charge the woman who owned the dogs, but that was three weeks ago.

Eddy lauded King's efforts. “He's been trying hard.”

King did not return calls Thursday or Friday.

Pam said she knows who the woman is that owned the pit bulls. She said the woman had a pit bull for sale on Facebook, but as of Friday the dog was no longer available.

She believes the animal has been sold.

(Sault Star - Nov 25, 2016)

Illinois: Griselda Martinez, 42, blames police for her dogs dying even though they're the ones who rushed them to the vet

ILLINOIS -- A woman charged with animal cruelty said she was trying to help the 11 French Bulldogs and English Bulldog adults and puppies found suffering in the back of her hot van, but could not because of "police interference".

This English Bulldog had foam coming out of her
mouth. An earlier news report said she died. 

Griselda Martinez, who took the stand in her own defense Tuesday, also denied that the dogs were covered in waste and sores when they were found stacked in cages on a 90-degree day in an auto supply shop parking lot in Palatine last summer.

Martinez, 42, formerly of Round Lake, said she was running a business buying and selling dogs. She said she was taking the dogs to her new residence in Streator, Ill., when the van's air conditioning broke and the dogs began to overheat.

She and a friend, Arturo Mendez-Sanchez, had stopped to buy refrigerant for the van when police intervened. An officer testified earlier that the dogs were suffering and were taken inside to cool off.

 

"The dogs were really very hot, and I didn't want anything to happen to them," said Martinez through a Spanish interpreter. "I was going to tell Arturo to take them to a hospital."

Two of the dogs, Lilly and Atlas, died, and the nine others seized by police were taken to a veterinary clinic in Schaumburg where they were treated for heat-related problems and ear and skin infections, authorities said. A veterinarian testified Monday that the dogs appeared to have been neglected.

Under questioning by defense attorney Lawrence Wade, Martinez denied that and said the dogs were her livelihood.

"I started buying dogs to make money for my children," Martinez said. "I loved the dogs."

 

She said police spent 30 minutes questioning her, preventing her from taking the dogs to a clinic.

However, in an earlier news story, they said the police rushed the sickest dogs to the vet clinic in their own patrol cars. Employees brought the other dogs inside the building where it was air-conditioned to help cool the others down and then used new, clean oil pans to pour water into so the dogs could drink. 

 

 

The nine surviving dogs have been adopted, authorities said.

Martinez is charged with aggravated cruelty to animals, a felony. She was also charged with 11 counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty.

The bench trial is being heard in Rolling Meadows branch of Cook County Circuit Court by Judge Marc Martin, who put the trial on hold until Oct. 6, when closing arguments are due to be heard.

(Chicago Tribune - Aug 24, 2016)

Woman hoarding 22 dogs in Santa Ana home faces animal cruelty charges

CALIFORNIA -- Authorities discovered 22 dogs in a Santa Ana home that may have been neglected for years.

Santa Ana Police Animal Services was called out to a home in the 2200 block of West 14th Street around 9 a.m. Tuesday.

Officers discovered 22 dogs, including Chihuahuas, pugs, and terriers, all suffering from neglect.

Nineteen of the pooches are in need of medical care. They are receiving treatment at the Orange County Animal Care.


"The dogs are in pretty bad shape. They have mange, eye infections, ear infections, ear mites, and some are underweight," said Sondra Berg, supervisor for Santa Ana Police Animal Services.

Most were at least 5 years old and were kept in the backyard. Five puppies were found in a cardboard box in the living room.

"The majority of them have scabies, which is highly contagious from dog to dog and also to humans," Berg said.

Authorities say the 47-year-old owner, Auralia Arechiga, is an animal hoarder.

"She claims she's rescuing these dogs from Mexico and brings them here and then she buys puppies in Riverside and sells the puppies for profit," Berg said. "None of these dogs ever had any medical treatment whatsoever."

Arechiga told Eyewitness News she cares about her animals.

"Animals is very important to my life and my house," she said as she walked into her home, reluctant to answer questions. "Please give me a chance, I have a big problem to my family."

Police were called to the home twice Tuesday after her son allegedly became aggressive over the loss of the dogs.

"If they're being neglected then I approve of them being taken," neighbor Trina Manzo said. "My heart goes out to them."

Animal Services investigated Arechiga several years ago on suspicion of animal hoarding. She was cited back then. This time, authorities say she'll face criminal animal cruelty charges.

"I don't have a whole lot of sympathy for somebody who knows the law and has been there and done that before," Berg said.

 

Arechiga was allowed to keep three healthy dogs, however she was cited for not having licenses or vaccinations for the pets. Animal Services says it will be following up to make sure she complies with the rules. Authorities plan to file the criminal case against her in the next few days.

Animal Services say the sick dogs will need extensive medical treatment. It could take months before the dogs are completely healthy. The ultimate goal will be to find them good homes.

"My sympathy goes to the animals because they've been neglected and it's just a sad case," Berg said.

(KABC-TV - May 19, 2015)

Sale of Craigslist dog ends in fatal shooting

GEORGIA -- Two men attempting to sell a dog over the internet were involved in a fatal shooting in DeKalb County.

The shooting happened early Friday, when a breeder from Winder and his friend drove to 5044 Fairforest Drive with an English bulldog to sell to the man who answered their online ad.

Originally, police reported the ad was a Craigslist deal, then later said the sellers actually used the website Hoobly.com, another classifieds service.

According to DeKalb County Police Capt. Steve Fore, the 40-year-old buyer produced a gun, intending to rob the sellers. The breeder's friend pulled out a gun of his own and shot the buyer, killing him. The sellers called 911 after the shooting.

DeKalb County police spokeswoman Mekka Parish said the two sellers will not face charges.

The suspect, whose name was not released, tried to rob victims in similar ways at least four previous times. He took a dog in one instance and an iPhone in the other; two other victims did not file police reports against him. The man met at least one victim through Craigslist.

Parish also said the buyer offered the sellers $500 more than their $2,000 asking price if they agreed to meet at the Fairforest Drive location at midnight.

The dog was turned over to DeKalb County Animal Control until it can be returned to Winder.

(KYTX - Feb 1, 2015)

Couple expected to answer to animal cruelty charges

OHIO -- A Dayton couple accused of running an unlicensed rescue operation is expected in court Tuesday.

Samantha Hughes, 24, and Mark Arnold, 27, are scheduled to be arraigned on animal cruelty charges.
Police raided their Laura Avenue home last month.

They confiscated 13 dogs, including five puppies and reported that the house was filthy and was not livable.

We’ll let you know how that court appearance turns out as soon as we know.

(WDTN - July 8, 2014)

Earlier:

• Dog owner denies wrongdoing after 13 dogs removed from home
• Dayton couple charged with animal cruelty

Dayton couple charged with animal cruelty

OHIO -- The Dayton couple who police say were running an unlicensed dog rescue operation from their home is now charged with animal cruelty.

The Dayton City Prosecutor’s Office approved 13 charges against Samantha Hughes, 24, and Mark Arnold, 27.

 

They both face five intentional cruelty misdemeanors and eight misdemeanor counts of cruelty and neglect.

13 dogs, including five puppies, were taken from their home on Laura Avenue on June 11.  The conditions at the home were described as deplorable at the time.

The dogs are in the custody of the Montgomery County Animal Resource Center and are not ready for adoption.

Administrators there say some of the dogs were under weight while others had eye infections.
Hughes and Arnold are set for arraignment and a seizure hearing on July 8.

(WDTN - June 27, 2014)

Earlier:

• Dog owner denies wrongdoing after 13 dogs removed from home

Hawaii Woman Adopts Shelter Dog for $85, Posts it on Craigslist for $200 an Hour Later

HAWAII -- A Jack Russell terrier that was adopted from the Hawaiian Humane Center appeared in a for sale ad on Craigslist only one hour after the adoption, an act that Internet posters doggedly flagged, leading to a return of the animal to the shelter.

Sally Mae, a 10-year-old Jack Russell terrier, was adopted from the Hawaiian Humane Society after the organization made a video of her and posted it on YouTube. The organization posted a picture of the pooch and her new owner on its official Facebook page.

"We got notices from our fans on Facebook only an hour or two after the adoption, saying that a woman has posted a Craigslist ad, wearing the same cloth as the woman in our Facebook post," Jacque Vaughn, community relations director at the Hawaiian Humane Society told ABC News.

The Craigslist ad, titled “Jack Russell,” claimed that the dog was five years old, while in fact, Sally Mae is 10. The dog had to be sold because “my boyfriend& I is [sic] too caught up with work since we have 2 jobs each and she needs a family that’ll give her that attention. Please.”

The time stamp of the ad proved that it was posted only an hour or two after the adoption, according to Vaughn.

The ad has been removed but numerous Facebook fans of the shelter took a screenshot and uploaded the ad on Reddit.

Although the act was has some people upset, Vaughn says rehoming a pet isn't illegal. Adopters sign a contract with the Humane Society, but that wouldn't deter potential adopters from selling a dog.

As of Wednesday, Sally Mae has been returned to the shelter and adopted by a new family, according to Hawaiian Humane Society’s Facebook page.

Vaughn said in the past 10 years, she had only heard of two or three similar cases.

"There are 900,000 people on Oahu Island," Vaughn said. "It sounds like a lot but actually it is a pretty small community."

Vaughn said about 60 percent of the population on the island own pets, and she was amazed that the dog lovers were able to connect the dots and bring it to the shelter's attention.

"We are just happy that the woman was willing to cooperate with us and bring the dog back," Vaughn said.

Sandra DeFeo, executive director at the Humane Society of New York, said adoption procedures vary from state to state.

“We never do same-day adoptions. Our process is very rigorous,” DeFeo said. “We check references and sometimes even go to homes to see if the environment is a good fit for the animal.”

“The last thing that we always tell adopters is that if you can’t take care of the animal anymore, bring it back to us,” DeFeo said.

Vaughn said that the Hawaiian Humane Society doesn't have the philosophy of going into the homes of would-be pet adopters. "Past researches have showed that stricter adoption processes can actually become barriers," Vaughn said. "It doesn't necessarily lead to better outcomes."

DeFeo said laws vary in different states, but should such an incident happen, the Humane Society of New York would take legal actions to bring the dog back.

The previous adopter's name was not released by the Hawaiian Humane Society due to the confidentiality policy.

Vaughn told ABC News that the adopter has asked the shelter to stop giving out her contact information.

(Yahoo - June 27, 2014)

Stolen dog put on craigslist reunited with owner

MICHIGAN -- Francesca Rodriguez is overjoyed her dog Thor is home and safe.

7 Action News first introduced you to her last week when her red Doberman Pincher went missing.

It was believed someone broke her gate and dognapped the 4-year-old.

“If you take someone’s animal away from them… that’s their family," said Rodriguez.

 

 

 

Since the report aired,  Rodriguez started getting a lot of phone calls.

“We were getting tips that he was taken or got loose and was taken.  Somebody scooped him up trying to make a quick dollar on Craigslist and then, you know, let him go.”

Rodriguez and her husband started putting up signs hoping someone one had seen and someone finally did.

He was spotted in a nearby wooded area.

Nick Consiglio and Michael Laporte were on their way to a fishing trip when they saw the 4-year-old dog.

“We noticed the signs they were really well printed.  Somebody really spent some money to save this dog,” said Consiglio.  “It just so happened that we were going out fishing and saw the dog coming around the corner so we started chasing him down and called Francesca.”

According to Rodriguez, Thor was not his typical self when she was reunited with him.

“He was shocked,” said Rodriguez.  “You could tell he was traumatized and scared.  He’s got all kinds of lacerations on his stomach and elbows… poor baby.”

Rodriguez is grateful for the two men and everyone who reached out to help her on social media.

“Oh my gosh, there are so many animal lovers out there and I just want to thank you so much for everybody’s support,” said Rodriguez.

(WXYZ - May 27, 2014)