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Alabama Animal Sanctuary Dumping Dogs at High-Kill Shelter
Other allegations include euthanizing dogs to make room for new dogs, falsely claiming to be a 501c3 charity, and more
It is believed at this point that Karen is going by the name Karen M. Morrow, and that she is in the Tucson, AZ area. She is a very smooth talker and can be very convincing. She is often very dramatic and speaks of how rescue is her "calling from God" However the facts speak for themselves. If you are contacted by or on behalf of Karen, do not give her any money or agree to assist her financially in any way. And above all do not ever give her any animals. OTOH if you can get any of the above dogs away from her without giving her any money, please do. Animal
rescuer awarded $2K libel judgment
By Jean
Cole August 31,
2009 08:42 pm — An animal rescuer who recently received a $500 judgment
from a Limestone County judge against the owner of Lassie’s Friends Animal Sanctuary in
Athens for deceptively killing
three dogs has now won a libel judgment against the sanctuary’s owner, records
show.
Deborah Ohm, a volunteer for Two by Two Rescue in The judgment was filed Aug. 20 following an Aug. 17 bench trial between Ohm and Johnson. No jury was present, only a judge. Based on the testimony and evidence taken in open court, District Judge John H. Alsbrooks found that on April 30, 2009, Johnson intentionally sent an e-mail to multiple addresses, including Ohm’s that contained material about Ohm that was libelous. According to court records, Johnson claimed in the e-mail that Ohm called the Johnson stated that Ohm traveled to the vet’s office, made a scene and the waiting room clients called Ohm “crazy” and “a terrorist.” Johnson also stated that Ohm had someone claiming to be a lawyer called the vet’s office to “hassle and threaten that they would turn the vet into the board for some unknown reason.” Galbraith refuted Johnson’s allegations in a notarized written statement entered into the court record. Johnson stated in the e-mail that Ohm threatened Lassie’s Friends staff with bodily harm. She also stated that Ohm drove back and forth in front of the sanctuary for a couple of hours and parked on the edges of the property, moved her car from one side to the next, apparently taking pictures, and stopped motorists on the road to ask questions, something Johnson characterized as “insane behavior.” Two former employees, Karen and Ray Burgett, refuted all of Johnson’s allegations in a notarized written statement entered into the court record. The Burgetts stated that Ohm was actually in front of the sanctuary only about 30 minutes, that she talked to a neighbor and that she did not stop traffic. They stated that Johnson “fabricated that whole e-mail to make Debbie Ohm look bad to other rescuers and people.” To read the full story click here Animal rescuer awarded $2K libel judgment
Suit 2 - in District Court  The following is the Email from "Dr." Karen referenced above. Note the comments in red (our emphasis) and the sworn statement from the vet's office and former LFAS employees, the Burgetts, below this email, that completely refute "Dr." Karens claims. From: MeDCToo@aol.com
[mailto:MeDCToo@aol.com] To All Who May Be Involved.... If you are not part of this group, please accept my personal
apologies for any interruption by this email. Just delete if it does not concern you. Thank you. However, several people had made a request that we take in 3 dogs.
We agreed to do so, based on information that was sent to us. Thus, I need to
know who is involved and who works with 2 by 2 rescue in Southern Alabama. We
do not necessarily pay attention to who is in a group that we take a dog from.
We assess each situation individually and then decide if we can take in the
dog(s). Now we have a very difficult situation and we need to have others
that have been involved with this particular dog transfer or 2 by 2 rescue
people to step up. Brief History; We were asked to take in 3 dogs; Jiggles, Ms.
Mason, and Mimi. We were told that they were social dogs that were highly
adoptable. They however needed to be out of the situation they were in. At this
juncture, we understand that this was not true. If they were highly adoptable,
why were they just not adopted instead of being brought to us? We were
originally contacted in December of 2008. Yet they did not make transfer
arrangements until mid March of 2009. We do not understand why they were not
adopted in that 3 months if they were so adoptable. It then became
apparent when they arrived. In any event, we took the dogs in from a woman that identified
herself as Debbie and a member of 2 by 2 rescue group. When the dogs arrived,
they were anything but social. Debbie Ohm, the 2 by 2 transporter, took over an
hour trying to coax one from the car, until finally we stepped in and moved the
dog and house as one. The dogs were terrified and could hardly be controlled to
get into a Den. We never refuse a dog when it arrives, EVEN IF we have been
deceived by the group or the transporter. We tried to socialize these dogs for several weeks. They would not
let anyone near them and 2 would growl when you came near them. We made them as
comfortable as possible with cozy houses filled with cedar. We had to slip
the food and water right up next to the houses or they would not eat or drink.
They would not eat for the first 2 days they were here. We did everything we
knew to assist them. We finally decided a move to an area not so isolated might
help them to socialize with other dogs and thus help them to trust us. In that
move, and in a previous move, they bit several people. I have a permanent
scar on my leg from one of the bits, and one was sustained by an insulin
dependant diabetic. This can be troublesome. She was bit very deep, and the
attack was unprovoked. After this we contacted the person we understood to be the 2 by 2 representative,
Debbie Ohm. We explained the situation, and stated that it was the opinion of
all the staff to either see if Best Friends would consider taking them, or that
they be euthanized. She stated that BF had turned them down. We would
have likely done the same had we been told the truth about these dogs. Debbie
said that she needed to talk to her group and she would get back to us. This
conversation was done on speaker phone and all the office staff were present to
hear. Debbie did not get back to us in a timely fashion. After a week, I
contacted her again 2 times. She finally returned my calls and said that her
group agreed to euthanize them because they didn't know how they would be able
to even transport them with them acting the way they have. She said that they
do not believe in euthanasia but would have to do. This phone call happened on
speak phone so all the office staff was involved in the conversation.
Debbie was told on a Tuesday that we would euthanize the dogs on the upcoming Friday,
and that if for any reason her group changed their mind that she needed to
contact us prior to Friday. The dogs were euthanized on Friday
morning. We received calls from Debbie on Friday morning late sometime.
We were working with the dogs in the early am, and when we went into the office
near noon, we saw that she had called. Now she had begun a campaign to terrorize our organization, our
Vet, and spread bold lies to others. Here is a partial list of the things, that Debbie Ohm, is
doing. These have happened in just the last 2 days;
Calling our Vet's office; yelling profanities at staff, acting crazy and abusive Making a scene in the Vet's office in front of waiting room and front office; by yelling and demanding immediate attention, in spite of the over full waiting room Threatening the doctor and his staff with negative media
coverage and closure of their facility Threatening LF staff with bodily harm in front of witnesses Demanding records and lying that we had a 3 way call that allowed
her to have the records Had someone call stating that they were a lawyer and hassle
and threaten that they would turn the Vet into the Board for some unknown
reason Acting hostile, aggressive, and out of control in the Vet's office Would not stop until she had everyone upset, it created a significant disruption Waiting room clients called her crazy and a "terrorist" After this incident; She came to the sanctuary, and drove back and
forth for a couple of hours and parked on the edges of the property, moving her
car from one side to the next, apparently taking pictures. She actually stopped
traffic on the road to ask questions. The traffic drives at an average of 60
miles per hour down that road. This is a very dangerous thing to do. People
were not pleased with this insane behavior and were driving off irritated. This is insane. I need to know who the people of 2 by 2 are and if
they are condoning this out of control and unjustified behavior? Can
anyone on this list tell me who 2 by 2 is exactly? If any of you are, can
you please respond to this? Thank you and sincerely, Dr. Karen Johnson
Lassie's Friends Animal Sanctuary
Dr. Karen Johnson, Executive Director Karen Burgett, Den Director 13813 Reid Road Athens, Alabama 35611 800-671-0772 Dr. Karen's cell~256-874-1162 and meDCtoo@aol.com Karen B's cell~256-874-5531 and LassiesHelper@aol.com Main line~256-874-RESQ and LassiesFriends@aol.com Lassie's Friends is a place where a dog can find a best friend Lassie's Friends Animal Sanctuary presents Bag of the Month Club Your donation of $20-35 a month will provide one bag of food for our sanctuary for one day. Our healthy dogs eat one type of food, our seniors have a specific type of food, our puppies, sick dogs, and emaciated abuse cases have yet another type of food. Thus, this amount will cover our dry food costs for one day. We also feed them some form of meat on top of their food as a special treat each day. Our goal of having enough people in the program, to cover all our food needs, will make our focus of dog home improvements, and other projects able to move into the forefront. We thank you for all you are able to do!! The Pack is grateful for YOU! Donations can be made to: Lassie's Friends @ 13813 Reid Road, Athens, Alabama 35611. You can call us @ 1-800-671-0772 anytime and we will send you self addressed stamped envelopes for your convenience.   Suit 1 - in Small Claims Court    Bottom line? Two judges in two different courts in two different counties both believed that "Dr." Karen lied in court and was dishonest. Both found in favor of the plaintifs, Debbie Ohm/2 By 2 Rescue. Rescuer Sues Sanctuary By Jean Cole jean@athensnews-courier.com A Helena animal-rescue volunteer is suing the owner of Lassie’s Friends Animal Sanctuary in Athens, claiming the owner accepted $500 to socialize and care for three dogs from the rescue but instead had them killed.
Two former employees of Lassie’s Friends — who Johnson said were fired due to animal abuse — said Johnson had several dogs euthanized unnecessarily and that she shot three dogs in the neck herself rather than pay a veterinarian to euthanize them. Johnson said their story is “a total lie” and that there were no dog shootings. Deborah Ohm of Birmingham, a volunteer for Two by Two Animal Rescue, filed a small claim against Johnson, owner of Lassie’s Friends at 13813 Reid Road, on April 30. The parties are scheduled to appear before Limestone District Judge Jerry Batts at 9 a.m. Aug. 6. Ohm claims Johnson had a Pulaski, Tenn., veterinarian euthanize three dogs Two By Two placed with her, claiming they were vicious. Ohm said Johnson took this action April 9 even though she informed Johnson on April 8 she would be in Athens on April 10 to retrieve the three dogs because Johnson had complained about their viciousness. “These dogs were not vicious, they were feral dogs who needed to be socialized,” Ohm said. “They would bark and growl when approached but only because they were frightened. We had many volunteers in an out of the area to care for them and they never showed any signs of aggression to attack or be vicious.” Johnson claims the dogs were euthanized because they were vicious. “They attacked and bit several people,” she said. Johnson contends she told Ohm on Tuesday (April 7) to call her before Friday morning (April 10) if she wanted to pick up the dogs. She said Ohm told her on the phone to go ahead and euthanize them and that she called in a panic about the dogs Friday morning. Ohm said there is no way she told Johnson to euthanize the dogs. She said the goal of animal rescuers is to prevent dogs from being euthanized. She said rescuers retrieve a dog that is not working out rather than have it destroyed. “When you are a rescuer, you want to find a good place for a dog,” Ohm said. “Rescuers support each other in this. We are all doing the same thing. When I realized what they were doing at Lassie’s Friends, it shocked me.” Ohm plans to present telephone, veterinary records, notarized statements, other documentation as well as witnesses to try to prove her case. She will also present evidence that
Johnson’s employees dropped off a deaf, blue-eyed, white pit bull mix
named Leila and another dog at The Dog Pound in Athens claiming they
were strays and the dogs were euthanized. Leila’s journey Johnson said they were
fired for animal abuse for leaving dogs in the rain. She also said the
Burgetts agreed to work for free until Jeffery, a rocket scientist,
retires next month and could pay them in a lump sum as the Johnsons had
agreed to do in their divorce proceeding. The Johnsons’ divorce is
pending in Limestone County, according to court records. Johnson said all of the allegations are
ridiculous and spurred by “the green-eyed monster of jealousy” over
what she has and some others don’t, such as property, money and the
skills and vision to create the sanctuary. “I want to do God’s work and what fills my
soul, and taking care of animals does that,” Johnson said. “I could
take my money and live very well doing something else but I choose to
do this.” Ohm, as well as the Burgetts, say although
Lassie’s Friends states on its brochure it is a 501 (C) (3) tax-exempt
organization, it is not registered as such with the IRS. Johnson confirmed this and said she plans to file for the status next month. She is not registered as a business with the state, according to the Secretary of State’s Office.
To read the full story click here Rescuer Sues Sanctuary There's also a follow up story here Judge Wants to Study Deceptive Dog-Killing Lawsuit Before Ruling Note that this is not the first
time "Dr." Karen has assured people she is going to file for her 501c3. Last
year, after claiming for months that she had a valid 501c3, she tried
to blame her husband for the problems and assured everyone she would
get it "sorted out." She made the same assurances again earlier this
year, over 6 months ago, and when these did not suffice, she changed
her story and claimed she would be filing in the next couple weeks for
her 501c3. She has made no attempt to file in the intervening months,
nor has she stopped using the brochures the claim she is a 501c3. "Dr." Karen has been caught in
many lies and conflicting statements. Whenever possible she blames
someone else for the "confusion" or "mistake" When she can't fall
back on this explanation, she simply calls people liars. She has
accused dozens of people of lying and persecuting her. For example, in
her email below, dated April 14, 2009,
she claims she knew nothing about Leila being taken to The Dog Pound by
Karen Buregett (Swanson), her then "Den Manager" however in court the
Burgetts swore that they took Leila to The Dog Pound on "Dr." Karen's
direct instructions. Now she is claiming they are liars. Alternatively,
in that same April 14th email, she suggests that the card was forged by
the staff at The Dog Pound because they are out to get her. A person
can only accuse others of lying or being out to get someone so many
times, before rational people have to question the claims. "Dr." Karen
would have us believe that dozens upon dozens of people are lying
and/or out to get her for some reason. People from all across the
country. People who used to work with or for her in AZ and AL. People
who sent dogs to LFAS, or who helped transport those dogs. The other
possibility is that only one person is lying, "Dr." Karen. To any
rational person, that has to be the only logical possibility. Do you recognize this dog?  Do you know someone who surrendered an older, blind Peke to LFAS? This dog turned up in the Athens, AL pound in early May. He was found abandoned in a ditch by the side of the road. Now we're not saying this is one of LFAS's dogs, but it would be nice to find out if anyone recognizes him or knows where he came from. Well apparently after issuing this plea for help, "Dr." Karen had second thoughts. A number of individuals and rescues attempted to offer assistance and were rubkued or simply ignored, and LFAS is now saying they don't need any help. You draw your own conclusions. Update 5/26/09 - "Dr." Karen has sent out several mass emails in the last few days begging for help. Seems she has suddenly become so sick she is on pain meds all the time and is passing out (her own statement). Plus all 4 of her staff quit and the best she has been able to scrounge up are two inexperienced helpers, who in Karen's own words are not "able to help with much." In one of the emails she is looking for one person as temporary help through Sept. Bear in mind that with 4 full time supposedly experienced staff plus herself, LFAS was overworked and could not give the animals the care they really needed. Now with Karen incapacitated, and only 2 generally worthless staff, she somehow sees things working out if she can just get one good volunteer. It all sounds very fishy. She is also looking for someone to fill a permanent position starting in Oct. but is not looking for any other additional staff. This seems to indicate that she sees LFAS surviving through the end of the year, a\ belief not widely held by most we have talked to. And in fact, another email being circulated on behalf of LFAS indicates they are looking to liquidate most or all of their animals. Read the emails yourself Update 5/9/09 --- LFAS Director, Karen Morrow Johnson was named as a defendant in a civil case this week. "Dr. Karen" was served on Monday, 5/4/09. The suit is being brought by another rescue. As soon as we have more details and copies of the court documents, we will post them here. Here is a posting from the Labrador Retreiver Chat Board and is dated 5/7/09 pnut166 Oh no.......... Within the time frame they dumped the Leila group, they took our three girls an hour away from their place into TN to have them euthanized. I have spoken with the vet. Our group was NOT the last group they brought there either. They took a check from us and were supposed to be socializing our girls and treating one for heartworm. There have been a lot of lies told by Karen, but we have documentation. We have a good case against her. We have filed suit. I can not disclose all that I know about "Dr." karen morrow johnson at this point. I would also like to ask a couple of questions. Sort of food for thought. How do you get rid of dogs when you have no website, not on Petfinder, do not show dogs, have no other known ways to advertise adoption but are always out there pulling in dogs?? Back to Lassie's Friends. It has been verified that they are NOT a non profit. It has also been verified with the state of Alabama that Lassie's Friends Animal Sanctuary is not a business in Alabama. They said she may be a sole proprietorship and that may be a reason they are not listed as a business. There is more to know about this but we can't disclose the whole story right now. There are certain things I can say and show proof and documentation on. There is also a huge list of people that will verify this to all be true. So one of the questions we have been wondering about is now being answered, they are driving dogs out of state to get them euthaniuzed (and perhaps also to dump them). This rescue tracked the dogs they surrendered to LFAS to the vet in TN, where they had the dogs PTS. And as with Leila's case, LFAS and "Dr." Karen were lying about the status and whereabouts of the dogs. 4/15/09 - It has now been confirmed that Lassie's Friends Animal Sanctuary in Athens AL dumped at least two dogs at the local high-kill shelter. One of the dogs, a deaf bully mix named Leila, was sent to LFAS by a shelter in Orlando, Florida. LFAS director, Karen Johnson, has claimed that the dogs got out out & ended up at the pound, but that she did not pull Leila because she was dog/human aggressive. Yet this surrender card clearly shows that LFAS staff member Karen Swanson (Karen Swanson has also gone by the name Karen Burgett and Karen Burgett-Swanson) brought the dog in to the shelter, along with another dog, claiming they were strays. In addition, while a notation on the surrender card indicates that dogs both showed dog aggression, there is absolutely no indication that either dog showed any human aggression. 
Director Johnson promotes LFAS as a safe place for unwanted dogs,
including dogs with special needs. Assuring shelters and rescues that
dogs sent there will be cared for and allowed to live out their natural
lives in a controlled environment
designed to allow these dogs to have a quality of life while keeping
them safe. Yet the reality is something else entirely. As this
situation demonstrates, dogs sent to LFAS are at risk of being dumped at
the local high-kill shelter, or worse. Reports from experienced
rescuers indicate that dogs at LFAS are simply warehoused, given no
training or rehabilitation, and virtually no chance of adoption. LFAS
has a staff of 4 who care for around 50-75 dogs. None of the staff are
trainers or behaviorists, nor are any of them qualified to assess dogs.
According to reports, the dogs are not worked with, so most are
amazingly loud and noisy and very misbehaved. While rescuers were told
that almost all of the dogs are unadoptable, in their estimation, with
work, the vast majority could be quite adoptable. However, the staff
work their behinds off as it is, because there isn't enough help. And
none of them are trained for the sort of rehab work that would be
needed.
To keep the facilities neat and clean, the staff must limit the total number of dogs on site at any given time to around 50-75 dogs. Yet without any significant adoptions, and with a constant stream of incoming dogs, there are few ways to limit the number of dogs on site. One way is to stop taking in new dogs, but LFAS has not taken this approach. Other options are dumping dogs at the shelter and euthanizing dogs. And sadly, investigations are showing that this is exactly what has been happening at LFAS. So far only this one case has been proven, but there are also disturbing reports surfacing now, of healthy, adoptable dogs being euthanized, simply to make room for incoming dogs. One report lists no less than 6 dogs euthanized in a 2 day period. Another list 3 dogs euthanized at one time. Sadly the initial reports that Leila was safe are apparently not true. it seems Leila and the other dog were both euthanized. The dogs were turned in to the shelter on 3/31/09. Yet Dr. Karen sent this email to Samantha Fagnant, (the FL shelter director who sent Leila to LFAS) and to others involved with getting Leila to LFAS. > From: MeDCToo@aol.com [mailto:MeDCToo@aol.com
> Sent: Friday, April 03, 2009 3:46 PM > To: Samantha Fagnant > Subject: Re: hello > > > > We are slow at getting out thank yous out, as we are so busy with animals and all of us are working 7 days a week. We are grateful for your donation and want to thank you ...please know that a formal thank you will be coming soon. > > Leila is doing great, we all love her and she is a very active girl. > > Take care. > > Dr. Karen > Note
that this email was sent a full 3 days
after LFAS surrendered Leila to the Athens shelter (as proven by the
surrender card from the Athens shelter). Even if one believes Karen's
assertions that the dogs escaped, and that she either didn't know they
were at the shelter, or that she knew and elected not to retrieve them
because they were too aggressive and/or sick, that still leaves Karen
having sent this email claiming that Leila was at LFAS, safe and sound,
when the surrender card clearly shows Leila was at the shelter and had
been for 3 days. This is a true copy of Karen's email, these are
Karen's own words.
She is outright and intentionally lying to people about Leila's
location and status. This email also brings into question another of
Karen's claims, which is that Leila was so dog and human aggressive
that she felt it best not to go claim her from the shelter, and instead
let the shelter have her PTS (not that anyone should accept that this
would
be an acceptable excuse for this anyway, if it was that bad, LFAS
should have handled her euthanasia themselves, she was their dog and
their responsibility). Here, she is saying clearly that Leila was NOT
aggressive. So no matter how you cut it, Karen is a liar. Either
she lied in this email about Leila's personality, or she lied when she
tried to blame Leila's being left in a shelter to die, on Leila's
personality. And she clearly lied about where Leila was on 4/3/09.
Here are links to the original documents Email from Karen/LFAS to Samantha Fagnant Dated 4/3/09 Email verifying that Karen Swanson and Karen Burgett are one in the same person Email from Samantha Fagnant outlining events and time lines surrounding Leila's intake and subsequent transfer to LFAS One of Dr. Karen's strongest supporters speaks out in an email and withdraws all support for LFAS and Dr. Karen From: Bully Bliss [mailto:jesi95@hotmail.com]
Sent: Monday, April 13, 2009 6:21 PM Subject: FW: Leila PLEASE CROSSPOST SO THAT EVERYONE WILL KNOW THAT I AM NO LONGER A REFERENCE FOR DR. KAREN. I HAVE BEEN CONTACTED DAILY BY PEOPLE ABOUT THIS SITUATION SINCE SHE HAS LISTED ME AS ONE OF HER REFERENCES. I NO LONGER HAVE ANYTHING POSITIVE TO SAY ABOUT DR. KAREN OR HER FACILITY. THANK YOU. From: jesi95@hotmail.com To: medctoo@aol.com Subject: Leila Date: Mon, 13 Apr 2009 22:09:00 +0000 Karen - You told me that Leila got out & that she was picked up as a stray by the pound. However... I was just emailed a copy of Leila's surrender card. It clearly is signed by Karen Swanson. You told me that she got out...but the truth was that you had Karen dump her at the shelter. You flat out lied to me. The date on the card is 3/31/09 which was the same week you told Leila's people that she was doing great & was thriving and was a joy to have around. You had already dumped her! Then on 4/3 you sent an email to the AC in Orlando thanking them for their donation and telling them that Leila was doing wonderful. This is honestly very disturbing to me. If Leila was, in fact, too much for you to handle, you should have given the people who brought her to you a chance to find somewhere else for her to go. Remember when I brought you Zeuss & Aao? I found a home for Aao (after many, many problems getting her out of there) but you told me that Zeuss was dog aggressive....which he wasn't when I brought him down. I tried to explain to you that if you don't stimulate a dog's mind & exercise them, they WILL go kennel crazy. You told me that Zeuss attacked you when you tried to break up a fight....should I believe you? I did at the time, yes. I also told you that if he attacked you (twice, you said) that he should be put to sleep. I agreed with you. IF he did attack you, then yes, you did what was right. I was not there, I did not witness it. All I know is that the way you handled the situation with Leila was wrong. On her surrender card, someone wrote "DOG AGGRESSIVE." I feel if you are going to be taking in strong breeds you should have the education that is needed to rescue & house them. Pit bulls & other strong breeds cannot just be put in a kennel and not socialized & exercised on a daily basis, there will be behavioral problems if this is the case. I understand that you don't have the staff to exercise them as they need to be, which is why it is my belief that perhaps Lassie's Friends should focus on other breeds, and leave the stronger breeds to people who have the staff & expertise to properly train them and work with them. When I visited Lassies Friends I was impressed with how clean the facility was and how well all your dogs appear to have been cared for. I think that you honestly do a good job with taking care of the dogs. My personal opinion is that you take in dogs that come with large donations because you need the donations to house & feed so many dogs. I know how expensive it is to rescue. But I never take in more dogs than I can personally afford, because donations are not something that you can count on. And when you get donations for a certain dog, why would you just give up on the dog...when they have A DONATION to spend on them for training? You told me that you did not ask for large donations when taking in dogs, but this is obviously not true. There is so much drama surrounding you all the time, and I know it's very stressfull for all involved. However, the dogs are suffering. Leila should have never been taken to the pound. If you felt she was dog aggressive, her donation should have went to professional training. There are trainers that will house the dog for 6 months and give them a lifetime guarantee on the dog. She came with a donation that was supposed to help save her life, and instead you took her life. That's not right, by anyone's standards. I am fully aware that we cannot save them all. But if someone donates an amount of money like the people did for Leila, I would have done EVERYTHING possible to make sure that she had the care & training that she needed. She was deaf, and that is a challenge all on it's own. You have experience with deaf dogs, I know. But she should have been sent to a professional trainer who knew what they were doing, since she did come with a donation that would have covered it. After you exhausted all possibilites to save her, then you should have contacted the people who brought her & discussed options. I am fully aware that WE CAN NOT SAVE THEM ALL. I know that for a fact. I operate my rescue with my head, and not my heart. I save as many as I can but never take in more than I can personally handle. I feel like you are getting in over your head and perhaps you should slow down, take a step back and take a look at the big picture. The dogs depend on us to SAVE THEM, not KILL THEM. I feel like Leila's situation was handled horribly. She made a long trip to find safety at Lassie's Friends, only to be murdered. My heart aches for her. People were kind enough to donate towards her well being, and that money wasn't used for her. You had Karen dump her at the shelter, which blows my mind. The shelter is not a dumping ground for dogs that rescues cast aside...you took on the responsibility to care for Leila, and you failed her. Dog aggressiveness is not a reason to euthanize EVERY single time. Dog agressiveness can be fixed, if the dog is in the right hands. I hope that, in the future, you handle things better. Please think twice before taking in any bully breeds, other strong breeds, or any other dogs at this point. Perhaps you should focus on adoptions with the dogs you already have, as I have saw no websites, petfinders or anything else that is geared towards motivation. At one point I defended you when people said that you were a hoarder, but now I'm not so sure. Are any dogs getting adopted or are you simply taking dogs in, asking for donations & then dumping them at local shelters? I know that's like a slap in the face, but so is being LIED TO by someone who claimed to be my friend. I know that you have been reported to the IRS for "tax fraud" this week by several people and that many people who have donated are livid & are planning to demand reciept of where their donations went. I also know that people are contacting your "list of references" to explain this entire situation and provide them with proof of what you've done. I know this because they have already contacted me. I am disgusted with the way Leila's life ended, and will always worry about what REALLY happened to Zeuss. I am exhausted & livid because I defended someone who clearly has no regard for life. These dogs are not a profitable business opportunity and I am disgusted that you would treat them as such. I have attached a copy of Leila's surrender card, so that you may see what the rest of the world has saw, your lies being exposed. I will be unable to provide positive references for you in the future. Please remove me from your list of references. Jessica Teague Bully Bliss Pit Bull Rescue  Leila, RIP (Editor's note, The statement in the email above, that "Dr." Karen has experience with deaf dogs, is based on claims "Dr." Karen made to Jessica. While "Dr." Karen makes this claim now, less than a year ago she was on the deafdogs Yahoo group and admitted she had NO experience with deaf dogs. The truth is "Dr." Karen has virtually no experience with deaf or any other special needs dogs.) Supporter of LFAS describes desperate conditions at the facility. In an attempt to defend LFAS and Dr. Karen, as well as intimidate those speaking out, an unknown "supporter" describes conditions that expose an alarming state of affairs at LFAS. Despite repeated assurances that things were fine at LFAS and that both Karen and the sanctuary had lots of money, this email from someone who no one has ever heard from before, but who claims to be a friend and supporter of LFAS and Dr. Karen, clearly describes an individual and organization on the verge of financial collapse. The author also talks about possible unreported criminal activities taking place at LFAS that clearly indicate dogs' lives may be in danger. Is any of this true? Read and decide for yourself. (Ed. note - we have put some of the text in bold for emphasis) From: donald underwood [mailto:donalds_terrific@yahoo.com]
Sent: Saturday, April 11, 2009 11:22 PM To: banks_marj@comcast.net Subject: Only Warning Marj, Seems like we did this before. Where in the world do you get your information? Are you a local newspaper and just make things up as it comes along? You get one sentence that mayu or may not be true, and make three paragraphs from it? Note: You are using the internet to Flame (defame) Lassie's Friends and Dr. Karen. Here is the rule. That my dear is against MSN policy, also it is against the law to put anything like that in print, broadcast; assimilate in any written form unless you wish to find a server on your doorstep being sued for defamation of character among other things. I would gladly pursue that line for Dr. Karen with no trouble. I know Dr. Karen personally having volunteered there, living on campus for a few weeks. I saw what happens there on a daily basis. When people trespass, break in, physically hurt, abuse and poison your animals, throw things into the pens at night, try to sabotage all you do, vandalize vans and break windows. I witnessed all that so she had to live in fear for her health and perhaps life. Now she has friends living on the property to help protect the puppies and her. Ever see her in tears for the abuse of those souls who were in her care and got hurt or abused or tehy came in drugged so you would not know they are very viscious, (As a fighting pittbull) or full of cancer and about to die? Want her Vet bill for those animals? She paid for it out of her own pocket and cried for hours afterwards. I saw at times when at months end , and moneys end, where she bought food for the dogs, and went without food herself. What have you done? Where is your testimony? Does your vet think your a saint? At least you give us your email (traceable to you) so we could have collected damages if we wanted to. But Dr. Karen is to nice and kind to do that, and only wishing you well on your witch hunt. I am not so nice as she, but she won’t let me do anything… Still….. Understand this! Get correct facts, do not spread rumors, or exaggerate stories or claims you know nothing about personally. (Second hand is never accurate.) Do not publish or send letters like this again. If you continue this course, and I see them anywhere on the net, then legal action may well be taken against you. Remember: People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. This is not a threat but fact. Ask your lawyer or me, or any of my 47 relatives in law enforcement including judicial and IRS. Dr. Donn From where we sit this email raises a
number of serious concerns, if it is true. However, with the rambling,
almost incoherent nature of some of the email, we just aren't sure
whether any of this is real or not. So for now we
are unsure whether the accusations are
accurate or not. However, any way you slice it, this is not the sort of
thing one wants to hear about a sanctuary like LFAS, not as a factual
report, nor as part of a defense (factual or otherwise) of a program
that is so obviously in serious trouble. It certainly doesn't make us
feel any better about LFAS or what's going on down there.
This is also from Donn. This was a response to a craiglist posting by Debbie Ohm who you can see above, sued Karen and LFAS succesfully twice. From: donhisself@hotmail.com To: comm-egxc6-1253472196@craigslist.org Subject: Date: Sun, 5 Jul 2009 22:07:17 -0700 ** CRAIGSLIST ADVISORY --- AVOID SCAMS BY DEALING LOCALLY ** Avoid: wiring money, cross-border deals, work-at-home ** Beware: cashier checks, money orders, escrow, shipping ** More Info: http://www.craigslist.org/about/scams.html Saw your ad on Craigs list. I have seen three dogs adopted out from Lassie's friends. Don't know what your talking about there. Don't think I'd mention a lawsuit or other negative information until it is settled. You could be doing harm and maybe they can use that against you in court in a counter suit. I dont know anything about courts, just know I was personal witness to at least three dogs being adopted. Was also witness to two owners dropping off termanally ill dogs that Dr. Karen had huge medical bills covering. Not sure this was done on purpose but it makes me wonder. In the end it goes lke this... KARMA BABY! Dr. Donald S. Underwood D.D. PS That pix of the pitty is a bit scarey not sad. Get a better photograph. As you can see, in his first email Donn claimed to have ""47 relatives in law enforcement including judicial and IRS." And he was freely giving legal advice and definitions. Yet here he claims to not "know anything about courts" At best he is being disingenuous in one or both emails. At worst he is outright lying in one or both. No way to know which is the case without knowing him better. But one thing we do know is these emails pretty much ruined him as a believable, reliable witness. And it was either that, or perhaps his unwillingness to lie under oath, that may have been why he was never called to testify or to offer a sworn affidavit in Karen's two court cases. Oh what a tangled web we weave... The following is from the Labrador Retreiver Chat Board and is dated 4/14/09 I am forwarding as I know this to be very true. I personally picked up this dog from a volunteer who drive Leila to me from Orlando, FL. She drove this sweet pittie girl 9 1/2 hours to meet me for me to drive 3 more hours from Pell City to Athens. This dog was very sweet, very affectionate and just beautiful. I recd and email with her photo attached to "urgents" 2 days ago. I compared my photos to hers and she was the same. I called Karen at 10:30pm and asked where she was..her response was she climbed her fence and must have gotten out. I proceeded to tell her where she was. She immediately said she would get her the next day. I have been there and she has a 6 foot fence with barbed wire inside of another fence inside of another fence. I personally found it hard to believe a 50 lb pittie coudl climb these fences with no one seeing this action..especially when Karen told me, on the day I dropped her off, that she has 24 hour arounf the clock help with tending to the animals. How could this not have been seen? SO then today I get another email from her stating that Leila was mean and aggressive and the they had put her on the euthanasia list. There was the first story change from the original phone call I had with her the previous night. I ask myself how she could tell me she would go and pick this dog up from the shelter, thanks me for letting her know, praises her for how sweet of a dog she is and how adoptable this dog is and then turn around with a completely different story about her & then to turn around and euthanize her anyway?? Now this addtl email in my opinion tell me that she has yet chancged her story again for the 3rd time from when I first spoke with her. I strongly urge everyone to think against ever recommending this place to anyone ever. I will never be a part of any transport sending dogs to this horrible place. She lied to me about this dog I know this to be a fact. I do not want this to happen to another innocent animal. Natalie Here is a link to the page this post is on Here is the last word (or should I say version?) on the topic from Karen herself. This is from an email she sent out in an attempt to defend herself. Note that this email was sent out the same day as the post above. Also, any punctuation, spelling or formatting errors were in the original document and are reprinted here so as to keep this document as accurate as possible. "To: The Rescue Community From: Lassie's Friends Animal Sanctuary April 14, 2009 To All Who Continue with the monologue of lies, slander, defamation, and accusations; we have answered copious emails and given all that was requested. We have done so repeatedly. You have managed to turn some against us. However, our loyal supporters throughout the country are not phased by your threats to them. We will continue are work, certain of our purpose, goals and clear in conscious of what we do for the animals. This smear campaign is wasting the precious time we have for the animals, and we are done. And, we will no longer engage in this war on another rescue organization. If you have an animals that are in need of rescue, then contact us via email and state the name of the animal in the subject. Otherwise, all your future emails will be unread and deleted. You will receive this notice one time only. Here is our last explanation; if you care to read it and know the truth. This was sent to the USAPSPCA. Sorry this is so long, but had to share all so that you could understand it all. Leila was a dog that was on our Euthanasia watch list, as she had bit staff members, could not be distracted when she attacked another dog and could not be controlled." Karen goes on to say, "...the girl named Leila continued to viciously attack other dogs. We saw a change in her behavior. Before we could meet to see about a decision to euthanize, she went over the fence and we could not find her. We have been told that it was impossible that she would not go over a fence and that she could not possibly be aggressive. We have been called liars and that we told them she was fine when she was not here. That was not done. We work 7 days a week here, we know what is possible and real. We looked for her and could not find her. Apparently from what I can ascertain she ended up at the pound. Then she went to another rescue in Florida, even though the people are accusing me of killing her, and not telling people that she is in a rescue in FL." Of course Leila didn't go to FL, she came from FL. Karen certainly knows this. As she knows that Leila was in fact euthanized. And despite Karen's claim she couldn't find Leila, and her implication that she had some difficulty "ascertaining" that Leila was at the shelter, the evidence pretty clearly indicates she was fully aware of Leila's whereabouts all along. The surender card with her "den manager's" name on it is hard to ignore or deny. Of course Karen does try. Here is her paranoid, rambling commentary on the card. This comes from the same email as the quotes above. (BTW, any typos and formatting errors are from the original, this has not been edited or modified other than to crop and put in quotes) "There is now a card circulating on the Internet that states that my Den Director dropped the dog off. The card is written with her (Den Director) maiden name listed on the card. It took me a while to figure this one out. However, I was sent another email stating that it was a fake and that it was obvious because it had no stamp on it....by a person that I do not know........ another person sent me an email that stated that this is information is not available to the public, so that they either released something that they should not have or made a card in the way they wanted and sent it out, this woman works in AC in another area. in any event, the women that have waged a smear campaign on us for over a year now are affiliated with the Athens pound. One woman works there and another has been suggested to be a hoarder and a friend of the first. I have been receiving nasty emails from them. They have smeared us repeatedly with a plethora of lies for this last year. These are the people who are circulating this "card". Therefore, I give it no validity. This "card" has been used to destroy my reputation with three people thus far that I have considered friends and networking people! They have the ability to create what they want by working there. The Vet that runs the place receives money from the county or city (not sure) to euthanize and sell dogs. They let anyone with $79 buy a dog, no check to see if they have a yard or if they will chain the dog, or are an abuser. They will euthanize instead of sending to a rescue, unless the rescue pays and pays on the day they call. They will not hold a dog. I have tried to work with the Vet, he is apparently threatened by me. He let me know that he will not work with rescue. Maybe he thinks that I want his contract, I do not. But he knows what they do and will not stop it. I have tried to get him to real in his staff, but he does not care. One more point is that everyone knows everyone in this community. I never cease to be amazed at how small it is. People know so much about others. The Jess woman thought I should know Karen Burgett's maiden name because I had to know where her Daddy was buried! amazing but the locals know and know all about her family.... I am being threatened by some of these people. The origination of some of this is jealousy that I have more money than they do, though it is never enough! the need is so great...........and one of the women does not get her dogs totally vaccinated. I know this but cannot share how. Well she brought us a dog last year and insisted that we take her personal dog that had kennel cough. We stated that we did not have our hospital built yet and had no area to isolate, and that if we had a dog with kennel cough, we would board at our Vet. We vaccinate all our dogs for kennel cough. She was VERY angry and repeatedly asked and tried to force us to take the dog. She then harassed us for sometime afterwards, sent people to pretend they were someone else and ask bizarre questions and try to get hired here. We found that they were not who they said they were. Since that time she has waged a war on us with a plethora of lies and accusations. She is now part of this again. We are not impressed that someone would not vaccinate and then try to force someone else to take responsibility for her bad judgement. I suppose she had to pay Vet boarding fees and that made her angry. She has been at the center of every thing that has snowballed thus far." This really speaks for itself. The level of disorganization and discontinuity of thought evidenced by her rambling comments, shows serious problems in our opinion. And this is especially true in light of her paranoia. The vet is out to get her, the staff at the local shelter is out to get her, Jess is out to get her, she is being threatened by people, they are just jealous because she is rich, they are threatened by her... She knows the card is a fake because some anonymous person suposedly told her it has to have a stamp to be real? Some other anonymous person told her the card isn't "public information" and therefore it must be a fake? And all of this stems from the fact that some unidentified woman doesn't vaccinate?... What can I say? Add it all up and draw your own conclusions, but this is pretty much textbook stuff. Rescue Watchdogs is working closely with concerned rescuers, trying to sort out the fact from fiction and trying to find out more about Dr. Karen and LFAS. As always, we will do what we can to verify whatever reports we get, but we will also pass on reports we feel are important, even if they are not yet verified. We may also post documents, comments, and opinions voiced by those involved in dealing with this mess, without verifying them. When we do this, we will clearly identify these as the comments and opinions of others. We will require all items posted to be properly attributed, and will either identify the source or will list them as "name withheld on request" if that is what the author wishes. In any case, we will keep their identities on file here and make them available to law enforcement if requested. |
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