On the way home, our little puppy (Mickey) was listless ….we thought it was b/c he was just taken from his mother, or b/c he was tired from us handling him all morning….then he started vomiting and had diarreah (sp?)…..He was a little off if his behavior, but we thought that maybe the puppy mill “got rid of him” b/c he wasnt perfect enough to sell at a store. So we loved him.

At our vet, Mickeys test results came back bad and they couldnt give him more shots, b/c they were afraid it would end up hurting him. so we waited a few weeks until he got stronger and got rid of his infections. so 2 weeks later i brought him in to get his shots…everything was going well. i was bragging to the staff on where we got him. I left and then 1 block away, he started foaming from the mouth and started seizing and went limp….i quickly turned around and brought him back into the vet. I still dont know exactly what happened in the back room, but Mickey was at the 24 hour vet for 2 days and they said that they almost lost him 2xs. We all thought it was a freak accident and split the bill. Now looking back, my story sounds so similar to everyone elses story……i cant beleive i totally fell for her “rescue” story and i “donated” more money to her….agggghhh. Is she put away? Does she still have animals? Has she been stopped? If i can help it any way, please contact me at KtSchwarz@sbcglobal.net. Thanks to Kasey’s Mom for taking this on… we need more people like you in this world. god bless!

I purchased my puppy, Kasey, in May 2008, thinking it was a “rescue” dog that truly needed a forever home. Instead my puppy became ill in only a few days and was dead before I had her home a week.

Jennifer was neither CARING nor THOUGHTFUL!! She simply and very quickly said that I killed my puppy.

My poor Kasey had the highest level of parasites that my vet has ever seen and when given the snap Parvo test she was a strong positive, 7 days after I brought her home. My 12 year old shih tzu/maltese mix had just been in for routine vaccinations and dental care. Jennifer was unable to blame my older dog for the younger ones illnesses. Of course it didn’t stop her and each time I see a post from “supporter” there is a different blame laid on my family. Now Jennifer is trying to discredit my vet. Jennifer has said that I didn’t know how to handle such a small dog. My older dog was even smaller than Kasey when I brought her home, yet she is just fine. I have always had small dogs and Jennifer will do anything but accept blame for her actions. Most recently Jennifer and/or her supporters have said that my vet was trying to line his pockets and that the preventative medications for my older dog were not necessary and that Kasey did not need to be hospitalized at his office when we found that she indeed had Parvo.

As I said each time I read a new post, there is a new slant. My vet has been treating my furry children for many years. He is the local vet for all of the canine officers at the department where I used to work. I am a disabled police officer. He went above and beyond to take care of the 15 year old dog that we had lost in February 2008, 4 months before I lost Kasey, when she was diagnosed once again with cancer but was too old to treat. That particular pet had previously had 3 other surgeries to remove fatty and cancerous tumors. Because she was prone to break open her sutures we even had the doctor’s PRIVATE number in case of emergency. Funny but he even mentioned to me that day “if you need to call me please do so, you have the number”. This is not a man that is only out to take my money but a kind hearted individual that loves animals. Can you imagine calling me to tell me that my dog had died 7 days after I brought her home after watching my family agonize when we lost the other dog in February? It was so bad that my son, then 15, had said he did not think he could stand it if we got another puppy and that one died too. This was very hard on my family, emotionally and financially.

Since starting my fight to make sure that my Kasey did not die in vain, I have found many victims that have gone through the exact same situation my family has gone through. Interestingly enough, I found two more puppies of DIFFERENT breeds that were taken home the same day and died within a day of my little Kasey. Yet even though those owners notified Jennifer, she did not acknowledge any loss but the ones we were calling about. She did NOT treat all the animals and quarantine then as a legitimate rescue would do. No she kept selling dog after dog every weekend.
Jennifer has threatened many of my fellow victims to the point of tears if they said they were going to follow through with their complaints with the authorities. Many of these individuals have said they could not put themselves or their families through this heart break again and have given up looking for that special furry child.

The original article talks about the animal control officer contract that Richland County officials granted Jennifer in 2008. Sadly even though I contacted EVERYONE in Richland County about my loss, no one took this seriously. The former sheriff, who is now a county board supervisor, and on the committee that again awarded Jennifer the contract in January 2009 said when interviewed by Chanel 3 news out of Madison that he only had a “couple” phone calls. When asked if he had talked to me, he did acknowledge that he had but said I was just “upset about my puppy dying”. He never mentioned the email sent again to everyone in the county in December of 2008 that reported mange on her property and a stack of dead dog behind one of the buildings. Fortunately I have kept every email and correspondence I have been able to get my hands on since adopting Kasey on May 31, 2008.

I was pleased when the county served the search warrant on Jennifer and her property. I did think it would help but since she was released on a signature bond with pretty severe stipulations, you would have thought she would follow them to the letter. Nope! Jennifer was in court again on August 24, 2009 for bail jumping. If one reads the criminal complaint you will see that she again has more than the 10 “personal pets” released to her from DCHS. Some of the animals seen at an inspection in June that needed medical attention still had not received any and looked worse yet. In her stipulations it said that Jennifer “must” comply with the inspections and not be a problem. During the inspection the staff from the DCHS feared for their safety and felt they were NOT able to do the inspection that they had hoped to do.

Why was Jennifer not arrested or those that caused the discomfort to the DCHS staff stopped? The RCSO employee said he did not feel there was a problem and even though he did reach to arrest Jennifer at one point when she would not comply felt that her change of mind was acceptable. He however laughed loudly and rudely when I read to him about the staff’s fear for their safety. He then went on to say that he wished the county would “dump” that money into drugs in the county instead of “dumping” on this case for three days.

This behavior is not uncommon. Anyone that reported situations like mine or similar was told the complaint was unfounded or civil. At one point they even questioned whether or not my puppy had indeed died even after I sent their department documentation from the vet’s office.

After the raid the sheriff’s department was flooded with complaints like mine. I was told that there are 72 complaints in a book sitting in the district attorney’s office. When I ask if anything will be done, no one will answer. When Jennifer appeared in court on August 24, 2009 about the bail jumping, the judge said he was “too busy” to handle it and again let Jennifer go even though she is clearly violating the stipulations of her bond every day.

I will continue to fight for my little Kasey and to make sure that she did not die in vain. I am presently trying to keep all the blogs updated and creating an online petition.

Jennifer is due again in court in October on a civil matter filed by the DA’s office. There were almost 400 animals confiscated from her facility in May. Some where around 270 or so have been released, 10 “personal pets” were given back to her so how many does that leave still at the DCHS? Why if Jennifer truly wants to do animal rescue won’t she let these animals go so they can find forever homes unless they are of some monetary value to her? Income maybe? The deputy told me she had more puppies on her property when he did inspection. Why should there be ANY animals allowed on her property but the ones she was given custody of after her bond hearing?

If you have read this you can see the frustration that the victims like myself have had. I don’t ever expect to see one dime of the money I spent. I recently contacted the attorney generals office and I told him that I spent $350 on my Kasey. If you figure the average loss per dog, of the 72 reported complaints at the DA’s office, at $200 the total is about $14,400. If you raise that number to an average of $500 (figuring some of the vetting costs for the parasites and Parvo, not routine, like my Kasey) the loss $36,000. Of course I spent about a $1,000 and I know one other spent $3,000 to get her puppy healthy. That was one of the lucky victims but even averaging a loss of $1,000 for the 72 complaints the total is $72,000. Yet the DA’s office is sitting on these reported complaints, the judge is too busy, while the county feels the only important happenings in their county revolves around drugs.

I am not saying this is all of the county but NO ONE that I have talked too looks at this as more than, in one example “impounding a car”. They do not look at these poor things as living breathing creatures. They have no value. Sad….

I will continue on my course until Jennifer receives some punishment for her crimes from the court system. But as we know the wheels of justice grind slowly and mean while she is still doing whatever she wants and continues to add to her brood of animals again. What is it going to take to stop her? Any suggestions?