ALERT: NJ Puppy Broker Posing as Rescue (Vicki Patterson-NJ Collie Rescue and Referral)
PLEASE SEE IMPORTANT UPDATE – 6/27/08 BELOW!! Great News!!
Update – 7/8/08 – Uh Oh…. She’s back at it Again!! Read About It!!
UPDATE – 7/29/08 – Now Selling Puppies Through a Classified Ad – See Below!
I received this just this morning and thought it was important to help get the word out on this individual. With so many reputable and hard working rescuers out there, people like this give them a bad name! Don’t let them get away with it!
Thanks for bringing this information to us Mary (Mary Shaver-O’Conner of BanOhioAuction.com)
Please crosspost and get the word out!!
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Alert – NJ Puppy Broker Posing as a Rescue on PetFinder.com
Complaints about sick puppies received from Ohio, New York and New Jersey
Be Aware of This Individual:
Vicki/Victoria Patterson, NJ Collie Rescue and Referral, Whitehouse, NJ 08889
http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/NJ315.html
This so-called rescue is operating like your run-of-the-mill pet store. It was confirmed in a conversation with the commercial kennel owner on June 23, 2008 that all or most of the purebred puppies listed on NJ Collie Rescue’s PetFinder website (http://tinyurl.com/4mo37g) were purchased from the MO breeder whose kennel name was superimposed on some of the pictures. In fact, the breeder stated she was under the impression that Vicki Patterson was a pet shop owner when she purchased the 12-14 week old puppies at prices “far less than the usual advertised prices” of $200 found on the website.
Patterson, advertising as NJ Collie Rescue and Referral, demands cash only for her ‘special rescue rates’ of $500 to $745! It’s also deceptive to state the puppies were ‘saved from auction’ when the MO breeder confirmed what we’ve known for years: that young puppies are rarely, if ever, sold at auctions – that most of the dogs found at puppy mill auctions are older, retired breeders. Reputable rescues attend auctions to buy these poor “used up” breeders to rescue, rehabilitate them and adopt them into approved, qualified homes. Plus, their adoption fees are much less than these pet-store prices.
And most importantly, Patterson/NJ Collie Rescue do not guarantee the health of the puppies once they are adopted. We all know that puppies born in commercial kennels, i.e. puppy mills, are highly prone to contagious, congenital and /or hereditary diseases and defects that can run into the thousands of dollars to treat or cure.
Visit this PetFinder forum link to read about previous problems associated with Patterson and NJ Collie Rescue: http://tinyurl.com/5f45b4
What You Can Do:
Please contact PetFinder.com and ask them to remove Vicki Patterson and NJ Collie Rescue & Referral. Allowing brokers to advertise and sell puppies on PetFinder.com defeats PetFinder’s purpose and mission and insults the reputable rescues who work honestly and tirelessly to find homes for thousands of unwanted and homeless animals.
Contact:
Cary Moran, Public Relations Coordinator
Email: Cary@Petfinder.com
Copy: Kim@petfinder.com
Thank you for all you do for dogs and animals everywhere, and for keeping PetFinder safe from unscrupulous dealers and puppy profiteers!
NJCAPSA
Yorkie puppies $675 – $745
All other PUREBRED puppies $525.
Designer dogs: Puggle Sheltiepoo etc $500.
High Mix breed puppies $300.
I just received this wonderful update and wanted to pass it along and thank everyone who worked to get the word out, write letter, emails and more!! Your efforts paid off!
Dear Rescuers and Animal Advocates,
As of this morning, June 27, 2008, the PetFinder website of NJ Collie Rescue and Referral/Vicki Patterson has been removed by PetFinder. We reported earlier this week that Vicki Patterson was selling puppies from a MO commercial kennel (puppy mill) under the guise of rescue. PetFinder completed its investigation yesterday and removed her from the site. We are very pleased with the decision and wish to thank ALL Rescues/Rescuers and advocates for contacting PetFinder. No one anticipated such an enormous response to the alert. Feel free to thank Kim at Kim@petfinder.com.
This was the first time in our 5 year history that we issued an alert about a rescue and it was not a decision entered into lightly. No one enjoys disparaging anyone in our rescue community but when deception is involved, we have a duty to rectify the situation, especially when the disreputable actions of one or a few taint all of us.
Rescue is the lifeline to death-row and unwanted, homeless animals and we should not and will not tolerate anyone in the rescue community undermining the thousands of reputable rescues who work so hard, oftentimes with little or no financial resources, to rescue and rehabilitate dogs (and other animals), provide them with safe shelter, feed and medically treat and socialize them, all out of compassion and sheer dedication.
Again, thank you for all you do for dogs and animals everywhere, and for keeping PetFinder safe from unscrupulous dealers and puppy profiteers!
Libby Williams
NJCAPSA
www.njcapsa.org
UPDATE 7/29/08 – Vicki Patterson is now advertising herself as a “Dachshund Rescue” and selling puppies through a classified ad in the Newark Star Ledger
See the actual ad below;
Thanks for passing this info along Liz. Liz Dent is with the Dachshund Rescue of North America.
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we bought a “aussie” from her too, probably the same litter- kennel cough, too…
hmmmm
our puppy is a wonderful ball of love but we question if she is a real full aussie- and not a border mix…
victoria was a strange woman indeed, and i feel duped and a bit stupid… but our pup is sitting here smiling, so i don’t feel as bad as i could…
hmm…
but those vet bills!
@Andrea -
I am in tears after reading all of these entries. We adopted our puppy from Vicky in June. We thought she was strange and pushy, but we fell in love with the puppy. After bringing him to the vet, we found he tested positive for giardia and coxidia. That was bad enough, but the worst of it was that he infected our 5 year old dog who has an auto immune disease and is on immunosuppressants. She became very ill, and we called Vicky just to let her know that she should treat the other puppies for these parasites. She couldn’t have cared less, told us this was very common. We felt so stupid for having trusted this person, for putting our older dog at risk, and believing we were doing a good thing by “rescueing” a puppy. It has made me a much less trusting person. The good news is that both of our dogs are ok now, after countless vet bills, and we love the puppy dearly. This woman needs to be put out of business, and fined for every dollar that she has ever made off of her evil scheme.
amen joan amen….have been trying to track her down on the internet….no luck ,has anyone been able to find her?
I bought my dog from Ms. Patterson in June. She told all of us waiting(since the puppies were late coming from Ga) that they were rescued from a live stock auction. We were required to have I believe somwhere between $5-600 in cash for a 6week old mini doxie. My 6 month old is now 10.5 lbs. I don’t know what’s considered a mini but if she gets much bigger I dont think she’s considered one. Plus the truck ran out of food 1/2 way through the drive, was hrs late and I was told we were the 1st appt then to only be 3rd when we got there. When I choose my puppy, since she hadn’t peed in hrs they all got covered in pee in the pens. She told us due to the lack of food to SHOVE karo syrup down her throat. I wish I knew about her before hand and I hope somehow she gets stopped. When I got her home I had to deal with 2-3 weeks of intestinal issues. I feel so bad for the puppies and the people she scams with the stories she sells these ppl. The vets give the shots too early and the dogs get mistreated on the ride from where ever they are coming from on this trip.
linda if you happen to read this please email me emmag7400@aol.com. we probally got the same batch. would like to compare notes
i bought a puppy from her in june of this yr. a doxie. the beginning of the mth. Did any else get a puppy from the same litter?
I got a dog a lab shep mix from her Memorial Day weekend. I guess i am lucky my dog is 7 months old now and very healthy. I just got her fixed and she passed all of her vet checkups. I think that her cost for adoption was high but I guess considering what I have read now about her I was darn lucky. There was a page that she gave me about the dog from Craig’s list and I called it. It seems that the woman who gave the dog to Victoria is aware of what she is doing and NO LONGER DEALS WITH HER. She offered to look up my dogs info and forward anything else that she has. Our phone connection was lost and she called me back so I guess she is legit. I hope. I’ll consider myself and my dog lucky. I do think we should all contact the higher ups and really sock it to her. I mean she should not profit off of other people’s eagerness to do good for a rescue pet.
I contacted the NJSPCA and spoke with an agent who assured me something would be done or at least looked into because they had heard about her and even visited her property in the past. That was over two months ago so who knows what ever came of it. I think I’ll call him again this evening to see if he ever did anything. He seemed very sincere and concerned— he even had me fax him all of my vet bills as well as email conversations with her. I really wanted to believe he’d be able to do something. If you read above, you’ll see that I was pretty upset when my two puppies were so sick… But I’m happy to report that it’s been 4 months and they are healthy and happy (no thanks to her)… I will update if I get any information out of the agent tonight!\
Good Luck to everyone!!
Keep at it Ashley and keep us updated. Oh, and you mentioned you had a blog? URL? Like to see it.
My husband found this information which might be useful to anyone who “rescued” one of Vickie’s puppies. Since we now know she is a puppy broker and not a rescue, she should be charging sales tax. Call CATCH (Citizens Against Tax CHeats) Hotline at (609) 292-6400 or write to the New Jersey Division of Taxation, Compliance Activity, PO Box 190, Trenton, NJ 08695-0190. You need not give your name, but be prepared to give as much information as possible.
I bought a “rescued” Sheltie/Poodle mix from “NJ Collie Resue” on 7/1/08. She was ‘rescued’ from an auction house in MO. Our puppy was sickly – URI and loose stools. After several months of treatment, our puppy is fine and an absolute joy. Our dog has a sister who was also up for adoption around the same time. Please let me know if you have her sister, and if she’s okay.
wow
I just uncovered this
we got our lab from her just about a year ago
he was full of giardia when we got him, but is now a healthy dog
boy am I pissed though
how is she not in jail for fraud??
Hello All,
I believe this woman can be found on Dreamhorse.com. The title of the horse goes by WP – Horse for Lease. The horses name is Thomas and quite beautiful. I spoke to this woman tonight asking about the horse – she was, in fact, pushy and I could hear another woman in the background laughing at what she was saying to me. I feel sick after hearing about the horse being put to auction as stated above by someone on this site. A part of me wants to go and buy the horse from her in fear of what might happen to him! I’m sure my trainer will tell me to stay away from her. I’m so sad about this. I don’t understand how someone could ever send a horse to slaughter. It’s horrific!
I am happy Petfinder has shut her down, as being a rescue. I do not understand how someone could pose themselves as a rescue, but “selling” dogs/pups from a puppy mill? OMG, this woman should be on the DNA list, and never have contact with any animals again in her lifetime.
I am glad to know that pups that have been in her “care” and now adopted are in good health, and are living in happy homes, which is what they all deserve. I have seen personally what puppy mill dogs look like, and know that everyone who owns one should continually watch their health, as future issues may arise.
I have other language for Ms. Patterson that I will not use. I work with rescues across the US, and everyone I deal with has more care and compassion for the animals and sees that they are placed in loving homes, and us in rescue all know that most of the dogs/cats come from high kill shelters, which when we are able to get them into rescue, is like a Godsend. What this woman has done is horrible when there are thousands of dogs who need to be placed in rescue, and for her to sell puppy mill dogs for a profit is disgusting to me.
As far as sales tax, Rescues are all non profit, so she was being in default by using the “rescue” to sell these poor dogs. What a bitch.
She is now posting under a differnt name under this website. It sounds too much like her story I was given about pitbulls and sauction houses ect and the email is victoria sumthing http://www.siteskins.net/purebreedpuppyrescue/1.htmla
sorry try this http://www.siteskins.net/purebreedpuppyrescue/1.html i added an extra a by mistake