[ILGHAUS]

Heidi Hemmat Investigative Reporter
KDVR
Dever, CO

Colorado company accused of selling untrained service dogs

Quotes from the newpaper article:

Tina Rivero owns “Noelle’s Dogs Four Hope,” in Colorado Springs. She sells peanut-sniffing dogs and seizure response dogs across the country. ...

She did agree to have her handlers demonstrate her dog’s skills. Seizure dog, Alice, would not fetch medicine even when it was thrown on the ground like a ball.

And then there’s Gunner, a peanut-sniffing dog that could not locate the peanut products strategically throughout a room. ...

There is no regulation on service dog companies, so experts say you should do your homework, talk to other service dog owners and get the training credentials of the person who will teach your dog.


http://www.kdvr.com/news/kdvr-colorado-company-accused-of-se-110910,0,7407967.story



http://www.noellesangeldogs.org/index.html

 

[ILGHAUS]

She did agree to have her handlers demonstrate her dog’s skills. Seizure dog, Alice, would not fetch medicine even when it was thrown on the ground like a ball.

For $7,000. you would at least expect the dog to do a nice "fetch".

The most that I ever received for working with a SDIT on retrieving an item was the grateful handler gave me a gallon of fresh milk from his small herd and told me to come back anytime for some more. Guess a dog that can not only retrieve but also place the item in the handler's lap should be then considered a $10,000. dog. Humm.... I should have held out for a gallon of chocolate milk.

 

[ILGHAUS]

A report from a 2nd source /quote:

In Your Corner 4
Scott Hines
Thursday November 11

So far...our investigation has turned up complaints in Colorado, California, and Nevada. The family from Nevada even sent its peanut sniffing service dog back to Rivero after it ate peanuts...putting their allergic child at risk. To this point...Rivero has stayed mum on the matter... refusing to comment specifically on any of the complaints. She told a reporter with our sister station in Denver that she's wrongly accused and ALL of her service dogs are properly trained...with the exception of those dogs that are still in training...like the Matlack's dog. Trust me...this story is far from over.

In Your Corner 4

 

[ILGHAUS]

http://www.theledger.com/article/20100805/NEWS/8055058
By Gary White
THE LEDGER

Published: Thursday, August 5, 2010 at 12:28 a.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, August 5, 2010 at 12:28 a.m.

Gary White can be reached at [email protected] or at 863-802-7518.
This story appeared in print on page A1
All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged.

And as for my daughters name or using any of her info....it may have been public, but the places that used the stories both had PERMISSION to say what they said...this forum however...does NOT.

 

[ILGHAUS]

OK...first and foremost...whoever felt the need to post ANYTHING about my MINOR daughter without consent needs to remove it IMMEDIATELY before I contact an attorney.

The person who mentioned the name was Gary White of The Ledger and now it seems the mother and the trainer.

 

[ILGHAUS]

I do have some concerns on this particular manner of selling and placing a puppy which may or may not end up being a SD.

We have someone here who mentions that currently they have a puppy that is 3 - 4 months old now. Also states that puppy has been with family for months. Which can only lead to someone reading this info that the puppy was around 8 weeks old when placed with family. Florida which is where poster mentioned they live has a law that a puppy must be 8 weeks old to be brought into the state for purposes of selling. If puppy was bred in state there is also a law stating that puppies sold must be 8 weeks old.

Some of us here question why an organization would charge a hugh sum of money for a "potential" SD that is too young to have itself been temperament tested for public access work or health tested including those concerns dealing with its particular breed(s)?

There is a large percentage of dogs being washed out in the service dog candidate stage (before basic obedience, temperament & health testing, evaluation that young dog is suitable to go into serious training, suitable to be trained as a working dog). Later, there is a large percentage of dogs being washed out in the service dog in training stage.

I have a concern where individuals put out a lot of money and then have to wait months before they even begin the road toward what they hope will be a suitable SD for their situation - one that will grow up into a dog that can meet the legal definition for a SD.

 

[ILGHAUS]

you also could have simply stated who you were and requested the thread not only be closed but probably permanently deleted as well.

An individual can also register here as a member and send a message via PM to a Mod or Admin with their concern on an old thread. As had already been stated this thread has been revived and not only original info on a particular situation been restated but additional info has been tossed in. I removed original post from public view as requested but poster themself has mentioned the name of the individual several times.

Since the person themself seems to want this thread to continue to post their viewpoints that is fine. Remember any who respond in this thread to follow the posting rules.

To the poster who demanded post that was responding to a newspaper article to be deleted, please don't come back in several days and request that additional posts that you have made or those posts made in answer to yours be deleted.

Everyone have a good day.

 

[ILGHAUS]

Originally there was a link...but it was also republished. No where on here does it specify that parts can be used...it says the material may NOT be republished without permission...I realize that in this case permission would have had to come from the newspaper...but either way....permission was never granted.

I did not remove the post because of copyright violation but as a courtesy to someone who requested their daughter's name to be removed from a post. If in doubt as to if a lawyer could have been called in please refer to the following, and this is a quote from the U.S. Copyright Office website:

How much of someone else's work can I use without getting permission?
Under the fair use doctrine of the U.S. copyright statute, it is permissible to use limited portions of a work including quotes, for purposes such as commentary, criticism, news reporting, and scholarly reports. There are no legal rules permitting the use of a specific number of words, a certain number of musical notes, or percentage of a work. Whether a particular use qualifies as fair use depends on all the circumstances. See FL 102, Fair Use, and Circular 21, Reproductions of Copyrighted Works by Educators and Librarians. ...

.... Section 107 contains a list of the various purposes for which the reproduction of a particular work may be considered fair, such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. ...

I hope this puts an end to the "why" the post was taken from public view.

 

[ILGHAUS]

Any dog being trained for SD work, just as with other work venue, needs to be health tested beyond a typical vet exam.

With any mix or purebred inquire on the health testing of the breeding stock. Ask to see the health records of the individual dog that you are purchasing.

Most of us here are pretty well up-to-date on the health issues of a GSD and know which tests should be run on a GSD SD candidate or SDIT but may not be aware of the more common health issues of other breeds or crosses.

Labradoodles as with any mix need to be tested for health problems of both parent stock - Labradors and Poodles.
From the labrador parent can come hip & elbow dysplasia concerns
From the poodle side can be a problem with PRA / Progressive retinal atrophy
There has been a concern with Addison's Disease in this cross.

If you are interested in reading more on health issues with this cross:
The Labrador Retriever The Labrador Retriever
The Poodle
Health Issues in Poodles