Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Our Stance On Clarity and Transparency

Dear fellow dog lovers, the DogMillRehomers is committed to the welfare of the dogs, as well as to the integrity and clarity of this project. We believe that facts, civility and objective reasoning is the key towards mutual respect and understanding. We believe that communication to you, the community, is a fundamental responsibility and cannot be denied.



As such, we are presenting the facts as they happened, for the intention of clarity and because we see you, the whole community, as co-contributors of the Project. We are all together in this, and we place trust in your understanding of the matter.


>>First night: We got the news that a dog mill owner was letting go of his business (after management and financial failure). 6 of the sickest, most medically-challenged dogs were rescued. At this point in time, buying the farm is not a consideration.

Subsequently, it dawned upon us that we were faced with a choice.There was a choice of just saving the 6 and leaving the rest behind to a life of breeding after being sold to other breeders, or to take immediate action. We chose action. We pooled together our resources and bought over the farm from the ex-breeder to convert it into a shelter.

The $11k that we spent was a long way off what B (the ex-owner) was asking for. The $11k was stated on a contract to be the minimum sum required for B (the ex-owner) to payoff his debts (to suppliers and etc) and also for ONE month of leasing at the farm/shelter (so that we can set things in motion). We did not spend the $11k to enrich B's life. B gained no monetary benefits.

(Please read our FAQ  for a full understanding of why we chose this path)

B (The ex-owner whom we bought the farm from) was subletting a portion of his building to another breeder (whom we shall call M). When we bought over the farm, we only bought over the portion of the building that B controls. The portion of the building that M leases was not within our agreement and was outside of our control (although we did our best in feeding and caring for her dogs in secret as well)

Subsequently, the breeder M was forced to leave her portion of the building as her agreement with B (the ex-owner) was expiring. She relocated her business to another area of the farmway.

Since then, many who saw M at the new location speculated that we, the DogMillRehomers are condoning and helping "ex-breeders" clear their "old stocks" and move on to new business. Many assumed that M was the ex-breeder that we bought the farm from, which is not true. The fact is that M was basically a tenant of B (the ex-owner), M is not an ex-breeder (she had always been a breeder) and she had no involvement with our rescue.

M's relocating her business is her personal decision and we had no say over the fate of her dogs, regrettably.

B (the ex-owner) himself is no longer involved in the puppy-trade, and has expressed wishes to not ever be involved in this anymore. Whatever happens to him is now a matter of AVA and the relevant bodies. You will be kept updated as it moves forward.

M is not related to us, B is no longer in the trade and is awaiting his fate.

That is that.

We have also received news that Volunteers from other shelters are using extremely strong and abusive language in their Facebook posts, attacking our volunteers with groundless assumptions and curses. We take a civilized stance on this matter and ask that these volunteers look towards facts in constructing their statements:

1) All of our monetary donations are backed by paper trails, receipts and accounting. We are graced with the expertise of volunteers well-versed and proficient in the accounting side of things. All monies are transacted through either Mutts and Muttens Foundation or AllPets Clinic. We take a firm stance in being held accountable for by the public.

2) None of our Dog Mill dogs have ever been placed into other shelters. The only movement of dogs out from Unit 9 is for either fostering/adoption while the latest large-scale movement is to Mutts and Mittens, where the dogs shall reside as the adoption drive continues to move forward.

3) The commitment of the DogMillRehomers is to rehome the dogs into loving homes. We have no wish to tussle with assumptions and libelous statements that tries to detract us from our work.

However, as the statements these volunteers from other shelters made are highly libelous, we have taken a stand in protecting the integrity of our hardworking and selfless volunteers. We will be requesting the removal of all such related postings, on Facebook and blogs and whatever medium of communication.

We remain committed to the betterment of animal welfare and social responsibility.

We have stated our stance, and trust in the community's assessment and logic.

Thank you.

Pictures courtesy of Monica Eng, Nicholas Lee, Davis KK