Gentle Giants Rescue And Adoptions fraud, adoption, illegal dog sales, puppy mill, great dane, burt ward, norco, batman, dog napping Norco California

My husband and I did a lot of research into finding exactly what type of dog we wanted. After looking at every personality, care, feeding, etc. we knew we wanted a Great Dane. We also knew we wanted a blue Great Dane. So I proceeded to go on to the Internet and try to fin local Great Danes. Time and time again the Gentle Giants Rescue kept coming up. I had adopted cats before so I was not new to adoption.

I looked over their website and gave them a call. I listened to the whole adoption message. There was a strict no just looking rule. That meant, be prepared to go home with a dog and don't forget to bring your $300 cash! I was told on the phone all that I needed. A collar, a leash, and $300 cash. I told Tracy Ward on the phone that I was looking for a blue female. She said. No problem we have six blue females and 55 others. You will find what you are looking for. She then went on to say All of our Danes are fully trained, have all of their shots and all are either spayed or neutered. I thought, great! We are going home with a new dog tonight!

I was so excited, I ran to Petsmart got everything I needed, called my husband home early from work. We went to the bank and got the money. We went up there and I can only say, I was shocked. I had never seen so much filth. Tracy Ward came out and she was a mess. She then proceeded to start taking dogs out one by one. All of them were in such poor shape! Their heads hung low, they were thin, limping, or on the flip side, completely uncontrollable. Or as she called it she is just a bit bouncy as I got clubbed in the eye with a paw.

As she went in to get other dogs I witnessed rats the size of cats, taking dog food and scurrying up into her house. There was dog food everywhere, on lawn chairs and in open bins. So these rats were freely eating and hiding the food inside her house. I was shocked that Robin, Boy Wonder, lived like this. It really shattered my childhood image of the dynamic duo.


At this point, I just wanted to get a dog a leave. Every dog she brought out was just not something we could commit too. I felt bad. I wish I could but one dog for instance had a kinked in leg. I asked her what happened and she said Oh she was hit by a car but she will be fine She did not look fine. Another dog she brought out was really cute but it was a black. So I wasn't too interested but she was in my list of top contenders. As Tracy Ward turned her around all these worms fell out of her rear. So I said umm, excuse me, there are worms coming out of her. Tracy replied Oh she was just dewormed and it hasn't taken effect yet.

After all the dogs, there wasn't any we had seen that we were interested in yet. Until the very last one. It was a cute little brindle. At that point we were told the color was rare and the adoption fee was $400 and that she could take a check for the rest of it. So we signed the papers and gave her the money. We were told that she was 18 months old and she was a show dog. She said she was registered and that she would get the papers to us later. Then she went on to say that she was not spayed nor did she have her shots. So I knew what I would be doing first thing the next day.

As we got her home, she was oh my gosh, filthy is putting it nicely. So my husband picked her up and put her in the tub. No easy when she didn't want to go. She was very thin and a little sad it seemed.
So the next day I take her to the Vet. I was mostly concerned about her weight considering all the worms I saw in the other dog. He said well, she is not 18 months old she is about 5 years old. She has cataracts and a heart murmur. My jaw dropped. Not all at what I was in for. I went ahead and got her fixed and got all her shots done.

I called Tracy and I told her what the Vet had said. She told me to get a second opinion that Vets that don't work with Danes always age them more than they are. She said when she saw my Dane she ran like an 18 month old. So I made another appointment with another Vet 2 weeks down the road.

During this time, I had her in training because she was chasing down my 14 year old cat. I was told that none of her Danes chase cats because they are exposed to them. Not true. So the second Vet says the same thing. About 5 years old, a heart murmur and cataracts. I again called Tracy and she told me to bring her up to her Vet. So I did. The Vet said exactly what Tracy had told me. So I left thinking it was me.


The dog continued to chase my cat. She was hiding food all over the house and I just could not keep her. She was entirely too much for me to handle.
So sadly, I returned her. She was heavier because I fed her Duck and Potato, she had her shots done and she was fixed. $2500 later and Tracy got a brand new dog back. I just couldn't take on these problems this dog was facing.

I am not asking to get a perfect dog out of rescue but that dog was nowhere near what Tracy made her out to be. And I just couldn't have her ripping apart my elderly cat.

Andrea
Glendale, Arizona
U.S.A.