![birdy shelter notea birdy shelter notea](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/6e/23/ec/6e23ec0b42ca69560bcd1e9ed432656e.jpg)
The behaviorists had not done any training with him before that interview all the skills he’d learned were from the extensive time and effort that I had been putting in with him. I believe they were trying to give the false impression that their “behavior program” was responsible for the tricks Hank knew, when in fact they’d never done any work with him at all. When the news crew was finally able to interview me, Shelter had one of their volunteer behaviorists attempt to show off their “behavior program” by demonstrating tricks I had taught Hank myself. Shelter had their volunteers touting their rescue/behavior program to the news while I waited in the closed room. When the news and I showed up at Shelter, Shelter put me into closed waiting room, and tried to take over the news interview themselves in a separate room. I asked if the news could meet me at Shelter instead, because (as a marketer) I thought that it would be good for Shelter to get exposure. Red Flag #4 – A local news network reached out to me, asking to interview me at my house after they saw the viral website I’d built. They just didn’t seem interested in taking advantage of my marketing to find Hank his forever home, despite Shelter enjoying the fruits of my successful marketing via media attention, additional visitors to their website, and (likely) outside donations to Shelter.
![birdy shelter notea birdy shelter notea](https://assets.onlinepianist.com/sheets/previews/sa/103803/103803_2.png)
There was little communication from Shelter as well.
![birdy shelter notea birdy shelter notea](https://assets.onlinepianist.com/sheets/previews/1615/1615_2.jpg)
Very few of these posts were shared on Shelter’s Facebook page, and there was very little engagement from them with these viral posts. The immediate reaction from the public was so positive that Hank was featured on Fox News, Yahoo!, People, The Today Show, Huffington Post, and more. You can Google my name or “ Hank the Hellion” to see reach of the marketing I was able to do on my own. I also noticed that the majority of their promotions done on their Facebook page were pleas for monetary donations.Īfter realizing I’d have to market him myself if I wanted to find Hank a permanent home, I built a website for the dog, which went viral. Red Flag #3 – After several weeks of inaction and no communication from Shelter, I realized that Shelter apparently only engages in “passive marketing,” which was merely placing Hank on various websites and doing very little to actually market the dog, in contradiction to the promises of “ adoption promotion” on their website. Shelter placed the dog onto their website and affiliate adoption websites. Since my only concern was finding Hank a permanent home and I was unemployed with limited funds, I worked out a grant with another animal rescue to get the dog neutered and his rabies shot, and provided those vet records to Shelter. In hindsight, this entirely one-sided legal document was a foreshadowing of the events to come.
![birdy shelter notea birdy shelter notea](https://musicnotesbox.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/thumbnail/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/1/1/112631_thumbnail.png)
Red Flag #2 – The contract only listed the Foster Caregiver’s responsibilities, and none of Shelter’s responsibilities. Later, on the news, they even stated they pay for all medical costs. The contract itself indicated that that if any emergency treatment was required, the Caregiver would be footing the bill for it. Shelter’s emails to me, however, indicated that the Foster Caregiver would have to pay medical expenses such as neutering and rabies shots. For instance, Shelter’s website indicated they would pay for medical care, including “any emergency treatment, etc”. Red Flag #1 – Shelter’s website made specific statements, but their emails and contracts contradicted those claims. Because of the dog’s rambunctious behavior, this was not the ideal situation for me or my other (senior) animals, but unfortunately was the only solution at the time. Shelter was the first to respond but they said the only option was keep the dog in my home – in a foster situation – and sent me contracts to sign. We had hoped that an animal rescue could take the dog, but there was no room for him. After ensuring that he was, in fact, a stray or dumped dog (and not merely lost), we reached out to several local animal rescues for help. In May 2021, my husband found a stray dog on the streets, and we brought him home. I’ll call the shelter “Shelter” from here on out. I believe a certain animal shelter was only interested in using a stray dog I’d found as a marketing cash cow for their shelter. I recently had an experience with an animal shelter with so many twists and turns that I’m left stunned, and I’m ready to share my story.