Would this concern you?

[milos_mommy]

I've been volunteering for a local pit bull rescue for not quite a year. I'm not a regular volunteer or anything, I just occasionally go help out at adoption and education events, and occasionally take dogs to the vet or transport, whatever.

The guy who runs the place also owns and operates a local martial arts studio. He often holds adoption events at this studio. It's a large rescue, and he sells apparel and dog products in order to help run it, as well as relying on donations and some of the money from the studio.

He also does a lot of investing, stocks, stuff like that. He might do some financial advising. He recently hired me to do office work for this financial business, which I was told by another worker that he owns. When I started looking into that business, to see things like how long ago he started it and whatever, I found A LOT of "information" about the rescue online.

This "information" is all comments by random people on articles about events or situations the rescue has been involved with. The comments include stuff like "Don't donate to this group, they'll use your money to feed their alcohol addictions" and that the guy I work for "has been linked to dogfighting" and is "banned from pulling dogs in NY and MD but still gets them from California". There's also an article about a specific rescue dog (rescued from fighting), and comments say that my boss "kept him in a warehouse until he was ultimately killed in another fight". I don't know anything about this dog...I assume it is possible he was killed in a dog fight...but I highly doubt it was in a dogfighting ring.

I know that this guy can and does legally pull dogs from shelters in NY. The rescue kennels are really well kept, his own dogs are all well-cared for....I've never seen anyone at this rescue drink, and they're obviously not abusing alcohol to the point where it's interfering with work. Basically....there is nothing remotely sketchy or disconcerting about this rescue (except for the fact that the guy runs a financial advising business, MMA studio, and pit bull rescue all out of the same two buildings). Do I assume this is slander, or look further into it?

 

[JessLough]

I wouldn't worry about it, especially if you KNOW some of it is not true, like he can pull dogs from NY.

Honestly, it's a rescue. Behind the rescue is a human. Unfortunately, far too often, people try and take out their anger towards a person on a rescue. No rescue is safe from it.

 

[milos_mommy]

It's starting to seem like someone pulled a dog, adopted it to this guy, and when the dog was killed in an accident, they became determined to convince the public he did it on purpose.

There are like 10 websites dedicated to this dog's death and how it happened. The "evidence" is a death certificate or something from the vet saying the dog died from multiple bite wounds/blood loss. And that the dog was kept in the pool house....yeah, maybe, but it's a freaking NICE pool house.

 

[Airn]

I agree with Jess.

It's much more common for people to post about how awful their experience was than how awesome it was.

You go out for dinner, you really like it! You go see a movie, it's pretty good! You go for dessert and get the WORST service ever.

Which experience are you more than likely going to comment on?

I've seen several negative things said about places I love. And I've also seen a lot of positives about places I despise. I've learned to take reviews with a salt shaker :rofl1:

If you feel like balancing it out, you could make some positive comments. I'm sure those comments are turning some people away. No matter how valid they are, they're what people see when looking into this organization.

 

[milos_mommy]

Well, it also has to do with the content of the slander...."this person is a jerk" or "this company doesn't take care of their dogs" or "they were such a huge pain to work with I'd never go here again" is a lot different than "So and so supposedly runs a rescue but they actually have other secret locations where they run dogfighting rings and they've gotten in legal trouble for it and this is a picture of my dog they killed".

 

[release the hounds]

I wouldn't even pay attention to it. If something tells you something stinks with your own nose, then pay some attention. I wouldn't pursue anything one way or the other.

They're probably playing to a relatively small audience anyway, even on the internet, at least among people that matter. Anybody who's accomplished anything in life has made an enemy or two along the way. People will find any reason at all not to like someone somewhere along the line and there's always one that will go to great lengths to discredit someone. I don't pay attention to them anyway as most come off as crazy as the person their trying to paint.

 

[xpaeanx]

I wouldn't even pay attention to it. If something tells you something stinks with your own nose, then pay some attention. I wouldn't pursue anything one way or the other.

They're probably playing to a relatively small audience anyway, even on the internet, at least among people that matter. Anybody who's accomplished anything in life has made an enemy or two along the way. People will find any reason at all not to like someone somewhere along the line and there's always one that will go to great lengths to discredit someone. I don't pay attention to them anyway as most come off as crazy as the person their trying to paint.

This.