I filled out an application to foster a chihuahua through CARE. I got a call that the dog came in…read morefrom a Manhattan shelter, and was picked up in the morning by someone from the shelter. When I got there, the dog, Lovely, was brought out and was absolutely adorable. I was told he had Kennel cough, and I was given a medication to take home. When I got him home, he seemed to be gasping for air and was struggling to breathe. He would not eat, drink, poop or pee and was so super skinny. As the night went on, he still wouldn't eat or drink poop or pee and at 9:00p.m,as instructed, I tried to give him his meds and he swallowed the half pill, but within minutes, he vomited it up. He still was gasping for air and was making a sound as if he was chirping like a bird. It sounded like he had very little air left in his lungs to breathe. He was trying to rest in a bed we bought for him, but couldnt because he just couldnt get enough air in his lungs. He kept looking toward the ceiling and panting so loud still making a wheezing sound. I could hear all of these very loose sounds coming from his breathing as if his lungs just weren't doing a good job of helping him to breathe. I called up the shelter at 10:30 in the evening to inform them of what had been happening since I picked him up, and the woman I spoke asked me if I wouldn't mind taking him to an animal emergency room located in Newburgh NY. I asked if I would have to pay, and she told me that I wouldn't since he was only a foster dog, and I was not responsible for him, and that CARE (the shelter name) would take care of the bill. I did as she instructed me, and when I got there, the doctor asked me what meds the dog was on. I gave her the pills which had been given to me by someone at CARE, and told her that I tried to give the dog the pill and he vomited it up. The doctor was very upset because apparently CARE did not have a doctor look at the dog, but instead used the doctor's name on the envelope as the prescriber. I found that very unusual and not very honest. Someone at CARE took it upon themselves to prescribe medication for a very sick animal, and used a doctor's prescription to administer the meds to a fostering family. The doctor at the hospital told me that the dog did not have Kennel Cough, but instead a terrible sickness, that would take several weeks for recovery. My family and I were devastated and were told to leave, and the dog's medical prognosis would be handled with CARE from that point on. We drove home in tears, with an empty bed in the backseat not knowing if the dog would live or die. We did a great favor for the dog since he was struggling so terribly and probably wouldn't have made it through the night. The next day came, and no one reached out to us to thank us for taking the dog in to the hospital, nor did anyone ask how we were as a family after what we had been through. No follow up, no emails....period. They just dropped the ball. After a full day of pain from the trauma of what had entailed that day, I sent an email asking how Lovely the dog was, and if he was ok. I got an email back telling me to never, ever contact them again, and that I was prohibited from ever adopting through them because I couldnt be trusted. What???? They talked to me as if I was a criminal and did something wrong. I probably saved that animals life because the doctor at the hospital facility t told me that what Lovely had was very serious, and he wouldn't recover for weeks. I dont know how a shelter called Compassionate Animal Rescue can call themselves compassionate, but please, please do not consider ever fostering, adopting or even boarding at this facility. They are running a very dishonest business and are working only to collect money. They are fostering very sick animals who are being transported from shelters with very very sick animals, and are placing them in homes where people may have other animals that may catch the same sickness. I dont know what I did wrong to deserve the way I was treated, but all I know is that I saved a life the other night. This place needs to either be reported, or shut down so that these animals that they are sheltering aren't suffering. Also, families need to be informed that an animal is sick so they can prepare for very expensive future medical bills. We probably will recover from what had transpired in that one day of fostering, but we will never recover from watching that poor sweet little boy suffering so much in the short time (not even one day) he spent with us. Please think again if you are considering using this shelter.
