Former worker reports brutality at Spindletop Refuge

The Spindletop Morgan Building after death of 39 dogs

Each day, a former worker at Spindletop Refuge is coming forward with reports of horrible brutality and abuse at the Willis, Texas facility still open and boarding dogs.

In the agreement with Montgomery County, Leah Purcell was allowed to continue working with animals by running her boarding facility. How can anyone be allowed to even handle an animal after nearly three hundred dogs were removed and in deplorable conditions.

A former worker whose name is being withheld to protect their anonymity and to insure safety from retaliation has stepped forward to try and help those people who placed dogs for care and boarding at Spindletop.

Just a paid hourly employee at Spindletop, this person became overwhelmed by the conditions at Spindletop and did not know where to turn. "Whenever there were medical issues with the dogs, Louise would send April back there and supposedly check them out."

"I can tell you that April was their go-to guy. She has powerful information about the history of that place. All three of them were habitual liars.  I could never do anything to hurt a dog or animal of any kind and it broke my heart for the whole time I was working there. But I can say that I did help a lot of the dog's in certain ways that would not have come about without me constantly making recommendations for them."

The employee attempted to aid the investigation after the raid in hopes of helping to reunite some of the surviving near 300 which were sequestered at Montgomery County Fairgrounds. The employee attempted to contact investigators and never received a reply. Several of the dogs on Spindletop Missing and Dead Dogs Facebook page have been positively identified as dogs who perished in the Morgan Building due to horrific conditions and no cooling in the middle of a hot East Texas summer.

"I actually have some of my own concerns about how the investigation began. I was in the back of the property where about 200 out of the 300 were housed and we were about two hours into working the dogs. When all of a sudden a hand full of cops and h/s (Humane Society) came to collect all the workers.'

'While about twelve dogs were out in the outside runs with full sun exposed in mid-July. I had to argue with the the officers that these dogs could not be left in the hot sun for extended amounts of time. After putting my foot down and refusing to cooperate until the dog's were housed out of the sun did they let me put them back in their arranged crates."

Recently recovered texts from April Longhurst, the longtime right-hand attendant of Leah Purcell and Spindletop, have disclosed information about a 'farrier' who was taking truckloads of dogs and killing them.

"April held so many secret's of that place . I alway's felt that April knew deep dark secrets of Spindletop, due to the way she carried herself around the place and the way she talked to Leah's mother Louise when they argued.

Since the raid and seizure, Spindletop Missing and Dead Dogs Facebook page has been searching for answers so that those who entrusted dogs at Spindletop could find closure. Many of these people attempted to communicate with Spindletop attorney Zandra Anderson, but have come away hurt and with their questions unanswered. 

This good person has offered to help those who still have unanswered questions about their dogs. Some of the dogs whose pictures have been recognized on Facebook are 'Nero, Delilah, Dewy, Lucky, Ava, George, Buster, Bridgett, Fawn, Grace, Tyson, Rayford, Holly, Dude, Glorianna, Momma, Kenny, Scarlett, Stricker...' all who are believed to have perished in the Morgan Building.

It's become doubtful that the individuals who harbored these secrets while cruelly teasing the only people who cared about these dogs will ever be punished. So much evil surrounds this entire case that it becomes difficult to list all the criminal activity. Pit bulls and other animals will continue to follow the goings on at 11797 Calvary Road and hope for the day that justice will be done for the hundreds and hundreds who suffered and died there.

Liars, lawyers, death, abuse: the dog killers of Spindletop

Abuse at Spindletop

It's been nearly a year and a half since nearly 300 dogs were confiscated from the horror hotel known as 'Spindletop Refuge.' Not one of the 'players' have been punished for their gruesome behavior, however, one person has stepped forward to try and help the many who entrusted animals to the torture den masquerading as a shelter.

Anyone who hasn't heard of Leah Purcell and the operation known as Spindletop Refuge can still read about the operation on the web under a new moniker Texas Canine-Equine Solutions. The site promotes "connecting people with their animal loved ones for 27 years," but that promise didn't come true for Reunion Rescue's Stella.

Although told that Stella had 'been adopted to a wonderful woman in Dallas,' Reunion Rescue asked repeatedly for contact information for the 'wonderful woman in Dallas.' Each day, Leah Purcell had a new reason for being unable to furnish the information. Her computer was broken, misplaced the application and a million other excuses, all of them lies. Although Reunion Rescue has an especially strict foster to adopt program, Purcell found a way to navigate as only a slick criminal and con-artist can do.

The failing Reunion Rescue had as did hundreds, if not thousands, of others was to believe the garbage printed about the place.....all lies. For years, Leah Purcell fooled a lot of us. She fooled Best Friends, Montgomery County Shelter, courts of law where Purcell was called to testify as an expert witness. For years, Leah Purcell and Spindletop were considered the end-all be-all of animal rescue and rehabilitation. My crime was in wanting to believe she cared as much about the dogs as I did. I believe others fell under the same spell of this witch as I did, hoping there was a fairy tale future for the many innocent dogs we placed in her care.

With a slick South Texas law school lawyer, Zandra Anderson, who bills herself as 'Texas Dog Lawyer' to run interference, Leah Purcell never did a day of time for her criminal activity. Anderson has led trusting parties to believe she had knowledge of their dogs.

Zandra Anderson's voluminous lists of falsified claims in an effort to have me fired from the Examiner:

http://freepdfhosting.com/95ca1a0cbe.pdf


http://freepdfhosting.com/6766727fe4.pdf 

"Since Zandra was the only positive hope we had been given, we were terribly afraid to offend her, for fear that she would retaliate by having -------- killed.  Yes, after what Leah had done with Zandra's knowledge, we had no confidence that Zandra would act with good conscience toward us or toward any of the dogs.  Our preference would have been to tread very softly until we could return again to Conroe and to the Spindletop facility at Willis to have another and closer look to search for our Scarlett.

Of course, we subsequently made two such additional trips, without success.  And finally Zandra refused to correspond with us any further."

Many others have stepped forward on the Facebook page Spindletop Missing and Dead Dogs with their own recollections in trying to find out what happened to pets boarded at Spindletop. Many had been told, as Reunion Rescue had, that their dogs 'had been adopted by a wonderful family right down the road.' As more and more people began to share their stories, one got the feeling Wendy Torrance had when she first got her hands on Jack Nicholson's work-in-progress and realized she was dealing with a homicidal maniac. "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy," written over and over hundreds of times in his manuscript. In our case, the story 'your dog was adopted by a lovely couple down the road' was the story so many of us were fed. 

Reunion Rescue's Stella who was killed at Spindletop

Zandra Anderson has issued multiple falsified documents to the Examiner in an effort to stop me from telling people what happened at Spindletop. I published these complaints in an effort to inform the public so other innocent dogs do not suffer at whatever Spindletop is being called now, Texas Equine Canine Solutions where a recent tour of the grounds revealed dogs in crates on dirt floors to one unsuspecting potential customer. 

A former worker has contacted me about Stella. It seems Zandra was actually telling the truth about one small thing. Stella was not killed in the Morgan Building. Instead, "I know for a fact that Stella WAS NOT in the Morgan Building the day the ac quit working, because she was housed in the very back of the property in the largest building which I worked every day."

"I am sorry to be the one to have to tell you this , but Stella did pass away about a month before the raid took place .. I began to notice Stella loosing weight at a very high rate and was reporting to Louise Purcell daily that she needed to have proper medical attention . She never was looked at by a professional, and passed away about three week's after first sign's of her issues."

Visored Anderson stoutly negotiates with officials during the raid

According to Zandra Anderson's sworn and published 'statement, 'FALSE. Marabito alleges that Zandra Anderson 'stood on the grounds where our dogs like Reunion Rescue's Stella were buried." Not only is this false, Marabito has been told that this dog was not involved in any such incident, and this dog did not belong to Reunion Rescue as suggested.'

This statement among some 40 to 50 other false claims by Anderson in trying to clear her client of animal abuse and killing by having me fired from the Examiner. In her claims, Zandra Anderson accuses me of being 'dangerous,' 'vulgar,' 'obscene,' besides accusing me of making up the Spindletop story as 'you know or have reason to know is false, misleading or fraudulent.' My question is this. What could be more fraudulent or obscene than killing and hurting innocent animals one has been paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to protect and lying about it? Even going so far as to lead caring people on by dangling notions of their abused and killed dogs before them like a deranged kook might tease a starving dog with a morsel of food.

Spindletop Missing and Dead Dogs Facebook page is filled with stories about animals taken to Spindletop and entrusted to these monsters. If these had been children instead of dogs cast off by society, would Montgomery County allow Leah Purcell to continue her business on Calvary Road? Rumors have recently surfaced about Purcell moving to 'Marble Falls with her boyfriend' to start up a new facility.

Craig Malisow's excellent piece "No Sanctuary at Spindletop," frightening tales of animal abuse, burning dogs alive and beating animals with hammers by sex offenders ends with a dark promise by Purcell. "Purcell, he said, chalked it up to a simple "misunderstanding." He said Purcell told him something even stranger: I'll get my dogs back."

The former worker who has stepped forward recalls, "One day out of the blue about a month before the raid a guy showed up on the property driving a very large U-haul truck . He was a very odd individual and when I first met him I asked so will you be working the dogs with us? And he replied that he could not divulge the reason for his being there." 

"I noticed that the back of the truck he drove was lock with a padlock. I wanted to see what was in the back. Him, April, and the Purcells were up to something very secretive and only moved and did whatever it was they were doing at nighttime." 

Suspicion of a 'strange man from Louisiana' hauling off 'truckloads of dogs to be shot' have been voiced by more than one party. Was this 'U-haul' man the same character? There are so many questions left unanswered. Where are the dogs in the Spindletop Missing and Dead Dogs photo album? The ones not accounted for by Montgomery County and the Humane Society? 

Why is the IRS so lenient about the hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of dollars paid to James Brewer by myself and other animal rescuers who sent dogs to be boarded at Spindletop? Was that money taxed? Zandra Anderson runs her own 'charity' promising to 

Anderson in her many untruthful claims, states, "the refuge took in dogs that were owned, then the owner relinquished any ownership rights in the placement." Does this statement account for the many suspected of being loaded up on a strange man's U-haul with a padlock at night, never to be seen again? 

We'll probably never know the answer to these questions as only 'April and the Purcells' were involved in the dirty dealings. Until we have answers, the Facebook page Spindletop Missing and Dead Dogs will go on searching. Stella's photograph will remain forever on Reunion Rescue's website as a tribute and a memory. Zandra Anderson's falsified statement to the Examiner that Stella is claimed to be in Austin and 'begging for donations on a dog she contends is dead.' The great crime for any human is to hurt the animals that were placed in their care.

Zandra Anderson knows a thing or two about fundraising as she raises donations without benefit of a non profit for an outfit called 'Texas Dog Commission,' which promises to 'defeat bsl in Texas.' The emblem above Anderson's Paypal donation button reads 'the advocate for dogs & their owners.' How much of a donation would it take for us to find out where all the missing dogs went on those late night U-haul rides?

One thing is for sure. I, for one, will continue to write about and search for answers surrounding the abused and killed animals at Spindletop. Those who had a hand in hurting Stella and the other many animals at Spindletop might be going on with their lives, but I am going to be watching and waiting, even if it takes forever. That is a promise.

Rescue Magic: Carmine's Rescue Story

Back in 2009, a last minute emergency notice came out from West LA shelter. A senior dog called Gio had been redlined and was about to be put down. Besides his age, Gio was sick and blind.

He'd been discovered walking down Pico Boulevard in Los Angeles. Most who walk down this street are shopping for a big Hollywood break, but all Gio got was a temporary cell unit at the shelter.

 

Several wonderful volunteers put together a video for Gio. He had a lot of people pulling for him, but Gio had run out of luck...and time. Reunion Rescue was full and broke, but what's new? Something about Gio just wouldn't let us hit the delete button, so we started looking for an opportunity.

A notice was put out on Streets of Bakersfield, our volunteer group which transports high risk dogs in California to safe refuge. Angel from Big Dogs Rescue did the first leg and met John McCaulay who carried many, many dogs to safety over the years. We lost John last Memorial Day when he passed away in his home.

A nice couple offered to foster Gio and he was transported safely to their home outside Santa Cruz.....with the Eddie Vedder song ...... I got the feeling that I just can't lose...pulling into Santa Cruz.....

It was a great day....I pictured Gio pulling into Santa Cruz...the ocean breezes blowing on his beautiful face. He was a symbol for those of us in rescue. We can't save them all, but sometimes we go out on a limb, take a chance, step off the ledge and the universe is there to catch you.

It was rocky at Gio's new foster home. He was there for a few months. They changed his name to Jack and we got him into an opthamology vet who prescribed eye drops and meds that would relieve some of the horrible pain poor Jack had suffered his whole life.

The resident dog, a cattle dog, never liked Gio-Jack and picked a bunch of fights with him. We had nowhere else for him to go and the dogs had to be separated. Amazingly, our Jack never responded to the attacks. He just wanted to be friends with everyone and everything.

Two very nice people, Marisa and Mike, contacted us about Jack. Marisa's dog, Fiona, was very dog selective, but they'd seen Jack and wanted to take a chance. Fiona was all for it and it was instant love. Marisa and Mike fed Fiona a vegan diet and she obviously thrived on it....and so did Jack.

Jack was renamed Carmine and found himself in a very loving home. He got around by following the jingle of Fiona's collar. Marisa, Mike, Carmine and Fiona relocated back east to Connecticut and for the first time, this Southern California boy enjoyed snow and cozy winter life.

Life gets away from you in rescue. There are so many who need us to help them and not enough of us to help.

Carmine enjoyed a loving life, even though he had to wait so long to find his forever home. This year, Carmine passed away in his loving family's arms. He was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor which began to cause him much anxiety and great pain.

He is remembered as an extraordinary dog who brought many people together. He went from being red-lined in LA to the lovely beaches of Santa Cruz and then all the way to the east coast. Everywhere he went, Carmine taught everyone he encountered to enjoy the moment and live each day as if it were our last.

Goodbye, Carmine. I never got to meet you face to fact, but I will someday. I know you are there with my Girl, with Rebel and Junior, Mookie and Madeline, with Hope and Frenchie and all the other Reunion Rescue dogs saving me a place.....pulling into Santa Cruz..... I need the beach to set me free...I need the wind to let me breathe.  I need the water to wash my soul...I need my loved ones to let me go...

BSL results in DOA for another pit bull shot by cops

St. Clair Shores: Police shoot and kill yet another pit bull. According to a story in the Detroit Free Press "St. Clair Shores police officers shot and killed a pit bull mix Friday morning, saying the dog menaced several people and then charged officers who attempted to capture it."

The reader doesn't need to travel far to find out what really happened to Lexie, an 18 month old dog who was brutally shot by a cop. Stated near the end of the Detroit Free Press article, was this description:

"Preston lives at the home with her grandfather, Tom Warunek, who witnessed the shooting. He said three officers came to his door. “He said they were going to shoot the dog,” Warunek said. “She wouldn’t come in, and then he took one shot and it’s right in front of me on the side porch.”

"Warunek said the dog squealed and ran into the bushes, where the officer shot it several more times and watched the animal die."

So, the office needed to shoot Lexie several times while she was bleeding to death in the bushes? Who was he protecting....the shrubbery?

Lexie was owned by 19 year old Brittany Preston who lives with her grandfather. Preston's grandfather witnessed the gangland-style killing of an animal.

Please take a minute to thank the St. Claire Shores police department for keeping the landscape safe....safe from dying pit bulls.

The name of the officer who shot and killed Lexie is unknown. Lexie was saved by Brittany Preston when Lexie's family moved to a county which practiced BSL and does not allow pit bulls.

Shame on the cop who shot Lexie over and over while she bled to death.

City of St. Clair Shores
Police Department
27665 Jefferson Avenue
St. Clair Shores, MI 48081

Ph: 586-445-5300
All calls for emergency police, fire, or EMS: 9-1-1
Dispatch Ph: 586-777-6700
Nonemergency Front Desk: 586-445-5300 opt. 1      

Mayor Kip C. Walby

walby@scsmi.net

586-445-3983

New report discloses San Francisco not friendly to animals

New Report: Status of Animal Shelter Animals in San Francisco has been published by Fix San Francisco.

"FixSanFrancisco.org is a grassroots campaign working to re-energize the vision of San Francisco as a no-kill city. We are seeking to network with like-minded people, city agencies, non-profits and rescue groups. Our goal is to ensure that animals with treatable medical conditions and behavior issues have the opportunity to be adopted into good homes."

"San Francisco has a long-standing goal of protecting the welfare of our shelter animals. The No Kill movement began here, in San Francisco."

"Now, over 200 communities across the US save more than 90% of the shelter animals (i.e., all healthy

and treatable animals), but San Francisco is not one of them."

"Many animals with treatable conditions continue to be killed at San Francisco Animal Care and Control."

"FixSanFrancisco new report, "Status of Shelter Animals in San Francisco", provides an analysis of the issues and makes recommendations for how to save all healthy and treatable shelter animals in San Francisco."

"The full report and the supplemental data are available here: Status of Shelter Animals in San Francisco Appendix to Status of Animals in San Francisco. Please pass it along to anyone you think may be interested!"

Webinar with Animal Farm Foundation will discuss high kill California shelters.

Caitlin Quinn of Animal Farm Foundation will lead a WEBINAR just for California Pets Alive! and their friends on Sat, Nov 9 (10-11:30).  We've asked Caitlin to help us become better advocates for pit-bull type dogs, which are the most common breed of dog killed in California shelters.  

Please REGISTER and SHARE with your friends.  

Please register here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5203048805910319874

Three dumped dogs in Georgia being saved by evicted animal lovers

Helping animals is a daily mission. This story came across our Facebook page and that face reminded me of so many I've been blessed to know. 

This one looks so much like Wylie in California who very long ago was 'Sluggo,' a dog we had to take from an abusive situation. 

Wylie is now and has been for many years the 'son' of a vegan couple in Vallejo, Todd and Darren. Wylie was very blessed to have been saved by Todd and Darren and is now a cherished senior citizen and beloved member of the family as every companion animal should be.

Please read and share these 'dumped' dogs and their story.

"Liberty County, GA~~ The ladies who have been trying to take care of these DUMPED dogs have both lost their jobs and are being evicted. They have to clear the premises in 2 weeks; therefore, we are I desperate need of foster spaces and funds for these 3 dogs. 

The 2 red dogs are mother and daughter and were found living in a drainage pipe... As you can see, their bodies are wrecked with demodectic mange and their eyes are infected. Momma dog is approximately 3 years old, very sweet and smiles with big wrinkles when she approaches or is approached. She is very friendly and gets along with other dogs. She is approximately 45 pounds, medium sized and though she is also suffering from Demodex, it is not an extreme case. We expect her to be heart worm positive. Her daughter also gets along with other dogs but is shy around humans. She does allow for petting and she would easily come out of her shyness in a positive environment; however, her Demodex is extreme and it will take some time to clear up. She is only about a year old; therefore, we are praying that she is heart worm negative or very light positive. 

The third dog, Wilbur, just recently showed up on the property and even though the ladies can hardly afford to take care of themselves, they have started taking care of him, too. We believe him to be mixed with Yellow Lab and possibly Bulldog. He is extremely friendly with other dogs and humans alike and we even know him to be fine around cats, as there are several outside cats on the property next door. He appears to be a young adult but we also expect him to be heart worm positive. He is emaciated and full of ticks and scabs - these do not appear to be from dog fights. He is starved not only for food, but also for attention. It's easy to see that he loves feeling a kind hand on his head and back. He is curious and alert, loves water, too."

Donations can be made below and let's try to help Wilbur, and the Momma and daughter find happy homes just like Wylie so many many years ago.

http://www.youcaring.com/medical-fundraiser/urgent-vet-care-needed-/77194

Original Facebook post:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=686518218028856&set=a.686517524695592.1073741831.100000120510995&type=1&theater

Gang of backyard breeders takes down Facebook rescue page

Wobbies: War on Backyard Breeders was removed by angry rage-filled backyard breeders who are afraid of losing their meal ticket. The gang of backyard breeders spent all day Sunday posting nasty attacks on Wobbies which was created to try and save some of the millions of dogs and cats being killed in American shelters.

With an animal being killed every nine seconds, animal advocates are justifiably concerned. Wobbies was created to let animal shelters know of lawbreakers in their communities breeding and selling pets without licensing. Wobbies must have hit a nerve when publishing the locations of these criminals.

"I hate to tell you, that your efforts to stop byb's are not going to help if your illegally posting their info, You do know that's Against the law! and if you do it your taking responsibility if that person decides to sue you? you know this right!"

"byb is not illegal or abuse What you are advocating it abuse of humans and potentially will cause the death of many animals."

"you do realize its not the law in every state! and the laws don't stop them! it's based on a number of litters per year just like if you sell cars if you sell 5 or more in a single years your a broker but if someone has one or two litters here and their they are not conceited breeders or even byb's. And that maybe BYB by license to sell to pet shops not a reputable breeder."

This person's name has been pixelated as have their pictures

"What about the FAKE shelter's and FAKE Rescues , that are really brokers and puppy mills! are you putting a stop to them? .. Since I know of a few reputable breeders ( Myself Included ) have come across to many fakes and caution families when adopting..."

These were only a few of the misguided and angry attacks that were posted on Wobbies page yesterday before the angry gang of backyard breeders had the page removed.

Sadly and sickeningly, these people are the reason hundreds of thousands of companion pets are beingslaughtered and gassed in many American shelters today.

One particularly sad individual posted his stud service for labradors to try and build his business on the bloodshed of companion animals page, Wobbies: War on Backyard Breeders.

The administrators of this page have issued a reminder to the backyard breeders and hate group who participate in continuing to breed and and sell animals while millions die. "Our group is called War on Backyard Breeders for a reason. This is war. We have right on our side and we will conquer those who continue to profit off the pain and death of companion animals."

Our country is mired in an epidemic and it will not go away. We must continue our fight to see that these backyard breeders are fined for un-licensed pet sales.

Please comment and share this post. This fight has only just begun.

New Wobbies Facebook group is up and running: Wobbies declares war on backyard breeders

Is someone backyard breeding in your neighborhood? Are they licensing the puppies or cats before selling? By reporting these lawbreakers, we can lower the numbers of animals being killed in the nation's shelters.

Here's the concept:

Anonymously report offender to your local animal control or police department.

Post the case number on Wobbies Facebook page along with contact info for the ACC or police department.

Wobbies members will then call or email the local ACC or police department to make sure these offenders are properly fined and the animals licensed. 

Wobbies is also for animal abuse. If you suspect an animal is being mistreated, please contact your local ACC and/or police department and post the case number on Wobbies Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Wobbies-declares-war-on-backyard-breeders/598881130173362