Episode 7 is the story of some of the dogs Steffen failed. We talk about Sammie, Beretta and Cheyenne as well as some of the collateral damage in their stories.

In this episode, we are joined by trainer Jenny Falvey in discussing how Steffen failed these dogs behaviorally.

These episodes discuss sensitive topics, and we hope they can help these animals get a voice and help listeners avoid people like Steffen, who claimed to want to help but in the end just had his own interests in mind.

You can help us by rating, liking and sharing our episodes. Together we can make a difference!

Season One: State v Steffen Baldwin / Episode 7 Dog's Worst Friend

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Dr. G: Hi, and welcome to the Animal Welfare Junction. This is your host, Dr. G, and our music is written and produced by Mike Sullivan. This is Season one State versus Steffen Baldwin, episode Seven Dog's Worst Friend. We are continuing on with the story of the dogs that Steffen failed, and if you have been listening to this

as they come out, I really apologize for the very long period in between, but in all honesty, it just, it has been really difficult gathering all the information. There's so much, and it is just mentally exhausting going through all of the things that everybody went through and these animals went through.

Dr. G: ​So let's talk about Beretta.

Jenny Falvey: Oh yeah. This is the one with Belle. Mm-hmm.

Dr. G: Mm-hmm. I mean, really everybody is the one with Belle, right?

Jenny Falvey: Yes. Yeah. I love that you rehabilitate dog aggression, but your own dog is dog aggressive and clearly Yeah he couldn't handle that dog.

Dr. G: Because he didn't, he didn't wanna admit that the dog was

Jenny Falvey: mm-hmm.

Aggressive. Mm-hmm.

Dr. G: And he wanted the dog to be a victim. You can't be a victim if you're the shit starter. Right.

Det. Jim Conroy: She had been there 11 months and, and I interviewed I think six people from there. And not one issue. Sweet loved kids, had pictures of her with kids, loved people, loved other dogs. No issues, no problems.

You know, she had just been there 11 months and, um, they were just trying to find a home for her. So, uh, uh, a woman named Tiffany Habib took a special interest in Beretta because she thought, um, that Beretta Beretta reminded her of a dog of hers that had passed. So she had a special spot for Beretta.

, She had a very, um, great resemblance to one of my personal dogs, Um, so she kind of pulled on my heartstrings a little bit. The first point that I went to go visit her was just because I thought she was cute. Um, and then I kind of got to know her a little bit, uh, realized that she was a great dog. She then, you know, talking to some of the volunteers, I found out that she had been there for 11 months.

Um, and had, you know, no interest in adoption, which I thought was just unreasonable because she was great.

I made posts about her. Um, I wasn't able to take her personally because my two pitties that I had at the time were both animal aggressive and I crate rotated both of 'em and I didn't think that it would be fair to crate rotate three dogs.

Det. Jim Conroy: And so she reached out to Baldwin, and then of course, Baldwin immediately responded to her. Um, again, this goes to my Tiffany Habib was a very attractive individual and a model, and he would have, I don't know, 15, 20, 30 people reach out to him every single day about a dog. And he would answer almost none of them. Within a minute of Tiffany Habib

messaging him, he was responding to her and was all into helping Beretta.

Tiffany Habib: Hi. Question, when you take in your fosters, would you consider taking one outta a pound that's been there since winter that will be euthanized soon?

I'm gonna call and get details on her. I don't know if she has a euthanasia date yet, but it seems like she has been in the pound for quite some time. She looks identical to my Reese, so it's weighing on my heart a little more than usual. She's in the Zanesville Pound. I live there and I'd be happy to help you get her if necessary. What all do you need to know about her? And then there's a picture of Beretta.

Steffen says, you can tell 'em Act Ohio is interested in pulling, and we just need to get an idea of her behavior and how she does with other dogs, etc. I said, perfect..

Melissa Chase: Could you read into the record what's written there?

One way or another, she was leaving. So Act Ohio made sure it was through the front door. We have a few issues to work through. Nothing too uncommon for a dog that's been in a high stress environment for almost a year.

Det. Jim Conroy: And, um, you know, everyone's excited 'cause everyone believes he's this great person and a dog trainer and Beretta's gonna have a wonderful life and doesn't really even need train.

Jane Cooper: She was, I consider her a cuddle bug, very affectionate, loving. Now on a leash she had some power, so you had to, you know, hold onto her. She was, she was a, a brawny powerful dog, but I could control her on the leash and, um, she was just very loving.

Det. Jim Conroy: She just needed to get out of the, the kennel. But she had been in there for 11 months and uh, has no issues and there are no documented issues with her.

It was one of the volunteers, um, her son, he was young. Um, I don't remember how old he would've been at the time.

He was a little kid. Um, very friendly, very excited, very happy dog towards him. No issues.

Jenny Falvey: Um, there were no reports of her reacting to other dogs or any instance of dog aggression there. Um, so the day of going to ACT, um, they took her to a groomer. The, before she left the pound, the groomer had no issue with this dog. Um, and, you know, so all appeared well of going there.

Dr. G: Um, and how, how often do you see a dog be better behaved with people and animals in a shelter environment?

Jenny Falvey: Right, right, right. For sure. Um, and so then when we looked at, um. When I was looking at all of the things that happened, I was, you know, again, astounded by some of the things. First, you know, Beretta had been in the shelter for 11 months, which granted, I mean that there's lots of dogs in there longer than that, but it was a pretty volatile environment, you know, so then they sent her to the boarding facility until he could, um, you know, take, take her, and then went to his home in August.

Um, so there was nothing to indicate that she was ever evaluated. Um, within four days of getting to ACT, she was attacked by Steffen's dog Belle.

Um, that same day, apparently they were in another run. Uh, according to his private messages. He says, uh, Belle slammed Beretta, for the fuck of it was his quote. And it was on, and Misty and Roxy started going at it. So he had two separate dog fights going on simultaneously, in two separate runs.

Jenny Falvey: So this would definitely indicate there was absolutely nothing put in place to manage the, the environment for this, for this dog.

Det. Jim Conroy: So he has 'em together. So we're no decompression there either.

Um, so he's gotta come up with the cover story. So he goes to, the County Health Department files out a a, a report of being bitten and then puts in Beretta. And so in that, so the report isn't on Misty, it's on Beretta attacking him, which we know, you know, according to his versions in private messages was not true.

He was attacked. All chewed up. And then he posted the pictures. Now he's posting the pictures that he sent the day before from the Misty Roxy fight. Same picture he's posting as I was attacked by this, uh, Mastiff, this stray Mastiff dog that he eventually captured and took in and his feet are all tore up.

'cause he had vans, shoes on. You know, those are those canvas shoes.

So that whole cover story for the 22nd was one complete fabrication. There was nothing true. There was no stray dog. There was no stray mastiff. But that was his story to the public. That's what they thought, you know, so that he, you know, wouldn't, he would have a cover story for his injuries at Paddle for your pooch.

Jenny Falvey: Um, and then the comment, you know, she, Beretta, doesn't like all female dogs and then he makes, you know, this really inappropriate comment, you know, but I think it was like two-legged bitches and four-legged bitches are like that.

So there was also that, that the dog was dealing with. So there was a lot happening. And I don't, it did not appear to me that he had given this foster any type of guidance or set this dog up for success in terms of, hey, keep her in a bedroom. Like no interaction, nothing. It was just, here you go. And, and gave the dog.

Det. Jim Conroy: So he removes Beretta and messages you, and he's considering euthanizing Beretta. Based off of what a foster says. He's considering euthanizing her. So he mentions to you that he may have to bring her in to be euthanized, and then a couple days later he mentions that he talked to the Foster's boyfriend, and he thinks that the foster blew it out proportion.

Tiffany Habib: But her boyfriend told a different story altogether. She was just overly excited and very in your face. I said, I can't picture Beretta biting anyone, but you know better than I do. Stephen says, but she is a good dog.

I thought you and Erin were close, so I wanted to keep you posted. Ha ha. Maybe it's just Erin.

Det. Jim Conroy: So that was his story on, you know, why he wasn't gonna euthanize Beretta. So let's go to, uh, end of October, he comes home and Belle had, uh, gotten into another huge fight with another dog, which he never specifies who this dog is.

He has to take Belle to Rascal for hospitalization, which he claims was for two weeks. Belle was at your place, I believe, for three days.

And had to come in. Nobody knows what happened to that other dog or who that other dog was. That is the end of October. I think it was October 30th. So then let's, uh, go to a weekend before Thanksgiving in November.

Christine and John Tortorella. John Tortorella was the coach for the Columbus Blue Jackets, had been hired or recently been hired there as their coach. And, uh, Baldwin, due to his star status, the people that were involved in the Columbus Bluejackets felt that, you know, he was this big star in Columbus.

So

when the Tortorella were coming, you know, they were working with the rescue of these 20 dogs up in, um, uh, Connecticut.

So we met over down there to about 25 dogs and 40 cats that were mishandled, mistreated, not medically cared for. So a group of us, including ourselves, got above down there and they tried to improve their lives and Booker was one of 'em.

Det. Jim Conroy: And they had found places for all of them, but one a dog named Booker. So then now that they had to move to Columbus, they were still very concerned about this dog named Booker. And so when they asked, uh, the Davidsons from the Columbus Blue Jackets, uh, I think he was an executive or GM or something like that, you know, who, who can they trust with the dog?

Of course Baldwin's name came up.

Det. Jim Conroy: So they reached out to him and said, Hey, you know, lemme tell him the story Booker and how they want help Booker. And he's the last dog remaining up in Connecticut and they don't wanna leave. You know, they have to move, but they don't wanna leave behind. And that the person that, um, Booker was with could no longer watch Booker for, uh, I think got a new job or something like that.

So they were very concerned about Booker and they asked Baldwin if he could help Baldwin states Yes. Um, jumps on it right away. 'cause now he sees, okay, coach of the Blue Jackets, coach's wife, she's heavy involved in rescue, which he finds out and you know, so he's jumps on this opportunity and then they pay him $2,500 to take in Booker.

Now Beretta was the one who unprovoked Belle at the end of October. Now remember he said it was his fault that the food was left out, that he left it out. But now Beretta unprovoked attacked Belle, unprovoked attacked Jitter bug. Then he goes back and states that Beretta unprovoked attacked Belle back in August.

Okay. So now apparently that morning is when Beretta, uh, attacks Jitterbug unprovoked. So if Beretta, if Jitterbug is all torn up and needs to be in the hospital for two weeks, there has to be, you know, serious injuries. And, you know, Beretta probably has 'em too, but like, much like Remy Beretta comes in with no injuries and nothing wrong with her.

Um, and then he euthanizes her there. I don't think you did that one either. Um, someone else did. He, on his way to having Beretta euthanized he's messaging with Tiffany Habib back and forth, and they're talking about, uh, old cars like, you know, sixties cars and fifties cars and parents and how they had, and just different conversation like that.

And

consistently so, like, if there was some sort of dogfight, I mean, the last thing I think anybody would be was on Facebook talking about all these, you know, cars and stuff like that.

Like not serious things at all. So eventually I would find out that nothing happened to Jitterbug. You know, he was a, a week later he posts Jitterbug on Facebook and a picture of Jitterbug, but she was in the hospital for two weeks, um, is what he was telling people

But now his statement was, but now I can take Booker. Now I have room for Booker. So Booker came to him and then he had Booker in the house. December 10th that he posts Beretta is adopted, which was, you know, well after the night before Thanksgiving.

So he had already been planning that over the weekend. So eventually in uh, January, um, um, someone reaches out to him about Beretta. And this is when he starts telling his stories about, well, you know, she, I had to put her down.

Tiffany Habib: I wanted to let you know that the production company I'm working with flew out to New York yesterday to pitch this rural animal rescue show to Animal Planet and National Geographic if something happens, and even if something doesn't happen, but it'll be easier if I have money.

Did she get adopted or? Hope all as well with everything. Steffen says, I had been meaning to write you and tell you what happened. I ended up having two more incident with Beretta and other dogs. She put Jitter Bug in the hospital for two weeks after she did the same to Belle. I knew why it happened with Belle.

There were resources involved and I can understand resource guarding, but the other two times it was really unpredictable. There weren't any triggers that I could identify, and that was what worried me the most. I'm so sorry, Tiffany, but after the third incident, I had to make the decision to put her down.

everything else is going well. Steffen says, are you okay? I responded, yeah. Sorry. I just haven't had a chance to respond. That's really, really sad. It's okay. I just wanted to make sure that news didn't hit you too hard, Steffen said, I replied, but I guess that's what happens sometimes. Steffen said a lot of behavior problems can be worked on, but unpredictability isn't one of them.

Melissa Chase: What was your reaction to Steffen's comments? What he just told you?

Det. Jim Conroy: So apparently he kept Beretta for two weeks after the attack. And then he claimed that every night he would go lay with Jitterbug and cry and then he would go lay with Beretta and cry. And it broke his heart that he had to put Beretta down. And that's where he got it all this. Oh, I'm so sorry you had to go through this.

He wanted that connection with them. He wanted to talk to them, of which then he would go on and scam them as well.

Crystal Mazza: Now there's something about bringing the gift of love into your home, and that's certainly what you're gonna get with this guy. Meet Booker. He is our featured pet. In this week's Find a Friend Segment sponsored by Rascal Animal Hospital. Booker is ready to go for a walk or probably a run or cuddle up with you on the couch.

And Booker is brought to us today by Stephan Baldwin from Animal Cruelty Task Force of Ohio. Welcome to you both.

Steffen Baldwin: Thank you. Thanks for having us,

Crystal Mazza: Stephan. Let's first talk about Booker. He is a very special dog.

Yes, coach Tortorella, well, he's a big dog lover and, uh, back where he was in, in Connecticut, in the East coast. His family and his foundation, the Torella Foundation, helped facilitate the rescue of about 20 dogs. From a very rural shelter where they weren't getting, uh, very good care. Booker was the last of those dogs that they didn't find placement for.

So they reached out far and wide and, uh, you know, since we happen to be in the Columbus area, we caught wind of it and we decided to help him out. Um, his adoption fee is sponsored by the Tortorella Foundation. We just really wanna find him a good, good home for the holidays. He's a great boy.

Crystal Mazza: Absolutely. And I love his connection to the Blue Jackets. He's got the full support of the coach.

Steffen Baldwin: He does exactly like I said, they're, they're big pit bull lovers and we were happy to help them out as they came into Ohio. Um, you know.

Det. Jim Conroy: But she came to, to see Booker and was horrified by what she saw at that facility, and that she immediately told herself, I need to get Booker out of here, of how horrible the conditions were.

Christine Tortorella: We made really clear that we wanted him to have exercise and get outside in training for, you know, to prepare him to be rehomed.

So that, that was the agreement, I believe.

Det. Jim Conroy: When she comes, he's in a crate, which makes her upset, upsets her.

Christine Tortorella: We wanted that not to be the conditions that, not criticizing there was use crate some crates, but we didn't want the facility not to have conditions to get exercise for the dogs. Not just Booker, but it run that way. So I, you know, my, my trigger went out because I thought, oh, there's too many dogs.

Det. Jim Conroy: And uh, so she makes a note to get him out of, to get Booker out of there as soon as possible. And then she had another dog that he had, um, which was like, you know, like a smaller dog, maybe like a, a schnauzer or something like that. That shouldn't be difficult. She had to get that one out too. 'cause after three months she finally got a place for Booker and this dog.

But in the three month period, he did nothing for the smaller dog. . But ultimately. Beretta lasted 11 months at, uh, Muskingum County, no issues. She comes to the Baldwin, the great dog trainer, nothing but issues. Nothing but problems needs to be euthanized.

Jenny Falvey: I mean, it was just, he never did a thing to help this dog and there was never indication of any work he did with this dog, like so many others.

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DrG: I wanna make sure that we talk about the, the homeless guy that he did the fundraiser on. Um, so. Steffen gets contacted about this person that has a dog and they're living, living out of their car, and the car needed some work or something like that. And then he decided to help this person. But realistically, he stole from, from a homeless guy, basically.

Yes. So what was, what's, what's that story?

And his van broke down and he pointed to his van in the parking lot. And so he is trying to get money to, to raise. And so Baldwin says, Hey, you know, I'm the humane agent in this county, and decides to help him. So he puts up, you know, a GoFundMe for him, tells the story that the guy doesn't have a job, he is looking for a job.

His van broke down and you know, he is looking for money. And, um, of course, you know, it comes very popular post. And he raises all this money. He puts him up in a hotel. However, so many people are touched by this. Somebody comes in and they pay the whole week for the guy, um, uh, Vincent Mossholder is his name, and they pay for the week of him there.

They didn't charge him, you know? So all those things were done for the dog, but minimal amount was spent, um, you know, on this. But it kind of take, took off. So in the end it was like $1,734 or something, which was raised. And then they took out like, you know, $90 in fees. And, uh, then he told, uh, Mossholder about the dog

Sammy, who, this is another story. Uh, Sammy had lived with a homeless man in Columbus for a couple years and had recently in. January of 16, on January 8th, I believe, had come to Act Ohio because he was in danger of being euthanized, um, at the Franklin County Dog Shelter. But he had been with a homeless guy, uh, for a couple years.

He agrees to, uh, outta the $600 remaining, or that was raised and remaining from the fundraiser to donate $300 back, um, for Sammy, for what he's doing for Sammy. So of course, Baldwin accepts that and then writes him a check for $300. But when he writes the check, uh, he signs his name in the memo section, not where you sign your name.

So Baldwin comes immediately and meets him, signs the check and Mossholder leaves. And then in the messages, you know, leading, leading up to that of when Baldwin was updating on everybody on what was happening, he was saying that, Hey, I, you know, I just said $500 'cause I didn't know what to ask for, but you know, anything above the $500 will all go to Vincent Mossholder and help him and his dog on their way.

Um, he walked away with over a thousand dollars. So we did charge him for that. That was part of the, the grant theft scheme.

DrG: He was going after dogs with high publicity because I mean, Remy, that was a high publicity with all the stuff that Lisa did to try to get him out of death row, trying to get him outta that shelter and then work with him and rehabilitate him. Like Remy had a following before he even went to Stefan.

So that was a dog with, with a lot of, you know, how you say social media following prior to Right. Um, you know, when,

Sara Winfield: Or a story you get attached to it. Like Sammy was the homeless guy. Like he might not have a social media following already, but that's a cool pull at your heartstrings. I helped out this homeless guy, um, even just his association with me.

So I had a story that he could use.

Courtland Perry, Esq: Would you state your name for the record.

Connie Horne: Connie Horne.

I volunteered at the Franklin County Dog Shelter in Columbus, Ohio. And um, after I stopped doing that, I would help rescues out.

Courtland Perry, Esq: Do you recall what you heard about Steffen?

Connie Horne: That he was a, a dog trainer and helped the dogs out? He actually, uh, there were several times he came to the shelter while I volunteered there to evaluate dogs.

Sammy came into the shelter. It was a homeless man's dog. He had three dogs. Sammy was one of them. And at the time I got familiar with Sammy through Constance Swackhammer. She's no longer with us, but she worked with the homeless people getting food and, and, uh, vet care to their dogs.

Melissa Chase, Esq.: Would you state your name for the record, please?

Larry Swackhammer: Larry Swackhammer.

Melissa Chase, Esq.: And what is Faithful Forgotten best Friends?

Larry Swackhammer: It is a 501c3 nonprofit here in Columbus that provides free veterinary care and pet food to, um, people that are homeless or very, very low income.

Melissa Chase, Esq.: Who founded Faithful Forgotten best Friends?

Larry Swackhammer: My wife did.

And in her mind thought, okay, the best place to put this is with, um, the homeless people because, through our son, I, I, I found that, um, he rescued dogs himself. Many of them ended up in our house and he was also very passionate about homelessness. I know he and my wife would go out to lunch and, from her telling me that they would see a dog tied up outside of a restaurant and they would see someone come out from that restaurant, take the dog and give them some of their food.

And when this pet food came into her possession and she wanted to start, you know, give it to the homeless. 'cause that was what our son would've wanted. Uh, that was what he was passionate about. So that's in a roundabout way, is how this came about.

As we got into this. People would be coming to our, our, uh, our clinic and get, and either get vet care or food. And Connie would notice that the people, you know, some would come in the wintertime without coats, some would come without shoes.

And she, she felt, how can you help someone's animal knowing that the person themselves are hurting? So as a byproduct, it's still not our primary mission. We do collect coats, um, sleeping bags, tents, clothing, and if we see that there's a need, then we kind of pull them aside. We don't shout out, Hey, you look like you could use something or other.

Sammy was a, uh, dog, a pet of a client of ours.

Det. Jim Conroy: Sammy lived with the homeless guy. Homeless guy in Columbus with a rescue that worked with them, got him food, got shots, got him taken care of, and another dog. And for whatever reasons living, he had a, a living opportunity to go to, but he couldn't take the dogs with them. So they ended up at Franklin County.

Connie Horne: They came to the shelter. Two of 'em got put on the adoption floor and I believe they were adopted. Sammy did not, must not have passed the testing, so he did not get put on the adoption floor. So I think he was allowed to be rescued.

Det. Jim Conroy: So the rescue that worked with the, uh, the homeless guy and Sammy and the other dog, you know, was very much trying to help Sammy and, and, and was in contact with Baldwin about Sammy.

And we were trying to build some type of crate enclosure. When I saw how he was keeping Sammy, I'm like, he was better off with the person who loved him.

You know, at least that homeless man was showing him love. But he might not be able to provide everything. Why not try to provide that man resources to provide for the dog instead of taking the dog from him so that you can post on social media about it and then stick 'em on a chain? It was just heartbreaking to see.

Det. Jim Conroy: Sammy, you know, lived for two plus years on the streets of Columbus.

four unprovoked attacks, which Sammy was in two fights, but both of 'em were Baldwin's fault because of his negligence, his recklessness, his carelessness. They were his fault. But yet Sammy paid the price, just like Beretta wasn't in any of these fights that he claims. And she paid the price too as well.

And so a month after that Belle incident on like June 9th, he takes in, Sammy has Sammy euthanized, I believe, at the Union County Humane Society, and tells them that Sammy put Belle in the hospital for 10 days and that it was his second unprovoked fight and Sammy had to be euthanized.

So we're talking 11 days. He has Sammy out in the yard with five other dogs. So where's the two week decompression? I don't know. But he is got Sammy out in the yard with five other dogs. Another dog comes barreling out of the house, opens the door, and there's like a dozen dogs all fighting. Okay? So that's a whole nother story there, right?

Um, the story, I believe that they all attacked and killed, Saber Um, but this is his, his story, his version of what happened, um, and that he got chewed up pretty good on his hand. And Sammy, you know, had some bites too, and came to your hospital and I think he was there for a couple days. Um, and then Baldwin went to the er, uh, for his, um, injuries in that fight.

And he of course, writes this article, and in the article he blames himself, it's my fault, it's my fault. You know, I did this, I did that. The do's and don'ts of of a dog fight are breaking up a dog fight. That was, I think, the article in a Huffington Post article. Um, and so that's what he talks about in the article.

Melissa Chase, Esq.: Can you give us the date that it was drawn?

Melissa Chase, Esq.: The dog, the patient's name was Sammy, correct?

Dr. Amy Welker: Correct.

Melissa Chase, Esq.: The client name was Baldwin?

Dr. Amy Welker: Correct.

I write. Um, generally what I did, and you know, on this page, it's all euthanasia since it is my euthanasia log. And why I usually put a reason why. And on this one for Sammy, it was euthanized due to dog aggression.

I have no idea who Sammy was.

Melissa Chase, Esq.: So the information about Sammy being dog aggressive or aggressive came from Mr. Baldwin, correct?

Dr. Amy Welker: Most likely, yes.

Would you read Connie's message into the record?

Larry Swackhammer: I love seeing the pictures of all your pups, which made me wonder if Sammy found a home or if he is with someone else. Just curious. And there are two gray boxes from Stefan's response underneath those. Would you read those into the record? Sorry, I didn't see your earlier message. Sammy is still with me, but he has had three instances, so I only put him in smaller group sessions.

And he's like, well, you know, Sammy had all these unprovoked incidences and then he had to be put down due to behavior, which, you know, I explained to all of them that none of 'em were his fault. Um, and Saber from that fight never mentioned ever again, except three times. One person asked about Saber and, uh, in, uh, March, he said that Sabre was, uh, back in decompression.

So if Saber had a home, she would've been involved in finding that home and having knowledge of that. She had no knowledge of anything of whatever happened to sre. And, and so I absolutely believe, because he said Bell got involved in that fight, that it turned into a, a, a, a free for all. And, and that Sabre got, again, that's just my belief off the information that I have without him upright saying it, just from the lies that he told about her and his patterns.

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Dr. G: Next we're gonna be talking about Cheyenne. So Cheyenne was about 8-year-old Rottie that was rescued from a chain and uh, right out of res, out of rescuing her from this chain she was taken to a foster.

Melissa Chase: Would you state your name for the record please?

Lesley Seaman: Lesley Seaman.

Melissa Chase: And what do you do for a living?

Lesley Seaman: Dog trainer, boarding and daycare.

Melissa Chase: And how do you know Mr. Baldwin?

Melissa Chase: What do you remember about Cheyenne being in your home?

I, new dogs come in just for safety precautions and diseases and whatnot, and she started. Uh, to, she drank a lot of water and urinated a lot. So I was thinking she had symptoms of diabetes. 'cause I owned a dog who had diabetes before.

Dr. G: So whenever you get a new dog, especially a dog that's really skinny, that has had poor nutrition, that has been on a chain, you don't really know what normal is for them, and you do expect them to drink a little bit more than normal or eat a little bit more than normal as they get back to to normal, to a normal body condition.

But what Leslie noticed was that Cheyenne was not really gaining weight and she was drinking a lot and urinating a lot, and because of past experience she realized, you know, there's something more to this than just a dog that has been out on a chain.

Lesley Seaman: It was hard for her to gain weight. Um, and she was happy because I would let her go outside and she'd get to have like her, she was just happy to get attention.

And her favorite toy was like a watermelon squeaky I got her.

Dr. G: Once Leslie realized that there was something wrong with Cheyenne, she figured that she needed to contact Stefan, uh, since Cheyenne was an act, Ohio dog and you know, get her seen. So she went through the steps and she had her seen at Tharp Animal Hospital.

Melissa Chase: And it is at this point that her blood is. Correct. Her blood, her glucose level is tested.

Dr. Cheryl Bater, DVM: They did the blood glucose level? Yes. Okay. And an exam.

Melissa Chase: Alright. And if you know, what was Dr. Tharp's diagnosis for Cheyenne?

Dr. G: Diabetes can be a little bit challenging to manage. You have a dog that needs injections twice a day. It needs diet. It needs care. So while Leslie was very knowledgeable about this and she had previous experience, it cannot be expected from a foster to be able to take on such a medical management of a case.

So she did what was responsible and told Act Ohio that she wasn't able to care for her any longer, that she needed to be placed, uh, with a foster that was able to manage her medical needs.

Melissa Chase: Did her condition get worse during the time that she was with you, if you remember?

Lesley Seaman: Yes.

Melissa Chase: What were her symptoms like?

Lesley Seaman: Panting, increased water intake, urination, um, couldn't really gain weight.

Lesley Seaman: No, it, it did not get better.

Melissa Chase: Okay.

Alright. And so Cheyenne eventually left your house. Um, do you remember why?

Lesley Seaman: It was just too much for me to do, take her to the vet.

There needed to be more of a decision on what was better for her, you know? Um, life, it probably wasn't the best choice of life for how bad she was.

Melissa Chase: And if you recall, how did the exchange of Cheyenne happen? Um, how did you get Cheyenne to act?

Patricia Rogers: I met Sarah Winfield at, um, whole Foods.

Lesley Seaman: And Sarah took Cheyenne at that point?

Patricia Rogers: Yes, she did.

And unbeknownst to her, this dog has serious, serious problems.

Melissa Chase: Would you state your name for the record?

Patricia Rogers: My name is Patricia Rogers.

Melissa Chase: Did you have any dealings with Act Ohio?

Patricia Rogers: Yes, I applied to be a foster.

Melissa Chase: And, uh, why is it that you applied to be a foster for Act

Patricia Rogers: Ohio?

Um, I felt that I had the skills and the time to be able to help animals.

Melissa Chase: Was there a particular post that you

responded to for ACT Ohio?

Patricia Rogers: Yeah, it was a post, uh, for a dog named Cheyenne.

Melissa Chase: And what was it that ACT Ohio needed?

Patricia Rogers: Um, essentially a medical foster, somebody that was capable of giving insulin injections and monitoring a dog with diabetes.

Melissa Chase: How long were you communicating with ACT before Cheyenne

came to your house?

Patricia Rogers: Um, a week or two at most.

Melissa Chase: What was your understanding about the delay in getting Cheyenne to your house?

Um, after the post,

Melissa Chase: And what was your understanding, where was the insulin coming from? That it, that they had to wait on it? Um,

Patricia Rogers: I believe they had chose to do mail order.

Melissa Chase: Did the delay in getting Cheyenne's prescription concern you?

Patricia Rogers: Yes. Absolutely.

Melissa Chase: And why is that?

Patricia Rogers: Um, diabetes is not a disease that waits. Um, it is literally a minute by minute, day by day, urgent situation. And without it, the body cannot self-regulate.

Melissa Chase: Did And and did you express that opinion to whoever it was you were communicating with at act?

Patricia Rogers: Yeah.

I, I was kind of trying to push and trying to make sure that they understood the urgency.

Melissa Chase: And did it, did your text seem to have the, the effect of hurrying up the situation?

Patricia Rogers: No.

Melissa Chase: How much time did you spend with Cheyenne total?

Patricia Rogers: Maybe four or five hours.

Melissa Chase: That's it.

Patricia Rogers: That's it.

Patricia Rogers: It was just Cheyenne, just the dog.

Melissa Chase: So no insulin?

Patricia Rogers: Nope. No insulin.

Melissa Chase: No. No needles?

Patricia Rogers: Nope.

Melissa Chase: No paperwork?

Patricia Rogers: Nope.

Melissa Chase: No medical records of any kind about Cheyenne?

Patricia Rogers: Correct? Nothing.

Melissa Chase: Had you previously fostered any dogs for Act Ohio?

Patricia Rogers: No, I had not.

Melissa Chase: Or any other organization, foster any dogs or any organization?

Patricia Rogers: Nope. This was my first experience.

Melissa Chase: Alright. Tell us, what was Cheyenne's position when she was dropped off at your house?

Patricia Rogers: Uh, very poor, I would describe as critical.

Melissa Chase: And what led you to that conclusion? What were your observations?

Patricia Rogers: She was underweight. She was trembling, panting, drooling. Um, she could not walk more than a few feet. She actually didn't make it more than maybe five feet into our house before she laid down and just couldn't, couldn't really get back up.

Melissa Chase: In your opinion, based on what you saw, was she suffering?

Patricia Rogers: Yes.

Um, but the initial, I'm not feeling well, I feel sick, comes with having super high blood sugar.

. Um, she continued to be restless and looked. It looked dire. Um, so I decided to try and reach out. I only had one contact. It was the same contact that I had been with the couple weeks before. Um, and tried to reach out to see what, how, where I, you know, I had no paperwork.

Patricia Rogers: Nothing had really been discussed. Um, so I wanted to make sure I took the dog wherever they were in agreement with, you know, I did know enough to know that with fostering, usually they have an agreement with a specific hospital or vet. Um, so I reached out to try and get whatever authorization I could and didn't really hear back in the timeframe that I thought was appropriate.

Um, but I decided to go ahead and just leave. Um, it was probably about a half hour drive from my house, and I had hoped that. By the time I got there, I would've heard back from somebody

Melissa Chase: You said they did not respond within the timeframe that you thought was appropriate. What does that mean? What timeframe are we looking at?

Patricia Rogers: Um, the message I sent was very clear, I believe. You know, I don't remember the exact verbiage, but I, I didn't mince words, you know, I said that this dog was in a critical state and I had to take her to a hospital. Um, I figured that would've been enough to elicit some response.

Melissa Chase: And did you ever get a response to that text?

Melissa Chase: I was very honest with, uh, the receptionist and all the technicians and that I was a foster. I didn't have any legal rights to this dog. Um, and I did not have any kind of, um, approval to even be there. Um, but I felt that it was urgent.

You know, at this point I was trying to find the line between legality for this dog, but my own personal moral and ethical code for seeing an animal in obvious distress. So I tried to find that line and said that I would pay for the initial blood work so we could at least have proof that there was something going on.

So he's already done poorly by this dog. He gets it off his chain. People tell him, oh, what a, what a great guy you are. And then he just dumps it somewhere. And then when that person is unable to care for her, he just has somebody pick it up from that place and bring it to another foster.

Melissa Chase: Alright. So let's talk about how long did you spend at Rascal Animal Hospital with Cheyenne?

Patricia Rogers: Probably a couple hours, maybe three at most.

Melissa Chase: And if, you know, um, during that time, was authorization received from Acto Bio four treatment for this dog?

Patricia Rogers: I believe towards the end it would've had to have been because I, I had to leave her there.

You know, they, they were trying to relay messages between myself and Act Ohio, I believe, and I think it was kind of putting them in a weird position, so I was getting some information, but I don't know that I was getting all the information.

Patricia Rogers: Not that I remember, no.

Melissa Chase: Well, how did you feel about this whole situation,

Patricia Rogers: Um, frustrated and a little bit scared.

Melissa Chase: And, and, and explain why. Scared.

Patricia Rogers: Um, I had no paperwork. I had absolutely nothing that spoke to the ownership of Cheyenne or what my role was in it.

Um, I was a little concerned, you know, I was the one that brought her to Rascal that it was going to end up coming back on me somehow, that I was going to be the one responsible financially and otherwise for making the decisions for her.

Melissa Chase: Do you see the message section there?

Patricia Rogers: I do.

Melissa Chase: Alright. I, I'm gonna have you read that into the record.

Foster was okay with us and requested that she be called with updates as well, just because Steffen has not given her info. I told her I would put an alert on this message with her phone number. She thanked me and hung up.

Melissa Chase: I wanna go to the message section and I wanna start, uh, at the second paragraph, please. That said, later,

Patricia Rogers: Uh, later the foster called wanting to know what time Cheyenne will be ready for pickup. I told her that she is not going home.

I asked her where she got that information. She said that Steffen called her to tell her that she could pick her up. I told her that was false. Discussed with her that Steffen told me earlier that she would be responsible for her care financially. The foster was shocked. She didn't know where that came from because she never stated that.

I told her I would find out what was going on and get ahold of Steffen for further decisions.

Dr. G: He has the balls to tell this

lady, well, you're now financially responsible for this dog who is not your dog, and who you had no idea had any of these problems.

Dr. G: I remember so clearly that I was at the hospital that day, but Cheyenne wasn't my patient, and I was doing a procedure in our CT scan room. I look outside and I see somebody walking Cheyenne and I said, what's happening? And they said, well, she's getting sent home with the foster because Steffen said that it's now the Foster's financial responsibility.

This lady doesn't have the money to take care of this dog. We're talking about an estimate, starting at about at least a thousand dollars. And keep in mind that we were a low cost facility, so even then it was a really expensive treatment to to get this dog back to health. And he just basically says, yep, the dog is just gonna go home with the foster and she's just gonna take care of it financially and medically.

Patricia Rogers: I kind of just had to step back. I had no legal rights to the dog and I felt that I was putting Rascal in the middle. Um, and I figured, you know, legally I had, I had no right.

I just kind of had to hope that she was being taken care of, however that was.

Melissa Chase: So, uh, throughout this incident, what was your contact like with either Mr. Baldwin or Act Ohio?

Patricia Rogers: Um, minimal to non-existent.

Dr. G: I can say that I honestly was really surprised about how well Cheyenne responded because when dogs get into this diabetic ketoacidosis, it can be very challenging to get them out of it, especially in a dog as big as she was. Most of the diabetic dogs that we see, they tend to be smaller dogs, like little poodles and, and chihuahuas.

Dr. Cheryl Bater, DVM: She was appropriate. She was doing very, very well. So, um, there was no sign of diabetic ketoacidosis. Her blood sugars were coming down consistently. It wasn't a huge dramatic drop. She was coming down nicely.

Dr. G: But at that point, I mean, Steffen clearly never had any intention of getting that dog back. He did not want a dog that was gonna be a burden to him. Economically, or just the fact of having to have this dog. So he just basically said, I don't have the money to pay for this, and wrote her, wrote her off, and Cheyenne ended up being euthanized.

I'm still here. You can keep the insulin coming, and boom. Um, she was euthanized. I think it's, uh, premature. It's sad, it was unnecessary. She was responding very, very well.

Dr. G: It sucks about every case that an animal ended up being euthanized for one reason or another because of his lies. And what is really upsetting and disappointing is the fact that these dogs went to him because people thought that he was going to give them a better life, a better chance. And he lied and said that they did.

And in the end, it was all about profit and fame and not really about the dogs.

Melissa Chase, Esq.: What did you feel, I guess, what were your thoughts or your feelings about this whole situation? Looking back on it?

And then when she was finally dropped off without any kind of paperwork, any kind of medication, any kind of plan, um, I just felt like maybe this dog was being dumped on me. And a lot of what happened that night kind of proved it, especially this kind of miscommunication or whatever you wanna call with it between.

Rascal and myself.

Melissa Chase, Esq.: What responsibility did you feel that ACT Ohio had with Cheyenne's situation?

Patricia Rogers: Um, I mean, it was full responsibility. It, it was their dog. So, financial, moral, ethical, all of it.

So stick around. Thanks for listening, and thank you for caring.