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View Full Version : Animal Collector/ "fake" horse rescuer & puppy mill dog breeder in WA state


mdmossburg
03-26-2005, 07:32 PM
Sleepy Hollow Horse Rescue has been starving animals for years.

They are very small time horse dealers who buy and re-sell horses to familieis who can't afford feed or vet care for their horses or to unsuspecting legit horse owners. Many horses have been sold more than once or stolen from previous adopters and moved around until they pay more board, etc. They bypass the horse slaughter pens at the local horse auction and grill owners on training and then re-sell the horses without even training the horses. They are wild and unsafe usually and need more work before being sold to people. (I am a horse trainer of 40 years and have personally witnessed unsafe horses placed with the wrong families who were ill equipped to handle the wild horses they "adopted.")

Now the President, Sarah Schak, has been charges with three counts of animal abuse and neglect in Lincoln County, WA, District Court and is scheduled to appear in court on April 7th. She moved from Spokane County to Lincoln County in WA because there is no animal control, but also moved away from her volunteers who actually took care of all the animals. This is one lazy gal who pays people to care for the horses while she lives there on the farm.

I also rescue Dachshunds, wiener dogs, for fun and have placed 300+ since 1991. I have gotten about five of their dogs in since 1991 and none are socialized and are scared of people.

We need help finding their links all over the Net and asking rescue sites to remove their links especially petfinder.com who is also investigating, but they are still allowed as a rescue on that site and many others.

And when the heat was on in the past they said they were closing on their web site and then it was business as usual. They had warnings in the past of when they were being inspected by animal control and moved off the starving horses and other animals.

I have photos of the disgusting farm with with garbage, no water for animals, knee deep in mud in the weather without shelters and more of the farm I can email you direct. Many photos of starved, dead and dying animals.

Sarah Schak and her fake nonprofit charity, Sleepy Hollow Horse Rescue, www.sleepy-hollow.org (stating on her site she is closing AGAIN) has got to be stopped because they also lost their charity status as of March 1st for failure to file. She had been using that nonprofit status for personal gain and can no longer accept tax exempt donations but still does.

There is much more, but these are not pleasant people and two years of my life trying to get them closed down. I am a horse person and a dog rescuer so I see them in action all the time in both industries.

And they killed about seven animals this last January alone and they have not removed all the animals from their care yet. Very frustrating. :mad:

John Olexa
03-26-2005, 08:15 PM
Thanks for posting this!

mdmossburg
03-26-2005, 08:53 PM
PETA is aware of this fake horse rescue and sent our alerts to the media in January, but the local media is not covering the story even when many animals have died on that farm in recent years. I am not sure how to get the local media on board because many people have been abused by the people at Sleepy Hollow Horse Rescue.

I need the media to cover them so we can find the rest of the people who have had horses stolen and re-sold, tack and horse trailers stolen and sold, taken in puppy mill dogs and more. I am sending many photos to the media on a weekly basis of their horrible conditions but no one is covering this. If these were people in these conditions they would of been shut down years ago.

And many rescue links all over the Net still lists them as a rescue even when they state they are closing as of March 31. It is a long, long process to shut down this puppy mill and horse "rescue." And if the President skates on these current charges we will never shut them down.

So if anyone has any ideas how elese we can stop people from donating horses or buying their puppy mill dogs, I am more than open to suggestions.

Sincerely,
Margo :mad: :(

John Olexa
03-26-2005, 09:10 PM
Post Flyers, home made posters, write a letter to the editor of your newpaper,( Most have a section for letters) phone calls, emails....

Most important, Write your Senators & Representatives!
Contact the ASPCA, HSUS

Magnum
03-26-2005, 11:59 PM
That is so sickening. :mad: Thanks so much for posting this. Getting the word out on these pathetic jerks will hopefully keep them from starting up another fake rescue under a different business name.

draper
03-27-2005, 12:53 AM
You could also try getting in touch with some of the people who adopted these animals and getting them on board and contacting the media. Sometimes when there has been a "victim" the media is more likely to cover a story on it.

mdmossburg
03-27-2005, 10:07 AM
We have done most of what you suggest (thanks for the ideas though!) and we are bothering the hell out of the media here with no story even though I have sent disgusting photos of dead animals, animals in awful pens with no food and water, starved horses, etc. There was some quicky report that the President is being investigated but nothing further form TV or radio or newspapers. Doesn't stop us from bugging the hell out of them. Someone has got to care at some point.

And they can search online that there are three criminal cases pending etc. And they can see the terrible facility filled with garbage and no escape form the weather form the main road. Many of us are working together to bother the media constantly about how they should cover the story to get folks to speak out.

This woman is vicious though and she goes after any who report her to authorities. She has also gone after me personally and professionally. I have nothing to hide so I survived, but lost a few horse customers who never paid their training bills and removed horses from my stable when I wasn't home. And they were friends of 25 years! Even the taint of scandal in the horse world is enough to lose customers. She knows that and was very effective in affecting my business. I got new customers so no biggee to me.

That isn't the worse part. Animals are dying, starved to death, and no one is doing much to close them down.

But she has broke up one marriage with lies after she stole a horse and "adopted" it again and stole the poor woman's tack. That incident was reported to authorities and they said it was civil, not criminal although the value of tack and horse was well over $5,000.

Many of us previous victims who know exactly what is going on are sending these ugly photos (taken by a current employee) to any link she has on the Net and telling them that the rescue has lost their tax exempt donation status.

Someone has got to listen at some point and remove those dying animals soon before more die. My frustration level is such I just want to accidently shoot her because it has only been two years for me but much longer for others who lost much more financially. This has got to stop. So put on your thinking caps!

Thanks for the support anywise.

Margo

Katt_Patt
04-06-2005, 10:36 AM
If anyone wants to help with this situation please contact me. I am working on getting it all resolved and animals safe. We have only a handful left to get into new homes.
-Kathy

John Olexa
04-06-2005, 05:03 PM
If anyone wants to help with this situation please contact me. I am working on getting it all resolved and animals safe. We have only a handful left to get into new homes.
-Kathy

What do you need done?

Magnum
04-06-2005, 05:10 PM
What do you need done?

Ditto.. ;)

Katt_Patt
04-06-2005, 06:28 PM
I am gathering a list of animals that she is selling. Wish they just needed to go to a shelter but this is the way I have to work it. Can't just walk in and take them. Stephanie Bell at PETA has helped so much and has a new press release.
If I can just get more out of there that would be helpful.
Looking for homes:
1 Quarab 2yr mare - unhandled
1 mini buckskin stallion - broke/ride/drive
4 doxies
Maybe - 2 pyraness
-kathy

John Olexa
04-06-2005, 07:04 PM
:( crap. I'm about as far away as you can get.... Maryland

I don't understand, if there in bad shape, thats abuse, and thats a crime.
the right people, ie, police, ASPCA, HSUS should be able to take ownership of those horses

Katt_Patt
04-07-2005, 09:38 AM
Those photos on that site are mine and were taken over a month ago. A lot has changed.
There are 5 standard size horses left, 5 minis, a handful of goats, some doxies, maybe 2 pyraness on the property.
2 horses should be leaving this week for new homes (adopted).
1 is pending movement from owner.
1 mini and 1 horse are for sale.
Goats will be gone shortly - all but the 2 she wants to keep.
Doxies are for sale - all but 2 that she wants to keep.
The situation is not as it seems on the website.
Animals did not die in the winter because food was scarce. Animals did die this past winter because of neglect. Lack of care. I can't go into specifics as the trial begins today.
This area is controlled by the sheriff - no animal control - very rural area. The rescue is closing. Margo has no idea how hard it is to complete all the paperwork on a registered non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. She runs a private rescue - no paperwork to answer for.
This is a case of getting in over her head (Sarah). Taking on more than she can handle then blaming others for her problems and the animals suffering.
Websites such as this only paint one side of the picture. What is left out is that great strides have been made to help the animals.
This rescue has rescued over 300 horses in 4 years. Not all were re-homed - sometimes they were bought just to end there suffering.
There is pasture up at the facility. 20 acres. Problem is that the fencing is in need of great repair.
The animals that are left do not go without food. Water has been my main concern. But it is better now.
I thank everyone who has helped and please realize that not all rescues end up in trouble like this. BUT before donating to any organization - check it out first.
-Kathy