Fur flying in doggie dispute
A HOLLYWOOD dog rescuer has accused Bravo star Lisa Vanderpump and husband Ken Todd of reneging on a deal via their Vanderpump Dog Foundation, which shuttered her shelter.
“They actively came after my rescue [shelter], and ruined me,” Lizzie Scherer told us. The Vanderpumps were once supporters of Scherer’s Saving Spot rescue. But the relationship fizzled after the glitzy couple stiffed her out of $32,000, she claims, forcing her out of business.
“Ken approached us about doing a deal where they would essentially take over my facility,” Scherer says. “He was looking for a space to lease. We signed a [memo] saying that he would pay my rent for the next three years . . . and offer me an employment contract as part of that deal. He then didn’t pay rent and said he’d pay one month’s rent as long as I signed [a nondisclosure agreement] and let them out” of it.
But a Vanderpump source tells us they backed out because of Scherer’s “shady” practices, including improperly accepting donations and not filing taxes. CBS News in LA reported Saving Spot’s tax-exempt status was revoked in 2015.
Animal activist Lisa, who opened her own luxe Vanderpump Dogs rescue this year, told us: “We can’t be involved with someone who doesn’t have a charity set up properly. Everything was messy. We helped pay her rent. We were purely trying to help her because of our love of dogs, not because of our love of Lizzie. No good deed goes unpunished.” A rep for her foundation commented that the tax and other issues “showed me that they were not able to properly run their operations to the standard in which we planned and are currently executing at Vanderpump Dogs.”
Saving Spot charity head Ira DeWitt admitted that “Administrative mistakes were made,” but added, “They were aware of the status of our 501(c)(3), which has since been reinstated. There’s nothing shady about it. We had an accountant who misfiled a couple of returns. When we found out about it, we corrected it.” Saving Spot’s expected to close, and is exploring legal action.
Lisa said: “I wish her well, but she can’t make up things that aren’t accurate. [Vanderpump Dogs] has gone on to do exactly what we set out to do.”