Small pet rescues challenge animal welfare advocates
Inspections only happen after complaints are made
A small animal rescue in West Michigan made international news after 78 dogs were removed and the rescue founder arrested.
Lisa Cober started Cober’s Canine Rescue at her Norton Shores home four years ago. Now she faces a felony charge of animal cruelty to 25 or more animals in Muskegon County. If convicted, she could face up to seven years in prison, fine up to $10,000 and up to 500 hours of community service. The Norton Shores Building Division deemed her home unfit for occupancy.
Animal control officials in Oakland and Macomb counties, who investigate animal welfare complaints, would like to see consistent rules for small animal rescue operations.
Michigan regulates county animal shelters, retail pet stores and humane society shelters. Those rules are enforced by the state’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. MDARD is responsible for licensing large-scale animal shelters and animal breeding programs involving 14 or more female animals.
Municipalities decide how many animals a person can keep, depending on zoning codes and ordinances. The number varies among cities, townships and villages, with more dogs typically allowed in rural areas, for example.
Deborah Schutt, founder and board chair of the Michigan Pet Alliance, said her group identified close to 350 home-based rescues by looking through national pet adoption sites. She estimates about 3% are poorly run.
Without regulations, there’s no way to tell for sure, she said. Some animal advocates have grassroots efforts to identify them, including one group that has a Facebook page, Scam Rescues: Animal Advocacy Community Forum.
Karmen Schooly founded TriCounty Dog Rescue in Pontiac four years ago after volunteering at other shelters.
She wanted to focus on puppies, she said. TriCounty takes in pregnant dogs or dogs with new litters, using pressure gates to separate each group in different rooms of Schooly’s home.
She keeps dogs in her home for a minimum of two weeks. Rescued puppies get the first round of vaccinations, are spayed or neutered and microchipped and leave her care with heartworm, flea and tick prevention, she said.
Schooly is frustrated by repeated inspections late last year. It started when a volunteer in Roseville took in six puppies TriCounty rescued from Texas. Schooly said the volunteer changed her mind and said the puppies were too much to handle. Before Schooly could retrieve the dogs, the volunteer brought the litter to Macomb County’s animal control division.
Jeff Randazzo, Macomb County’s chief animal control officer, said the puppies were sick with upper respiratory infections and intestinal parasites. Schooly disputes that, saying they were healthy when delivered to the foster home. Randazzo alerted Bob Gatt, who Oakland County’s animal shelter and pet adoption service, to the situation, because Pontiac is in Oakland County’s jurisdiction.
Records show Oakland County animal control officers have visited Schooly’s home seven times between 2020 and 2022. Earlier visits related to two puppies with parvo. Another involved a dispute over one of two foster dogs returned by a volunteer. A third happened after a dog escaped a foster home and gave birth in the wild.
And another happened after a dog bit a visitor to the dog’s foster home. Pontiac code enforcement officials visited Schooly’s home three times last year, related to complaints of her having too many animals onsite. Most of the county reports indicate animals at Schooly’s home are wellcared for.
Gatt said every complaint filed with his office is taken seriously, even if previous inspections have identified no issues.
Schooly asked Oakland County for a copy of all the inspections so she could go to a lawyer and stop what she said is harassment by Randazzo. Shortly after she sent the request, her adult son died suddenly. Her concerns about the inspections and possible harassment took a backseat to her grief.
In general and too often, Gatt said, someone starts a small animal rescue operation for all the right reasons, but gets in over their head.
Pat Fanning, Oakland County’s road patrol supervisor for animal control, said animal control officers visit all kinds of animal rescue groups that work with volunteers.
Municipalities decide how many animals a person can keep, depending on zoning codes and ordinances. The number varies among cities, townships and villages, with more dogs typically allowed in rural areas, for example.
He said foster-based rescues aren’t supposed to keep animals in their own home.
“If they hold the animals for any period of time — in the house, an outbuilding or the garage — that would require a license from MDARD,” he said.
The county’s last inspection of Schooly’s rescue, on Dec. 12, 2022, has a followup report by the investigator: “12/14/22, I was briefed by my road supervisor about Tri-County Dog Rescue possibly having to get certification from MDARD for a ‘Michigan Animal Shelter’ status. Later the same day, I dropped off the MDARD form and instructions to Karmen. Karmen texted me late that evening, stating that her attorney looked the form over and doesn’t believe that she falls under the Michigan Animal Shelter status. I texted Karmen back stating ‘Good, you’ll have to fight with MDARD about the shelter status.’”
Jennifer Holton, Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development’s spokeswoman, said in an email state officials are aware of TriCounty Dog Rescue, but that MDARD “does not license/inspect/ etc. rescue groups, fosterbased rescues, and the like.”
The agency does inspect large animal shelters, which are required to be licensed by the state.
She could not confirm or deny an investigation related to TriCounty.
State rules say rescues that make foster arrangements for animals, where they live in a home as a pet would, aren’t considered shelters “as they do not have a housing facility.”
The main law small-animal rescues must follow,
Holton said, is when importing rescued animals into this state. The rescue operation is required to provide a certificate of veterinary inspection for whatever specifies of animal they handle.
Animals are supposed to be taken directly to the volunteer’s home.
This year, a rule approved by Macomb County municipalities requires small rescues to register with the county’s animal control division. This way, Randazzo said, he has an idea which animal rescues exist. Also, if he has to inspect an animal’s foster home after a complaint, he can reach the rescue’s director.
Within the animal rescue community, Michigan Pet Alliance’s Schutt said word quickly gets around the rescue and shelter community about poorly run rescues.
The best animal rescue operators do more than get 501c3k designations for fundraising, she said. They get regular training in best practices and attend conferences for the same reason.
Michigan Pet Alliance routinely promotes and supports animal legislation, she said. This year, they’ll pursue laws related to animal welfare, not specific to home-based animal rescues.
“It would be great if we had a registration and some minimum standards, just for the sake of the animals,” she said. Small rescues with a network of foster homes can help county shelters minimize crowding issues.
Without state regulations or standards for small shelters, Randazzo and Gatt each said they focus on education. Randazzo said he’s not opposed to home-based animal rescues. He’s included a page on his county’s animal-control website that lists dozens of those that have registered with his division.
Randazzo said the 1919 law enforced by MDARD is outdated because small animal rescues didn’t exist then.
The last attempt to regulate small rescues happened in 2019, when then Sen. Peter Lucido, before he was elected Macomb County prosecutor, introduced a bill that would have required animal rescues to register with MDARD and file annual reports on the number of animals taken in, fostered and rehomed. The bill didn’t pass. Randazzo said animal welfare rules should be applied consistently.
Ann Griffin, Michigan Humane Society’s director of advocacy, said there’s no current proposed legislation for home-based animal rescues, but MHS officials “are always happy to review proposed legislation.”
Small rescues “can be a wonderful source of animals. For example, there are many rescues that focus on and are experts in caring for and finding appropriate homes for specific breeds or types of dogs,” Griffin said,
noting MHS has periodically worked with reputable rescues to rehome animals.
Animal lovers need to know the law, Gatt said.
“If you live somewhere where you’re only allowed four dogs in your house, you shouldn’t take in a fifth one as a foster, even though you have very good intentions.”
Under state law, he said, anyone who owns animals, including pets, must provide adequate food, shelter and care, as well as appropriate veterinary visits when needed.
“Taking care of animals is a very important job. It’s something people should take seriously because it’s a 24-hour endeavor,” he said. “You can’t just ignore your animals.”
Tips for fostering or adopting a rescued pet
Ann Griffin, Michigan Humane Society’s director of advocacy, offered tips for anyone interested in adopting or fostering a rescued pet
Start with a brick-andmortar shelter or rescue to see how the animals are treated.
Check the animal’s health record.
If one source doesn’t have the type of animal you want, ask those in charge to recommend other reputable rescues or shelters.
Other resources for finding a reputable rescue: veterinarians, family and friends. Rescue operators should be willing to answer questions and provide such information as health certificates, pet history and what happens if an adoption situation doesn’t work out
“As always, if a potential adopter believes that animals are being neglected or harmed, they should contact local law enforcement/animal control,” Griffin said.
The MHS provides investigators in Detroit, Hamtramck, and Highland Park.