I've been silently watching all this and have been reading all that has
been said but I can't be silent anymore.  In response to: Tiny Prints &
What makes a shelter
 
>A reputable shelter/rescue will have no problem with providing
>references, proof of accounting, etc.
 
I was a part of this rescue and to the best of my knowledge there are
no accounting records of any kind, she always maintained that it didn't
matter because she paid for things out of her pocket, so why should it
be separate.
 
>Only met them once at the LOS show in March, so I really can't get into
>what they do or don't do
 
You say that you were there in Ft. Washington, well that was supposed to
be for shelters.  Vendors could pay a lot more $$ to set up on the floor
of the Expo, like Warm Fuzzy did.  (The other group members did not know
this at the time.) 98% of what was sold at the TP table was for personal
profit not for the Rescue.  ( I personally donated a cage to be sold for
the shelter and it was sold there and yes, thank you, that money went to
the shelter.) And again she said it didn't matter because she paid for
shelter things out of her pocket.  Yes, maybe some of that goes to help
in the shelter, but the point is when people look at tables and booths,
they are thinking their money is ALL going to help a shelter, and at that
show itself, all was supposed to be shelter tables ONLY, NO VENDORS.
Tinyprints has a beautiful set up at all shows they also have very nice
stuff, I know I use some of the things that they sell.  I have also
helped set up and take down at the shows... not as often as I would have
liked to at that time (as I am very busy).  I was a part of that shelter
and all of this should have never happened but it did and it was a choice
that didn't have to be, a choice the group had no control over, nor
wanted.  This is not about personal issues, it is about making people
aware of what is what.  TP misrepresents itself as only a shelter, but it
is a business first, it was a business before it was a shelter.  The
shelter began in Sept 2003, TP has been setup at 6 shows since then, the
money that I KNOW she made at those shows would be MORE than enough to
support the shelter if that was the only thing it was doing.  I am not
saying do not support or buy from her, I am not saying the shelter does
not exist, I am not saying the care for the animals is not adequate, I am
saying do not be fooled by the word "shelter"
 
Lisa
[Posted in FML issue 4526]