Your Comments..
ANY comments with profanity will be deleted as soon as I find them, and your IP address will be banned. If you can't make your point without cursing, you don't have any business posting.
Hello, my name is Fiona, Owner of Privileged Pets
I was just made aware of this site.
The person who claims to be a former employee does not ring any bells with me, according to his/her discription.
Very confused! I remember all our employees!
My concerns are
1) Why would this person stay if the treament/ overcrowding is so bad?
2)Would not some of my staff who are still here some 5 plus years feel the same?
3) Why would this person not call SPCA & report the situation? Jennifer Francis, a real former employee,is an SPCA investigator. She is more than happy to give a reference on us & has even referred training to Jack, as well as having had her dog trained by him.
4) Yes we operate a small kennel & our door is open to everyone. We encourage tours. The pet does not have a say so in the matter. Call & see how your treated & if a tour is "allowed"
5) We are not in the business of adoptions however we have placed a number of pets in good homes & when our space allows we do take in unwanted animals. Give them food, water shots & a safe place to stay. Thou this is not our core business. Understand I do have to pay staff & that comes from our business if we took in strays I could not pay staff.
6)We have hosted open houses before as well as local vets have toured our facilty, to date they are still refering new customers to us.
7)Ms Robinson have you called or your just listening to the ranting of Ms Jones?
8)Ms Jones, you & I both know the the other side to this story....I was unaware that you were a qualified evaluator for narcotic k-9's?
Mr.Richards did not "deem him unacceptable" he evaluated him & the dog did not have the kind of drive that type of working dog needs. As you stated CAP turned him over to us NOT you therefore you were out of the picture. Why also would a person from Huntsville come all the way here for training? Your friend met Jack at the Katy Mills Mall and turned over 2 dogs that were scheduled to be euthanized at the prison in Huntsville. One of the dogs is still a working K9 for the Wharton County Precinct 2 Constable in East Bernard, Texas. Your friend never came by our facility or requested to visit our kennel. As far as the dog being donated to a church for a fund raiser the dog received a good home with a loving family and the church raised some money to help with their school. At Privileged Pets we have an open door policy to visit our facility. When someone requests to see our facility we have absolutely nothing to hide. Over the years we have learned that when it comes to dogs and people in many instances the only thing that 2 dog people can agree on is what the 3rd one is doing wrong. Look at Cesar Millan and the awareness he has brought about regarding the importance of education about the dog's mentality and consistant training for the dog and owner. Yet he still comes under scrutiny and critisism for the way he handles dogs and his methods. I have yet to see any of his critics pick up the leash and handle some of the dogs that are said to be out of control and people don't know what to do to bring the dog under control and live a balanced and stable life. More times than not it is the people who mess up the dogs. The main reason we have so many neurotic dogs is we have so many neurotic dog owners. We appreciate your comments, concerns and opinions. Please feel free Ms. Jones to stop by anytime to visit our facility and be sure to invite your friend from Huntsville.
Fiona Richards & The Staff of Privileged Pets.
--Posted by: Fiona Richards at August 6, 2007 5:01 PM
My 2 dogs were trained at Privileged Pets & I would stop by unannounced NEVER turned away.
GREAT job on the training & YES Jack is the dog whisperer around here!!!
--Posted by: Bill Hunter at August 5, 2007 10:14 AM
How interesting that a obviously disgruntled, FORMER employee has those kind of comments. Take that for what it is worth. They could not have found it to be so bad as this unnamed person said they "worked there for quiet a while"
I personally work with CAP & know of Ms Jones , who was NOT the owner of the dog,EVERYONE in a descion making postion at CAP knew of the donated dog. Had this not happened the pet would have been put to sleep.
Regarding the kennel I challenge anyone to call & req. a tour of the facility. Naturally when a business is busy caring for the animals that is the 1st concern & I find it valid that they would try & schd. a time. Call & find out don't believe what a FORMER employee says! If this in not acceptable to the potential customer then they can choose from any other boarding facility.
Privileged pets does not have the "drug" to put pets to sleep only vets do...where does this information come from??????
I also know that a member of the SPCA investigation unit worked at Privileged Pets & would be more than happy to give a reference
I called & rates are the same regarless of the size of dog. So not sure about the info from the FORMER employee about moving a dog who payed for a larger kennel to a smaller one either
Oh well everyone has an opinion!
SAD they are to much of a coward to ID themself!!!
--Posted by: Jennifer Davis at August 5, 2007 10:10 AM
I actually worked at this kennel for quite a while and would not recommend their services to anyone. Their kennels are now located in an incredibly small building right next to their house. A majority of the cages are very small, and their is little effort to make the pets feel comfortable. In fact, many times when a person would PAY for a larger kennel during the busy seasons, we would wait until they left and then put them in a much smaller kennel. The holidays are horrible, overcrowded, and not all the dogs are given the care they should.
Also, this couple (it's a married couple who owns the kennel, Jack Richards and his wife) is NOT doing this in the interest of dogs. My first day 3 dogs were euthanized and I was told by other workers that they made little effort to find homes or even rescue groups. They are in it for the money, and nothing else. I adopted a very sweet dog from them before I left because the owners who were having her trained there no longer wanted her. This, of course, meant they weren't making any money, so she was shoved in a kennel CARRIER which was much too small for her and was never given a second glance. I was heartbroken and had to get her out of there.
This story makes Jack and his kennel sound MUCH better than they actually are. In reality, we need LESS people like them. And he's DEFINITELY not a dog WHISPERER. He's very loud and very demanding when training the dogs. I refused to watch sometimes.
And yes, we ALWAYS refused people when they asked to tour the kennel. Not because it was dirty, but because it was just very small, no windows, nothing. It was like a prison and upon seeing it no one would want to keep their dog there.
--Posted by: Former Worker at April 11, 2007 12:29 AM
I totally agree with Cheryl Jones, if this Jack Richards is doing such a wonderful job, why is he not showing his kennels with the animals inside without appointments (like Ms. Jones stated, tell visitors cleaning is not finished, we will understand), why hasn't there been any support with the SPCA and why would he not return a dog (pet) back to the owner in lieu of an auction?
There are too many unanswered questions. They don't need further abuse. I feel SPCA should be aware of this type of situation and make sure these animals are receiving love not torture.
Our four legged friends depend on us to make sure they have the best treatment and we depend on them as well for many reasons: Companionship, trust, love, fun, safeguards, etc. We have a responsibility to check this person out and make sure further abuse is not being carried further.
And, if Jack Richards is truly a 'dog saver' then he will appreciate those who need this reassurance and welcome it as well.
--Posted by: Anne Robinson at September 12, 2006 10:17 AM
I'd like to share my experience with Jack Richards. I had a lab I was fostering through CAP. Several persons (including myself) felt this dog had the makings of a drug dog. CAP turned him over to Mr. Richards to train as a drug dog. Imagine my surprise a couple of months later when my phone rang one night and it was a woman wanting to ask me questions about the lab. It seems Mr. Richards deemed him unacceptable as a drug dog so he "donated" him to a church to be auctioned off for a fund raiser. The lady calling me had been the highest bidder for this dog. First off, I did not appreciate the dog not being returned to me. I was never told the dog had not made the drug program. Secondly, having worked in the animal rescue world for nearly 20 years, I find donating a dog for any type of auction to be totally irresponsible. I also have a friend who works with the drug dogs at the prison system in Huntsville, Texas. This man and his wife also own a boarding kennel in Huntsville. My friend was dropping off a dog at Mr. Richard's kennel for training. When he asked to tour the kennel, Mr. Richards told him no. I currently am employed at a boarding kennel here in Houston. When someone asks for a tour of this kennel, we NEVER tell them no. If we are in the process of cleaning the kennel or if some of the runs have not yet been cleaned, we tell the person this but we never refuse to show them the facility. I'm very suspicious of a kennel owner who will not let someone, especially a fellow "animal person" tour his facility. I personally feel Mr. Richards is irresponsible and his ethics leaves a lot to be desired.
--Posted by: Cheryl Jones at September 7, 2006 6:58 PM
What a great story and wonderful man! These types of stories are proof there are still wonderful people out there.
--Posted by: Barb at September 7, 2006 2:40 PM
I think this is the best idea ever. Keep it up!
--Posted by: Jean at September 7, 2006 1:45 PM
Nice to read a story with a good outcome.
--Posted by: rgun at September 7, 2006 1:22 PM
We need to see more if this type of work.
--Posted by: Sheila at September 6, 2006 10:31 PM
