On October 27th 2013 I received an email from the BRAT- Basenji rescue that a 2 year old female Basenji named Pumpkin needed rescuing out of Paris, Texas. My family and I have been looking for over a year to find the perfect little Basenji to rescue for our family. For some reason the story I read on this little girl touched me and gave me a gut feeling she was exactly what we have been looking for. I reached out to the foster family and we started developing a relationship. I was looking to fly out to Dallas Texas to fly the dog back with me in First Class. Jet Blue offered a program to be able to kennel her with me in the cabin for $497 if she was under 20 lbs. On agreement with the Lamar County Humane Association (LCHA) of Paris, Texas the dog needed to be spayed, and vaccinated before adoption, The problems began on the day of Pumpkins spay at the Lamar Veterinary Clinic, they refused to give any pain medication to her because, "It was not in the budget" The Foster mother was uncomfortable with this, and insisted that she received a pain shot that she even paid $16 out of her pocket for her to get, knowing it was the right thing to do for someone who had surgery. They stated they administered a Rabies vaccination, but failed to produce a certificate to the foster mother when she requested a receipt they explained to her they could not give her anything because it was being billed to the Lamar County Humane Association (LCHA). The foster family and I agreed that the medical treatment being received from this facility was offensive. I asked for them to take her to another facility for a health certificate. Dr. Pierce of Wally Kraft Animal Clinic then saw Pumpkin. She was seen on November12th, but they dated the certificate for November 15th, and they did not run any blood work on Pumpkin either. They did a visual physical and gave her another rabies shot and cleared her. I was excited that she was given a clean bill of health from a second facility,until I found out that this facility as well never tested the dog for anything either. Why did a veterinarian operate on a dog, put her under anesthesia, and never have her tested for any diseases? Through all this I find out Pumpkin was scheduled to be put down because she had kennel cough, an ear infection, covered in fleas, and never tested for anything else, but yet still was placed in foster care like nothing was happening because the State came in and told them to get the facility up to code and get rid of all the sick animals. The foster mom that took Pumpkin not knowing all this but fought to get her ears and cough treated and then took care of the massive flea issue she had with much resistance from the LCHA. At this point She gained 8 lbs in foster care putting her at 23 lbs and became 3 lbs over what Jet Blue would allow for her to fly. They also do not allow dogs to fly as cargo, so I had to cancel my flight only get $190 back from the $497 and now on a Friday night I had to find her another airline to fly her home within a few days in order to be within the health certificates 10 validity. American Airlines actually is running an incredible pet transport program, that got her flown home non stop on Sunday November 17th for $300. While preparing Pumpkin for her trip her foster family met with Carla Stowe of the LCHA at PETCO who helped by donating a travel kit compliments of the LCHA when she delivered the signed adoption papers. Unfortunately after my veterinarian examined Pumpkin just 12 hours after she arrived we had to choose to spend $1,800 to save Pumpkin or consider putting her down because she has heart worms. Well, I am still not going to give up on Pumpkin and will continue to fight for her life. Through social networking many rescues we are associated with have reached out to us looking to get involved. Denise O'Brien of Boston Canine Inc. of Peabody, MA and Sweet Paws Rescue of Topsfield, MA reached out to us and offered to get thier organizations to pay for the treatment. A gesture that touched our hearts so greatly, especially since I am already $1,000 into saving Pumpkin and we are 1 month from Christmas trying to figure out where we will come up with another $1,800. My objective here today is to make sure the Lamar County Humane Association (LCHA) owns this mess. LCHA needs to pay for this. When I spoke with one of their representatives Carla Stowe today, she was very confident that they have not broken any Texas laws and that if I read line 8 of my adoption agreement, they are not liable for anything. Is what I believe is that they are in violation of the USDA general requirement that "Other animals, such as poultry, waterfowl, rabbits, dogs, cats, doves, pigeons and other pets must be accompanied by an official health certificate stating that the animals are healthy, free of symptoms of infectious or transmissible disease and internal and/or external parasites. read more