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Swafford at it again ...


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I could be remembering wrong, but I could have sworn that the four dogs he was allowed to keep WERE spayed/neutered before being released. Regardless, there were five adults this time, so he's added at least one. The one good piece of this is that he got busted quickly this time, so hopefully the adults and puppies aren't in nearly as bad of physical and mental condition all of the others were in.

 

 

The bottom line is unless MAH is smart enough to run like the devil away form him. She will be trying to cliam the dogs. He says more than once I was holding them for a friend and selling them for a friend. If his 4 dogs were not verified to have been speutered then shame on someone.

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Does MAH even rear her ugly head anymore? I know for a while there, she would appear on this board and others, attempting to defend her disgusting operation, or creating a false ID and coming to her own defense or some other such stupid thing. Then it got to the point where, even when you emailed her off her psychoridiculous website, her "sister" would respond -- or someone else on her behalf -- but never her. Anyone hear anything about her lately? Did she, hopefully, fall off the face of the Earth altogether?

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Does MAH even rear her ugly head anymore? I know for a while there, she would appear on this board and others, attempting to defend her disgusting operation, or creating a false ID and coming to her own defense or some other such stupid thing. Then it got to the point where, even when you emailed her off her psychoridiculous website, her "sister" would respond -- or someone else on her behalf -- but never her. Anyone hear anything about her lately? Did she, hopefully, fall off the face of the Earth altogether?

She apparently still has an active website and is selling pups. She, like Swafford, is another pimple on the face of the earth - a big, festering one.

 

"When life gives you lemons, MAKE LEMONADE!!

At this time we have a waiting list for our expected litters.

Pups start at $800.

 

Bonny Lass X Lion King Jack II

Pups have arrived.

Pups are red factored!

Candy X WR Red Bear

Pups have arrived.

Pups are red factored.

Taft's Angel Bebe X Wildrose Harrison

Black and Whites and Blue Merles

Wildrose Reign X WR Red Bear

All of these pups are being held on deposit.

Wildrose Lemon Tart X Imported Comebye Bob

We have 8 gorgeous pups in this litter: Black and White, White and Black, Sable and White, Blue Merle!

We have deposits on all of Tart's pups!

Thanks for looking!"

 

I still have not figured out how any self-respecting person could bring themselves to consider her website for a pup, through ignorance or otherwise.

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Yes, there's hers ... and many more. Take away the ultra-nuttiness, replace a few photos with nicer photos, and kazaam! You have Lockeye! Add in a few photos of some dogs doing some agility, tack on a few hundred bucks (or an additional $1,000 if you want to purchase the reproductive organs along WITH the dog) and whamo! You have Hob Nobbers. Take that, and import a few Astra dogs, have them chase a few sheepies around, and voila! Rising Sun! And people continue to buy dogs from them over and over and over again ...

 

You know what they say ... there's a sucker born every minute.

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So...today I saw a post on Nashville's Craigslist about 20 alleged Aussies that are at the Gallatin, TN, shelter, including many merle puppies. Here's the relevant info, in case the post is flagged:

Today I went to the SUMNER COUNTY DOG POUND looking for a friend for my boxer/mix. The lady working there at the pound said that they just got 20 AUSTRALIAN SHEPHARD PUPPIES in from a puppy mill. They are absolutely adorable, if I had to estimate, I would say they are probably 8 to 9 weeks old, there are a few who look to be around 12 weeks. There are all coat colors and different eye colors. Most are blue merle with blue eyes. I was told that all animals taken in by the pound only have one week before they are put to sleep!

 

yall, please go adopt these puppies!!!!!!!

 

I would have taken one (or two, or three) but my boxer is just too rough. my husband and i are going to pick up our new girl tomorrow after work :rolleyes:

 

please, please, please give one of these puppies a good home!!!

I emailed the poster to ask her if she thought they could have been border collies instead of Aussies or if she had any idea where they'd come from. After all, this is the county shelter for Swafford's county, and it housed many of his seized dogs last fall. This was the poster's reply:

ya know, im really not sure. the lady that was working when i went in said that they were aussies... thats what they looked like to me, they were very fuzzy and had no tails. but they were all gorgeous!!! i just know that a lot of people dont know that there is even a pound back there in gallatin... so i know all 20 of the puppies (and parents) wont be adopted before time runs out.

I will call the shelter in the morning and see if I can find out more about where these pups--after all, if they are Aussies, I can pass them along to Aussie rescue. But as far as I know/can find, the shelter doesn't have any sort of website or way to find out what's available there, short of driving down and going through the kennels.

 

And I'll admit that I might be trying to connect dots that don't belong together, but I haven't heard anything about where the dogs taken from Swafford's went, so I thought this info was worth following up on, at least.

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So...today I saw a post on Nashville's Craigslist about 20 alleged Aussies that are at the Gallatin, TN, shelter, including many merle puppies. Here's the relevant info, in case the post is flagged:

 

I emailed the poster to ask her if she thought they could have been border collies instead of Aussies or if she had any idea where they'd come from. After all, this is the county shelter for Swafford's county, and it housed many of his seized dogs last fall. This was the poster's reply:

 

I will call the shelter in the morning and see if I can find out more about where these pups--after all, if they are Aussies, I can pass them along to Aussie rescue. But as far as I know/can find, the shelter doesn't have any sort of website or way to find out what's available there, short of driving down and going through the kennels.

 

And I'll admit that I might be trying to connect dots that don't belong together, but I haven't heard anything about where the dogs taken from Swafford's went, so I thought this info was worth following up on, at least.

 

 

I was assuming he planned to contest surrender untill his hearing. Here in Pa that goes on all the time esp when the pspca is involved they get stuck holding dogs for years. Way too late for most puppies

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Unrelated, but a bummer all the same.

 

BORDER COLLIE (PORLANDT)

Date: 2010-08-16, 7:06AM CDT

Reply to: comm-5grp2-1901195151@craigslist.org [Errors when replying to ads?]

 

I HAVE A FEMALE BLACK AND WHITE BORDER COLLIE FOR ADOPTION.SHE IS A GREAT DOG,LOVES A BALL,STICK,OR FRISBY.SHE IS 14 MO. OLD AND DESERVES A GOOD HOME.ONLY PERSONS WITH A FARM OF FENCED YARD NEED TO APPLY.SHE WAS ONCE HOUSE TRAINED BUT,HAS BEEN OUTSIDE FOR THE SUMMER.REHOMING FEE IS $100.SHE WILL MAKE A GREAT AGILITY DOG>.Call 615-325-0495

 

* Location: PORLANDT

* it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

 

Search the phone number and you come up with the STOCKDOG EXCHANGE.

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Trying to see if there was any updated info about Swafford's case online tonight, I found this article from the Portland, TN, newspaper, dated today.

 

Interestingly, it included this confusing info about the s/n status of his so-called personal pets (emphasis added):

When Swafford pleaded guilty last year, the terms of his two-year probation stipulated that Swafford was not permitted to possess or exercise control over more than four dogs at any time or engage in animal rescue or commercial breeding.

 

Swafford was instructed to spay or neuter the four dogs he retained and the Sumner County District Attorney's office confirmed the four dogs returned to Swafford were altered.

 

According to Sgt. Mike McLerran of Sumner County Animal Control, the four dogs Swafford claimed were his personal property on Thursday were all intact. Those dogs were also seized in Thursday's raid.

 

And this information about the legal proceedings:

Swafford posted a $2,500 bond on Thursday afternoon but was re-arrested on Friday, Aug. 27, and charged with violation of probation. He re-bonded out for $3,000 and is scheduled to appear in General Sessions Court at 9 a.m. Sept. 10.
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Interesting. Sounds like he got back 4 altered dogs, probably sold them off, and obtained at least 4 intact dogs and tried to pass them off as the same dogs. Too bad they weren't microchipped, and the chip numbers recorded.

 

Glad to see him in a world of hurt -- right where he belongs.

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Just got off the phone with the Gallatin shelter, and the woman there said the latest batch of Swafford dogs are being held there pending the outcome of next week's court date. So either there are two sets of 20 largely merle-y dogs, mostly puppies, at the facility or the Craigslist poster was mistaken about the dogs she saw being already available and in danger of being euthed.

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Just got off the phone with the Gallatin shelter, and the woman there said the latest batch of Swafford dogs are being held there pending the outcome of next week's court date. So either there are two sets of 20 largely merle-y dogs, mostly puppies, at the facility or the Craigslist poster was mistaken about the dogs she saw being already available and in danger of being euthed.

 

Angie,

 

Is this going to be like the last time? What I mean is, do rescues need to be lined up?

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Unrelated, but a bummer all the same.

Search the phone number and you come up with the STOCKDOG EXCHANGE.

That's where my Megan (and another young bitch, who also wound up being rehomed) came from. Anyone with the money is welcome. I don't think too highly of this "establishment". And, by the way, Megan has Swafford blood in her grandparents' generation for sure, and who knows where else.

 

That area seems to be a hot bed of puppy milling.

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Is this going to be like the last time? What I mean is, do rescues need to be lined up?

I don't know, and I got the sense there is no way to know until the court decides what's going to happen next, which I assume will happen at Friday's court date unless things get delayed. I have been in touch with West TN BCR just in case, though, and Edith there let me know that East TN BCR was also in the loop. I know both of those rescues also have volunteers in the Nashville area.

 

But I don't know what role, if any, HSUS will be playing this time around, and I'm not privy to its method of communicating rescue need (last time, things went from HSUS through several far-flung rescues before coming back to me with a request to eval and pull for one of those rescues). But I will keep on top of things as best I can and make sure I keep everyone I have contact with in the loop, and I hope folks will keep me in mind if they do end up needing local help.

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Jodi,

 

As a former newspaper reporter whose duties included covering courts (in Massachusetts, so your milage may vary greatly) it was my job to follow specific cases through the legal system. I felt a duty to follow any criminal matter in which we reported the arrest through the courts to disposition. There was no way around it other than leg work, and showing up for a lot of hearings where nothing of substance was done. These usually were things like pre-trial conferences, where the attorneys would tell the judge how they were progressing in trial preparation, and if needed the judge would hear arguments regarding evidence. But mostly they were about scheduling. Sounds like the arraignments and bail hearings have already taken place.

 

The interesting thing would be to get to as many of these hearings as you can, and see if he fails to show up for any of them. If he does, the judge may issue a warrant for his arrest for failure to appear. Otherwise, the only purpose in going to them is that at any one of them he could (and by the sounds of it, this is a long shot) change his plea and dispose of the case. Bear in mind that he has two cases on the docket now -- one for violating the court order and one for violating his probation. In my experience VOP cases are usually pretty quick and dirty. They involve pretty straightforward findings of fact: what were the conditions of probation, and did the defendant violate them. They are not criminal matters in the usual sense. There's no right to a jury trial since it's just a revisiting of the terms of an earlier conviction.

 

Find out who prosecutes cases like this. Do you have a district attorney or county prosecutor? Often these offices will have a staff member assigned as a victim advocate, whose job it is to keep victims of crimes informed about the progress of their cases through the legal system. If such a person exists, he or she might be willing to keep you informed. Otherwise, the best thing is to make friends with folks at the courthouse and check the files often. Keep a tickler file of any and all dates and make sure to follow up on them even if you can't be there. Make friends with the prosecutor and defense lawyer (this latter may be more difficult in your case, since you clearly have an agenda that's antithetical to the defendant) and ask them to give you a call if there are any developments in the case. They usually can't tell you very much about what's going on, but often you'll get a heads up that you should be in court on such and such a date.

 

Going and sitting in court every day that Swafford is on the docket is probably the best way to keep track of the cases, but it is an incredible time sink. It also risks missing out on appearances that are scheduled outside of other hearings -- for instance if the attorneys reach an agreement and ask the judge to hear the case before the next date you have on your files.

 

If you do go to court, remember that while most criminal hearings are open to the public, you do not have the right to speak. Some judges are real sticklers for courtroom decorum. I was once called in to cover an arraignment of a notorious fugitive. I had been reporting a story on a developer's application for a wetland crossing, and was out on site with the engineers and conservation commission. I walked into court in jeans, work boots, and a flannel shirt and was called into the judge's chambers afterwards for a stern lecture on never showing up in his court again without a jacket and tie. Right out of My Cousin Vinnie. After that, I arranged with the court officers to hang a spare jacket and tie in their break room just in case such a situation arose again.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks Bill. Very good advice. Sorry for the delay in responding. I must have missed this post.

 

Angie, Swafford's court date was last Friday. I checked the papers and there's nothing in there about it. Any way of finding out what, if anything, happened?

 

Jodi

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Angie, Swafford's court date was last Friday. I checked the papers and there's nothing in there about it. Any way of finding out what, if anything, happened?

Yes, I was really hoping to apply Bill's advice and get there in person to find out what was happening, but work interfered with those plans. Like you, I have had no luck finding online coverage, so I plan to call around tomorrow and see what I can discover that way.

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Thanks, Jodi! I am pretty clueless about how the court system operates (having to go to traffic court recently being my only experience), but Bill's post helped educate me, so I hope I can get some answers.

 

 

If it's anything like the case from green river they appealed the crap out of it to hold onto the dogs. I think they sat in limbo for 6 months or more. We got a puppy who had never really been handled ever from it. Even after he was convicted he got to hold onto the dogs pending an attempt at an appeal.

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