Beware Holy-Sounding ‘Rescue’ Scams

PETA Busts Sham Hoarders

Amazing Grace Animal Rescue, Build an Ark Animal Rescue, Eden Rehab and Rescue, Every Creature’s Salvation, Heaven on Earth Farm, St Francis Farm Sanctuary & Rescue: They sound too good to be true, and they are. Local authorities have seized animals from these angelic-sounding “rescues” – and many more – that confined animals in hellish conditions.

An estimated 250,000 animals are victims of hoarding every year in the US – and self-proclaimed “rescues” are responsible for as many as one-quarter of reported animal-hoarding cases. Countless others go undiscovered. No doubt many well-intentioned people sent animals to Isaiah 11 Ministry, believing it offered them safety and care. They and the animals were betrayed. PETA’s investigator found one of them, a cat named Pearl, at death’s door at this self-proclaimed animal “rescue” in Indiana. She was too weak to stand or even sit upright, totally emaciated, and cold to the touch. Linda Ozier, the hoarder who ran the facility, refused to seek veterinary care for Pearl when the investigator expressed the seriousness of her condition and instead simply planned to leave her to die in a filthy crate.

PETA’s investigator persisted, finally getting Ozier to let her adopt Pearl. The investigator was finally able to rush her to an emergency veterinary clinic, but it was too late. A trifecta of parasitic, viral, and bacterial infections ravaged Pearl’s tiny body, and despite days of intensive, round-the-clock care, the veterinarian determined that euthanasia was the compassionate option.

Local residents had been raising concerns about conditions for animals at Isaiah 11 Ministry, yet authorities failed to take any meaningful action until PETA stepped in.

Infested, Deprived, and Caged Amid Filth

Following PETA’s investigation, local authorities finally removed all the animals from this hoarding hellhole and opened a criminal investigation into its owner. PETA secured placement at reputable sanctuaries for chickens, a duck, a turkey, pigs, and a goat. A donkey named Hosanna, whose hooves were overgrown, was removed by the local sheriff’s office.

Veterinary reports compiled by Fort Wayne Animal Care & Control, which took in 13 cats PETA helped remove from Ozier’s operation, show the extent of the suffering:

• At least 10 cats had ear infections, some severe.
• At least nine had upper respiratory symptoms, including ocular and nasal discharge.
• Most cats were fearful, starving, and crawling with fleas.

Four cats had to be euthanized due to their dire state. (One emaciated, dehydrated gray tabby cat was suffering from diarrhea, eye discharge, and hair loss. She failed to recover after weeks of treatment and was euthanized to end her suffering.)

Other animals denied treatment by Ozier included a cat named Raven, who had self-inflicted open wounds behind both ears from continually scratching at untreated ear mites and painful infections; a thin potbellied pig with an embedded tusk; and two turkeys with severe feather loss, one unable to walk properly due to a swollen foot and the other found dead of who knows what.

Dogs were banished to a feces-filled barn stall, and cats were locked in filthy crates inside a trailer that reeked of ammonia from their urine.

Some animals never had a chance at a new life: Their liquefying remains were found rotting on the property.

Unholy Dirty Deeds

PETA has investigated and saved animals from many other sham “rescues” like Isaiah 11 Ministry, exposing unregulated operations that hoarded dogs, cats, and other animals in squalid, severely crowded conditions for weeks, months, or even years on end. Following our investigations, self-professed “rescues” Angel’s Gate and Sacred Vision Animal Sanctuary shut down. These are just the tip of the iceberg. Remember: Just because an organization calls itself a “rescue” doesn’t mean it really is.

It’s a lesson to always do your homework. Never donate to, “like” or share on social media, or promote any “rescue” or shelter that you haven’t seen for yourself, no matter how lovely the photographs and the spiel may be.