Tickled Pink Weimaraner Rescue

Dear Supporters,

Tickled Pink Weimaraner Rescue (TPWR) has been viciously attacked by one of its former volunteers, Mr. George Garay.  Mr. Garay and his partner, Ms. Amy Farner, were providing temporary foster care for a dog belonging to the rescue, a male Weimaraner named Arnold.   Despite both having acknowledged and signed TPWR’s foster contracts, Mr. Garay and Ms. Farner were in non-compliance with TPWR’s foster requirements, and this continued despite multiple attempts by TPWR to help advise both of them in providing appropriate foster care to Arnold. 

Through Mr. Garay’s and Ms. Farner’s actions, the safety of the public as well as Arnold’s safety was compromised, and after repeated instructions from the rescue coordinators, these policies continued to be ignored and this safety concern continued. 

Following Arnold's transfer to his permanent foster home, through continuous harassment and slandering posts on social media and the Internet, Mr. Garay has spread false accusations and lies.  Through these actions, TPWR’s integrity has been questioned and our rescue volunteers have received harassing messages as well as personal threats.  Mr. Garay himself threatened one of our volunteers by phone and in the presence of Ms. Farner, stating he would “come after” the rescue and a specific volunteer personally.  He also openly stated that it was his goal “to take Tickled Pink Weimaraner Rescue down”.  Mr. Garay and individuals he has employed to support his cause have stalked our rescue volunteers and have repeatedly tried to interfere with rescue activity.  

While TPWR wishes to solely focus on our rescue work assisting rescue dogs, and while we would not have chosen to make this situation public, many of our supporters and friends have asked us to tell the true story about Arnold and to hear our side of the events that occurred. 

TPWR has decided to honor this request not only to tell our side of the story, but more importantly, because Mr. Garay has continued to directly interfere with our rescue work whereby he is endangering dogs that are in need of rescue and care.

We also want to let everyone know that Arnold is doing well!  He has received thorough behavioral assessment, rehabilitation and training, and is thriving as a healthy dog.  He has been adopted and lives happily with his adoring adoptive family. There, he is loving and affectionate with his family who cherishes him. Arnold loves to play and enjoys romping in a large grassy green yard. You can read Arnold’s true story below.

Arnold’s ordeal and perseverance is an example of the daily challenges that rescue dogs and volunteers within the animal rescue community are faced with. 

TPWR and its volunteers are determined to continue our focus on the needs and well being of the Weimaraners we dedicate our time and resources to every day.  We also remain committed to the network of supporters and fellow animal rescue volunteers that help us on a daily basis to make these rescue stories possible.  We wish to thank every one of you for your continued support and trust.

In addition, we hope that by telling this story in public, we will also inspire others to remain steady in their focus on animal rescue and all of the positive that results from working in animal welfare; we intend to continue to remain focused on this positivity and hope that others will join us in this effort in just the same way.

Thank you,

Tickled Pink Weimaraner Rescue

Arnold's True Story:

  Arnold was rescued by Tickled Pink Weimaraner Rescue (TPWR) from a high-kill shelter in New Mexico, where he had been a stray intake without any known prior history; a volunteer from our NM chapter (and not Mr. Garay as he has claimed) pulled Arnold from the shelter. Given that Arnold was ill with a fever and signs of an infection, he was taken immediately to one of our rescue veterinarians where he needed hospitalization for treatment and isolation, as at the time it was unknown whether his infection was contagious.

  At time of rescue, Arnold was quite overweight, and no veterinary hospital in NM had a large enough isolation kennel for Arnold, and the veterinary staff felt he was stable enough to not need 24/7 hospitalization. So, the next day TPWR made the decision to transfer Arnold to a committed and experienced foster home in Arizona.  This foster home would allow Arnold constant human supervision and also allow him isolation from other animals until being clear of a possibly contagious illness.  Our volunteers were coordinating a transport chain from Albuquerque, NM, to Phoenix, AZ, where Arnold would receive an initial veterinary assessment and once cleared for in-home foster care would transfer to the available TPWR foster home. Mr. Garay had recently contacted TPWR after becoming disgruntled with another rescue, and expressed interest in helping a TPWR dog.  He was contacted by a TPWR coordinator and asked if he would be willing to help with partial transport participation for Arnold’s transfer.  Immediately, Mr. Garay volunteered himself to drive the entire distance and back to bring Arnold to Phoenix, AZ.  He was told it was not necessary for him to drive the entire distance, but he offered to anyway.

  The day Mr. Garay traveled to NM to transport Arnold for TPWR, rescue coordinators expressed their gratitude towards Mr. Garay and specific transport instructions were shared with Mr. Garay so as to avoid, as much as possible, any stress on Arnold given his illness and unknown social history. Mr. Garay received specific instructions to not feed the dog during transport, as it was feared that this dog was a high-risk candidate for bloat/gastric torsion, an often-fatal condition in Weimaraners. Mr. Garay acknowledged receipt and understanding of these instructions.  TPWR later learned from Mr. Garay's partner that he chose to feed Arnold fast food from a Wendy’s restaurant and additionally feed Arnold a full meal of dog food just prior to dropping him off at the pre-arranged veterinary appointment for Arnold’s assessment upon arrival in Phoenix, AZ. Upon arrival there, Mr. Garay expressed to the clinic staff that he needed to leave immediately, but did not clearly communicate with either the veterinary staff at the clinic or the TPWR volunteer taking on Arnold’s care thereafter that Arnold had received a full meal while travelling.  The subsequent veterinary exam showed that despite continuing to exhibit signs of an infection, Arnold was not considered contagious and was stable enough to be released to the pre-arranged foster home that evening. Not realizing that Mr. Garay had fed the dog prior to arrival, the veterinarian fed Arnold a 3 oz. meal to allow for the dog to take the oral medications he was prescribing.  That evening, Arnold developed symptoms of bloat and gastric torsion, and was taken to an emergency veterinary hospital where he had to undergo life-saving, emergency surgery for bloat/ gastric torsion the same night. 

  The next day, out of consideration for Mr. Garay as a volunteer who had assisted in the transport of the rescued dog, TPWR phoned and informed him about Arnold’s emergency surgery.  Blame was not placed on anyone, but it was discussed with Mr. Garay that the instructions had been given to help protect not only Arnold, but other dogs and the public, and that because they had not been followed complications had occurred.  Mr. Garay requested and was allowed to visit Arnold in the hospital after surgery; he volunteered to transport Arnold from the emergency hospital back to his primary veterinarian for daytime post-operative care, the plan being for Arnold to return to the pre-arranged foster home.  

  Later that day, Mr. Garay asked for permission to offer Arnold a short-term foster home, until his medical situation was more stable.  Mr. Garay shared that he had had rejections from other organizations to assist in this manner, but expressed that he wanted to help TPWR at least temporarily with Arnold’s care. TPWR appreciated this offer and agreed to a short-term foster for Arnold with Mr. Garay and his partner, Ms. Farner.  A TPWR coordinator communicated with Mr. Garay by phone, text messaging, and in person at their residence. The coordinator learned that Mr. Garay was living with his own three Weimaraners in a rental apartment on the second floor of an apartment building; as part of Arnold’s postoperative recovery precautions, both the rescue coordinator and Arnold’s veterinarian explicitly instructed Mr. Garay and Ms. Farner, to only allow Arnold outside the apartment to relieve himself, but to otherwise avoid and limit any type of outdoor activities.  This was for the consideration of Arnold’s post-operative healing process and also for the safety of the public, as TPWR had no information on Arnold’s prior social history.  Further, it was explicitly reiterated to both Mr. Garay and Ms. Farner that Arnold could not have any social exposure, as he had not yet received his Rabies vaccination.  TPWR follows an established protocol regarding vaccinations which ensures the health and safety of animals and the public, and sometimes while under medical treatment dogs in our program will be allowed time to be treated and rehabilitated from illness before our veterinarians will deem them healthy enough to receive vaccinations.

  Mr. Garay and Ms. Farner acknowledged by means of signing a binding foster contract that they had understood, read, and would adhere to TPWR's foster care guidelines established to set not only our dogs but also our volunteers up for success.  Despite their commitment to these guidelines and despite very clear and concise instructions, Arnold was taken for walks in their neighborhood and to an outdoor shopping mall as early as the first day of surgery recovery.  Repeated Facebook posts by Mr. Garay evidence this with pictures showing Arnold in public areas outside of their apartment building, on sidewalk areas of the mall as well as shop doorways.

  Shortly thereafter and without TPWR's knowledge, Mr. Garay left the country on vacation and arranged for Arnold to be picked up and taken to the home of his sister, who at the time was not an approved rescue volunteer with TPWR. The TPWR foster care coordinator only found out about this transfer of Arnold when she received a panicked message from Mr. Garay’s partner, Ms. Farner, stating that Arnold had bitten another person. It was at this time that the coordinator was told that Mr. Garay had left Arnold under the care of his sister the reason being that he didn't feel his partner was able to care for his dogs and Arnold appropriately by herself, and given that his sister was interested in adopting the dog.  

  The bite victim immediately reported the bite incident to Animal Welfare authorities, and Arnold was restricted under the county’s Rabies quarantine protocol.  Mr. Garay’s sister disclosed that very little about the dog had been shared with her by her brother or Ms. Farner, including that she was unaware of the fact that Arnold had not yet received his Rabies vaccine. Mr. Garay’s sister offered to have Arnold complete the required quarantine period at her house where he would have a fenced yard; subsequent to this offer, Mr. Garay’s sister also signed a TPWR foster care contract.  Keeping the safety of the public as well as Arnold’s safety at the forefront of our concerns, TPWR agreed with this plan, and Arnold completed his quarantine at Mr. Garay’s sister’s home.  Upon completion of the required quarantine by the county, Arnold then received his Rabies vaccine as required by the county jurisdiction. 

  Neither during or after completion of the quarantine period nor at the time of the incident and at no other time whatsoever did Mr. Garay communicate with the TPWR rescue coordinators about the bite incident or quarantine process. It was Mr. Garay’s sister who informed TPWR that after completion of the quarantine, Arnold had returned to Mr. Garay’s apartment.  Our foster care coordinator phoned Mr. Garay’s sister and attempted to communicate with her in person regarding the statement that she had taken Arnold to her home out of consideration for possibly adopting him.  She only responded via text messaging to this inquiry, stating that she was not considering adopting Arnold.  

  Concerned for the safety of the public as well as Arnold’s well-being, the TPWR coordinator gave specific instructions to Mr. Garay and his partner Ms. Farner again to not allow Arnold be in contact with the public nor be taken on walks through the busier sections of their neighborhood.  Mr. Garay ignored these instructions continuously, taking his dogs and Arnold regularly out into busy public sections of town for walks and outings. This is documented by repeated public posts by Mr. Garay on his personal Facebook page showing pictures of Arnold and his dogs in the public, at any given time Arnold as one of multiple dogs he handled simultaneously.  TPWR then contacted Mr. Garay and his partner again and again, reiterating the specific precautions of not letting Arnold be out in the public where he could be in contact with strangers or other animals.  Mr. Garay ignored receipt of the communication for over a week, later claiming that messages had gone to his spam folder.  This seemed odd to TPWR coordinators, considering there had been prior unproblematic regular email communications between the same email addresses.  TPWR rescue coordinators received further confirmation that Mr. Garay’s statement of not receiving this email correspondence was untrue and that he was lying to TPWR, as his family members, i.e. his sister and partner, acknowledged they had received the same email and admitted that Mr. Garay had acknowledged to them the receipt of this message; he was ignoring TPWR's messages and foster care protocols.  When Mr. Garay finally responded to TPWR’s email, he would not acknowledge that the dog had bitten a person and instead placed blame on his partner and sister for the incident having occurred under their watch.

  One picture posted on Mr. Garay’s Facebook page includes a group photograph of his three dogs as well as Arnold sitting in a busy area of a public outdoor mall, a place he admitted to the public he took the dog to regularly, but later denied to TPWR representatives having taken Arnold there at all.  When Mr. Garay was reminded by the rescue that Arnold’s care was important and that TPWR was awaiting a response from him so as to move forward with professional behavioral veterinary assessment, care, and training, Mr. Garay responded that he didn’t think he could fully cooperate especially pertaining to the requirement of limiting Arnold’s exposure to the public while undergoing behavioral care, considering Mr. Garay’s particular living situation in an apartment.

  Throughout the time of temporary foster care provided to Arnold by Mr. Garay and Ms. Farner, it became evident to TPWR coordinators that Mr. Garay never brought Arnold himself to any of the several required veterinary follow-up appointments.  It was always Ms. Farner, his partner, who would take Arnold to these appointments stating that Mr. Garay “was too busy” to be present during these visits. As a result of this lack of presence by Mr. Garay himself, the majority of in-person communications between TPWR and Arnold’s foster family occurred with Ms. Farner instead of Mr. Garay.  For the best interest of Arnold and in an attempt to keep everyone involved with Arnold’s care informed and on the same level of knowledge, the TPWR foster coordinators attempted regularly to remain in contact with Mr. Garay himself via phone messages, text messaging, and email correspondence.

  During one of Arnold’s veterinary visits, the veterinarian diagnosed a limp in one of Arnold’s front legs and felt this was due to inflammation.  The veterinarian instructed Mr. Garay’s partner to keep the dog rested, and that if symptoms continued the dog would need radiographs of his leg.  Two of TWPR’s foster care coordinators were present at this visit, and over an hour after Arnold and Ms. Farner had left the veterinary office, Mr. Garay suddenly stopped by the veterinary clinic during one of his bicycle rides.  The veterinarian was able to personally share with Mr. Garay his concern for Arnold’s front leg, and Mr. Garay acknowledged that he had noticed that Arnold had had a limp for some time since staying with him. This was news to the TPWR coordinators as well as the veterinarian as neither Mr. Garay nor Ms. Farner had disclosed any such concern during several prior visits.  Again, the veterinarian specifically instructed Mr. Garay to keep the dog rested and away from public places and Mr. Garay, once again, acknowledged these instructions yet chose not to comply.

  Over time, Mr. Garay’s pattern of non-compliance with the TPWR foster protocol continued despite repeated reminders to Mr. Garay and Ms. Farner that the purpose of these instructions was Arnold’s well-being and the safety of the public. Instead, Mr. Garay continued to ignore the instructions given to him. In addition, at no point in time did Mr. Garay apply for or express interest in formal adoption of Arnold. Furthermore, there was concern that Mr. Garay had disclosed to TPWR that two of his other dogs had shown aggression towards other dogs in public; one of these dogs had previously been adopted from TPWR and had had no symptoms of reactivity while in rescue.

  It became evident to TPWR’s coordinators that the safety of Arnold as well as the public could not be guaranteed if Arnold remained in foster care with Mr. Garay and Ms. Farner in his apartment. TPWR foster care coordinators, veterinary care coordinators, and placement coordinators together very carefully and thoroughly considered all options for Arnold’s well-being, remembering all the while that the foster care agreement with Mr. Garay had been initiated only as a temporary situation.  While there was the concern of Mr. Garay’s non-compliance with rescue protocols in addition to the inadequate living situation in an apartment without secure outside space for a dog that had exhibited reactivity, there was also great concern for how another significant change in a relatively short period of time would affect Arnold psychologically and emotionally.  A TPWR coordinator contacted Mr. Garay and Ms. Farner to arrange a veterinary appointment for Arnold and an in-person meeting to discuss his care.

  On April 19^th, 2016, a TPWR coordinator contacted Mr. Garay and Ms. Farner to schedule a follow-up veterinary visit and in-person meeting; Mr. Garay and Ms. Farner agreed on the scheduled appointment time to occur two days later on Thursday, April 21st, 2016.  The same afternoon, April 19^th, 2016, and for the first time, Mr. Garay texted the rescue coordinator saying that he wanted to adopt Arnold.  The coordinator responded in the same communication thread that discussed the scheduled veterinary appointment and reiterated that Arnold’s care could be discussed in person given that an appointment to meet in person two days later had just been set.  

  On the day of the scheduled veterinary visit, as had been the pattern before, Mr. Garay himself was absent and did not bring Arnold to the appointment; once again, only Ms. Farner was present with Arnold at the veterinary office.  The TPWR coordinator met with Ms. Farner in person at the veterinary hospital, and in a calm and factual manner discussed with her the rescue’s concerns regarding the care that Arnold had received while in her and Mr. Garay’s foster care.  It was agreed between the coordinator and Ms. Farner that in Arnold’s best interest he should be transferred to a different, more long-term foster home to continue his recovery and professional behavioral rehabilitation.  It was made clear to Ms. Farner that in no way was this a decision that would preclude discussion about future consideration of adoption of Arnold by Mr. Garay.  Immediately, Ms. Farner expressed relief stating that for some time she had been “nervous” about Arnold every time he was taken out into the public.  She also stated that she felt Mr. Garay knew very well that four dogs in their apartment was too many and that all of their needs were too great but stated that he would “never admit to that." 

  Mr. Garay’s consideration of adopting Arnold expressed only two days prior to this meeting was also discussed with Ms. Farner in person.  The rescue coordinator stated that it had not been determined that she and Mr. Garay could not or would not be eligible to be considered for adopting Arnold, and furthermore, that the rescue wanted to work with both Mr. Garay and Ms. Farner to reach an agreement that all felt would be in the best interest of the dog.  Ms. Farner stated that she herself felt strongly that Arnold should not return home with her from the veterinary visit that day, stating that for Arnold’s safety and well-being he should go to the other available, long-term foster home.  Repeatedly, Ms. Farner stated how relieved she was about this change in Arnold’s foster situation and thanked the rescue coordinator and TPWR for their support in this decision. 

  After this lengthy meeting, Ms. Farner expressed that if she returned home without Arnold that she would have to answer to Mr. Garay and asked if the rescue coordinator would be willing to send an email to Mr. Garay to explain the situation.  The coordinator stated that probably the best route of communication would be a telephone call to Mr. Garay.  In agreement, Ms. Farner stepped outside the clinic to phone Mr. Garay, and came back inside to tell the TPWR coordinator that he said he was on another phone call but would call her back shortly.

  When Mr. Garay returned Ms. Farner’s phone call, she turned the phone onto speakerphone mode and indicated to him that the rescue coordinator was on the call as well.  From the beginning of this phone conversation, Mr. Garay didn't give the TPWR coordinator the opportunity to speak, immediately assumed that Arnold was being removed from his care as a unilateral decision by the rescue, and began verbally attacking the coordinator.  The TPWR coordinator emphasized to him that this was a decision made after discussing the situation and options in detail with Ms. Farner prior to the phone call and that she had agreed that Arnold’s transfer was in the best interest of the dog.  It was planned to inform Mr. Garay that Arnold’s move would not mean that he could not be considered as an adopter for Arnold, but that opportunity was not granted to the coordinator based on Mr. Garay’s reaction.

  During this phone call, Mr. Garay refused to engage in any meaningful discussion, instead he turned the subject away from its original focus of Arnold’s well-being and safety of the public and other dogs, but instead turned the conversation into a personal attack on the TPWR organization and further the coordinator herself.  For the remainder of the phone conversation, Mr. Garay became increasingly irate until he abruptly ended the phone call by threatening the TPWR coordinator stating: “I am coming after you and I am coming after the rescue.  I am going to take you down and I am going to take the rescue down.” 

  Ms. Farner expressed to the TPWR coordinator how upsetting it was to witness Mr. Garay attack and threaten the coordinator verbally by phone, something that she said she had experienced him do previously in other situations such as that.  Because of Mr. Garay’s irrational reaction, Ms. Farner and the coordinator felt certain that it was in Arnold's best interest to be transferred to the other, more permanent foster home.  Ms. Farner and the TPWR coordinator amicably ended their meeting and she then left the veterinary clinic on her own. Subsequent to this meeting, Arnold was transferred to a highly experienced foster home with a veterinary professional, where he adjusted smoothly and rapidly into his new family.  In this setting, Arnold has been thriving and is now healthy; he is receiving continued behavioral care and support in his ongoing emotional recovery, and has been formally adopted.

  Regrettably, following the phone conversation at the veterinary office, Mr. Garay has engaged in a campaign of posting threatening and harassing posts on his personal Facebook page as well as other social media outlets giving fabricated and untrue assessments of Arnold’s story. In these posts, Mr. Garay encouraged his followers to contact a TPWR representative personally by publicly posting her private information on social media.  Within a short period of time, this volunteer received numerous harassing messages, personal threats, and physical visits to her private residence by strangers. 

  In the weeks that followed, in his attempt to “take down” TPWR, Mr. Garay engaged in repeated posts of fabricated and defaming statements about TPWR; contacted state and federal agencies as well as supporters of TPWR with intent to discredit our organization; contacted personally volunteers and supporters of our rescue offering monetary incentive (bribes) for them to share with him any details that could be used against TPWR in further attempts to discredit TPWR’s record; posted publicly solicitation of individuals for him to hire who would be willing to further “investigate” and “expose” TPWR; personally and directly interfered in and had his followers contact individuals who were collaborating with TPWR while coordinating the rescue of Weimaraners in need into the TPWR rescue program.

  It is with great sadness that we feel that Mr. Garay’s selfish and destructive behavior is greatly damaging not only to TPWR and our rescue efforts, but most importantly that this kind of behavior is damaging to the animal rescue movement as a whole. 

  While Mr. Garay and his followers spent their energy spreading false accusations, TPWR’s volunteers have continued their efforts to help Weimaraners in need. The reason we decided to come forward and make public the truthful account of Arnold’s story is that we wish to honor Arnold, other animals such as Arnold who will require our rescue’s assistance in the future, as well as our supporters and fellow rescue volunteers across the globe. It is due these positive connections and relationships as well as the reward that stems from helping animals in need to find safety, care, and love that we have found and will continue to draw our inspiration and drive for the sake of the rescue dogs we presently serve and all of the animals who will need our assistance in the future.  

Thank you,                                                                        

Tickled Pink Weimaraner Rescue