Town of Hempstead sues Florida sanctuary over unreturned dogs

The Town of Hempstead is taking legal action to recover four dogs from an animal sanctuary in Florida, claiming the organization violated the town’s agreement plan to care for them. The dogs were originally placed in the town animal shelter in Wantagh.

On July 26, the town filed a lawsuit against PawsEver Home, a nonprofit facility in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to recover the dogs, which were transferred to the sanctuary by the town six months ago. The Town of Hempstead had given the dogs to PawsEver to provide them a better life after years of unsuccessful adoptions. But in a June 17 letter addressed to Michael Breitsprecher, the sanctuary’s president, the town informed the sanctuary that it had terminated its agreement with PawsEver, and demanded that all town animals in its possession be returned.

The Florida rescue began caring for the dogs after Breitsprecher signed an agreement in February to become a “placement partner” with the town animal shelter. The partnership, according to the agreement, is “a collaborative program designed to provide dogs and cats a second chance in a loving home and to increase the save rate for the Town of Hempstead’s lost, abandoned, and surrendered animals.”

But Brian Devine, the town’s director of communications, said the town had cut ties with the shelter after discovering information about numerous legal proceedings initiated against PawsEver.

“Despite our numerous demands, PawsEver Home has refused to return the four dogs that were initially placed under their care based on the fraudulent information they provided to the Town during the screening process,” Devine said in a statement. “As such, the town has sued this organization to retrieve these dogs.”

The four dogs are Lenny, a Labrador retriever mix; Dexter, a retriever mix; Wally, a terrier mix; and Tucker, a hound.

According to the lawsuit, it was discovered that the Florida sanctuary was facing eviction after failing to pay its landlord $8,850 in rent, plus late fees, since February, which has left the facility unable to provide sufficient care and shelter for the dogs.

PawsEver had not responded to requests seeking comment before the Herald went to press on Monday.

As part of its agreement with the Florida shelter, the town shelter reserved the right to investigate and “reclaim any animal in the (placement partner organization’s) custody,” the suit states, “upon the discovery of evidence or allegations of inappropriate or insufficient care of an animal placed with a partnering organization.”

The suit alleges that PawsEver’s eviction would put the animals’ well-being in serious jeopardy because, if the sanctuary fails to make a settlement payment to its landlord, the sanctuary, and the town’s dogs, “would be forcibly removed from the premises.”

The lawsuit comes after a News12 investigation in May, which found 13 infractions of animal welfare laws against Breitsprecher, which included “operating illegal animal boarding facilities without permits, violating dangerous dog regulations and hindering animal control investigations.” In addition, News12 reported that Florida court records revealed an incident in which animal-control officers investigated Breitsprecher for having a U-Haul filled with over 20 dogs in crates and no ventilation.

“Going forward, the Town has instituted additional safeguards in our screening process for potential rescue partners to further protect the wellbeing of the dogs and cats in our care,” Devine’s statement read.