lyndsey's Blog

anonymous - April 06th, 2009
This also happened to me but in a different tone we wanted a puppy we were a match and the day we were to sign the papers we were told they just adopted him to someone else and when we wrote to the directer about getting our money back she told us it was nonrefundable and that since we were rude would never adopt a dog from any rescue shelter or anything in the state of co.....I wish I would have saved the emails

anonymous - April 06th, 2009
Hi, I have not dealt with CFB. But last year dealt with a rescue group called PAAL's. It was horrible, I got a malnourished, very sick puppy, and fought tooth and nail to get all the paper work. I had dealt with this woman named Susan, and she sent me many nasty emails. And in the end explained that she had quit PAAL's and had started another rescue of her own (I think is CFB). What you did was the right thing, she is a scam artist, she was stealing from this other rescue place (which in the end wasn't that great either). But when ever I had to deal with her, she would send me rude emails, finally she called me up at work and cussed me out. All because I was demanding my dog's paper work from them and she never had it. Turns out, my dog never got the shots he needed or anything. Also, Susan was using this foster mom who had split off from PAAL's to work with CFB with Susan. And this woman, was later arrested a month ago, because authorities while doing a search of her and her boyfriends home, found 30 dead cats and dogs that had all starved to death. This same woman was the foster mom of my pup. So, ignore her email, she will probably call you up for posting and call you a bunch of names. But in the end, know you did right.

anonymous - May 19th, 2009
It's good to know we aren't the only ones with a horrible experience, but at the same time it is terrible! Today there are so many pets available for adoptions, yet they make it so difficult! Fortunately we found a Cell Dogs program in our state. They were great to work with and we are very excited to be bringing home our new family member! If you are interested in adopting a dog, I HIGHLY reccommend finding out if there is a Cell Dog or K-9 Correction program in your state!

anonymous - June 20th, 2009
Wow you people are amazing! You people clearly do not understand the operations of a rescue. I volunteer for a rescue in my city and let me tell you it is more than a full time job. I spend 40 plus hours each and every week on fundraisers, applications, recruiting volunteers, etc.... That's all in addition to the nights of no sleep because the puppies are terrified due to the circumstances they just came from. Instead of criticizing everyone maybe you'll want to join in to help solve the problem. My biggest pet peeve in the world is people that complain but never try to help.

anonymous - June 24th, 2009
I've read your post numerous places on the internet and felt it necessary to respond. We adopted a puppy from CFB about 3 weeks ago and had none of the issues you are talking about. I submitted an application and was contacted by someone the next day. They came that evening and did a home visit. The next day the puppy's foster mom contacted us. We set an appointment and drove up there to meet the puppy. They invited us to bring our current dog to make sure they all got along as well. We brought the dog and all of his records home with us that same day. I get that you had an awful experience and you want to warn people. However, there are plenty of people that have had a great experience with this company as well. It's about the animals - not the people that run the company. And a big thank you to all the people that volunteer to be fosters until the animals are adopted. I have had bad experiences with the Dumb Friends League and we were denied adoption by the Lab Rescue. So.......voice your opinon but leave the animals out of it.

lyndsey - June 24th, 2009
Well I'm glad you had a good experience and I understand that not everyone who has worked with them has had a bad experience. I just don't understand what you mean by leave the animals out of it... I don't see how that relates. I had no issues with the dog we looked at from the shelter, other than she was not what we were looking for in a family dog, it was the process of getting to that point and interacting with the staff that was a pain in the ass, along with the response we recieved after letting them know that she was not the dog for us. It is about the animals because we all want the animals to go to a good home. Being a shelter, I thought they would be more understanding of wanting an animal to go to a good home that fits them rather than a home where they could possibly be given up again because it was not a good match in the first place, but my husband and I were not given that feeling. Instead we had are heads bitten off and in my opinion that is just very wrong and unfrofessional. I retract my statement from my original bog... feel free to adopt or attempt to adopt from this shelter, however just be aware that you could end up with a bad experience like my husband and I had. I would also like to add that we kept up our search and were finally able to find a great dog to add to our family!

anonymous - June 24th, 2009
It sounds like you are a bit confused. They are not a shelter. They are a rescue. Rescue means that they operate on a foster home basis only which means these great people open their home to these precious animals and provide a loving environment while they work hard to find them a great home. Second of all every single person in the organization is a volunteer. Often times volunteers pay for things out of pocket. At a shelter people actually get paid for the work that they do. These people do not. Thank you Colorado Furbabies for what you do. Thank you to all of the generous volunteers. It's a fact of life that someone is always going to complain. I understand it is a thankless job that you do so Thank You.

lyndsey - June 25th, 2009
Shelter , rescue, staff, volunteers... all the same thing in my mind. Both are out there taking in rescued or injured animals and turning around and adopting them. This is just my opinion though. I also believe that either way if you are getting paid or not and are dealing with "customers", you need to be professional. From my experience the people working for Colorado Furbabies were not professional by any means. I'm not saying that I don't appreciate what they do, or in my case what they were trying to do, I just don't appreciate the way we were treated. I whole heartedly support rescuing/sheltering animals from broken homes or whatever their background is and praise all the hard work the people involved do, but when you run an organization (volunteer or not), like I said you need to be professional. Writing an extremely rude in response to us looking at one animal and finding that we could not profide the right home for her is very unprofessional and very uncalled for. We looked at ONE animal and she seemed like a very good dog and would find a great home, that great home just wasn't with us. Why should we be shunned and told that we can no longer adopt from them for being honest. We could have taken in a dog that didn't fit our family and our situation, but honestly in that case, what are the chances of the animal being given up to a shelter/rescue later down the line? I would say highly likely, and that is not what my hisband and I wanted. Doesn't a shelter/rescue want an animal to go to a permanent home rather than a temporary home?

anonymous - June 25th, 2009
I understand what you are saying, but let's face it I have plenty of years of experience in customer service. There is always two sides to the story. My guess is that the picture you are attempting to paint does not describe every detail. It's normal human behavior to describe the story in a manner that makes yourself look like a saint. It appears that you are simply one of those people that feel they are perfect and everyone else should always be. I hope you eventually learn that all people have flaws. You may just want to consider the other person for a moment and think about the million other things they were dealing at the same time as you. Maybe a precious puppy had just been put down that they could not save in time. Either way, whatever you story is I would truly hope that you would reconsider your attitude. A wrong doesn't make a right. Sure they may not have acted as professional as they should have, but you are simply out to get them at this point. You have posted comments bad mouthing them every where you possibly could. To me that is unprofessional. Best wishes to you. Just remember you only have one life... live it to its fullest. Grudges are a waste of time and only lead to misery.

anonymous - July 13th, 2009
All I can say on this subject is that I too submitted an application and after several emails to CFB, I have yet to hear from anyone in the organization regarding my application. The least they could do is tell me they received it, or that they denied it for whatever reason. I haven't heard word one from them. So my opinion is hat the organization is poorly led, and I will adopt from a more reputable one.

anonymous - July 14th, 2009
Susan is so rude... I have a lovely pet from them but it came with mites and GIARDIA. They first told me it was the deworming what was making the dog sick...when I sent a letter of complain because I though puppies went through a vet before setting them up for adoption, I received nothing but RUDE letters from Susan...crazy. Her job is admirable, her people skills suck

anonymous - July 25th, 2009
I too am having problems with them right now. The dog I adopted has become very aggressive and I have a 16 month old daughter. I am trying to get him removed from my home for over a week now. In that time Ihave sent e-mails everyday and only get a response when I threatned to take him to the shelter. The response I got was VERY rude and unprofessional. I am in the process of trying to figure out what I can do.I'm sorry you went through this but it feels good knowing at least I'm not alone. I thought maybe it really was just me.

anonymous - July 27th, 2009
We just ran into problem with them as well. It took agood three weeks to get from application to the home visit (not meet and greet). We have a townhome with no yard and were specifically looking for a smaller dog who would be okay being kenneled. We finally scheduled a visit with a foster family - there was no information regarding size in her posting, but were told it was a good match) We were greeted by the most adorable, loveable 100 lb dog you could imagine. We cannot, in good conscious adopt this wonderful animal. It would be unfair, and possibly destroy her incredible demeanor. We felt as though it was a waste of time for us, the foster family and the dog. Sadly we bonded fairly quickly, only to realize that there was no way she could live with our family.

anonymous - August 04th, 2009
Well I guess its my turn. This is Susan from CFB. If anyone would like to contact me about the comments above, please do.
I have all of the correspondence between these families.
Unfortunately we are run by volunteers and not everyone understands this. We all have full time jobs and families.
It is not rare , depending on the location of the family, to have to wait to get a home visit completed. Again we do this on our own time, own gas.
There are times that a family applies for a pup/dog that is then adopted by another approved family. Its unfortunate but it happens.
There are two sides to every story and some of the above comments werent what we were looking for in a home for that paticular pup/dog. There are many many dogs/pups on death row in high kill shelters across the country. Not being able to adopt from CFB isnt the end of the world.
NOW as far as the comment that I was using the gal from PAALS as a foster that is a complete straight up lie. In fact, when I was with PAALS, this lady and I didnt speak, AT ALL. From the day I met her I was suspicious of her and anytime I saw an animal in her care they were ill. I was a volunteer with Paals. I didnt run the organization and when I felt things werent on the up and up , I left and started CFB.
I am also willing to share the hundreds of letters we have from happy families that have adopted from CFB.
I can be reached at fortheloveofthedogs@yahoo.com

anonymous - September 01st, 2009
I adopted my dog from Colorado Furbabies several months ago, but I am having a different problem now and wanted to know if anyone else has run into this. Adopting our dog was actually fairly painless, and we have been extremely happy with our puppy since.

We paid a $175 adoption fee, plus a $50 "refundable" fee, which is supposed to cover not only the puppy, but also all shots up to that point and having the animals spayed or neutered. When we adopted our dog he was 14 weeks old, but they don't recommend neutering until 4-6 months. So we were told that we would be contacted by their vetting coordinator in several weeks to set up his appointment to be neutered.

Our dog is now over 7 months old, and for the last 2 months I have been trying to get in touch with someone at CFB to get some answers and we have received NO response. The number listed on their website does not work and they have not responded to my many emails. I have contacted local authorities, who have urged me to file possible fraud charges. In the meantime, I've contacted Max Fund, which offers low-cost neutering. It's just frustrating because we thought we had already paid for it.

Has anyone else encountered this situation, or has actually had their pet spayed/neutered through the CFB vet? I'm curious if they actually follow through most of the time, or if I'm the exception to this. I look forward to hearing from someone soon!

anonymous - September 06th, 2009
$225, plus $50 for a supposedly refundable spay/neuter deposit, for a mutt puppy with limited vetting? You are kidding, right??

anonymous - September 13th, 2009
I was checking out rescue groups to make a donation to, and Colorado Furbabies does not show up as being liscensed in Colorado(via Secretary of State site-click on research charities). Does anyone know what state they are iiscensed in?

anonymous - September 16th, 2009
CFB is licensed in Colorado. Under the Secretary of State . I just looked it up myself.
Many rescues in this area charge what CFB charges but do not cover the spay/neuter. CFB does cover the spay/neuter so 225 is reasonable.
There is NO way that the idiot above paid for the puppy then it was adopted to someone else. Thats a crock. When you signed the contract and got the puppy thats when you would of paid .
You people amaze me!! Have you ever volunteered? Maybe you should.

anonymous - September 18th, 2009
I did find the answer to my question- CFB is liscenced in Colorado under the Secretary of State's site. It is listed as Colorado Furbabies Rescue, under the business tab. That is all I was looking for, and finally found it.
To the person who wrote the last half of the above post-wow, that is not a nice way to talk to people or about people at all!! Guess I will just have to consider donating to another organization, where ALL people are treated with respect!

anonymous - September 18th, 2009
You arent going to donate because of my opinion? I adopted from Colorado Furbabies and had a great experience. Im just so sick of the complaining. Its the same people over and over. Im sure they do have many satisfied families that have adopted from them.
You should donate to them as they are a great group. Meet some of the volunteers. They are enthusiastic and very helpful. They have great passion for the animals and spend many hours helping save more.
I like the fact that they dont always have the "cutest" puppies or dogs. They are not breed specific. Their website says it right, everyone gets a second chance.
Please reconsider your donation. They derserve it and will use it well.

anonymous - September 28th, 2009
Director of Colorado Furbabies has a court judgment against her. A fund raiser for products not delivered. She refuses to repay my money. She is a THIEF!!!!!!

anonymous - September 28th, 2009
DONT donate to Colorado Furbabies, she pockets all the money for herself. She keeps adopting out sick dogs. She owes everyone money. THIEF

anonymous - October 09th, 2009
I'm so disappointed to hear this. I adopted a puppy from CFB - it's an almost identical story to the vetting story listed above. I also paid 225 plus 50 refundable (upon spay) - so far have no paperwork on shots she has had (I personally wonder if she had any before I got her), and now can't get anyone to let me know where I need to do the spay. Believe me, I am not a person who is picky and always dissatisfied, but have given Susan many kind (not rude) calls and email in an attempt to get this information. My guess is that I need to just write it all off and move on. Susan - if you're reading this? I understand that it's a lot of work to run a rescue organization, but if you can't do it - get out. You are likely doing more harm than good to animals you may have set out to help.

anonymous - October 15th, 2009
I have to say that I am on both sides of the fence here. I adopted my pup from CFB and it was a good experience and pretty fast. What I am having problems with now is the "refundable" fee. I payed 175 for the pup and 50 fee that would be refundable upon her spay. She has been spayed now for a month and the check has just been cashed. I am furious because we did not expect this money to be cashed as we followed all the procedures and did as we were told to do regarding the spay with CFB vet! I will have to see how this plays out because I just emialed the coordinator about this issue. If my money does not get refunded I will file a complaint with the police as this is not the terms we agreed to upon adopting and I will never adopt from this rescue again!!!

anonymous - October 21st, 2009
I'm the one that wrote on September 1, about our vetting issues. I just wanted to provide a follow up to the people that are going through the same thing right now. I ended up filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, and conveniently...that was the day the vetting coordinator finally got around to calling me. I told her I'd rather make the arrangements myself to have my dog neutered, I just needed the number of the vet they use. She would not give me the information and told me that I HAD to go through them to coordinate. I explained that I've been through enough with their organization and I'd rather just take my dog elsewhere and know it would be taken care of. According to the signed contract from CFB at the time of adoption, if you choose to take your dog elsewhere for spay/neuter, they will reimburse you the amount they would pay at their vet (which is $45 according to Susan).

So I made an appointment with the Max Fund ($62 for a neuter and they were amazing with our dog!), and I promptly received a NASTY email from Susan telling me how my complaint to the BBB was "a bunch of bull" and how rude I was to her vetting coordinator. I simply explained that I didn't trust her organization anymore and I would send her the paperwork after my dog was neutered in order to be reimbursed my deposit and the $45 neuter fee.

About a week later, I received another email from Susan. She must have seen this blog post, as well as another review I posted, and these are some excerpts from her email:
"I am in the process of smearing your name. We will post against you as well and show your true colors. .... Congrats on your blog of lies.
Susan"

I think this woman is delusional and has very serious problems. This is no way an executive director of ANY organization should act. We are currently waiting for our deposit and reimbursement check, and I'll keep you updated when we received that confirmation. Good luck to anyone going through the same situation.

anonymous - October 27th, 2009
Ok so I am clearly not the only one having problems with this woman. I did like my experience until just recently when I posted about my supposed 50.00 check that was cashed and was not supposed to be as stated in the contract. I have sent SO many e mails to her and there have been so many plans to return my money which have all failed on her end. She keeps telling me all these things are going on and to be honest i do not believe it. I am still waiting for the return of my money and will soon be contacting the BBB on her and the police if necessary. I have left messages and she has not called me. I am not going to put up with this any longer!!!

anonymous - October 28th, 2009
To last blogger: PLEASE contact me via e-mail. I have had the exact same experience with CFB. I am in the process of filing a complaint with the BBB as well and have already contact Tom Martino from 9news. She will not contact you or refund you. She cashed my check as well and I, too, have called and e-mailed her MANY times. I would like you to contact me, as well as ANYONE else who has had a similar experience. I think if we gather enough folks who've been through this, that we can definitely take her to court. The rescue started off with good intentions, but has become a scam...I know this for a fact. I can give you more details of what I know through e-mail. I am LIVID about this situation and I want Susan to pay back everyone to whom she's broken a contract with. She is also committing check fraud, b/c the $50 is not to go to CFB, but it is to go to the State of Colorado for the House Bill initiative. My e-mail address is spring6984@yahoo.com
**For those of you who have had good experience with CFB, I am happy for you. I would never try to ruin the integrity of an animal rescue. I am a HUGE animal rights person...but I also believe that if someone is running an organization that they need to be professional and they need to resolve monetary issues as they arise. I am a firm believer in dog rescues...just not CFB and Susan Matthews***

anonymous - October 29th, 2009
To the lady whose dog became aggressive, how long did you have the dog before it "became" aggressive? I can't believe you want to blame it on the rescue.

anonymous - October 30th, 2009
To anyone who reads this and has had a negative experience with CFB (especially one that involves them taking your money), please contact me ASAP: spring6984@yahoo.com
Thanks!

anonymous - October 31st, 2009
I complained about CFB to the BBB (and Attorney General - who forwarded the case to the BBB). She responded to them with complete lies. FYI. Anywone on here - please don't hesitate to contact the BBB with your claims.

anonymous - November 02nd, 2009
Same with me.. I filed a complaint and she told them that I was the liar and I had no grounds for the complaint. Completely dismissed my concerns.

anonymous - November 09th, 2009
This is so sad. We adopted a wonderful animal from CFB. Now that months have gone by and I don't have any of the information that she promised... I am beginning to wonder where these animals originated.

anonymous - November 11th, 2009
I have posts above. I've complained to the BBB, the Attorney general, and the state licensing organization. Recent SHOCKER! After many a complaint, phone call, email to Susan and the vet coordinator, I finally got a call from the vet coordinator who scheduled an appointment for my dogs spay. I still don't have the paperwork from her initial shots, but they pulled through on the spay. They are working with a vet that they just began working with recently. I'm grateful to have had the spay of my dog covered, and by a seemingly competent and caring facility. I do still believe that CO Furbabies should be approached with caution.

anonymous - December 10th, 2009
I adoped a puppy from Colorado Furbabies on February 19, 2009. It took awhile but we finally got her spayed in April. Colorado Furbabies just CASHED my $50 REFUNDABLE spay deposit yesterday 12/9/09 - nearly 10 months after the adoption and 8 months after I was assured that the check would be destroyed.

sruiz - December 11th, 2009
Same thing happened with me...I wrote my check back in February and it was just cashed 12/2 and my dog was fixed in May. Did your check have a phone number listed on it? Mine did, its either 303-993-7095 or 303-993-7895.

anonymous - December 11th, 2009
No phone number listed. Account # 4944942481. Wells Fargo Bank, by Moneytree Inc. Store # 131.

anonymous - December 11th, 2009
I'm so sorry that many of you have had such horrible experiences with CFB... and I thought my experience was bad. Hopefully people are smart enough to do their research before adopting from CFB!

~Lyndsey~

anonymous - December 11th, 2009
I, too, have had a pretty tough experience with Susan Matthews of Colorado Fur Babies. I love my dog very much and am grateful for the service this organization claims to provide, but it sure would be great if they would do what they say they are going to do. I am still waiting for my $50 refund of a deposit check they cashed after telling me they wouldn't. Getting my dog's vaccination papers, tag, and spay procedure done was like pulling teeth. The company is almost completely non-responsive to email, voicemail, and US Mail. What else are we to do? Both the shelter where my dog came from and Petco say they no longer do business with Colorado Fur Babies. I must not be the only one who has suffered issues.

anonymous - December 11th, 2009
Wow, after reading all of these posts, I am very suspicious of this organization. It is beginning to sound like some fraud is going on here, particularly regarding the deposit money which it looks like numerous people besides myself have not received back. We were all told the same story... that our deposit check would be shredded upon receipt by CFB of our spay/neuter paperwork. Everyone's check has been cashed!

What is almost comical is the post above by Susan Matthews herself, putting down her email address and welcoming all to contact her, when she doesn't even respond to emails or voicemails.

Susan Matthews, I hope you are reading this. There are quite a few people here who it appears you have stolen money from. Well, what goes around, comes around. Don't be surprised if the next time you are contacted, it is by the police department.

anonymous - December 11th, 2009
Here is a report from the Colorado BBB:

"Customer Complaint History

The Denver/Boulder BBB has noticed a pattern in complaints filed against the organization. Complaints allege issues with a $50 deposit requirement where the complainant writes the organization a $50 check to be held until the animal is either spayed or neutered. Once this is completed and records are sent to the organization, the un-cashed check is to be returned or destroyed. Complaints allege that at this time, the check is actually cashed instead. The organization indicates that all of its animals have been vaccinated and complainants allege that when they request copies of vaccination records, the organization does not send them and claims they have already been mailed. Furthermore, complainants allege that the organization fails to respond to phone messages and emails. The organization does not have a main phone number and asks, (on its Web site) people to call and leave a message at their voice mail system: 1-888-95-RESCUE. The organization has a note on its Web site about issues with the phone system that states:

"We are sorry for any inconvenience however we are currently experiencing difficulties with our rented mailbox message system. We hope to have this corrected soon and hoping to be able to keep same phone number. Please email us at fortheloveofthedogs@yahoo.com for a quick and timely response to any and all questions. If you have a vetting question please use our cfbvetting@yahoo.com address. Thanks for understanding."

When considering complaint information, please take into account the company's size and volume of transactions, and understand that the nature of complaints and a firm's responses to them are often more important than the number of complaints.

BBB processed a total of 5 complaints about this company in the last 36 months, our standard reporting period. Of the total of 5 complaints closed in 36 months, 5 were closed in the last year."

anonymous - December 12th, 2009
Susan, you should read this, because you are being reported to the police department for fraud. Perhaps it is time to listen to your right conscience and refund these people the money you have stolen.

anonymous - December 12th, 2009
More from the Colorado BBB:
"Colorado Furbabies Rescue indicates on its website, that "Colorado Furbabies Rescue is a state licensed, non profit 501c3 PENDING rescue." According to the Colorado Department of Agriculture, Colorado Furbabies Rescue is not a legally licensed animal rescue."

anonymous - December 12th, 2009
looks like they are skipping town. Their website is "being switched" all of a sudden...

anonymous - December 12th, 2009
Just goes to show that Susan is a theif and is guilty of all of the above things that people posted!

anonymous - December 14th, 2009
This is the first time that I've wrote on this blog, but I've been doing a lot of "behind the scenes" work, including talking to the inspector at the Department of Agriculture, filing BBB complaints, and the local police department. Susan is committing fraud, stealing from people (and the government!). She will not get away with this. Make sure that if you've had a bad experience that you contact the Department of Agriculture and make a BBB complaint. We need to make enough complaints so that Susan can't do these things to anyone else. I too love my puppy and she is worth every penny. However, what Susan is doing is not right. In a time where LEGITIMATE rescues and shelters are suffering so much, they don't need Susan out there giving them a bad name. And cashing our checks at Moneytree branches??? She is clearly getting desperate!

anonymous - December 14th, 2009
Yes, I have filed formal complaints with the State Attorney General, the BBB, and the Charity Review BBB. I am in phone contact with the State Veterinary Office and will contact the Aurora Police Department this week. Hopefully, Susan won't be able to to "business" anymore and stop giving rescue organizations a bad name. One bad apple is all it takes. Good thing we all weren't bilked of $500 apiece instead of $50!

anonymous - December 15th, 2009
Take a look at the 9news website. There is a story posted about this company's misdeeds plus a number to call for those who have been ripped off by Susan Matthews.

anonymous - December 15th, 2009
isn't it also odd that the furbabies website has disappeared?

anonymous - December 15th, 2009
I called the Aurora police department and they have instructed me to go to the Arapahoe County Court as this is a civil case. The filing fee for documents is $45, and you have to make your own arrangements to have the summons served. If anyone is serious about working together to stop this woman from ripping others off and most of all from using poor animals as a front for her scam, please send an email to archden2009@yahoo.com. We can split the costs associated with the legal work and get this woman hauled to court. She needs to be stopped.

anonymous - December 15th, 2009
Sorry, my email is archden2008@yahoo.com. I typed the wrong number! Contact me if you want to work with me to get the legal docs filed on this woman.

anonymous - December 15th, 2009
Just received word today that Susan was served with a cease and desist order and the State seized all of her records. She will no longer be allowed to run a rescue in the State of Colorado. Congratulations to everyone who has worked so hard to make sure that Susan is stopped! The report from the State will be public record in the next couple of weeks. What brought us all together was the intent to right some wrong in the world by adopting through a rescue. So why Susan thought that she could steal from people like us, I have no idea. Hopefully this ordeal is over. I've said that I've come to grips that my money is gone, but as long as she is gone, that's the bigger issue. The most important thing is that we can't let her cloud our views of adopting animals that need homes in the future. I'll just make sure I do some more research and check the BBB first Thank you to Lyndsey who started this blog, which made me and others realize very quickly that Susan WAS a scam.

anonymous - December 16th, 2009
Wow, I sure hope that none of our dogs were stolen, though it would not surprise me at this point. With the State seizing her records, this might turn out to be the case for some of us.

anonymous - December 16th, 2009
We had a good experience with CFB - but yes our 2 fixed puppies, adopted on 14FEB09, just had the check cashed on 07DEC09. Let us know if you need more ammo for the case.

anonymous - December 16th, 2009
If you search Colorado Furbabies on the 9news website, the BBB has a number and website for people who had any issues with the rescue to report their case.

anonymous - December 17th, 2009
At this point, is there value in continuing to report to the BBB? I also had my check cashed and will report if there is value, but don't want to waste my time - if the work is already done :-)

anonymous - December 18th, 2009
My BBB complaint has been closed - UNRESOLVED because " It is with great sadness that we inform you CFB is no longer an operating rescue. Intent of the rescue was to save as many deserving furbabies as we could. High costs of rescuing these babies from horrific conditions and properly vetting them with several needing hospitalization was the downfall of the rescue. CFB intends to refund all monies due to families that had faith in our rescue. Please send your info to this address for an immediate response. Dates of these refunds is yet to be determined".

The BBB cannot assist further because the the company has indicated that they are out of business. Small claims court can be contacted or the Colorado Department of Agriculture Pet Animal Care Facilities Program at 303-239-4167.

anonymous - December 23rd, 2009
Just spoke with Dept of Agriculture, which all should contact. Gentleman said we "each" need to contact CO Attorney genneral office - Consumer Protection division. Then dept of Ag can helsp support case against Susan, as they have all business files for CFB. Please all contact and together we may get restitution.

sruiz - December 24th, 2009
Here's an email between Susan and I, she is pointless to argue with and she will never admit to the wrong she has done,scroll to the bottom to start at the beginning of the emails...
From: Colorado Furbabies [mailto:fortheloveofthedogs@yahoo.com]
Sent: Thursday, December 24, 2009 11:25 AM
To: Shawn Ruiz
Subject: RE: buddha
Our bill has NEVER EVER EVER EEEVVVVERRRRRRRR been over five thousand dollars.
They wouldnt let it get over a thousand.
CFB has closed. Without pups coming in and fundraising being done there is NO money . NONE .
I will be paying out of my own pocket to reimburse families. The bottom line is that we tried very hard to save as many pups as we could. We never expected to have so many issues with the pups. Many cases of parvo, some distemper ..all needing hospitalization costing the rescue a lot of money
As for your comment about ME needing money. NOT ONE DIME EVERRRRRR WENT TO ME. IN FACT I HAVE OVER FOUR THOUSAND DOLLARS OF MY OWN MONEY INVESTED IN THE RESCUE AND SAVING LIVES. MY GAS, MY DOG FOOD, I BOUGHT ALL THE CRATES FOR FOSTERS, THE PENS AND THE LIST GOES ON!!!!
yOU email sent prematurely
to conclude...reimbursement will be sent to you as soon as possible.

--- On Thu, 12/24/09,
From: Shawn Ruiz
Subject: RE: buddha
To: "Colorado Furbabies" <fortheloveofthedogs@yahoo..com>
Date: Thursday, December 24, 2009, 8:36 AM
I should have known something was wrong when I went to pick up Buddha and YOUR vet gave me YOUR bill and the balance was over $5,000 due. I also find it very interesting that there are so many cases similar to mine and yet you say “there is no proof of your dog being neutered in the file” is that my fault that you and your vets office cannot communicate clearly??? How about a simple phone call asking if we had Buddha neutered or send a letter requesting proof doesn’t that make more sense? If Colorado Furbabies doesn’t need the money or YOU don’t need the money then why must the innocent victims in this case have to wait for you to go back to work to get their money back?


From: Colorado Furbabies [mailto:fortheloveofthedogs@yahoo.com]
Sent: Wednesday, December 23, 2009 4:51 PM
To: Shawn Ruiz
Subject: RE: buddha

Shawn DONT ASSUME that your money was deposited because we needed money because you would be 100% wrong!!!!
Your check was deposited because there is no proof of your dog being neutered in the file.
Refunds will be sent from MY OWN POCKET when I have medical clearance to go to work.
Saddened rescuer

--- On Wed, 12/23/09, Shawn Ruiz
wrote:

From: Shawn Ruiz
Subject: RE: buddha
To: "Colorado Furbabies" <fortheloveofthedogs@yahoo..com>
Date: Wednesday, December 23, 2009, 10:54 AM
It’s sad that it came to this…It is with great sadness that we inform you CFB is no longer an operating rescue. Intent of the rescue was to save as many deserving furbabies as we could. High costs of rescuing these babies from horrific conditions and properly vetting them with several needing hospitilization was the downfall of the rescue.
CFB intends to refund all monies due to famiies that had faith in our rescue. Please send your info to this address for an immediate response. Dates of these refunds is yet to be determined.
If money was needed, why not send out letters asking for donations??? I would have been more than willing to donate that way but to break a contract and just deposit people’s money without a word is devious and bad-mannered especially during the holiday seasons.

Saddened customer…shawn

anonymous - December 26th, 2009
In my opinion Susan ias full of sh*%! She is just trying to save her own a$$ because she knows she is in the wrong! Be a woMAN and admit you were wrong Susan! Give everyone the money back that you stole from them and stop lying!

anonymous - December 27th, 2009
Yes, Susan is rather nuts if she expects all of us to believe anything that issues forth from her lips at this point. It is really quite awful that she uses innocent animals as a front for her scam. She is probably setting up to operate now in a different state, preying on well-intended people who love dogs. I really don't know how you sleep at night, Susan. You are nuts and need professional help.

anonymous - December 28th, 2009
i contacted CFB last November after losing my beloved dog to cancer. Susan was extremely compassionate and found the perfect dog for my family to foster (and subsequently adopt). we met the van which had just driven from shelters in Arkansas (I have photos of my dog in the shelter as well as on the trip in the CARE van) and, along with other volunteer foster families, picked up my dog. we arrived late and most of the dogs had been unloaded, but there were at least 20-30 dogs and there's no way that Susan can guarantee the health of these dogs as they came directly from shelters! in my opinion, she did a great service connecting dogs to families. i don't know anything about the spay/neuter fee as my puppy had been fixed at the shelter - however, i would never hold her accountable for any illness or issue! she worked hard to find homes for the dogs and we were very happy with our experience.

anonymous - December 29th, 2009
Susan should have spent more time with a rescue that is doing it the right way rather than attending their adoption events and being rude.

anonymous - January 08th, 2010
As a former foster parent for the Colorado Furbabies Rescue, this has all been very disappointing. I fostered many puppies for Susan, sometimes 2 or 3 at a time. We always felt rushed to get the puppies adopted before the next ones came in, but I tried my hardest when doing the home visits to really make sure that the new home would be the right fit for the puppy. I can say that from the Foster Parent side, it was completely volunteer and I always paid out of pocket for the food, kennels, etc that I needed to care for the puppies. It was difficult to deal with Susan, even on good terms sometimes, however I do think that the majority of the people who were involved were there for the puppies. There are so many homeless dogs and cats out there that need help! I hope that this experience has not deterred any of you from adopting from a local rescue, but perhaps to adopt from a more reputable rescue.

anonymous - February 05th, 2010
How sickening to read the above posts. I, too, adopted an adorable puppy from CFB in November. My $50.00 neuter deposit was cashed just a few days later. Susan wrote me an email claiming that her husband had "accidently" grabbed it with the other checks that were deposited that day.

She gave me the option of either sending me a check for $50.OO and I would send her another check to hold in return...OR... just waiting until the pup was neutered and she'd refund the $50.00 then. I was annoyed, but said let's just wait until he's neutered, to save all of the swapping of checks.

Well... as others have said, shortly afterward, the CFB site went down, then when I emailed to question this, I received the automated response that CFB was no longer in operation.

I've sent repeated emails since then, only getting a response when I threatened her with legal action. She now claims she is virtually homeless for a variety of reasons, and that my $50.00 will be refunded at some point after she finds a job.

I am furious about this... especially from someone operating under the guise of a puppy rescue. How low can a person get?

I assume my $50.00 is a lost cause.

anonymous - February 05th, 2010
We need to keep a vigilant watch for this woman Susan Matthews to make sure she doesn't start up another scam operation in a different state, or another one here in Colorado. She is a thief.

anonymous - March 07th, 2010
Susan Matthews is not only an uncivilized scam artist who rips off money from her adopters and proceeds to send them degrading messages. She also has a habit of attacking other rescues for the policies and procedures SHE doesn't agree with. She's a nasty, vile person who obviously has zero people skills or business acumen.

anonymous - March 07th, 2010
Amen!

anonymous - March 08th, 2010
I run a 501c3 legitimate shelter(because we take in bite holds and strays for our County and towns)Rescue(because we also take in any owner relinquishment we think we can place...We are absolutely NO-Kill of all adoptable animals we take in,so we have to refuse some.We are run soley by 2 families and one foster home.We all have over 250,000 on our personal vehicles and never get paid a thin dime,other than meals for the family(volunteers)during adoptionsonce per week.We do this because we love animals...we are trying to learn about fundraising,grants and such, but are so busy pulling puppies out of dumpsters,going on animal calls and dealing with animal problems in our county, that it gets overwhelming at times..
Our fee for adoption is $200 for (any animal,a toy poodles' life in our eyes is no more valuable than a pit bull's life)we feel this would take from the others at the shelter. This fee is broken down as such...$55 for any dog,male or female at 2 area low cost clinics,no matter size etc,$45 for board of some of the dogs at a local CS training center,so the public does not have to drive over 100 miles to our shelter location(east of Pueblo)$35 for vet care and vaccines prior to adoption...So our shelter actually pockets a whopping $65 for gas,purchase of any needs,medical orotherwise.When you add it up, we are not making $,but to us, it is about placing these animals in responsible,loving homes..We also give 90 days to the adopting party to alter the animals who we could not get altered prior,as we retain ownership of the said animal until proof of altering has be sent to us..This has worked out well,as it is part of the fee,no deposit which is refundable..Our website is www.pickmeplease.org if you care to look,we wish you all the best and please know that many of us are out there because we believe in the cause...SECARE
Also Thanks for creating this informational blog!

anonymous - March 08th, 2010
Thank you so much for posting! I'm sure so many people will be so glad to hear about your rescue/shelter after having a bad expereince with Colorado Furbabies!