I just got a phone call from KTLA channel 5. Apparently, Dave has called to inform them that I am keeping the money raised for his dog. I have transferred $842.07 into my bank to reimburse myself for the shelter fees, vet and PetSmart shopping spree that I put onto my personal credit card. I had a discussion regarding the remainder of the donations and how he would like to spend them. I said it would be a good idea to pay off any outstanding tickets so that he will not be taken to jail in the future for having a warrant for unpaid traffic tickets. I asked if he had any bills that were due at the time. I told him that every dime that was donated would go to him and Buzz, but that I would not be giving him the cash. I explained to him that the money that was donated was a blessing for him, I wanted to be sure that we respected that and used the donations responsibly. He sat next to me and nodded his head, Not one response, question or concern.
After I hung up with KTLA channel 5, I tried to call Dave. His wife would not let me speak to him. She screamed at me that I was stealing their dog’s money. She said they have called the news stations and that if I did not give them their money, they were going to call the police.
I am exhausted from this entire experience. This is the last thing I needed or expected. I will not be giving Dave or his wife one single penny, what I will do is refund the money that was donated to Dave. I have had my life and the lives of my children devastated by drug addiction. I will play no part in supporting anyone’s habit. I just can’t.
That being said, if you would like me to refund your donation that was made for Dave, please email me at
mcs1030@aol.com and put REFUND as the subject. I will send the refund tonight. If you would like to transfer your donation that was for Dave to another urgent animal in this album, please email
mcs1030@aol.com and put DONATE TO URGENT SBC DOG. I will put your donation towards a homeless animal that will live or die depending on whether or not a rescue has the funds to help them. If I do not get a response within 1 week of this posting, I will refund the amount donated with an explanation of why it is being refunded. I know not all who have donated will see this post.
So to sum this up, I have been reimbursed for all expense to rescue Buzz from the high kill San Bernardino City Shelter and reunite him with his owner Dave Thomas. There are donations leftover. The donations will NOT go to Dave after the stunt he has pulled. If you still want Dave to have your donation, I will have to ask you to send it to him personally. I do not have an email for him, maybe he will post it.
No good deed goes unpunished, right?
Thank you for understanding why I cannot proceed with this as planned. For those who disagree with my decision, please keep your thoughts to yourself. I don’t think I can take another hit right now.
BUZZ UPDATE: Buzz was neutered today and got the works at the vet. After I picked him up we took a trip to Petsmart for some supplies. I laid his new bed down on the floor beside the machine to make his tag (I put my number as second contact in case of emergency) and he climbed right on. Doesn't it look like he lost his "best friends". Sorry buddy, it's for your own good!
http://imageshack.us/a/img5/8715/imageycgj.jpg
I must thank everyone who has made this reunion possible. We did a really awesome thing for these two! Buzz will be sleeping in his own bed after 6 long nights on a cold concrete floor. Please send your donations for Dave and Buzz to my PayPal address:
mcs1030@aol.com 
Please mark it as a gift so that there are no fees taken out.
Please look through this album, there are so many urgent dogs just like Buzz...except they don't have owner wanting them. Please pledge $$$ for their rescue. That is my only wish.
DROPPED BUZZ OFF TO BE NEUTERED, HERE'S A PIC OF ALL 3 OF US AT THE VET...BUZZ HAS NO IDEA WHAT HE WAS IN FOR!
http://imageshack.us/a/img703/7079/imagecflw.jpg
THE SHELTER LET BUZZ LEAVE TODAY! HERE IS A CLIP OF THEM TOGETHER WITHOUT THE KENNEL BARS DIVIDING THEM:
DAVE AND BUZZ FINALLY BACK TOGETHER 2/19 - YouTube
VIDEO OF BUZZ KISSING DAVE:
DAVE AND BUZZ REUNITED 2/19 - YouTube
I am getting so many nice comments from everyone for helping Dave raise the money to get his dog Buzz Lightyear out of the shelter, but everyone else on here helped too. I would have been lost without Amanda Halstead during these last few days. She will never know how much I appreciated her. You guys would not believe what I have been through trying to find this man! I got a ticket for making an illegal left turn in a city I am not familiar with, I was side swiped leaving the homeless shelter tonight after doing the interviews with the news stations. A witness to the accident (thank God he was there) said a car passed him at a high rate of speed. He watched her try to pass me on my right hand side, instead she hit a parked car, bounced off my car and spun until she knocked over a stop sign and came to a stop on the curb. She was taken to the hospital by ambulance. I am a bit sore and shaken up, but I drove away from the accident. Someone or something kept me safe tonight! I am so thankful for whatever it was. This is why people should be nice to each other, you get good karma. For the rotten people that were on this thread calling me a scammer and worse…you need to take a good look at yourself in the mirror. WHO HURT YOU?
http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/3063/accidentd.jpg
The news stations will be at the shelter at 10am tomorrow. I will be meeting Dave to take care of all the necessary fees. I will post my PayPal tomorrow for anyone who has wanted to donate. Anything I receive after the cost of the fees and vetting that I pay on my credit card will go to Dave and Buzz. Please check back tomorrow for a photo of Dave, Buzz and ME!!!
LINK TO VIDEO FOR KTLA NEWS STORY:
Facebook Page Helps Reunite Man with Beloved Dog | KTLA 5
UPDATE 2/17/13 9:25pm: GUESS WHO JUST CALLED ME???
Not Christopher, because that is not his name. Dave, the owner of “Buzz Lightyear”. He is so grateful for everyone coming together to help him out. I will be meeting him tomorrow at 10am when the shelter opens. I will post an update tomorrow. Buzz will have to go to the vet to be neutered Wednesday, but he will be home with Dave by Wednesday night!
UPDATE 2/18/13 3:25pm I spoke to the city reporter Ryan Hagen at the San Bernardino Sun.
I went to the library downtown on my lunch, I left my flyer with a few homeless men hanging out on the corner. They said they had already seen my flyer at the homeless shelter but did not know him. One of the guys just got his dog back a week ago, so he knows what this guy is going through right now. They will keep a look out for him and give him my contact info if they run into him. The shelter also has a note to give him my number in order to make arrangements to get his dog from the vet after his neuter and collect his donations. Please note, for those who have pledged so far, I will post my PayPal after these two are reunited. For those who want to donate, please consider pledging on another dog in my album, they are urgent.
MONDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE 2/18/13: I spoke with the operations manager at the shelter, she does NOT see that they have this gentleman’s contact information yet. I am not saying the police department does not have it and will be forwarding it, I am just saying it is not on his dogs kennel record yet.
What is on the kennel record is a note that I will be paying the fees to get this dog released from the shelter, the dog will be sent to the vet for neuter (required per the shelter) if I am not able to pick the dog up for any legal reasons (I am not the legal owner) I will have the dog boarded at the vet until his owner if found. NO OTHER RESCUES can pull this dog. This dog will be staying put in the location this man lives. If anyone is taking this dog anywhere…IT WILL BE ME. I will be the person collecting the donations as well. I will NOT be posting the PayPal info until after everything has been taken care of. The dog is going to be getting neutered, fully vetted, micro chipped, a new collar and name tag, a new leash, some tasty cookies, and his owner will be given gift cards for Pet Smart and gift cards for some new clothing, food, and anything he needs. I am going to make sure he gets every last penny that is donated. If you want your donation to go to this man, please do not send it to anyone else but me. I know a lot of you do not know me, but I promise you I am 100% committed to getting this guy the help he needs.
IF YOU SEE ANYONE POSTING A PAYPAL ADDRESS, PLEASE PM ME OR Amanda Halstead. If you see an update from her, it is coming from me. I am at work and cannot respond. Everyone who is helping run this thread in the right direction, THANK YOU!!! I am so overwhelmed with happiness and then my heart keeps getting crushed by the crazy people.
SUNDAY EVENING UPDATE 2/17/13: I just got home from driving all over San Bernardino city looking for this man. My first stop was the shelter, the kennel staff that were on duty could not give me the area the dog was picked up at without approval from their supervisors. So I just wandered around the city of San Bernardino looking for this guy. I left the flyers I made at liquor stores, launder mats, donut stores, homeless shelters and even with a couple of homeless men who agreed to ask around. Apparently people are calling the police department to get his contact information. The only thing that we have right now is a first name. His name is Christopher. The police department will be giving the shelter his contact info. I will call tomorrow to confirm they have it and that they will try to reach him. I am going to pay his fees at 9am Tuesday morning. If the dog has to be sent to vet to be neutered, I will make sure he has transportation to the vet to pick him up. I will foster him overnight if necessary. He will be back for sure on Wednesday 2/20/13 , he was told he had to put a deposit of 50% to give his dog an additional 3 days. I am hoping we can reach him before that. We have enough in pledges for his dog to be pulled, vaccinated, neutered, food, collar, leash and Petsmart gift cards. There is a solid plan in place. If you want to help, please help this dogs buddies who do not have a plan, please consider donating towards another dog in this album.
SUNDAY MORNING 2/17/13 UPDATE: Yikes! The guy did not leave his contact info with the shelter. The staff has added a note in the dogs kennel record to get the guys contact info and let him know his fees are covered. He will have extra leftover to get him neutered, a collar, leash and dog food. He may need to be vetted as well after leaving the shelter. He even has a job offer with Jd Lonewolf AND a marriage proposal from @Nita L. Fant!!!
PLEASE DO NOT CALL THE SHELTER WITH ANY NEGATIVE COMMENTS!
When I posted this photo, I had no idea it would get this much attention, what I also never thought would happen is that it would be mistaken as a scam. I have not asked for a dime on this thread. I will not post my PayPal until after the dog is safe and re-united with his owner who is obviously down on his luck and needed our help to make this happen. I will personally make sure that every dime of the donations gets to this man, who needs it more than I do.
SATURDAY 2/16/13: I witnessed this man sitting at the kennel of his dog, weeping. He could not afford the fees to get him out. The shelter has the dog listed a coming in as a stray, but I overheard the man saying the officer who brought his dog in, knew he belonged to him. I wished I could have helped him. His dog did not understand why he had to be in that kennel, he was pacing for his owner to let him out.
The shelter told me the fees were $290, but he would get back the deposit after his dog was neutered.
I am not sure of the breakdown of the costs, but I think there is a fine or fee for the dog being brought in, the cost for the license, the cost to board the dog, and the neuter deposit. The shelter opens again on Tuesday. I can get the breakdown then. I was told he will have 60 days to get him neutered. I will pay the fees myself on my credit card on Tuesday and ask the shelter to contact the owner. They did say he had to at least pay 1/2 the fees by 2/20 and he would be given an additional 3 days to pay the balance.
I was sorta eavesdropping while in line behind him. This is what I heard:
He was walking to the store to get a pack of cigarettes, he saw a couple of acquaintances on the way. He stopped to talk to them. A cop pulled up to them, he had a warrant for 2 unpaid traffic tickets so was taken to jail. He mentioned an officer Martinez. I do not know if that was his arresting officer or the animal control officer. Any who...the officer Martinez supposedly had his dog impounded while he was in jail. The officer said it was a stray dog, when in fact it was not. After they told him about the fees and such, he looked so defeated. He offered to put a deposit of the $6.00 in his pocket. The staff said it would not be necessary. When it was my turn, I got the info I needed on the dogs I photographed, then I asked how much was needed to get the guys dog out. I walked out to the kennel and gave the man the treats I had leftover and then sat on the bench and took this photo. I had to leave to get back to work.
ID#A441782 (AVAILABLE FOR 1 DAY, ON 2/20)
PETHARBOR LINK:
http://www.petharbor.com/pet.asp?uaid=SBCT.A441782
Here is another photo of him talking to his dog, I could not hear what he was saying, but I sure he was promising to come back for him.
http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/2171/dsc0165ne.jpg
I am a male, tan Pit Bull Terrier.
My age is unknown.
I have been at the shelter since Feb 13, 2013.
