Below is the copy of the letter we sent to them as of January 2, 2021. Following the letter is an update as to the current situation and a link to help support our battle to bring Esme home. Thank you for the time to read the full story and help us spread the truth about what has been done to poor Esme and our family.
January, 2, 2021
To Whom it Does Concern,
It is with deep regret we find ourselves having to reach out to each member of the board of Linda Ann’s Greyhound Adoption. We know you are each aware of the situation regarding the dog we named, Esme, and who’s racing name was Bart’s In or Out. I recently posted openly on Facebook due to not only a lack of communication regarding Esme, but a blatant series of lies and false accusation directed towards our family and the care of Esme in our home.
We have an entire timeline journal of each and every phone call and conversation regarding Esme joining our family, and subsequently being taken from our home under false pretenses and then kept without justifiable reason. We have records of every phone call, text message, and time-stamped photograph as well as extensive videos of Esme’s and our experience throughout this entire process, dating back to our first inquiry and application on October 14th, 2020.
The only communication received during this entire process was first from Kimberly Sheets, who replied to my message on November 5th left on the Linda Ann’s web page inquiring about our initial application. Kimberly instructed us to check for available greyhounds on the website and inquire accordingly. She specifically told me to follow up by calling Linda Pell. After not being able to get in touch with anyone, I then followed up with Kimberly again on November 11th, inquiring about adopting Yippee Ky Yoti, or Turbo Yong. We had requested a small female as young as possible on our application. I then attempted to contact Linda Pell and left her a message on November 12th. Linda Pell returned my phone call on November 14th and we began communicating with her about our adopting a greyhound.
Linda and I had a several fairly extensive phone conversations. She first informed me that Yippee Ky Yoti was in a pending adoption, and Turbo Yong was unavailable due to showing up from the racetrack with a large gash on her leg. She was to need extra medical care and Linda said, and I quote, “We were not happy she showed up like that!” We found it comforting that Linda seemed to care so deeply about the health and welfare of the greyhounds which caused us to believe her to be a trustworthy and honest person. She told me how much she misses her grandchildren due to Covid and how the meet and greets have all suffered as well. I then shared with her what a struggle it has been for our daughter this past year, as she has been home cyber learning since March. I also very clearly explained to Linda that our young daughter has special needs and the greyhound we adopt was to be her Psychologist recommended emotional support animal due to the positive effects her equine therapy has had and our gentle daughter’s extreme love for animals. Linda told me there was a new group of dogs coming in either the Friday before Thanksgiving, or the Monday after. Linda said the only thing about this group of dogs is that Linda Ann’s was seeking people who wanted to foster to adopt right off the track. I expressed that we would prefer to have Esme come directly to our home as we have done extensive research on Greyhounds, including utilizing professional resources, in effort to best prepare to welcome her into our loving home and acclimate to life beyond the tracks. We researched for a long time and also have known several Greyhounds in our personal circle and extended family. We were beyond excited for her arrival. We have a lovely home and a close and loving family. We were well prepared with anything Esme would need.
It is important to note I made it crystal clear to Linda that we would only agree to foster to adopt if we were assured the adoption, as our daughter would not be able to withstand bonding with Esme if there were any chance of her leaving our home. We respect and admire the wonderful people who are able to have dogs come into their lives for only a short time, but we are unable to be those people mainly due to our daughter’s special needs. We all merely wanted to welcome more love into our home.
I joined the Facebook Group, which I have now been blocked from for speaking the truth, and began interacting and meeting the other Greyhound families. There are so many kind and wonderful people in the group, it also gave us a false sense of security that all was well.
Jennifer Leedom posted in the group about the new dogs coming in and needing to be washed. Her post instructed anyone available to help to contact Gale. I immediately contacted Gale through an email, inquiring about my daughter and I coming down to help wash the new greyhound group. I explained we were going to foster to adopt, were so excited, and even hoped to take home Esme that day. Gale never replied to my email.
Wednesday, December 2nd, Linda called us to say the group was coming in on the hauler that Friday, December 4th. Asked if we still wanted to foster to adopt. I excitedly told her we were ready and yes, “No givesies-backsies!” I even joked with her. The agreement was never anything but for us to welcome Esme into our home for the rest of her life.
December 4th, I received a call from Linda at 12:19pm saying the arrival of the greyhounds had been a stressful and chaotic morning, but she had a dog with her to bring over, a small black female if we wanted to meet her. I replied that of course we wanted to meet her right away, and if she was the only one left, then she must be the Esme we were waiting for. Linda said she would be over at 1:30pm and brought her to our front step at 1:00pm. Our neighbor, and my daughter and I watched Linda lift Esme from her car and place her on the ground. My daughter and I opened the door and fell in love immediately while Esme began inspecting her new home.
Linda stayed for a bit and then left Esme in her new home. Linda called me later to say she had forgotten to give me Esme’s heart worm pills and would drop them off the next day. Linda showed up unannounced on Sunday afternoon, December 6th to drop off the pills. We welcomed her in and during her short visit she openly commented that Esme seemed quite happy. Victor checked Esme’s status on the adoption page regularly to ensure it showed a pending adoption. The first week in our home, Esme’s status showed adoption pending, which gave us what we thought was further trustworthy assurance she was home for good.
We bonded and cared for Esme for almost three weeks. During that time, we only received one phone call from Linda, on Thursday, December 17th at 1:13pm, to check in and see if we were doing well. She asked did we still want to adopt her, and we again reminded her we never thought otherwise for one second. She laughed in a friendly manner and said she would put the adoption papers in the mail. We were all elated Esme could be adopted by Christmas. Esme was thriving. Her skin was no longe flaky, and she began to show immense improvement in every area possible. He coat was shiny, her eyes clear, she began to appear thicker and not as frail, and her trust and affection toward each one of us was growing stronger with each day. Esme was was fully into our family’s daily routine, starting with waking up Victor with kisses to go out to potty and including resting her sweet head on our daughter’s bed every night for prayers and kisses. She was absolutely a part of our family.
Gale Tereszcuk suddenly called the week we were awaiting the adoption papers on Tuesday, December 22nd at 12:17pm. This was the first time I ever spoke with Gale and I was uncomfortable by the brusque way she immediately interacted with me over the phone. She claimed to be setting up the appointment to take Esme to get spayed over the weekend of the 26th and 27th. She then, out of nowhere, began asking me about a post in the group’s Facebook page where I shared that Esme was not a big fan of the snow and that she had arrived so tiny and underfed. Gale became excessively concerned about the weight discrepancy and hung up with me to call the racetrack to verify. Gale then called me back at 1:23, yelling that Esme could be in danger or very sick and they needed to emergency vet her right away. I became scared for Esme’s health and offered and requested to drive her to whatever vet necessary as I knew Esme would be very scared and nervous to be driven away from our home with strangers as she was just beginning to feel safe. Gale became aggressive that they are the ones to handle her best and have been doing this a long time. I said I was being emotional because of my concern and love for Esme, but of course would trust them to take care of her for us. Gale softened a bit and said they just needed to get her checked out and hopefully would return her home to us by the next day. My daughter and I were so worried for Esme’s health and also knowing she would be afraid to leave us. Gale’s husband, Tony, showed up in front of our home at 6:30 that same night. He had another dog in the back of the van and he barely said a word to me and my daughter as he pushed her muzzle over Esme’s face and then stuffed her into the van while Esme resisted. The way he handled Esme as well as her obvious resistance was traumatic for me and my daughter to witness and was also witnessed by our neighbor who was alarmed as his wife is an active animal right’s activist. Things only worsened from that point on. I never heard back from Tony or Gale and called the following day, December 23, 2020 at 4:23pm to see how Esme was and what the vet said. Tony was rude in his demeanor and gruffly said, “We never took her to the vet.” I asked why not, as they insisted it was an emergency, to which he replied, “We’re just feeding her right now. We might just keep her.” My daughter heard him say this and we both became very afraid of now knowing untrustworthy people had lied and taken our Esme. I called Linda immediately in a hysterical state, telling her what had occurred and that we believed they want to keep Esme for themselves and took her for no good reason. We already knew Gale and Tony recently lost a greyhound of their own, from Gale’s Facebook page. When I was attempting to reach out to her initially, I saw that post and was so sad for them and figured that was why she was not responding to any of my messages to Linda Anns. Gale called me back shortly after Linda called her, and said Tony has no right to say anything as he is not on the board, but we still believe Tony had let their true intentions be made known to us. There were a few more phone calls between Gale and myself, which I have full records of and will not waste time rehashing fully at this time, beyond saying in full truth that Gale was verbally abusive in her conversing with me, made it clear she is a fan and supporter of the racing industry, and openly and repeatedly attempted to shift blame from the racetrack underfeeding Esme and instead place blame for Esme’s weight loss on us. Gale also accused me of playing a victim, said I don’t know anything about dogs, and then made a fairly open threat about her having photographs of Esme upon her arrival that show she was not underweight. I explained we have spoken to several professional vets who have all verified it is impossible for a dog to lose 1/3 of their body weight in the short time we had her, let alone the fact that we do indeed have extensive photo and videos showing exactly what she looked like upon arrival. The time between Esme’s last race and the day she arrived is however, enough time for such an immense weight loss to occur, especially since she stopped being raced and her muscles would have also atrophied during that time-frame. What makes less sense to us, is that we expected to possibly receive an underfed and stressed greyhound based on all we have researched and know to be true. We never complained or blamed Linda Ann’s and assuredly will not accept the blame being put on us. That is blatant slander and accusing us of animal negligence in an effort to find a reason to not return Esme to us. This is also a despicable abuse of power for someone on the board of what is supposed to be a reputable organization.
I attempted to continue finding a way to have rational interactions with Gale and do whatever was needed to get Esme home where she belongs. I made multiple offers to help financially with any vet bills for Esme as she was already supposed to be adopted by us that week. I made calls to multiple vets and animal hospitals as Gale kept stating they could not get an appointment due to the holidays. On December 24th I called Gale with the names of several animal hospitals that could see Esme and again offered to pay the bill. Gale got angry about my offer to pay for Esme’s care and said that’s not what fosters do. This was a confusing response to someone attempting to help a rescue organization properly find the best possible care for an animal already considered a family member by their loving family. Gale reminded me we did not adopt Esme yet, she belongs to Linda Ann’s, and I reminded her our verbal agreement was only to foster to adopt. Gale insisted we are nothing more than fosters, seemingly in an effort to remind me she has our Esme and the power. Gale said they had an appointment with some mystery vet in Rhode Island that coming Sunday, December 27th, 2020 and they would let us know about her condition after that. I became quite upset at the thought of Esme spending the Christmas holidays away from our family and expressed we were all distraught about Esme not being here, and how much it was going to create emotional pain and suffering for our daughter as well. Gale blatantly told me she did not care about my daughter or Christmas, only the dog. I said of course we ALL care about Esme and that is why we trusted them with her in the first place. I attempted to end things rationally and explained to Gale that she needed to communicate with me about Esme’s health. We were devastated to have what should have been her first Christmas with us without her, and our entire family was emotionally distraught since the moment she was seized under false pretenses. Yet, we still gave Gale the benefit of the doubt to do the right thing and waited until Sunday to hear from her about Esme’s vet visit.
Gale did call me on Sunday night, December 27th, at 6:50pm which gave us hope she was going to do the right thing. Gale quickly let me know that was not the case as she stated they were concerned for Esme’s heart and waiting on bloodwork to have the results ready by Wednesday. She then said to me, “The vet said it is your fault for her weight loss, because of what you fed her.” I realized I was talking to someone who would continue to lie as she was now blatantly falsifying Esme’s medical report. Our main goal was just to get Esme home and attempt to pursue the adoption. I thanked Gale for taking care of Esme and expressed it had been such a stressful time and to please just get her home to us as soon as possible. Gale assured me she would call. Gale never called me on Wednesday and so I called Linda directly, no longer wishing to interact with Gale and getting nowhere positive. I spoke with Linda on December 30, 2020 at 4:26pm. I once again expressed our fear and frustration that Gale and Tony were absolutely attempting to keep Esme, and my daughter and our family were in emotional distress by how Esme and all of us are being treated. Linda said little and then made a comment about needing to discuss how Esme is fed once she returns home. I was immediately horrified and aghast that Linda would even attempt to say such a thing to me when she knows full well what Esme looked like upon her arrival. Then she mentioned pictures as evidence from the washing day, and it was clear Gale had been gaslighting Linda. I reminded Linda she had been in my home more than once and has spoken with me at great length as well as my daughter. I told Linda I could not believe what was happening and that we will not allow Esme to be taken from us for no reason, or for our names to be slandered in such a despicable manner. Linda said she would call Gale. I never heard from either of them. Victor attempted to call Linda later that evening and she ignored his call. Since everyone seemed to presume we would just quietly accept Esme being stolen from us I decided to force the discussion by posting openly on Facebook. I did so at 4am on December 31st, 2021, since sleep loss is one of the side effects of this traumatic experience.
I called Linda at 9:33am on December 31st, 2020. Linda was again rather quiet and at a loss for words. She said my Facebook post had gotten everyone’s attention and I asked her what was a desperate family to do when they are being ignored after being lied to and Esme was stolen. Linda reminded me that Esme is still not ours and so I asked her exactly what had occurred between December 17th, 2020 telling us the adoption papers were in the mail, and December 22, 2020 when Tony stuffed our Esme into their van. Linda said she is between a rock and a hard place and that it is not up to her as the board is now involved. I immediately asked why we were not being given the opportunity to speak to the board, or why nobody was reaching out to us after such an open and public sharing of the truth. I told Linda she needs to do what is right, not whatever is easier, and that I believe her to be a good and decent person as I believe her to know of me and our family. I became quite emotional and pleaded with Linda to use her voice to do the right thing. I explained how cruel this was to let Esme bond with our family before being taken away in the dark and put into a house full of dogs and fosters as opposed to a home where she is the sole recipient of love and attention. I further explained how Esme was only brought to our doorstep with the intent to adopt as soon as possible, and this was causing definitive traumatic damage to my daughter as well as my husband and self. I shared with Linda that my entire professional and personal history is that of working with children with disabilities, before having to stay home to care for my own child with disabilities. I also have worked and volunteered in many non-profit organizations throughout my life and would have been a wonderful asset to Linda Ann’s as I had desired to share my organizational and fundraising skill set. Linda seemed as though she wanted to do the right thing, and we fully believe she does know our family is what’s best for Esme. She assured me she would put all of the things I shared in her email to the board.
We are aware what Esme weighed at her last race, on October 20th, 2020, as well as the racetrack falsely claiming that weight being the same the day Esme was placed in the hauler. Again, there is no possibility for a dog to experience such a drastic weight loss in the time accused and we have extensive evidence of her weight and frame upon arrival, as well as highly detailed logs of everything we did to nurture her to full health. She was severely dehydrated, with her urine being a copper color, and constipated upon arrival. Within only a few days, we had her hydrated and able to have a healthy bowel movement. We followed a specific, vet suggested, feeding regimen specifically for malnourished animals to acclimate their bio-physiological system before incorporating standard kibble back into their diet. Especially for a racing greyhound who was likely fed a standard racing diet, not a standard domestic diet. We never received any help or support from anyone at Linda Ann’s. We never received any paperwork or pamphlets regarding the care of Greyhounds, nor did we have any instructional care support throughout the entire three weeks she was becoming a part of our family. To blame us for the physical state of our beloved Esme whom we did everything right for and in every possible effort to help her grow stronger, is just plain wrong. To do so having never offered us any help or support is unconscionable. There were no concerns voiced at all until the 22nd of December, 2020, when she was taken from us. We would like to know why we were not offered support, but wrongly accused of something so heinous. This quote is directly from Linda Ann’s web page:
“Each of our greyhounds is first placed in a foster home where they learn how to adapt to living in a home. We will find the best homes for as many of this very deserving breed of dog as possible. We will provide as much support and education as you want and need before, during and after the adoption. We want this to be a smooth transition for both the greyhound and of course your family. “
We have done extensive research on Greyhound care and wanted nothing less than the best we could give to Esme. It is unacceptable what has occurred to Esme and our family. Each passing day only continues to increase our family’s emotional suffering, most especially our little girl who has cried every single day and prays relentlessly for her Esme to come home. Our daughter’s Psychologist is keeping track of her expected trauma response to this entire situation and encouraged us to share how vital it is to return Esme to her new family. We eagerly await the proper rectification of this matter and Esme’s rapid return home. We have made every possible attempt to keep this matter civil and allow for all parties involved to do the right thing and return Esme to our home for adoption. Ignoring us is not an option. We are not going to let this rest until Esme is home and adopted into our family as was agreed upon initially. This is our final attempt to allow that to occur before further formal and legal action is taken.
Thank you for the time to read and review this information.
Sincerely,
Victor and Stephanie
March 2, 2021- Update
As of this time, they have only responded with more lies, continue to slander our names, mine specifically, by continuing to insist I starved Esme instead of the truth that she showed up emaciated on our doorstep and we nursed her to health. They have overfed her for the past two months, keeping her in a semi-kennel sort of small home in inner city Philadelphia as opposed to our spacious suburban home where she was the only animal being doted on and cared for. They continue having their lawyer state how they desire to place her in a home with another family as well as complain about my spreading the truth on social media- even though they continue to outright slander and defame my name in a heinous manner. They continue to insist we were only fosters, although everyone who knows us knows that to be untrue and that our daughter could never withstand having dogs come and go as fosters due to her emotional struggles; including every single board member of Linda Ann's. Esme is registered as her Emotional Support Animal and absolutely made a positive impact in our home overall, as did our family for her.
My daughter has been beyond distraught and her therapist is indeed concerned and more than willing to testify on our behalf. My therapist is willing to testify to the extreme distress this has caused me as well. We have several other professionals willing to testify on our behalf, including the Dog Warden of PA who has come to our home and done a full home visit and investigation. I have called and left messages at every news station within an hour's travel time radius.
We know Esme is our dog, a member of our family we welcomed in immediately, and they are simply evil people who should in no way be running an organization of any sort, let alone for animals who have been through excessive trauma from birth. What they have done to Esme is deplorable, and we want her home to start helping her heal from her unnecessary time apart from our family. She trusted us and loves us and she does not deserve anything less than to be with us being fully cared for and loved.
Please help us spread the truth about this awful organization and if you are able, please share our GoFundMe with others. Every small donation helps, although we are already prepared to pay all legal fees to hold Linda Ann's accountable so they may never do this again to any other greyhound or family. If you followed this blog for any amount of time, you know they chose the wrong family to attempt to victimize. We are not concerned about winning a court case, we have more than enough evidence and witnesses which all support the truth. We are upset about the amount of time Esme is being held hostage by this organization who repeatedly refers to her as "property", and are immensely worried about her health and emotional well being.
When people doing bad things want the good people to be quiet, it is a sign to get louder with the truth. Please share this truth and let it be known to as many people possible. They deceived and hurt my family and it is not okay. Please help us stop them from doing this ever again.
Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts.
*click on link to support our fight for justice for Esme and our family
