Hi,
My name is Lee and I owned two Chihuahua dogs. A female, Rio, 3 years old, and her little brother (they were born 3 weeks apart), Sydney, also 3 years old. Sydney is a "Special Needs" dog, as he is exhibits horrible behavior. I do not know why. He snaps at people & animals; he will bite them, and he was never able to be housebroken, and while Rio, his sister, was successfully trained to potty on indoor puppy pads; Sydney on the other hand - never learned to even go on any puppy pads consistently. Sometimes, but not frequently.
In fact, he would often potty where he sleeps - so I would have to put a doggie diaper on him.
Sydney was very close to me, and Rio.
I was forced to give up one of my dogs, as I now live with my parents who would not allow two dogs living here - this was beyond my control.
My mother surrendered my Sydney to a no-kill animal rescue & adoption center called Animal Appeal of Sharpsville, PA on March 20th, 2009.
When my Sydney was surrendered, my mother needed to inform the owner of the organization, Yvonne Ceslak, that Sydney is a "Special Needs" dog.
Yvonne placed him on a heated blankie with his favorite sweater and blanket; in a crate, in one of 3 farm houses.
Ms. Ceslak also told my mother that if she "ever wants him back," she will "call the police to have {my mother} removed from her property at once."
She told my mother that Sydney will be staying in let's just call it, "farm house number one."
On May 15th, 2009, "farm house number one" burned to the ground and 23 dogs and cats perished.
My mother immediately went to Yvonne's after reading te article the next day---- Yvonne at first, acted as if she didn't know who my mother was. My mother began to cry. Then, Yvonne said she didn't know ----- then, she said that she then remembered who Sydney was, and that he was fortunate enough to be adopted out to a wealthy married couple in a nearby city (Pittsburgh area). She also said, that two of ONLY the four dogs that perished were her mother's dogs. The rest were cats.
However, this contradicts what she told us in March --- that she intended on working with his behavioral problems before putting his ad up on the adoption website, www.petfinder.com.
I checked petfinder.com frequently and never saw an ad for Sydney. There are many other Chihuahuas up for adoption by Animal Appeal of Sharpsville, and have been posted for several months, but never have I once saw Sydney's ad.
In the newspaper article, which I will post here in its entirety plus its direct link, NOTHING SEEMS TO ADD UP.
I am a Law student, and I was once on the Board of Directors for the local Humane Society (Mercer County humane Society of Pennsylvania).
I strongly feel like there is foul play involved in this tragedy.
We called Yvonne in an effort to talk to me, she called back and left a voicemail with the same story that she told my mother yesterday.
all I want is some substantial evidence, perhaps if she could give the new owners of Sydney my contact information and my plea to put my mind at ease, knowing that Sydney was not one of the animals that had burned to death.
In my experience as a volunteer for the local humane society, I have never heard of a special needs/behavioral dog being adopted out to a picture-perfect family immediately. He was indeed neutered, with all shots up to date when my mother surrendered him, however I don't believe her.
Ms. Ceslak, in so many words in the voicemail, asked me not to bother her again due to being exhausted from all of the stress.
I need to know that she is not lying to my family and I, I strongly feel that the farmhouse was intentionally burned down.
It's entirely possible that it was an accident, and so far, the local Humane society I worked for, and the Chief of Police, is sticking up for Ms. Ceslak, however, there are many holes in the story which I will highlight and discuss after posting the article.
The article is as follows, from http://www.sharonherald.com/archivesearch/local_story_134215911.html ----
"23 dogs and cats perish in fire at farmhouse owned by Animal Appeal
By Joe Pinchot
Herald Staff Writer
HERMITAGE —
Twenty-three dogs and cats died in a fire Thursday at a farmhouse owned by Animal Appeal, an animal rescue and adoption agency, said Hermitage Fire Chief Robert S. Goeltz.
Animal Appeal’s Yvonne Ceslak said she was told three cats and a dog were rescued by a passerby before the fire became too smoky.
’I’m thankful for him, whoever he was,’ she said.
Many of the animals were caged and firefighters had no chance to rescue any, Goeltz said. Smoke was blowing out the second story windows when firefighters arrived.
Ms. Ceslak said she was at the 4516 Lamor Road house at about 11 a.m. and saw no signs of trouble. The fire was called in at 11:08, Mercer County 911 said.
She said she was aware of no fire hazards in the house.
’There was nothing that could have given me a hint that I would have a problem today,’ she said.
The cause of the accidental fire probably was electrical, Goeltz said.
The kennel behind the farm house was not affected by the blaze, Ms. Ceslak said.
Mercer County Humane Society removed the dead animals, and Shenango Valley Animal Shelter also helped manage animals.
Ms. Ceslak thanked those who responded for the ’tremendous amount of support’ they provided.
A Jefferson Township couple were among the first on the scene and helped to remove some of the animals from the burning house, a few miles from their Ball Park Road home.
John Devine, a counselor at George Junior Republic in Pine Township, said he and his wife were returning home when she saw smoke coming from the top of the house.
They saw someone else was already in the driveway calling 911 and went to the front door. ’She knocked and there was no answer,’ Devine said. ’So I knocked hard. It was locked.’
They ran to the back door, which was unlocked. ’I opened it and was just trying to pull out as many pets as I could,’ he said, adding that included about five or six occupied cat carriers and a couple of dogs. ’I wasn’t noticing what was inside (the carriers), I just pulled them out.’
The house is insured, and Ms. Ceslak said she does not know if she might be able to remodel the house, which Goeltz called uninhabitable.
’We’ll do OK,’ she said. ’It doesn’t affect our animals being able to find homes. It doesn’t affect our operations.’
Transfer, Jefferson Township and Clark volunteer firefighters assisted.
Sharpsville firefighters put out a large brush pile fire that got out of hand on Parkdale Avenue while Hermitage and Patagonia firefighters were fighting the Lamor blaze.
Herald copy editor Kim Curry contributed to this story. "
Discussing what I have highled in the story:
-----Who is the unidentified man who managed to run off with a few crates BEFORE the fire had gotten out of hand, leave the premesis, and not notify someone? ANYONE? Could it be an accompliss? Could he have saved Ms. Ceslak's mother's two dogs and left the rest to burn to death?
---- If the call was dialed at 11:08am, and Ms. Ceslak checked the house at 11am, wouldn't that put her right at the time that the fire was started?
----The farmhouse is insured, but Ms. Ceslak implied that she had no intentions on remodeling it. I would like to also add, that a new house is being constructed on this property, and has been under construction for a while.
----Why were Sharpsville area firefighters putting out a brush fire at the same time, in the tiny town of Sharpsville, after it had been RAINING ALL WEEK LONG HERE? Were they intentionally being diverted away from the Sharpsville area?
----We all know that not too many people want to pay $200.00 adoption fees for cats, when there are huge amounts of newspaper ads and clippings for "Free Kittens."
......It really sounds to me, and this may just be my paranoid conspiracy theory, as if Ms. Ceslak did exactly what the owner of Club Pet did in October 2007; she created a diversion, the two dogs that were saved by the unidentified passerby were her mother's dogs, and she just threw a bunch of cats and a few "problem dogs" (such as my beloved Sydney) into the farmhouse and burned it to the ground in an effort to collect insurance money.
This is my opinion and until she can provide some substancial evidence or proof that Sydney is in fact alive and well and with a wealthy married couple in Pittsburgh I feel that I need help.
I do not want to return her voicemail, as per her implication that she is under a lot of stress from the incident and doesn't want bothered.
So what am I supposed to do?
----****ALSO, IN OCTOBER 2007, ANOTHER LOCAL NO-KILL ANIMAL RESCUE, KNOWN AS "CLUB PET," HAD BURNED DOWN AND THE OWNER, DIANNA L. ESTMAN, COLLECTED INSURANCE. THIS OCCURED ROUGHLY 2 MONTHS AFTER HER ESTRANGED EX HUSBAND HAD BROKEN INTO THE KENNEL AND ATTEMPTED TO MURDER HER.
PLEASE GIVE ANY ADVICE ON WHAT I CAN DO TO FIND OUT IF SYDNEY IS REALLY WITH THIS MIRACULOUS NEW HOME OR IN THE ARMS OF THE ANGELS DUE TO INSURANCE FRAUD AND THE TRAGIC LOSS OF INNOCENT ANIMALS' LIVES.
Or perhaps Ms. Ceslak did not intentionally burn down the farmhouse; but perhaps she is lying to me because Sydney really was one of the animals that had perished and just doesn't want to tell me.
All I want is the truth, so if Sydney really is dead, I may be able to have closure, peace, and lay flowers wherever he may be buried, with the other animals.
PLEASE HELP ME.
Thank you,
Lee
My name is Lee and I owned two Chihuahua dogs. A female, Rio, 3 years old, and her little brother (they were born 3 weeks apart), Sydney, also 3 years old. Sydney is a "Special Needs" dog, as he is exhibits horrible behavior. I do not know why. He snaps at people & animals; he will bite them, and he was never able to be housebroken, and while Rio, his sister, was successfully trained to potty on indoor puppy pads; Sydney on the other hand - never learned to even go on any puppy pads consistently. Sometimes, but not frequently.
In fact, he would often potty where he sleeps - so I would have to put a doggie diaper on him.
Sydney was very close to me, and Rio.
I was forced to give up one of my dogs, as I now live with my parents who would not allow two dogs living here - this was beyond my control.
My mother surrendered my Sydney to a no-kill animal rescue & adoption center called Animal Appeal of Sharpsville, PA on March 20th, 2009.
When my Sydney was surrendered, my mother needed to inform the owner of the organization, Yvonne Ceslak, that Sydney is a "Special Needs" dog.
Yvonne placed him on a heated blankie with his favorite sweater and blanket; in a crate, in one of 3 farm houses.
Ms. Ceslak also told my mother that if she "ever wants him back," she will "call the police to have {my mother} removed from her property at once."
She told my mother that Sydney will be staying in let's just call it, "farm house number one."
On May 15th, 2009, "farm house number one" burned to the ground and 23 dogs and cats perished.
My mother immediately went to Yvonne's after reading te article the next day---- Yvonne at first, acted as if she didn't know who my mother was. My mother began to cry. Then, Yvonne said she didn't know ----- then, she said that she then remembered who Sydney was, and that he was fortunate enough to be adopted out to a wealthy married couple in a nearby city (Pittsburgh area). She also said, that two of ONLY the four dogs that perished were her mother's dogs. The rest were cats.
However, this contradicts what she told us in March --- that she intended on working with his behavioral problems before putting his ad up on the adoption website, www.petfinder.com.
I checked petfinder.com frequently and never saw an ad for Sydney. There are many other Chihuahuas up for adoption by Animal Appeal of Sharpsville, and have been posted for several months, but never have I once saw Sydney's ad.
In the newspaper article, which I will post here in its entirety plus its direct link, NOTHING SEEMS TO ADD UP.
I am a Law student, and I was once on the Board of Directors for the local Humane Society (Mercer County humane Society of Pennsylvania).
I strongly feel like there is foul play involved in this tragedy.
We called Yvonne in an effort to talk to me, she called back and left a voicemail with the same story that she told my mother yesterday.
all I want is some substantial evidence, perhaps if she could give the new owners of Sydney my contact information and my plea to put my mind at ease, knowing that Sydney was not one of the animals that had burned to death.
In my experience as a volunteer for the local humane society, I have never heard of a special needs/behavioral dog being adopted out to a picture-perfect family immediately. He was indeed neutered, with all shots up to date when my mother surrendered him, however I don't believe her.
Ms. Ceslak, in so many words in the voicemail, asked me not to bother her again due to being exhausted from all of the stress.
I need to know that she is not lying to my family and I, I strongly feel that the farmhouse was intentionally burned down.
It's entirely possible that it was an accident, and so far, the local Humane society I worked for, and the Chief of Police, is sticking up for Ms. Ceslak, however, there are many holes in the story which I will highlight and discuss after posting the article.
The article is as follows, from http://www.sharonherald.com/archivesearch/local_story_134215911.html ----
"23 dogs and cats perish in fire at farmhouse owned by Animal Appeal
By Joe Pinchot
Herald Staff Writer
HERMITAGE —
Twenty-three dogs and cats died in a fire Thursday at a farmhouse owned by Animal Appeal, an animal rescue and adoption agency, said Hermitage Fire Chief Robert S. Goeltz.
Animal Appeal’s Yvonne Ceslak said she was told three cats and a dog were rescued by a passerby before the fire became too smoky.
’I’m thankful for him, whoever he was,’ she said.
Many of the animals were caged and firefighters had no chance to rescue any, Goeltz said. Smoke was blowing out the second story windows when firefighters arrived.
Ms. Ceslak said she was at the 4516 Lamor Road house at about 11 a.m. and saw no signs of trouble. The fire was called in at 11:08, Mercer County 911 said.
She said she was aware of no fire hazards in the house.
’There was nothing that could have given me a hint that I would have a problem today,’ she said.
The cause of the accidental fire probably was electrical, Goeltz said.
The kennel behind the farm house was not affected by the blaze, Ms. Ceslak said.
Mercer County Humane Society removed the dead animals, and Shenango Valley Animal Shelter also helped manage animals.
Ms. Ceslak thanked those who responded for the ’tremendous amount of support’ they provided.
A Jefferson Township couple were among the first on the scene and helped to remove some of the animals from the burning house, a few miles from their Ball Park Road home.
John Devine, a counselor at George Junior Republic in Pine Township, said he and his wife were returning home when she saw smoke coming from the top of the house.
They saw someone else was already in the driveway calling 911 and went to the front door. ’She knocked and there was no answer,’ Devine said. ’So I knocked hard. It was locked.’
They ran to the back door, which was unlocked. ’I opened it and was just trying to pull out as many pets as I could,’ he said, adding that included about five or six occupied cat carriers and a couple of dogs. ’I wasn’t noticing what was inside (the carriers), I just pulled them out.’
The house is insured, and Ms. Ceslak said she does not know if she might be able to remodel the house, which Goeltz called uninhabitable.
’We’ll do OK,’ she said. ’It doesn’t affect our animals being able to find homes. It doesn’t affect our operations.’
Transfer, Jefferson Township and Clark volunteer firefighters assisted.
Sharpsville firefighters put out a large brush pile fire that got out of hand on Parkdale Avenue while Hermitage and Patagonia firefighters were fighting the Lamor blaze.
Herald copy editor Kim Curry contributed to this story. "
Discussing what I have highled in the story:
-----Who is the unidentified man who managed to run off with a few crates BEFORE the fire had gotten out of hand, leave the premesis, and not notify someone? ANYONE? Could it be an accompliss? Could he have saved Ms. Ceslak's mother's two dogs and left the rest to burn to death?
---- If the call was dialed at 11:08am, and Ms. Ceslak checked the house at 11am, wouldn't that put her right at the time that the fire was started?
----The farmhouse is insured, but Ms. Ceslak implied that she had no intentions on remodeling it. I would like to also add, that a new house is being constructed on this property, and has been under construction for a while.
----Why were Sharpsville area firefighters putting out a brush fire at the same time, in the tiny town of Sharpsville, after it had been RAINING ALL WEEK LONG HERE? Were they intentionally being diverted away from the Sharpsville area?
----We all know that not too many people want to pay $200.00 adoption fees for cats, when there are huge amounts of newspaper ads and clippings for "Free Kittens."
......It really sounds to me, and this may just be my paranoid conspiracy theory, as if Ms. Ceslak did exactly what the owner of Club Pet did in October 2007; she created a diversion, the two dogs that were saved by the unidentified passerby were her mother's dogs, and she just threw a bunch of cats and a few "problem dogs" (such as my beloved Sydney) into the farmhouse and burned it to the ground in an effort to collect insurance money.
This is my opinion and until she can provide some substancial evidence or proof that Sydney is in fact alive and well and with a wealthy married couple in Pittsburgh I feel that I need help.
I do not want to return her voicemail, as per her implication that she is under a lot of stress from the incident and doesn't want bothered.
So what am I supposed to do?
----****ALSO, IN OCTOBER 2007, ANOTHER LOCAL NO-KILL ANIMAL RESCUE, KNOWN AS "CLUB PET," HAD BURNED DOWN AND THE OWNER, DIANNA L. ESTMAN, COLLECTED INSURANCE. THIS OCCURED ROUGHLY 2 MONTHS AFTER HER ESTRANGED EX HUSBAND HAD BROKEN INTO THE KENNEL AND ATTEMPTED TO MURDER HER.
PLEASE GIVE ANY ADVICE ON WHAT I CAN DO TO FIND OUT IF SYDNEY IS REALLY WITH THIS MIRACULOUS NEW HOME OR IN THE ARMS OF THE ANGELS DUE TO INSURANCE FRAUD AND THE TRAGIC LOSS OF INNOCENT ANIMALS' LIVES.
Or perhaps Ms. Ceslak did not intentionally burn down the farmhouse; but perhaps she is lying to me because Sydney really was one of the animals that had perished and just doesn't want to tell me.
All I want is the truth, so if Sydney really is dead, I may be able to have closure, peace, and lay flowers wherever he may be buried, with the other animals.
PLEASE HELP ME.
Thank you,
Lee
