# Beware alleged scam artist



## J-Boo (Mar 5, 2015)

The training facility I brought Maya to posted recently about a lady who has scammed them so that others can be aware of her dirty practices. Dozens of people chipped in in the comments with how this woman has also cheated or stolen from them, and lied. I have no personal experience with this woman, but just wanted to share the complaints of others so that anyone who comes across her can check the facts about her business practices for themselves.

Pam Vito of Central New York rescues dogs, many of which are GSDs. She apparently trains and rehabs them, and then donates them to law enforcement and military families. There are several allegations against her, including:

1. Pam dropped a rescue GSD off at the training facility for a 2 day evaluation to judge whether or not he was police K9 material. The trainers notified her that he did not have the proper drives, and in addition had some reactivity and aggression issues that should be dealt with. 10 months have passed since then, and she has never come to pick him, never provided any food, and has not paid a dime for 10 months worth of boarding on top of what was supposed to be a 2 day eval.

2. She has also purportedly dropped 2 other dogs off who stayed for months without ever paying. One of the dogs she came to pick up for a vet appointment one day, but asked staff to bring the dog outside to her because she was in a rush. She never brought him back, never paid for his boarding or his behavioral modification training (the poor guy had a history of abuse and had a lot of baggage to work through.) She has since blocked the trainers on social media and is not responding to phone calls or emails about the money she owes or the status of the dog. She initially posted glowing reports of the care the facility had taken of his dog on her business's FB page, but now that they have shared their accusations about her shadiness, she claims the dog was neglected and mistreated and in a poor state when she picked him up.

3. She has been accused of stealing 11 puppies. She claims the woman she stole from was a backyard breeder, and honestly that certainly sounds like the case, but she lied by telling the breeder she was affiliated with the New York State Police, and then the check she wrote for the puppies bounced. (Yes, I know, it doesn't sound like the breeder was very smart about how she handled this transaction, but still, you don't handle it like this.) http://www.thecranberryeagle.com/ap...AN05/141029946/-1/CRAN&template=cran_printart

4. The German Shepherd Rescue of CNY has an outstanding judgment against Pam Vito.

5. Several others have claimed Pam stole money from them, took money pledged to save dogs in shelters and then never bothered to actually get the dogs out. Other rescuers say she has bullied them and lied to them and tried to sue them.

6. Pam raised funds online for her dogs, allegedly to pay her outstanding thousands of dollars to the training facility, but they say they have not received any money. She also claimed the decision had been made to euthanize the dog she had dropped off there, when in fact the trainers say she has had no contact in regards to him in quite some time, and the facility has taken on training him free of charge to try to find him a forever home.

7. Some people maintain that Pam has a history of trying to pass off unsuitable dogs to law enforcement. Dogs for Defense K9 tweeted in regards to these most recent accusations, saying "Pam Vito is at it again..."

8. Her business, Lucky Puppy Pet Mall, has a grade of D+ with the Better Business Bureau. A customer filed a complaint that she was charged twice for merchandise she still had not received 6 weeks later.

I saw an article from Rally Point (military) tweeted about what a great person Pam Vito is for donating dogs to veterans. I commented on the tweet with a link to all of the complaints against her. She then began sending me tweets in her defense, which is perfectly reasonable. However, I eventually told her (a few times) "I have no direct involvement in this, I just posted a link to the accusations against you - you should take this up with your accusers (many of whom she had long ago blocked), not continue to argue with me. If they're unfounded, great, prove it, but not to me - I have no claim in this. I'm not hounding you and smearing your name, I just commented on one article with a link to these allegations so that people can see another side of the story."

She repeatedly accused me of publishing one-sided articles against her without fact-checking and giving her a chance to offer her own proof. I told her she had every right to offer proof in her defense, but I explained to her multiple times that I am no journalist and have published no articles and have no idea why she keeps arguing with me as if I am. All of my tweets to her were direct responses to her tweets to me. Her continuing insinuation I was publishing articles without "truthful facts", tweet after tweet after tweet even after I kept explaining I was the wrong one to be taking it up with, was starting to get out of hand. And then she blocked me. So yay?

So this really bothers me because a lot of people are saying she holds online fundraisers for rescued dogs, but then keeps the money for herself and dumps these dogs without ever coming back from them (or never getting them out of shelters in the first place). Reputable rescue organizations claim she has screwed them over in the past. And there's this from the article I posted above: "The dogs were not sent to New York State Police ... This officer has filed an inquiry with the New York Attorney General’s Office who have begun a civil process against (Vito) and issued subpoenas for her to appear and explain her business practices." 

Of course this is one side of the story and if she can offer proof otherwise, good for her. But in the meantime, I want people to be aware that there ARE two sides to the story, with many many people claiming she has scammed them. So beware.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Wow. 

Good you're getting the word out about her. Not sure what the board policy would be on that.


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## J-Boo (Mar 5, 2015)

I'm not sure either. I was hoping since I made it clear these are allegations against her and have not yet been proved in court, it would be okay. It just really grinds my gears. She sounds 100% like a sociopath.


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## J-Boo (Mar 5, 2015)

Also, from that article - she bought two entire litters of puppies (from someone she even claims was a backyard breeder) to train and sell them to the police? Even I know how unlikely it is every single puppy in two litters is cut out for that


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## Nigel (Jul 10, 2012)

I doubt this will be allowed. We have battled with a nutcase, scamming dog thief last year, not fun. Sadly she's still at.


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## J-Boo (Mar 5, 2015)

Ah, okay. Well, I tried. The people with claims against her are working together to get documented proof ready to submit, now that they realize there are so many of them. And she says she has proof in her favor. So I guess we'll see.


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## J-Boo (Mar 5, 2015)

I wonder if it would be allowed to just leave a link to that article about stealing the puppies under false pretenses of being affiliated with NYS police, and a link to the original Facebook post with all the comments left by people saying she has cheated them?


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

I don't know, you can check the board rules I guess, or ask a mod or admin, but then there's that thing: it is always easier to ask forgiveness that to get permission.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

I don't know why this wouldn't be allowed. Information on the lawyer that led PA rescue that was busted was allowed. News articles, suspicions, all allowed.


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## Nigel (Jul 10, 2012)

Well the thread is still up so that's good. Just read up on the training page, this person is beyond rotten. Hope this all catches up to her.


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## Manol Nakov (Feb 4, 2016)

I honestly can't understand these people.... Sad...


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## Booth (Apr 11, 2016)

I was wondering, how do i find the group of people building things against her?


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## T-Gee (Jan 19, 2018)

Booth said:


> I was wondering, how do I find the group of people building things against her?


Hey!

She has scammed me as well. Any luck with building a case against her?


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

Very old thread. If you want to sue someone, please do it off the board. 

Thank you!


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