No Saving Grace

"Animal rescuers" lie about finding a home for a dog who's already dead.

Comments (0) By Craig Malisow Wednesday, Dec 5 2012

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And what of Lydia Caldwell, who never actually met Amy Walther but spoke with her on the phone? (She says her husband is the one who met with Walther and checked out her home.)

"The reason I decided to trust her with Juno is because she told me she had been a volunteer for CAP for six years," Caldwell says. "She was retired from being a business owner for 20 years in the travel agency business. She lives in a good area...she said all the right things. She has dogs of her own. She had fostered before. She sounded completely normal and like someone who I could entrust a puppy to for a little while until I found him a home."

Courtesy Lydia Caldwell

You know what wouldn't suck? If this little dude were still alive.

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Kibodeaux says he was just trying to help out a friend, only to get sucked into a lawsuit.

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She also tells us, "The last thing I want, really, is to be sued for libel or slander, which is exactly and precisely why we are using the legal system so that we can legally expose these people." She adds that, in the event there is a significant monetary award, she would likely establish a trust in Juno's name to cover fostering or health-care costs for other pups in peril.

She's baffled as to why Kibodeaux didn't immediately get the word out about a lost dog (back when he first allegedly thought Juno was lost) or ultimately come clean after his "buying time" plan didn't work.

"He most certainly didn't think to be honest and just tell me, 'Hey, Lydia, I understand that Amy has been fostering for you. I have to tell you, we've been looking for this puppy for the last day or two, and I simply must share with you: It is lost, and we need your help.' Nobody ever came forth to say anything. Nobody."

She says, "We will forever mourn Juno. Because what happened to him [was] tragically unnecessary. We were there for him. We were his backup. I was telling Amy, 'I want to pick him up on the 11th.' She never got back to me with a time....She didn't respond to my calls, she didn't respond to my e-mails. But I told her several times, 'We intend to pick him up on the 11th.' And what does she do on the 8th? She turns him in to a kill shelter, signs off on a piece of paper that says, 'We can, and most likely will, euthanize this dog.'"

One last interesting point: Lydia Caldwell needlessly apologized for being "emotional" in her conversation with us. She explained that she is saddened by the loss of Juno.

We didn't get that from Kibodeaux or Walther. We got a lawsuit threat from one, and a suggestion that Juno might actually be alive from the other.

If dogs have friends like these, who needs enemies?