Mohegan Lake animal rescue faces new allegations of fostering out sick puppies

Kenny Chevalier says he fostered two 6-week-old litter mates from Recycled Paws Rescue in June. Both died from parvovirus, he said.

News 12 Staff

Jul 9, 2021, 7:55 PM

Updated 1,214 days ago

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A Mohegan Lake animal rescue accused of adopting out sick dogs five years ago faces new allegations.
Kenny Chevalier says he fostered two 6-week-old litter mates from Recycled Paws Rescue in June. Both died from parvovirus, he said.
News 12 first reported on Recycled Paws in 2016 when two pet owners accused the nonprofit of adopting out sick dogs, leaving them with unexpected vet bills.
At the time, the Westchester SPCA said the nonprofit was under investigation and voluntarily surrendered several sick dogs. They also said the rescue had outstanding civil penalties for operating in the past without a permit.
Chevalier says he first fostered Tommy, a pit bull mix. When his vet found that Tommy had parvovirus, Chevalier says the rescue told him to return Tommy.
He then says he fostered Ginger, and again notified the rescue when she too became sick. This time, he says he never heard back from Recycled Paws and paid thousands of dollars in hopes of saving the puppy.
"What am I supposed to do? Leave a dog throwing up? She might've passed that Saturday. At least I brought her to the hospital and gave her a fighting chance, and we had three more days with her," Chevalier said.
Recycled Paws owner Lisamarie Birdsall says Chevalier knew the dogs were sick when he agreed to foster them, and said he broke his contract by taking the puppies to a private vet, rather than immediately returning them.