# NetPets.org Military Pets Foster Project



## Sibe (Nov 21, 2010)

I'm so FURIOUS with this organization. I urge everyone to NOT foster through them or support them. I hear Pets for Patriots is a great organization if you want to help pets of military personnel. NetPets is very unprofessional, unorganized, and takes forever to get anything done, if ever. I haven't even had my foster dog for 2 months and am still owed hundreds of dollars to reimburse me for expenses such as food. I respect what the guy in charge is trying to do but the way things are- or rather, are _not_ handled is absolutely ridiculous. I'm now having to take legal action.

https://www.netpets.org/netp/foster.php

Here's my story.
I applied several places to find a foster dog, with the original intent of being able to foster a dog such as one that had come from a rough situation. A dog in desperate need of TLC. In my search for local rescues and such I stumbled across the NetPets.org Military Pets Foster Project. They find temporary foster homes for pets of military servicemembers who are being deployed. They do dogs, cats, horses, fish, small critters, reptiles, anything. Being a military spouse myself (husband is active duty Navy) I thought this sounded like an awesome opportunity. I knew my husband would also be more on board because there is no chance that we can keep the dog, and it's for a set amount of time. Well, usually, Lord knows return dates are not set in stone!

I filled out an application, still mostly hoping for a TLC type dog, but NetPets got back to me first. Diesel, a handsome young boxer, needed a home while his owner went to Afghanistan. Sign me up! The owner had already left, and he was with a temporary foster. (I've posted before about the situation).

Things were good at first, then a little rough when Kaytu realized Diesel wasn't going away. They started fighting, and my dogs have to come first so I informed the organization in July, after 3 months of fostering, that it wasn't working out and he needed a new foster. I have to wait for the guy to send me an application so I can have someone to contact. I waited almost 2 months before getting an application forwarded to me. I drove an hour and a half to meet the fosters, who failed to inform me that their rescued dog was so feral and untrusting they couldn't even get a collar on him. He tried to eat Diesel.

I contact the guy in charge again. And again. And again. And again. I was calling about twice a week, pushing him to find a foster and also to get my reimbursement (more on that in a bit). I had mentioned my frustrations to a friend with a large online following and she posted his story on her blog, asking for anyone that could take him. I had one person respond but they ended up not being able to take him.

Many people did contact a local news station, which also follows my friend's blog, and the news station contacted me wanting to do a story. We set the story up for that week, the day before Thanksgiving. Yes, we had now been looking for a new foster home for FOUR MONTHS with extremely little help from NetPets. I had to harass him constantly to even get the first application.

A few days after the news story I contacted NetPets. He said they got about a dozen applications. Awesome! There was finally a light at the end of this tunnel.

It took about THREE WEEKS for him to forward an application to me. Almost a month!! I called the potential foster, no answer, left a message. Waited a couple days, called again, no answer, left a message. Third time they answered and said they couldn't do it anymore because of a work schedule change. Great, thanks for letting me know! I did get another application a couple days later. Met with them, and Diesel was too rambunctious for them. I was going to have to turn them down anyway because she has very inappropriate alpha/dominance beliefs, even telling her little daughter to elbow Diesel to show she's "boss", and yelling at her son for letting Diesel climb on him and play while her son was on the floor because it let Diesel "be dominant." No. That home would have ruined him.

It was about Christmas time so I stopped pestering and enjoyed the holidays, and the owner had recently emailed saying she would likely be home early by the end of January. I can tolerate another month of this, I thought, and for the dog's sake decided to hang on and see what happened. Originally she was not supposed to be home until the end of this summer.

She did indeed come home the end of January, not back to California but to Georgia. I shipped Diesel back to her and that was that. The owner has been great throughout this entire process. We handled payment directly for all expenses the last month or so, so I wouldn't be waiting on additional ~$700 from the organization to cover all his flight stuff.




Now about the money. The way it works, I send an email to the owner and to NetPets on the 1st of each month detailing the previous month's expenses. I did this. Every month. I got the dog in May. I sent an email in June. In July. In August. After CONSTANTLY harassing NetPets I finally received a check in September for $182 which covered expenses in May, June, and July. I have not been paid since and I'm out of pocket $425. I called about twice a week every week through the end of the year, and continued sending emails each month. He charged the owner's card sometime near the end of last year but I never received a check. I HAVE NOT EVEN HAD THE DOG FOR TWO MONTHS. I haven't been reimbursed for 6 months worth of food and supplies. All the final expenses were handled directly between the owner and I for an airline crate, plane ticket, thunder shirt, etc. because HE WILL NOT PAY ME. I'm so thankful the owner is awesome and doing what she can to help me. I really place no blame on her at all, it's entirely not her fault and I'm also doing what I can to protect her and prevent her from being charged more than she is supposed to.

I dropped my calls to about once a week in January. I called 3 weeks ago near the beginning of March and he said a check was in the mail. Two weeks later, still no check so I made an appointment with JAG to discuss my options. I'm done dealing with him. He gives EXCUSE AFTER EXCUSE. The weather. He was sick. He's talking to someone in Europe and can't talk to me so will call me back (which he NEVER does, he has NEVER called me back or responded to ANY of my emails), he has to talk to the bank first, one excuse after another. He has NOBODY helping him and refuses to have help, as far as I can tell because he does everything best and can't take the time to teach someone.

I am a patient person. I'm extremely forgiving and reasonable, if I may say so myself. I don't hold grudges and it takes an awful lot to piss me off. I've waited over 6 months for him to get his act together, and am now having to take legal action against a man who is trying to help the pets of military personnel. **I** am feeling horrible because of that but I cannot promote this organization and will do whatever I can to turn people away from fostering through him.


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## PatriciafromCO (Oct 7, 2012)

so sorry sibe you did a wonderful job for the service member and Diesel.. This is exactly why I don't foster.. all phone calls and happy getting you in,, but the support was terrible and out of my own pocket very used and abused by the time it was all done.. My heart goes out to foster homes that now own 9 dogs being put in that ethical situation of wanting no harm to come to the Innocent dogs.


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