 Angel + 12 "(SPBR) Angel + 12")
Starting in 2011, I am going to be actively be posting for various rescue organizations. The first is Smiling Pit Bull Rescue group – Eric is amazing and doing tons to save the lives of dogs who bring joy to those around them. Here is the first story of Angel… A Christmas Miracle and her 12 puppies. Please Tweet this, Like it below and help spread the word. You guys all know how much I love Jacob <3 having a dog actually brings out the best in you. Here is her story.
*HeyDoYou is for the cute, clever and connected*
He is a puppy seller. He keeps all the adult dogs locked in crates stacked in his basement. He fosters out dogs and then does not honor his foster agreements, he does not pay them the money he owes them. His board of directors all walked out on him last month including longtime friends and moderators on his forum. Anyone who questions his actions is promptly banned from his forum or facebook page. It took him 10 years to get legal tax exempt non for profit status, and he is a lawyer. He has sent mother dogs back to shelters after selling her puppies.
He is a hoarder
That is 12 puppies X $300, Another payment for a 5th Kabota tractor for Mr. Gray when he should be paying his fosters the money he owes them.
My heart hurts for any dog that is in this man's "care". There are many great rescues out there. Unfortunately, this is not one of them. Jim Jones of the dog world.
Many dogs reside in exile, languishing in Eric's basement. He searches Craig's list and buys puppies from there to sell and profit from. He does not uphold his contracts for fosters or adopters. Animals are adopted out without proper vaccines and fosters are not reimbursed for monies spent on sick animals. Just because things look good on a web site does not mean that is HOW IT ACTUALLY IS! Stay clear and don't support this organization, as it does more harm than good!
A miracle he is not. He is a glorified hoarder. I have seen what he does with these dogs personally. Adults in crates stacked on top one another. Puppies in crates covered in mushy puppy food and poop. And the numbers of them are astonishing. None get the attention or time out of their crates that they deserve. He collects dogs off craigs list, puppies, and pregnant momma's from the high kill shelters, and sells the puppies. Sometimes sends the mommas back to the shelters because they are the most difficult to rehome. If the animals are sick he would rather ride it out instead of take them to the vet. An epidemic of parvo spread like wildfire through the basement killing litters of puppies. One puppy was adopted out while it was sick, and died in the new home. He refused to give them back their adoption fee. He is not in it to save dogs, but to build a reputation of lies, and to make money. He should not be trusted by any rescue, shelter, foster or future adopter. His gorgeous website with professional pictures is all a facade.
Smilin Pit Bull Rescue is a front for Eric Gray's puppy brokering and dog hoarding. He takes pretty pictures and writes nicely. However if you want to see his true colors, post on the rescue's facebook page or on the rescue's forum and ask where these adult dogs are: Beloved, Albert, Bree, Valentino, Blue, Kiwi … He does not provide full vetting for adopted dogs, he does not pay for vetting for fosters despite the obscene amounts of money raised through adoption fees. Support some other worthy rescue — this one is neither.
I cannot believe with all the information out there about Eric Gray that people still have no clue what a horrible person he is? It's truly mind boggling to me. He is a puppy peddler at best, and a money grubbing, lying, manipulative, disturbed piece of crap at worst.
It's apparently very easy to fool people with a pretty website and some well written words. If people would only take the time to dig, they would learn about all the dogs/puppies that have died in this man's care. All the prior fosters and adopters he's stiffed for large amounts of money. He doesn't vet dogs adult or puppy, he does extremely pediatric spay/neuters (was attempting to do them at 5 weeks), NEVER gives a rabies vaccine. Oh the list can go on and on and on.
I agree, find an organization WORTH supporting because this isn't the one. Btw, he is only pulling from this OH shelter because it's one of the few shelters that hasn't caught wind of what a POS he is.
So cute, I want to collect all 12 of ‘em!
I think all of this is pretty well common knowledge by now. I believe all of these claims have been substantiated. He bullies people with legal talk. Just recently I heard like 20 volunteers left for all the reasons stated previously.
20 volunteers left? try the entire board of directors and over 100 additional folks left in december, never mind several other walk-outs prior.
he talks a good game, says they’re “moving forward” but if that many people are leaving, he’s obviously doing something wrong. he’s claimed for a while that there were just a few “women scorned” who were trash talking him. but 100+ people within a few days alone has to say something.
anyone who doesn’t see his facade is either lying to themselves or ignoring the truth.
SPBR is a front for Eric Gray’s puppy brokering. He does not provide adequate vet care for fosters, he “rescues” litters of puppies and pregnant mommas because he makes a load of cash on the adoption fees. Don’t support this!
I am a foster. He does provide and pay for all vet care. I have no idea why you are so misinformed. I transport puppies to the vet on a weekly basis from all litters. Please get your facts straight.
I totally disagree with the negative comments made here about SPBR/Eric Gray.
People who do something, say something and are something will always be criticized – To avoid criticism, do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing!
How many of us who are critiquing here are ready to put their personal lives on hold taking care of many dogs because they would otherwise be euthanized, drive 1300 miles non stop to rescue, take thousands of pictures and edit them, maintain a website, answer emails/calls 24×7, be responsible for hundreds of dogs placed?
12×300 = 3600, vet bill for ONLY ONE dog for knee surgery 2000+ — do the math! How much profit can he actually make out of this? Also SPBR has been a non profit organization for almost an yr now.
He drives for 20 hrs on weekends in order to save rescue’s money for Vet bills, food and other needs of the dogs. He is well educated and has a decent job, he belongs to a good family — he is not doing this to make money for himself! He doesn’t need to work soooo hard to make small amount of money when he earns a decent salary! He has enough money to buy all his Kubotas on his own. He does ALL this because he truly loves dogs and cares about this breed. And this is not hear say – I was there when one of his dogs was sick.. she had intestinal obstruction due to a mass and was throwing up and having diarrhea – he took her to the vet – paid 700$ bill for one visit and some meds – got her back home and placed her on his OWN bed right next to him and kept cleaning the vomit and poop, measuring temp frequently and changing the hot bags — the whole night! He truly truly loves dogs.
Hoarder? Why? What is he gonna get out of this? Who wouldn’t like to go out in the evenings/travel etc than do the walks, feedings, cleaning and washing EVERY single day?? He is no hoarder, his fault is ONLY that he loves dogs and can’t refuse when someone surrenders them. And rather than calling him a hoarder would you like to help him out by adopting? When you can’t even take care of 2 dogs then how can criticize him??
Please go to SPBR Facebook page and you would see comments from people who have adopted dogs from him and how much they all appreciate him. You would also find posts from Valentino’s and Beloved’s families.
It’s a lot of hard work and it’s not easy for people who run a rescue — if we can’t foster or adopt dogs or donate, the least we can do is not bad mouth him without knowing the real truth.
Hey Amyyy78: Have you seen the dogs crated in his basement, some for over a year? Valentino was just 1 example.
They are down there 24/7.
I know people who have seen this.
And Why did his board of directors QUIT?
Why did Almost ALL of his forum Moderators QUIT?
Why did most of his Fosters QUIT?
Why did Many of his Closest Friends QUIT?
Why did Many of his forum Members who volunteered their Time to do Transport QUIT?
Why did Many of his forum Members get Banned By Eric?
Why did He Let Zeus Die at RAS?
100′s of folks who Used to help Him have LEFT, for Valid REASONS
HE did Not Honor His Foster Agreements. He OWES PEOPLE MONEY!
Wake Up Amy.
Don’t worry about Eric Gray . His current rescue of 4 people is going to walk very soon after they finish collecting evidence.. He thinks face book is a making him look good but what it’s really doing is creating a network of people to stop him. His friends aren’t his freinds his fosters he’s getting off facebook aren’t really who he thinks they are and Eric, if this is making you paranoid it should you have been infiltrated! Bazinga!
Please do NOT donate ot help SPBR out in any way! I have a dog from there and do not trust him in anyway shape or form!
Funny how Amyyy78 sounds and writes just like Eric Gray. Wake up people, I am more concerned about these dogs, than I am about him! Do your research and that should tell you all you need to know!
Well, I sound like Eric because I share his thoughts and know the details. I love his favorite quote — To avoid criticism, do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing!
Anyhow, I would leave you guys to make your own opinions – leave him alone personally – if you care about the dogs then help his rescue.
Thanks!
Isn’t that an oxymoron? If you care about the dogs HELP Eric? if you care about the dogs STOP Eric! Help other rescues and put this man out of business!
Hi Alfamom58,
Please visit our website at http://www.spbrTruth.com to share your stories.
We currently have over thirty dogs and puppies on the website, but we know we are missing the stories of many, MANY others.
We need your help to get the REAL story out there.
Thank you,
The Truth Team
huh,
got it! I’ll call you!
this must be why almost of the remaining members who joined between the last 2 mass exoduses have recently been banned from his forum lol.
we eend proof people!
wtf
Amyyy78. and that’s where I come in. I am Angel’s foster mom. I took Angel in at Christmas, my brother has cancer and I thought what nice thing for my family to be involved in for the Holidays, Ange l and her beautiful babies were the only non-nightmarish part of it! I feel I was duped and I believe this may happen to others and I am not about to let that happen if I can prevent it! SoI have set up what you might call a task force, It includes PI’s , lawyers and alot of remarakable folks who would like just that, the “truth”.
So here’s your chance to prove what you say is true. This not a witch hunt this is an ivestigaiton into SPBR and their practices, past and present. I have a reporter who is very interested in this story but of course she needs facts people! Facts that will hold up in court and can be presented to the Att. general of NY, please I have already received information from NY , MD, and several other states about SPBR . What I am looking for is the other sie of the story because I believe there are always 2 sides. I assume the dog that had the mass was Rosie? Did she die at Eric’s or at a Vet hospital mostly did she suffer needlessly? And Zues, why did he post on Petfinder that Zues was adopted rather than just removing him from the site? And yes if he is going to post for fosters on face book and promise people he is going to be available 24/7 then he has to be available 24/7 like he promises.
- Bottom line for me is this . Someone else can worry and try to prove whether or not he is a Puppy broker, personally I don’t care if the guy gets rich if he does right by the dogs. I know of at least one avoidable puppy death in at his hand, I worry there may be more. It bothers me that instead of saying hey I didn’t do this and I can prove it, his satnce is I am too busy I don’t have time to respond to allegations and the problen with that is the allegations seem to be spreading at an exponential rate, so how long is it going to be before some mentions SPBR and the word on the street is don’t touch them, how is that going to help more dogs?
- Rather than saying hey Haters gotta Hate he should be saying that’s not true and I can prove it. He is rapidly approaching having to do that very publicly whether he has time or not. He has come upon people who are not just going away, like me . I put my heart and soul into Angel and her litter and I am not walking away from this until I know every minute detail about his org. and it’s leader. I need to know if my puppies and Angel will be in danger from this man at any point in their lives and I will not stop until I know that answer!
**** And Sheldon , if you truly have this info I need it. The girls inside SPBR know how to get ahold of me. Please let’s connect and share. Thanks also to Alpha mom 58 I think I know who you are and will contact you very soon. If anyone knows of any other sites I can post this message on let me know THanks. Final thought: And just so Eric doesn’t think we all idiots, I have had enough e-mail fights with Eric that I believe Amyyy78 is actually Eric he has a certain e-mail style ,and that’s just another huge RED FLAG THat says keep digging the truth is out there! Thanks for taking the time to read this and fell free to share , cross post, etc, to get the info out that I am looking for the truth!
the dog that died was Posie…..also, if you have ever been inside his house–it REEKS of urine….so tell me how you are doing right by animals when they are crated so long that they constantly pee in their crates, and those are the ones who live upstairs and that he calls his “own”..enough to make a house smell of it all the time…
@Kiss_me_baby
Whats wrong in taking care of dogs in the basement? He does’t have the heart to euthanize them and he is willing to keep them with him, feed them the best food and walk them and place them if possible.
Have you seen his basement? He has one of the best kept basements — he rows everyday and watches TV in his basement! He mops the floor himself every other day. Whats wrong with basements?
Valentino is one example — EXACTLY! He took care of him until he was able to find a perfect home for him. He doesn’t hoard dogs and I am sure he will be able to place whomever he has as well.
Why did his board of directors quit?
Because the so called ‘board of directors’ were most of the time chatting on the forum about non dog related issues and not doing what they were supposed to do and just creating a mess! They were not following a systemic approach and just wanting ‘power’ to feel good about themselves — Eric couldn’t stand it anymore and couldn’t waste his time pacifying everyone and correcting their wrong doings. Eric started SPBR and he does most of the work anyways — he drives 1000miles, he takes 1000 pictures and makes webpages, he is the only one who takes responsibility for the bills and surrenders! He didn’t feel he needed any ‘board of directors’ to run his rescue and didn’t give in to the irrational demands of the ‘board of directors’ and SO they quit! Thank God! Now he can work more efficiently and save more dogs. SPBR has been doing much better since the ‘directors/moderators/transporters/fosters’ etc etc quit – check out the Facebook page for the facts!
As far as his close friends go — they are still with him, helping him and the dogs.. because they truly know him and believe in him.
It’s possible he owes some money because I see he spends a lot on good dog food and Vet bills whenever any of the dogs get sick and there are not many sources of earning money in the rescue – since when the rescues are a profitable business? The whole of NY state is in debt and owes money!! This whole country is in a negative balance at the moment!
Zeus died (very sad) because the foster backed out, and Eric wasn’t available – is he supposed to be on call 24/7? If Eric fails to take a dog back and he is euthanized, he is blamed and if he accepts and takes care of the surrenders he is called a hoarder! C’mon, give him a break and do something useful with your time.
ironically enough, eric had a fake name on his forum, Amy78.
who wants to bet this is him? LMAO seriously eric, you’re pathetic, get a life.
if you look at everything eric has written on his website, the facebook status updates, and the posts on his forum, you’ll also notice that Amyyy78 and Eric have the EXACT same style of writing. interesting.
I’m not Amy 78 or Eric. I am Julie Scott. Look me up on fb. I can attest to Eric’s basement being spotless and ALL of the dogs well cared for. There is nothing wrong with homing dogs in the basement. Would you rather see them put down? I dont see any of you haters step up to help foster. What would the alternative be? You jealous woman who have unsuccessful rescues need to work just a little bit harder. You all come across as a bunch of crazed lunatics. I can’t believe you people and all the lies. How about I start a group called “THE LIES ABOUT THE TRUTH ABOUT SMILIN PIT BULL RESCUE”. Really, grow up and get lives of your own. All of your posts are truly laughable. And MANY of your members are just members because they want to see whats going on from the inside of your page so don’t for a minute think that all those people support you because they don’t.
@Steve…seriously Steve, you people behind “the truth” page need to get a life. Wish I had nothing to do all day but research rescues and find any mistakes that they may have made. Why don’t you take your own advice and “get a life” yourself.
Very well stated=)
People who do not actually do the work, have NO clue of what all is involved!!
Oh look, Eric has another name to post under, but this time he’s trying to change it up with a smiley face, as if we’re stupid enough to fall for it.
Get a grip, Eric. You’re little world is going to crumble, you just don’t know when.
All we can hope for is that the dogs don’t suffer due to your negligence and abuse any more.
Wow….you are really shallow and must live in a bubble to think Eric has all this time to create dozens of profiles just to post on here. What do you do for a living? Sit around playing on the computer finding peoples faults. Before you do, take a good luck in the mirror because Karma is a bitch. I suppose you think I’m Eric too….LOL…your a loser. Really.
Oh look, Eric has another name to post under, but this time he’s trying to change it up with a smiley face, as if we’re stupid enough to fall for it.
Get a grip, Eric. You’re little world is going to crumble, you just don’t know when.
All we can hope for is that the dogs don’t suffer due to your negligence and abuse any more.
and what about those of who DO the work. I am sick of Eric and Co. using this excuse. If we weren’t all involved up to our eyeballs in rescueing dogs why would we care what he does? That excuse is now lame! And notice how many people have negative things to say about Eric, if he thinks he’s so great why doesn’t he alert his followers to this blog so they could stick up for him. Nope Just him disguised as Amyy78 and BM . WHY , because it’s all TRUE and he doesn’t want it public but the tide is turning and the truth is coming out and he can’t stop it! With every new person and dog he damages the army is growing and eventually someone is going to get in that basement and find all those poor dogs and he will be done and bring shame to himself and his family. So sad.
In comparison to the thousands who have good things to say….your number is nothing.
Interesting. I was a member of the forum, not of the board. They were the only ones doing any work. The only thing Eric ever posted was about his garden and other nonsense.
Eric Gray is nothing more than a puppy broker, and a shady one at that. I just completed a 6 week foster of his TENN Niners (Nine pups he “saved” from being sold as fighting/bait dogs in Tennessee.) They were taken from their mother at 4 weeks, got to me at 5 weeks, and at 9 weeks, started viciously attacking each other. My husband got injured trying to save one of the pups from death. He sustained 14 deep puncture wounds to one hand. The pup had been bitten from head to toe, was howling and bleeding from all over. I rushed him to the vet while my husband rushed himself to the Dr. for tetanus shot & wound care. I called Eric and told him I was on my way to vet. When I got out with pup… given an antibiotic shot, had his extensive wounds cleaned and given a scrip for Rimadyl, I called Eric and he was infuriated at the $280 vet bill. He said “You probably did it more for yourself than the dog”, whatever that means. The attacks continued (even with the injured pup separated), so I called Eric and begged for help. He texted me “try 2 per crate”. I fostered out of my home and only had one pen. I told him to come get the pups as my 6 year old daughter was being traumatized by the attacks and he refused, telling me I had to drive 7 hours/500 miles to him in Buffalo. When I threatened to board them at my vet and send him the bill, the most he offered was to meet me halfway in Scranton, PA. He was 40 minutes late, pulled up in a clown car hatchback with 2 crates in it (even though I told him Finn & Widget had to be separate), shoved them into their crates, closed the trunk and took off like a bat out of hell, without ever even thanking me for taking such good care of them for the 6 weeks. He DOES NOT get the puppies vet checked, specifically telling the vet “SPAY/NEUTER ONLY… NOTHING ELSE”. I gave the pups their 2nd round of 5-in-1 shots. They were only wormed once. He has yet to reimburse me for travel expenses to get them all spayed, Finn’s vet bill, and travel expenses to deliver one pup to an adopter in PA. He owes me over $500… my out of pocket expenses well exceeded $2000. I doubt I will ever see a dime from this creep.
Is there a way to contact you ? I also had a very bad foster experience with spbr apparently there are alot of us! Would like to talk with you.
Sure can contact me… my name is Tracey and my email is tcdc@mac.com
Hi Tracy,
Please visit our website at http://www.spbrTruth.com to share your stories.
We currently have over thirty dogs and puppies on the website, but we know we are missing the stories of many, MANY others.
We need your help to get the REAL story out there.
Thank you,
The Truth Team
The truth team…LOL…joke.
Thanks I will contact you. Eric needs to realize he is dealing with adults now who aren’t going to back off, not little girls who can be so easily manipulated! TTYS
unfortunately thats how he rolls and has for a long time….its like when you offer to help, it isnt appreciated…more of a job that he expects you to do and forget the fact you are doing him a favor….he is very shady….im sorry that you had to experience all of that…i hope your husband is ok
This sounds almost identical to my experience fostering for SPBR, except the momma was a dream, she was great with everyone, except oddly enough Eric… I should have listened to the momma dog who HATED him!!!
Anyone who reads these posts about SPBR please spread the word and let’s get the truth out there about it. Word of mouth is what will set the poor dogs in the basement free! The truth makes everyone who knows it a soldier! Speak for the dogs who cannot speak for themselves. Eric Gray aka Amy78 you can run from the truth but it WILL find you! He who hides nothing has nothing to hide! Free the Basement dogs!
I am really CONFUSED about all of the terrible things that I have read from below! I have worked w/Eric and SPBR since Jan of this year and have NEVER heard such nasty things until now. Eric and SPBR helped me save a family of 12 Pit Bulls in Rural Alabama. Both parents were abandoned (Male was chained to a tree) to starve to death w/10 newborn (4 day old) puppies. Eric was more than happy to save our precious babies and help get them adopted to ONLY the BEST people. I raised and fostered the puppies until they were 8 weeks old and Eric personally met me in KY to get the puppies. Transports usually consist of 1 hr legs which would have meant that MY puppies would have changed cars/hands w/17 strangers. I was so very thankful that he understood my feelings about not putting my puppies through that horrible experience. He paid for all of their vetting, vaccinations and our gas. He posted their story on his website that I PERSONALLY wrote myself. He even sent me updates as each puppy was adopted. I really think that it is SAD that people want to say such nasty and hurtful things about someone if they really do not know what is really going on. I am involved in animal rescue here in Alabama and I completely understand what Eric goes through w/people who foster-they will DRIVE you CRAZY for NO good reason at all!! They blow up your phone constantly always wanting you to be at their beck and call like they are the ONLY thing you have going on. As far as the story below about the TENN Niners-I think that it is odd for puppies at such a young age to already be vicious-something had to be going on at the foster home w/in the family for this to happen w/puppies that age. (Again-another foster who thought it would be FUN to keep a litter of CUTE puppies NOT knowing anything about the breed…with a 6 year old child in the house that clearly adored them in the photos on his website??) Also, when it comes to the vetting-you can give your own vacs and it is so much cheaper than at the vet office…that is something very common for a rescue group to do. As a “Foster” (legit) you also know that you are to get permission from the rescue group before taking any animal to the vet-1 the rescue group needs to be aware of what is going on and 2 they need to approve it because it may be something small that they can give you advice on. When most people sign on to be “Fosters”, they are not thinking about pros and cons….most of the time they are just being emotional and thinking “we need to help save these puppies/dogs”! They are not thinking about how much time and money can be invested while fostering. Eric literally drives 1000′s of miles each week taking pictures, completing adoptions and transports-if you check out his wonderful FB page you will notice that he sleeps only few hours daily. Eric has done the right thing by me and our Pit Family of 12. He is very passionate about what he does and does not need approval from any of you who choose to say bad things about him. I consider Eric my friend and if you have a problem w/that, then so be it. You nor I can be the “Judge” in the end so let’s not judge him now-he has saved 1000′s of Pits and placed them in GREAT HOMES. I hope my faith in him will help some of you see the good side of him and realize that this is his passion and he is not going anywhere=) Please visit my story @ SPBR.ORG and look for “Bama Babes”
So when was the last time you visited his home? Have you seen the dogs in the basement skinny and dirty? You are way to far away to be fully infromed about the things going on up here my dear. So get on a plane and go to his house tell him to show you the room where the dogs are kept in the basement. Then come back on this blog and join the rest of us in trying to get the truth out. He saves lives but he also causes deaths. Is it right to play percentages when you have the option of doing it right , Not in my opinion. So let us know when you get back fro NY after you’ve paid that visit and then try and defend him Tina.
I understand that you have issues w/Eric but you really need to make sure you understand what you are really upset about before you start posting negative comments. Sure…let me just hop on a plane just to investigate someone’s home-are you SERIOUS??? I really hope you can become a more positive person and I will be praying for you.
If you cannot visit a rescue and check them out thoroughly then you really should not be working with them. A lesson many learned the hard way. I know exactly what I am upset about when it comes to SPBR I have dealt with him personally . And yes I am serious, if you are turning puppies over to this man, or anyone, you need to see where they ALL go , not just the pretty pictures on a fb page, monitored and controlled. So book a flight and make sure you pray for the dogs and puppies in his care(not his foster homes), they need it more than I do.
I am so glad to see that YOU have ALL the answers and that YOU KNOW everything……..lol?? CONGRATS for dealing w/Eric directly….in reality that is how it should be instead of slandering him and his org. I can attest that MY Story on his site and fb page was NEVER just “pretty pictures”, monitored and controlled. You should try to spend more of your “free time” helping animals instead of slandering the people that do. Everyone makes mistakes and NONE of us are perfect…..no matter who you THINK you are. Once again, NOT ONLY will I still be praying for you but everyone involved-NEGATIVE people like you take focus off what is really important and THAT IS THE DOGS!!!
You crack me up. You have no idea who the foster of the ten-niners is yet you say she is a person who wanted to play with puppies , did you contact her or just assume negative things about her based on what you were told by SPBR? yet I am the negative person? She is a very nice, very involved in rescue and has alot of dog experience. When she saw what was going on with the behavior of the pups she told Eric, he acted like always and made it out to be HER not the dogs. You have no idea how much time I spend doing rescue so again you need to hold up on making comments on how I spend my free time. Do your homework BEFORE you blast people so you don’t look stupid in the end. You are a supplier of puppies to him and of course that makes you someone who has to be treated well, catch on. If you know anything about behavior you know that the bitch teaches the pups how to behave in a group and that if they are taken away to early, as sometimes has to be the case, there can be issues. The ten-niners foster mom tried to address this and was treated like an idiot, when she got no help solving the problems as she requested, like splitting the pups up to other fosters for individual attention to solve the problem she was told 2 per crate and keep them all oh and take good quality photos. So she decided to remove herself from the situation like alot of us have over the years, when you realize you can’t fix this you walk away and help good rescues. even if it breaks your heart . It’s called Self preservation. She even drove to meet him. She wasn’t required to do that either. Angel’s foster mom drove to CT to get Angel back when Eric refused! ask her to show you the e-mails of that fiasco, yet it’s never mentioned where Angel wound up on the fb page is it? Only pretty pictures and happy endings and if the truth interferes with that it must be hidden! Wake UP! Talk to people who agree it’s suppose to be about the dogs not some Looney Tune’s Ego problems. He never has a problem driving and taking off work when he has wants to. So why hasn’t HE gone and gotten Dixi, why didn’t he get Zues when he was taken by Rochester animal comtrol at the Adotption event? Quit accepting excuses and demand proof or hush! And you should talk to the foster people before you judge their character. I don’t claim to have all the answers , but you aren’t even asking the right questions! It isn’t slander if it’s true. So please stop arguing with me and spend your free time talking to the people you a blasting before you even know them I am sure the Fosters of the Ten-niners and Angel plus 12 would be gald to share their experiences with you . They aren’t hard to find. and the dogs are what’s important? I couldn’t agree more so Ask where each of your pups is today and where Zues, Posie, Kiwi, Blue , Beloved and Angel are! Wake up or shut-up, you pick. I am done trying to talk sense into a kool-aid drinker.. If you think his fb isn’t controlled you are wrong any time someone questions the practices of the rescue or what’s up with all the pregnant dogs or voices any opositon or the fosters tried to voice a concern to get help . It dissapears and they are blocked, not exactly what I would call a free exchange. And Please stop praying for me, I do not want you in my corner wher God is concerned , you’ll have alot of your own explaining to do with him. Good Luck!
Very well stated.
No one is denying that some good has come from SPBR’s endeavors. There have been tons of amazing people involved in that rescue over the years, and they have done some great things.
And I get that rescue is tough, and I’m sure Eric gets calls about things that seem normal to those of us involved for a while. But that is the price you pay for starting your own rescue. If you can’t handle it, you don’t stick groups of dogs in your basement and sell them off as applications come in.
Pitbull20, I’m glad you had such a great experience, but you can’t discount the issues that others have had. There have been problems for years, beyond that of Angel’s 12 and the recent tenn niners. Eric pulls dogs from ACC and says he doesn’t have them — but ACC verified it was Eric who picked the dogs up. He denies the dog being in his care, saying “someone else must have him.”
Beloved, Blue, Kiwi, Jazz, Albert, Piggy, Simone, Buddy, Rudy, Bella….. That’s a lot of dogs that “someone else must have.” And we can’t forget Redman and Valentino who spent a significant amount of time in the basement, but have since been adopted (thankfully). And of course, Posie, poor, poor Posie, that died in Eric’s house when she should have been at a vet. He posted pictures of her, laying in his bed DYING, when she could have been at a vet’s office, being cared for and given a chance at life.
Oh, and the litters of puppies who are cramped into crates, covered in their own feces and urine. And, the litter of puppies who perished to Parvo, where there were DEAD puppies in the crates with LIVE puppies, again, covered in feces and urine.
He paints a picture-perfect website, and sure, some dogs get out unscathed. But, in the end, all Eric has are his pictures….
Well stated.
Pitbull20, I’m glad you had such a great experience — especially since they are so few and far between.
No one is discounting the fact that SPBR, as a whole, has done some wonderful things and placed many, many pit bulls into loving homes. Eric has had some wonderful volunteers over the years that have done some amazing work for him. But that is not the point here. The point is all of the problems associated with Eric that result in many dogs being crated for 24 hours a day for days at a time, sick dogs are dying, and multiple fosters and volunteers over the years have been screwed by Eric and his bullshit antics.
The other issue is that Eric pulls dogs that he doesn’t have fosters for, from ACC, and claims he didn’t pull them. But people within the ACC confirm that he was the person that picked those specific dogs up! There are no known fosters for the dogs, and when asked, Eric says “someone else must have them.” But this “someone else” can’t be found.
Ask about Blue, Jazz, Beloved, Albert, Piggy, Simone, Buddy, Rudy, and Bella.
Don’t forget Redman and Valentino who spent so long in his basement prior to being adopted (thankfully).
And lastly, lest we forget Posie, a beautiful tripod girl who was left to die on Eric’s bed, in his house, because Eric didn’t want to pay for vet treatment. I get rescues do vaccinations and certain care on their own because it’s cheaper and saves time. But, Posie was deathly ill and needed a veterinarian. Eric “diagnosed” her, gave her IV fluids, laid her on his bed, and took pictures of her (pictures that have since been deleted from his forum). He let her sit there, suffering until she died. And she could have been saved, if only Eric took her to the vet.
Not only that — but Eric will claim he has a foster for a dog. In the case of Albert, he claimed his very good friends took him in for foster. He said “Chuck and Lorraine” had him, and he was healthy and happy. That same day, on a different thread on his forum, Eric said “Jim and Lorraine” had Albert. When asked about who actually had him, Chuck or Jim, he deleted that person’s post and changed one of his posts to make the names the same. Now he claims Albert doesn’t even exist.
Not to mention a litter of puppies in his care that came down with Parvo (which, unfortunately, does happen)…. but the problem was that he left the puppies in crates in the basement where he was “treating” them himself. Puppies that were not sick and still alive were stuffed in crates with deathly ill dogs, and ultimately it wound up with LIVE dogs in crates with DEAD dogs. That is beyond normal rescue “problems” that experienced rescuers accept as part of the deal, unfortunately.
Pitbull20, please find your way into Eric’s basement and do some reading. Sure, your experience was wonderful, but that is a far cry from the standard of care Eric gives to his fosters, volunteers, and dogs in his care.
albert should exist because he was brought to my house after his neuter and eric was going to leave him in the car in the middle of winter and i made him being him inside…this was before we parted ways….as for eric, there was one time i believed in what he was doing until I saw the truth and did a little research….Posie was a sad death that was preventable….but Eric thinks that human doctors can be vets…that was probably another reason she died…seeing as an oncology doctor was supposedly at his house when she died….as for the parvo pups…someone reported him to the spca but he had one of his helpers get the dogs out and in a van that his dad drove around while they bleached his basement to get rid of the evidence…another dog that is prolly not around anymore is Bree…unfortunate as it is to say…i have been around for over 4 years and finally parted ways with Eric…i am not proud of that association but i figured if i was around, even a little the dogs would be ok…
I think a lot of people stuck around through a lot of stuff, hoping that their presence would ensure some of those dogs were safe. Unfortunately, we know that’s not the case. I’m glad you’ve parted ways with him after 4 years, although, I wouldn’t mind if we could find someone on the “inside” that could gather some proof of Eric’s actions in order to actually do something about it. Right now there are just too many people who refuse to see the truth.
PS Did you know that Dixi, your Bama baby, was turned over to a shelter for showing agression to her owners because he refused to take her back as he promised, I am sure he told you about this since you ar “friends” I bet he had a great explaination though, bet he was outraged and didn’t know she was there yadda yadda yadda also I believe Angels foster mom has her back too. He also refused to go get her. Yep some great guy you got there, do you home visit like I said we’ll wait right here and welcome you.
I do know about our Precious Dixi being surrendered to the shelter in Maine and I am NOT very happy about it! Eric and I are working extremely hard to get her out of there as soon as possible. W/this being said, YES Eric has me fully informed of what is going on w/her. She was supposed to be turned back into SPBR and that DID NOT happen!! Dixie has NEVER been an agressive dog and it is very HARD for me to believe that she was aggressive in her new home. I really do not appreciate you slandering this precious puppy at all. In my post, I gave ONLY what I knew about Eric and how NONE of the terrible things posted ever happened to me. I shouldn’t have to defend a precious Bama Puppy that did not have a bit of aggression issues. It is so very sad that you are such a negative person-to go so low to bring a precious puppy into this!!! Say all you want about whomever you choose, but I ask you nicely to leave my puppies out of this!!
As a foster of the Tenn niners and current owner of one, I can attest that they were very well cared for. Tate is mine and he came to me as a great pup who just needed socialization because he was dumped by the original foster so quickly and moved several times. Insecurity is common in this breed. Don’t bring negative stuff about the Tenn niners into it because they were well cared for.
P.S. Did you know that Dixi was turned into the shelter because she was a puppy and her owner could not handle the responsiblity of a puppy???? Wonder what she was expecting when she adopted a puppy???? (I am sure she thought that the “foster mom” had potty trainned it and worked w/her just like she did her male pit bull that she adopted at 5 months of age a few years ago) Also-did you know that the adopter LIED and told her friends that she LOST Dixi in the park?? I have that conversation in writing and will be more than happy to take it to court if needed. Just because we do not know each other doesn’t mean that I do not know people and have my own connections!! I could care less about who you think you are-but you NEED to get your FACTS Straight before blogging them everywhere!!!
@ pitbull20…you just as pathetic as he is….stop sippin’ the kool-aid and get a clue….you handed over 12 puppies to a man you hardly knew, not knowing what his home is like and you sit and judge other people. You bet your ass you should be on a plane to do a “home visit”…just because he has a nice web site and paid for your gas you think he walks on water??? Wow…hope you dont have kids….Eric is a scam…plenty of dogs have died in his “arts and crafts” hell hole. And apparently reading everything you have written, you believe the bullshit he feeds you…why would someone lie about puppies viciously attacking each other and her husband having to go to the hospital….and if you notice, which you prolly didnt because Eric is your “hero”…all the pictures of the ten-niners show the puppies full bodies except for finn who had puncture wounds everywhere…all of his are shown with him lying on his back and he isnt included in any of the videos…as someone who has experienced eric first-hand….dont defend a monster who will look you in the face and lie when one of his own dogs dies about the circumstances that surrounded his death….you dont see a shrine to Lox…
I just re-read your post Pitbull 20 and guess what . when Angel was 3 days post spay and had been seperated form her pups less than 1 week he was going to pick her up in Ohio cram her into his car and drive her in the car 17 hours to get your pups and her foster mom refused to let him do it! So Yay for him not wanting to traumatize the pups? You really need to talk to her! I told her to contact you , she will put you in touch with other people too. You will be shocked and hopefully enlightened as well!
Not sure if any Rescue is legit after reading all this back and forth banter about one rescue and,like me, you’re convinced that alot of rescue folks are just well.. nutty control freaks? Then may I humbly suggest this. Adopt a Shelter Pet! If you do, you save 2 lives, the one you adopt and the one who will have a cage when yours is empty! If you can’t get a Pit from a shelter in your area but you are allowed to own one, travel down the road to another shelter. AND that’s one less dog the “rescues” have to place so you’re taking your control back AND helping everyone out. Tah Dah! Pure Genius, I know! And Please Do your research before adopting any dog! It’s a 15 year commitment, longer if you’re lucky.
Good-bye and Good Luck to all! I’m outta here!
They have recently rescued this litter of puppies and I’m very concerned about what I’ve read here. Remaining silent does not do any good for the animals: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150666588106788&set=a.261459031787.186606.238267231787&type=1&theater¬if_t=like
My experience with started in September of 2008. I saw a picture of a dog named Katie that had part of her face ripped off in a fight. My heart broke for her and I emailed Eric offering to help. He immediately asked if I wanted to foster and directed me to fill out the application, foster and adoption are the same. He told me a story of some pups born in a barn and he was called to save them. That litter was about 5 months old. He was on his way to F’ville with a van load of dogs packed to the ceiling in crates. He brought me out and told me to “pick one”. I chose Theo. From the looks of it, his nails had never been trimmed, stunk to the heavens and boy was he was SCARED. Had no clue what was going on or what to do. Eric said that Theo and 2 of his siblings were crated together for company. Slowly he came around and got acclimated to family life. He was a very sweet boy but had a couple strange habits. When outside or in his crate, he would back up to the wire and poop outside of it. He was also very good at lifting his leg and pee’ing out of his crate. Thinking back, it was his way of keeping his area clean. He went to a great family. I always had a foster. Revolving door. A few times Eric actually gave me food. Flea meds, once. I fostered 2 of the GEM pups. Amethyst and I think Diamond. Both adopted. Ameythyst, by my Mom, now called Paige. I had gone to Eric’s for to pick up food maybe a month after getting Paige. I asked to meet her brother. Julie brought him up for me. Let me just tell you there was NO WAY he was staying there. Ever see that look in a dogs eyes like they are shell shocked? Mostly unresponsive, dull etc… That was him. Hunch backed, hips and ribs showing, dandruff, missing hair and long ass nails. I got Cinder and Hector on the same day in July of 2009 with the plea that he would take a break and reduce his numbers. Hector only lasted a night. Eric assured me that he only needed a couch to lie on and was fine with everything. Not so much, he tried to kill my cats and small breed dogs. Put his head thru my baby gate and after I zip tied his crate shut, he was moving it across the floor to get at the cats. I called Eric crying and he met me the next morning to get him. I felt sooo bad but I didn’t have any choice, I was not prepared to deal with this dog in his state of mind. Cinder, formerly Cinderella, pulled from NYACC in January of 09 and staying in his basement for 6 long months. Again, very long nails, dry flaky skin, ribs and hips showing, missing chunks of hair. Hector the same condition. Cinder was the SWEETEST CUTEST MOST LOVABLE DOG. I cried the day her adopters drove 6 hrs to get her. She was my hardest placement. Brynn and Ty are fantastic and still send me pics and emails. There were 5 or 6 other pups that I fostered over the 2 yrs that were never with E long enough to suffer any effects. All about 8 wks old including 2 of the Grocery Pups. I fostered Baby Girl in January of 2010, mostly by force. One morning Eric called me and said that I was taking a pregnant mama that would have been euth’d the next morning if I didnt’ take her. He had transport already set up and basically guilted me into it. Pulled from the Buffalo Shelter I believe. She turned out to be a very sweet scared girl. Gave birth 1 week later to 7 pups. Once again, forum members sent packages to help with their care. He only came over once to take pics when they were 8 weeks old but I don’t remember him ever asking about them otherwise. She had Hypocalcemia and was rushed to the e-vet I think, when the pups were 6 wks old I think. Stephanie Mros and Kathy Secru went with me. Lisa Helmick met us there. We called Eric from there, he got into an argument with one of the techs to the point where she refused to even talk with him. He was at the bar I believe. He only agreed to pay to get her stable and then wanted me to take her home. When it came time to pay the bill, he wouldn’t answer his phone so thank god Lisa was willing and able to pay it. I believe he paid her back a few weeks later. I’ve witnessed Eric meet us at thruway exits drunk and reeking of beer or liquor. Dogs transported in the unheated, unlit back end of a box truck. Handing out food or pups to new adopters and fosters. Micro chipping on the side of the road. I’ve seen him beat the top of Precious’ crate, screaming at her to “shut the F*** up. We were never allowed in his house or even on his porch. October of 2010, I took Nova in with the knowledge that she likely wouldn’t leave. She was one of Jade’s pups. Adopted out then got hit by a car. Her spine was severed and she was paralyzed.
I was actually friends with Eric about 7 or 8 years ago after adopting a dog from him and helped out with the rescue and with fostering. The first time my wife and I fostered for any rescue was with SPBR and we were very excited about it. Eric said we would be fostering 3 puppies from a litter and when he showed up at our house he dropped off 9 puppies, saying a few more wouldn’t be a big deal. After fostering for many reputable rescues at this point in my life, I can’t tell you how insane it is to drop off 9 dogs onto someone who has never fostered even 1. The puppies he did drop off smelled HORRIBLY of urine and feces. After a few days one of the dogs got very sick and when we contacted Eric and told him we needed to take her into the vet we were told not to, that he wouldn’t cover the vetting for the puppy and that if she didn’t make it through the night, just put the body in the freezer and he would pick it up later. Needless to say we took the puppy in and were told had we not, she wouldn’t have made it through the night. After we had fostered and helped to find homes Eric came in as fast as he dropped them off, adopted them out and we never saw even a cent for the food, vetting, etc…that was provided for these 9 dogs the months they were in our care.
We never fostered for Eric again but kept in touch with him for a bit and even had him over to our house a few times. During that time he brought one of his own dogs over and the dog he did bring over smelled so horribly of urine and feces that my wife demanded that Eric bath him. I own 4 dogs myself and can’t remember the last time I bathed one of them and they’ve never in their lives smelled even remotely like his own dogs do.
I also held a dog for Eric in Rochester for a few days and when I drove out to Buffalo to drop the dog off, Eric had me meet him at a restaurant for the drop off. What was odd was that even though I knew Eric very well for almost a year he would never let me into his house. Anytime we were there he would always ask me to sit out in the car and wait. I sat in the restaurant parking lot for 4 hours with this dog waiting for him. Finally Eric showed up completely plastered. He apologized saying he had been at the bar with friends and couldn’t get away. The dog I was dropping off was well known to be very afraid of people he didn’t know and had a history of human aggression. Eric staggered out of his car, ran over to the dog and grabbed him by the collar pulling him up off his feet and threw him under his arm. The dog (Piper) nearly took Eric’s face off and Eric staggered about dropping Piper and finally asked if I could hook him up into his car so he could get him out of there. I remember feeling sick to my stomach that I had let Eric drive away with that dog. Piper was quickly put into foster and euthanized some time after he bit a child in the face.
I saw many, many dogs come and go through Eric and ALL of them smelled terribly of urine and feces. I’ve been around a lot of dogs from other rescues, shelters, etc over the years and I can say I’ve never encountered one that smelled so bad.
Please come to our Facebook group and read the many stories of people who have experienced what Smilin’ Pit Bull Rescue and Eric Gray are all about. http://www.facebook.com/groups/387337678021545/
Please visit our website at http://www.spbrTruth.com to share your stories.
We currently have over thirty dogs and puppies on the website, but we know we are missing the stories of many, MANY others.
We need your help to get the REAL story out there.
Thank you,
The Truth Team
No thanks. Your truth team is a joke. You don’t realize it but there are literally hundreds of people laughing at you all.
You don’t realize it, but there are literally almost 1,000 people waiting for you to eat your words. When you do, come join us. We’ll be gentle. We are nice people who just care about the dogs and want to stop seeing dogs suffer while GOOD fosters, adopters, and volunteers are duped. http://www.spbrtruth.com
As far as you being involved for years – if you were there before 2011, you certainly weren’t volunteering. Not one of the appmods or BoD members who left in Dec 2010 knows who you are. Another of Eric’s secrets, perhaps?
I really cannot believe the negative comments on this site regarding Eric. These people truly have nothing better to do than to bash other rescue organizations. If they only used 1/4 of their energy and time to save dogs this world would be a better place. Most of them have went on to start their own “unsuccessful” rescue organization and have tried to find the names of people surrendering their dogs to Eric so they could basically “steal” them away from him. I have been involved in this rescue for years both as a foster, rescuer, and nurse of the sick animals. Eric continues to do wonderful things. Someone above mentioned we have “4″ people in our rescue. Boy, they really are so uninformed. There are hundreds. The reason we could continue to take in dogs and puppies is because we have MANY volunteers. If anyone has any knowledge of what the organization does or how it truly runs they wouldn’t be saying these negative comments. Eric continues to be a extremely hard worker both at his job as an attorney and as a rescuer. He is married to a physician. Do you people really think he needs SPBR’s money for his personal use? Please, lets be reasonable. Hate and jealousy will get you no where. Can we please keep the focus on saving dogs and not on bringing someone down for absolutely no reason? In the end, the dogs will be suffering. Stop the ignorance and go about your own lives.
adopted within the past few months from him. wonderful dog. Health issues with the dog after the adoption. My dog is TERRIFIED of the basement, and won’t go down there. Stands at the top of the stairs and looks but won’t go down. Skin and bones when we adopted. Slowly putting weight on the dog. Vet appointment tomorrow.
Doglover, you should get pictures of the condition the dog came to you in and share them with the group. Many of us are hoping to hear about the dogs we knew came from the basement, to ensure they are in safe places, and it’s also helpful to get the information out there. If you’re uncomfortable joining the facebook group publicly, you could email your story to spbrlies@gmail.com and ask to have your name removed until you are ready.
Thank you for adopting a dog in need and please do not be afraid to share your story, there are over 850 of us now in the facebook group waiting to give you our support.
thank you. I did join the spbr truth page on fb. Our dog is safe and loved.
Eric Gray charged with two felonies and one misdemeanor. He cannot leave the state nor possess any animals until next court date of 6/22/13. I think the truthtellers deserve an apology.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHGWaYs64NY
The Truthtellers definitely deserve an apology, myself included. Especially from Julie Scott. She may have gotten Tate in great condition but that would mean she got him right after I returned them. They were gorgeous and healthy with gleaming coats. Wonder if Julie has seen the before/after pics of Duke and I’m sorry I didn’t take pics of an emaciated, god-awful smelling fearful dog I received when I got Finn back after just a few months in Eric’s hellhole. If anyone is still supporting this monster after this they should have their heads examined.