The Dark Underside of New Jersey Dog Breeders: New Jersey Consumers Against Pet Shop Abuse (NJCAPSA) Congratulates BioJobBlogger in Prevailing Against a SLAPP Lawsuit

While I wasn't much of an Andy Warhol fan, I do subscribe to his assertion that everyone at some point in their lives has “their 15 minutes of fame.” I believe that I have about 5 min left, so I wanted to alert BioJobBlog readers to an article that was posted on the New Jersey Citizens Against Pet Shop Abuse (NJCAPSA) site detailing the SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) lawsuit filed against me by two nefarious South New Jersey dog sellers. These lawsuits are intended to silence vocal critics of persons engaged in questionable activities. It has been increasing used by puppy millers, pet shop lobbying groups and other entities who want to silence animal rights and other advocates that support the humane treatment of animals.

While the case against me was dismissed with prejudice, there currently is no anti-SLAPP lawsuit legislation in NJ. This lack allows persons to sue others whether or not the lawsuits are without merit or frivolous. For those of you who may not have been sued in the past, I can tell you that the fees associated with getting SLAPP lawsuits dismissed can be as high as $50,000. Knowing this, persons who file SLAPP suits, expect defendants to settle before any additional legal action is taken. I chose to bear the costs of litigating the suit because the persons, who sued me, have in the past threatened, intimidated and sued others who publicly spoke out against them. 

Those of you, who may know me, understand that I am neither a crusader nor a martyr. That said, I will fight or litigate anyone who attempts to deprive me of constitutionally-guaranteed right to free speech and expression. Nevertheless, the lawsuit filed against me had its intended impact on my blogging activities. That is, I could not blog about the plaintiffs for over five months. Perhaps more egregious, was the chilling observations that the lawsuit filed against also silenced others who had been vocal about the dubious dog-selling practices of the plaintiffs. And, sadly, during that period, the plaintiffs ramped up their dog-selling business and continued to advertise and sell puppies and dogs with impunity.  

It is ironic that the legal system, which is supposed to protect the rights of all Americans, can also be misused and abused to take them away! 

To learn more about SLAPP suits and their adverse effects on First Amendment rights, please visit this site.

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Fighting!!!!!!!

 

"Stop Puppy Fraud" Website Launched

As you may know, BioJobBlogger was recently sued for defamation, invasion of privacy and punitive damages by Donna Roberts and Dawn Abrams two so called dog breeder.

To that end, a group of concerned dog advocates and friends have created a website called Stop Puppy Fraud to help to raise awareness about fraudulent dog breeders and to help raise money to defray legal expenses.

P.S. The dog in the pic is Moose-- a two to five year old mixed breed dog (misrepresented as a 9 month old Havanese purebred) rescued from Abrams and Roberts.

Thankfully, he is in much better shape today than in the pic (taken less than a week after we purchased him from Dawn Abrams) with bilateral ear infections, a fulminant urinary tract infection that prevented him from urinating and necrotic gums and rotting front teeth that were ultimately saved by a veterinary dental expert).

Until next time...

Good Luck and Help Save the Puppies!!!!!!

Donna Roberts Supporter Says: "This is America and people can do what they like with their pets.!"

Because I subscribe to transparency, full disclosure and the notion that most stories have two sides, I felt that it was only appropriate to post a comment sent to me by a an ardent Donna Roberts supporter who believes that she and her ring of dog-grifting associates are innocent and have been unduly harmed and wronged by my blog posts.  

From: notifications@lexblog.com <notifications@lexblog.com>
Subject: [Bio Job Blog] New Comment Posted to 'Donna Roberts Responds: I am Innocent of All Charges--The Rest of the World is Guilty'
To: cmintz@bioinsights.com
Date: Monday, May 3, 2010, 1:40 PM

An unapproved comment has been posted on your blog Bio Job Blog, for entry
#267937 (Donna Roberts Responds: I am Innocent of All Charges--The Rest of
the World is Guilty). You need to approve this comment before it will
appear on your site.

IP Address: 68.39.22.204
Name: Edward
Email Address: njlaw4u@yahoo.com
URL:
Comments:

Mr. Mintz,
   I have read all your posts and I have read all the comments posted.    I
have yet to read Mrs. Roberts threaten you, she is just trying to correct
the lies you have been spreading about her and her family.  She is a mother
protecting her children and grandchildren. It is you sir that has
threatened them and have exposed the children of this family to possible
harm by posting addresses.  Several sex offenders live in their area and
you just pointed out targets for them, shame on you.  If you have a problem
with Donna Roberts then attack Donna Roberts do not involve innocent
children.  If you had a problem with Dawn Abrams then take her to court, if
she sold you sick dogs that would be the legal thing to do but she didn't
sell you sick dogs and she didn't jump when you threatened her so you are
mad.  Mr. Mintz call it what you want, harassing this family will only end
you up in court.  This family has endured everything you have thrown at
them, every agency you have called on them and every person you have
poisoned by your blog.    I say it's enough, you are not going to stop this
family from having their dogs and rightfully so. This is America, home of
the FREE.  They are not hurting anyone, all the pups are sold with the
backing of the NJ Lemon Law for Animals and in my opinion, knowing that
their every move is being watched and monitored by you this would be the
safest place to buy a puppy from because God Forbid they sell any pup with
a problem, you would have it all over. So I am sure they are being extra
careful. I also did some checking, Mrs. Roberts is truthful.  No complaints
have been lodged against any of her children or her grandchildren. I called
the Burlington Consumer Affairs Dept and they have no complaints for any of
them except for Donna Roberts made by Barbara Harra and Laurie Pallantee in
2007. That was 3 years ago and nothing since, does that sould like a
horrible puppymill breeder. My God Man, LET IT GO !!!!!!

BioJobBlogger Response:  I won't let it go because of all of  the dogs Donna and her gang have harmed or mistreated and the pain that they have wrought on innocent and unsuspecting persons who simply wanted to buy a healthy and loving pet!

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Dog Grifter Hunting!!!!!!!!

Donna Roberts Responds: I am Innocent of All Charges--The Rest of the World is Guilty

As many of you know, I have had an ongoing dispute with a nefarious dog grifter (Donna Roberts) and her daughter (Dawn aka Grace Abrams) for the past two years. While my direct dealings with these odious people have ceased, I frequently get messages from others, who, like me, were unwittingly scammed by Donna and her spawn after purchasing puppies and dogs from them.

Invariably, every time I post a new story about Donna et al, I receive repeated vitriolic and threatening rants from Donna and her cronies. I typically add them as comments to the related stories posted to BioJobBlog. However, from time to time, I like to reveal some of her comments so that others can get an impression of the person who I and others like me are dealing with.

Finally, FYI Donna, the word slander is used for spoken word misattributions and potential damage. I believe the word that you ought to use when referring to my posts is libel which is reserved for alleged damage that may result from the “written word”

An unapproved comment has been posted on your blog Bio Job Blog, for entry
#263325 (Dawn Abrams and Donna Roberts Continue to Scam Would Be Dog
Owners). You need to approve this comment before it will appear on your
site.

IP Address: 68.39.22.204
Name: Donna Roberts
Email Address: shadyoakhavs@yahoo.com
URL:
Comments:

“This is a riot.  I have not bred a litter of pups since 2007 and all your
observers are claiming to buy a dog from me, claiming my house stinks,
claiming dogs had hookworms (puppies are wormed with Drontal 5 times before
sold and hookworms are very easy to get rid of) Mr. Mintz you have never
been to my house. No names have changed, we all have our real names, it's
just your continuous slander and lies Mr. Mintz. Should I write everything
out for you, so you can get it right.  The children he is talking about are
my grandchildren, there are 7, ages 16 to 5. My daughter married a farmer,
a very hardworking, honest man. The house Mr. Mintz calls a rundown farm
house was built in 1897 and for it's age it is not very rundown. My
daughter keeps it neat and clean as far as someone can with 7 kids. All 3
of my daughters do not have one complaint against them and I have had very
few for my dog breeding hobby of 42 years. In 2007 I ran into a few people
who falsely accused me of selling sick pups, which was not the case at all,
yes the pups had a parasite but not one vet issued an UNFIT FOR PURCHASE
within the 14 days allowed by law. The two women involved, Barbara Harra
and Laurie Pallantee took it to the extreme but in the end I was found
innocent of all charges.  I would never sell a sick pup. As far as my dogs
go I have 4 dogs left, 2 males and 2 females that have not produced
anything in the last 2 years.  So Mr. Mintz your claim of a puppymill is so
bogus. We are a family that loves animals and we live a very full life and
it is so sad that you Mr. Mintz are such an unhappy person that the only
thng you have to get your Jolly's off is slandering us.”

Please continue to spread the word about these unsavory characters.

Until next time…

Good Luck and Good Puppy Seeking!!!!!

 

The Dark Underside of New Jersey Dog Breeders: Donna Roberts and Dawn Abrams' New Venture

An intrepid reader of BioJobBlog alerted me to a new venture started by Donna Roberts and Dawn Abrams. They allegedly run an operation called Groomers United (based in Shamong, NJ) and advertise on AdoptAPet.com under the same name. The reader cautions “beware of their sob stories and how they are performing a service to the community—they are actually selling older puppy mill breeders at elevated prices claiming that they are “rescuing” these dogs.”  And, for all you cat lovers out there, you can also adopt rescue cats at AdoptAPet. 

I wonder if Groomers United is a registered not-for-profit animal rescue organization. Maybe the State of New Jersey ought to look into it?

 

The Dark Underside of New Jersey Dog Breeders: Grace Abrams Strikes Again

I heard today from another one of Grace Abrams’ grifting victims. Apparently, this individual purchased a sick puppy from Ms. Abrams several months ago which at one year old developed some problems that likely resulted from congenital defects due to inbreeding. This person told me that a friend of hers also purchased a ‘Havanese” from Ms. Abrams which they suspect really isn’t a Havanese (despite ‘papers’ that indicate that it is). As you may recall, we also received suspect pedigree papers for the dogs that we purchased from Ms. Abrams (which prompted us to get both dogs tested). I sent Grace’s most recent victims information on the Wisdom Panel DNA tests that we used to perform genetic testing on our dogs, the results of which confirmed that Moose, our so-called Havanese, was really a mixed breed dog!

I wonder how long it will take Donna Roberts to send me one of her threatening, vitriolic notes  (read the comments) after I post this story?  I will keep you posted….

Until next time…

Good Luck with finding a new puppy!!!!!!!

The Dark Underside of New Jersey Dog Breeders: The Plot Thickens

My recent post about Donna Roberts appears to be a very popular one. No fewer than 50 people have read the post and I am now starting to receive comments from people who have had similar experiences to mine after purchasing puppies from Ms. Roberts and her daughter Grace aka Dawn Abrams. Check out this story and another that I found on the Ripoffreport.com after being alerted about them by one of my readers.

It appears that I am not the only person who received threatening comments from Ms. Roberts. Check out this bogus diatribe against a former customer who dared to question Ms. Roberts’ integrity and veracity after she purchased a very sick puppy from her.

Donna, in case you are wondering (I know you will read this), veracity means “truthfulness”—something that you know nothing about.

Stay tuned for the next installment of the Donna Roberts and Grace Abrams story.