A dogfight has erupted between a Manhattan animal rescue and an ex-employee who claims the group left vulnerable pups suffering.
Waldo’s Rescue Pen founder Emily Dyson has allegedly been fostering out seriously sick animals, and several have died on her watch, sources said.
In one case, four puppies died together of the highly-contagious but treatable canine parvovirus, said Michaela Mele, a former employee and board member.
“She said she was treating them in whatever way she could. They never saw a vet,” Mele insisted.
Dyson called the parvo deaths of the puppies “heart-wrenching” and said she had been communicating with a vet, noting “the dogs’ symptoms were not consistent with parvo.
To have the tragedy “thrown in my face publicly while suggesting it was somehow deliberate on Waldo’s part is just depraved,” she said.
Mele also claimed that “when dogs have died, I know that she has wrapped them up in bags and put them in a dumpster.” Mele’s former roommate said she overheard Dyson describing putting a dead puppy “in a dumpster,” the roommate, who asked to remain anonymous, told The Post.
Dyson denied throwing canine corpses in the trash, calling the accusation “flagrantly untrue and defamatory” — and noting the animals she works to save are among the worst off.
Mele, who is no longer with Waldo’s, described an operation mostly run out of Dyson’s Lower Manhattan apartment, where sick dogs allegedly didn’t always get veterinary care, but adopters could be charged up to $550, typical of many rescue groups.
Like many other small animal rescues, Waldo’s periodically brings dogs from Southern states — where warmer weather and a lack of spay-and-neuter laws mean more strays — up to the Big Apple.
The Post encountered her last month in the South Street Seaport, where she and volunteers met a van filled to the roof with crated dogs early one Saturday.
There have been at least five complaints filed with the state Department of Agriculture and Markets (DAM) against Waldo’s, according to records obtained by The Post under the Freedom of Information Law.
“Where is the money going if she’s using a shady transport, not giving fosters supplies, not paying for proper vet care? I’ll tell you where it’s going, her pockets,” one whistleblower, whose identity was redacted, alleged in a July 24 complaint.
Dyson said she wasn’t aware of the complaints, and believes they were filed by people seeking to harass her.
Waldo’s is registered with the state. But a rep for DAM, Jola Szubielski, told The Post that while the law requires rescues to register, “it does not provide the Department with inspection authority as it does with pet dealers.”
Lauren Nute, 30, volunteered to foster Bleecker, a poodle covered in waste, only to find his problems went well beyond that.
The pup was “extremely riddled” with heartworm, had an ear infection, and needed dental work, said Nute, who said Dyson never provided medical documents for the pooch. When she took Bleecker to her own vet, Nute claims Dyson blew up, and took the dog back.
Dyson claimed the dogs sometimes arrive dirty because they are rescued from “horrible conditions” and need to be cleaned up by fosters because Waldo’s relies on volunteer help. She pointed out that she paid Bleeker’s vet bill and personally took foster care of the dog after that, after which he was “adopted into a wonderful loving home” and is now “thriving.” She said she took the dog because Nute became “difficult and intransigent.” Nute later complained to the state.
Another foster said her Waldo’s pup “was clearly very ill,” and died just two weeks after she took him in.
Isabella, 22, who declined to give her last name, said she needed the rescue’s financial support to bring Hansel, a 7-year-old poodle, to the vet.
“My concerns were repeatedly downplayed and although they eventually tried to help by offering some antibiotics, it was too late,” she told The Post.
“I believe that the people at Waldo’s truly care about what they do, but are poorly equipped to handle a lot of situations,” she said. “The people at the rescue seemed shaken and promised they would meet to reevaluate things, but I don’t think I will ever recover from seeing his dead body in my hallway.”
Dyson said she was not aware of the severity of Hansel’s illness and blamed Mele, who had been monitoring the foster dog.
The taxpayer-funded Animal Care Centers of NYC no longer works with Waldo’s, said spokesman Katy Hansen, who would not explain why.
Dyson slammed ACC for canceling its partnership with her, which she said came “with absolutely no warning, notice or reason whatsoever.”
Mele said Dyson was less than caring after one gruesome incident, in which Mele was seriously mauled by a Waldo’s rescue dog named Titan.
The attack from Titan, a pit bull with “known behavioral issues,” left Mele with 30 stitches, “severe” scarring, and pain and numbness to this day, Mele said.
Mele, who acknowledged Dyson paid her ER bill, said she doesn’t blame the dog, and was heartbroken when he had to be put down.
“You’re not going to collect worker’s comp, right?” Dyson allegedly asked when Mele returned from the emergency room.
Dyson denied the allegations to The Post, calling Mele a “a bitter disgruntled employee blindly seething for retribution,” whom she’d recently fired for moving out of state.
