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[AtheistCrusader]

212. Ok, that's not fair at all.

Our libraries don't limit you in that fashion. Not if there isn't a line waiting for a terminal (never is). So that's a highly specific retort for a specific library or district or municipality or state, not a universal true-ism about all libraries and accessing the Internet through them.

Please understand that for those of us who are familiar with scams, been victims of scams, or helped other people pick up the pieces after being scammed, that sort of claim and that sort of behavior is a HUGE red flag.

Nothing shown verifies much about the story at all. The photo you posted with the dog walker shows what appears to be a hale and robust dog, but, it's a thick coat breed and that can hide a lot of health problems, like ribs showing. Fine. Picking up kennel cough is fully expected if you don't vaccinate the dog for bordatella prior to kenneling, and even then the stress can lower the dogs immunity and pick it up anyway. That's no reflection on the kennel except perhaps bad policy of possibly allowing non-vaccinated dogs to board there, MAYBE.

This type of dog is high energy and high on personality, to use a euphemism. Highly likely to suffer separation anxiety. That can have profound effects on the dog from weight loss, refusal to drink or eat, self harm, you name it. So none of that necessarily reflects on the boarders as well.

There is a reason most rescue orgs don't hold and wait, they place the dog with a permanent home asap, for the dogs sake. Visiting-leaving visiting-leaving can explain the alleged poor condition of the dog all on its own without any wrongdoing on the part of the boarder. I've seen a separation anxiety driven Akita eat through a residential wall before. Drywall, 2x4's, wiring, all of it. Akita sized hole. Big. That's not good for the dog either.

So, anyway, please be patient with those that are somewhat skeptical of the claims thrown out thus far. It all may be true, but it's not solid case on its own. I certainly don't believe the claims about the boarding people, without some evidence. I've certainly seen some awful caretakers, but I've also seen some horrendous overreacting or unreasonable customers inventing phantom problems to complain about and if you do some random searching online, you can find plenty of info too.

Please respect the fact that some of us have experienced things in our own journey through life that lead us to be skeptical of these sorts of stories. From being victims ourselves, to helping others who have been victimized. It's not necessarily about being mean to TTW.

It's not paranoia if there are really people out to get you. There exist external sites to DU populated by former banned members of Du and extremely hostile folks who would love nothing more than to rip off or otherwise hurt honest DU members. Keep that in mind, please. It's a balance, between having an open heart and wanting to help people in a bad state, and insulating yourself from thieves, bad actors, and folks who just flat out want to hurt you. Everyone strikes a different balance and that balance is informed by our personal experiences.

I hope TTW is real, and I hope that person gets to a better place and there is a happy ending for all involved. I really do. But this ongoing saga has thrown so many warning flags for me, confidence is not high. Who knows, maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised.

I don't think it's fair to assume SheliaT is acting in bad faith. We all come from our experiences and some people have experienced or seen some awful, awful shit.