Do Not Adopt

I got this forwarded to me from a friend in Dog Rescue in Florida:

CONNECTICUT - This guy from 'NEEDFUL SOULS" is SELLING DOGS TO LABS URGENT PLEAS...E SHARE! **Read Immediately!! Do NOT allow to pull ANY dogs!!!**** "*Just to stress this... he WILL pull ANY breed, not just Pit Bulls (although, he does often seek Pits). He is essentially a "broker" and will sell to anyone or any testing facility willing to pay. His criminal/public record shows that his reasons for arrest have been theft and fraud. I have contacted some officials in Florida to see what can be done to stop this guy for good.

This is the perfect example of WHY every animal shelter and rescue group should ALWAYS check ref.'s before releasing animals to anyone! I cannot stress how important this is for the welfare of these animals. Had the female animal control officer from this Florida shelter not research them before releasing several dogs that he stated he wants to pull.... they would have been in HIS hands. If you see any red flags pop up... keep checking, your gut instinct can really tell you a lot.

Right now, I am honestly sick to my stomach and cannot believe they are at this again. "Absolutely DO NOT allow any animals to be pulled by Needful Souls" (who are now located in Florida). They were in Georgia for a short while and unfortunately were able to pull some dogs (mostly Pit Bulls) out of a rural shelter, before trying to pull from me. He has been in and out of jail for fraud and is bad news! He prays wherever there is weakness and also has shown an extreme temper. These are the names affiliated: Brett Cochran, Art Cochran, Robin Cochran. Florida does not require Dept. of Ag. licenses for rescue groups. Please get this out to everyone you know, involved with Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina and Tennessee shelters. He moves around within these areas.

I will get with all of my contacts and research this further. We had to place a restraining order on this man and he was arrested in Bartow County, right before he picked up and moved out of Georgia.