Compassionate Paws, run by Vicki Pingel and her husband Loren, sells autism service dogs for $10,000. The problem is that the dogs aren’t trained at all. They aren’t house broken, don’t have any basic obedience skills and in some cases have attacked and bitten the very children they are supposed to be helping.
I am one of the parents that fell victim to Vicki’s elaborate scam. I know that I will never get my money back or be able to provide my son with the dog he needed and wanted so badly, so I will settle with spreading the word to ensure this doesn’t continue to happen to other vulnerable families.
I live in St. Paul, MN and I was fortunate enough to have my story picked up by the local CBS affiliate, WCCO. Liz Collin did a wonderful job putting the story together and I hope to have it seen by as many people as possible. Especially the people in the autism community who I know are searching for help for their children.
Please share this link with your network so we can stop Compassionate Paws from deceiving others.
http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2013/11/04/for-10k-families-feel-cheated-by-trained-service-dogs/
Review from Guidestar