My Experience with the Hope for Paws Better Together Program
Hi, my name is Laura. I am writing this to share my experience with the Hope for Paws Better Together program since 2021, specifically with the Executive Director, Kathy Powelson While the program is supposed to help people in need, my experience has been filled with anxiety, threats, and control.
Please bear with me as I share these events. I am trying my absolute best to present these situations in order, but because this pattern of behavior has been going on for years, things might be a little scrambled. Going back years is incredibly difficult, especially while navigating severe fibromyalgia and severe chronic pain daily. I ask my viewers to please be patient and understanding as I compile and upload everything. I am doing this because I refuse to be silenced anymore.
Here is how these situations occurred:
1. Tynehead Clinic (The Flea Incident)
The issues began at Tynehead Clinic. Because of my severe OCD and PTSD, I panicked when I found a flea on my dog. I called the clinic, and they told me three separate times that they would call me back in 20 minutes within a 60-minute period. When they didn't, I kept calling back every 20 minutes out of sheer panic. Instead of understanding my anxiety, they complained to Kathy Powelson. I was removed from that clinic just for frantically trying to advocate for my dog.
Furthermore, Lilliana Olmedo, who previously worked there, explicitly told me on the phone when this happened that I was not to make any Google complaints, write any reviews, or say anything about the clinic I was told to stay quiet.
2. Scottsdale Clinic (The Dental Panic)
I was reassigned to Scottsdale Veterinary Clinic. Dr. Stephens told me straight up that if my dog didn't get dental surgery immediately, her jaw would break. Being on disability, I panicked about the funds and applied to the BC SPCA for help. But when the SPCA contacted the vet, Dr. Stephens completely downplayed the situation to them, changing her story to say it was just a "possibility."
To tell a vulnerable client that their dog's jaw would break, and then turn around and tell an agency it's just a possibility is incredibly triggering and provoking. When I confronted Dr. Stephens on the phone about this contradiction asking her directly if this was just about money and why she was telling me one thing and the SPCA another Dr. Stephens had a massive attitude with me. When I told Dr. Stephens I have severe complex PTSD, anxiety, and panic attacks, Dr. Stephens countered by saying, "Well, I have anxiety too." Don't ever compare your anxiety to my severe, diagnosed clinical conditions. It was profoundly disrespectful and rude but in Kathy Powelsons email apparently I was the rude one.
The fact that a medical professional tried to claim they had anxiety is a complete joke, especially considering I'm navigating severe complex PTSD and severe OCD every single day. For a professional to turn around and weaponize "anxiety" against a client with severe, documented mental health conditions is completely backward and deeply offensive.
Because I stood up for myself after being actively provoked, Kathy Powelson stepped in and threatened to remove my dog from the program, claiming I was being "disrespectful to staff."
3. Dr. Llewellyn
After that incident, Dr. Llewellyn's offered to take on my dogs care. He has been an amazing vet, and I have absolutely nothing but good things to say about him. He was the one who personally offered to take my dog on as his case. I have never had a single issue with him whatsoever. We have always had mutual respect and understanding. It is incredibly unfortunate that he is away for three weeks right now, because I know for a fact things would be entirely different if he were here.
4. Cassie (The Week-Long Food Delay)
While Kathy Powelson was away, another person named Cassie took over. My dog is on a strict, medically necessary Urinary SOS diet to prevent bladder stones. I contacted Cassie for help getting this vital food. I left voicemails and phone calls with zero response, and she only barely responded to my emails here and there.
Throughout our brief email exchanges, Cassie never once expressed a single shred of concern for my dog. She never asked vital questions like: "How much food does your dog have left?", "Is she completely out of food?", or "Is this an emergency?" Instead, she casually stated she would "see if she could find a volunteer" and left me completely stranded over the weekend with absolutely no response.
Because they are closed on weekends, she effectively left a medical animal at risk of running out of vital food all weekend. I am a responsible owner and would never let my dog run out of food, but no thanks to her neglect, a full week had passed by Monday.
Having had enough, I added all the board members to the email chain. The moment I did that, Cassie called me immediately with a massive attitude, demanding to know why I added the board members and lecturing me that they don't do food delivery and that I'd have to find my own way. When she suggested Uber, I agreed to set it up and e-transfer the funds. She then stated, "Oh, Kathy Powelson will pay for the food and treats." Let me be clear: Kathy Powelson did not pay for it out of good faith; she did it because she knew she messed up entirely by making a medically necessary dog wait a week for food.
later in a email Kathy Powelson denied i waited a week I then showed her the screenshots of the emails with Cassie circled the dates, and proved factually that I was forced to wait a week, Kathy Powelson got entirely defensive and developed an even worse attitude.
5. Marnie at Scottsdale (The Wrong Bag)
The food finally arrived via Uber, but it was the wrong size bag. Knowing smaller bags would cost me more in delivery fees on my strict disability income, I called the clinic. A staff member named Marnie was incredibly disrespectful to me on the phone. Because I have a history of Marnie being incredibly rude and disrespectful to me both over the phone and in person at the Scottsdale clinic office, I turned on my recorder. I have the entire unedited transcript and audio of exactly how she spoke to me and how the whole conversation went.
6. Kathy’s Final Warning
A week later, Kathy Powelson emailed me a "final warning," threatening to kick my dog out of the program for being disrespectful to Scottsdale staff. This warning was based entirely on false reports and allegations. Kathy Powelson never once reached out to me to say, "Hey, there was a complaint, can we talk about what happened?" She simply blindly believed the staff member and issued a threat.
What she didn't realize is that I had recorded the whole interaction. I surprised both of them with the fact that I had the recording and transcript proving Marnie's disrespect. The moment Kathy Powelson realized I had undeniable proof, her tone completely flipped. She tried to claim she makes all the decisions, then suddenly switched up and claimed Dr. O'Brien would make the decision. Once I added Dr. Llewellyn to that email chain, it became absolute radio silence from them for months.
7. The Present: The Puppy & The Future
My health has declined significantly since 2021. Because my dog is now 13 years old and slowing down, she needs to stay in her role as my medically necessary dog. I have a puppy that I intend to have officially need to train and to get certified as a service dog to help me navigate my severe fibromyalgia, complex PTSD, and severe OCD.
When I asked Kathy Powelson if the program could help with the puppy's basic vaccines which are mandatory for a puppy to begin service training Kathy Powelson completely shut me down. She told me that I could only enroll another animal after my current dog passes away. To say that to a disabled client is abhorrent. My dogs are not "pets" they are medically necessary.
Conclusion
I want to clarify that I haven't recorded every single call since 2021. I started documenting and recording when I was reassigned to Scottsdale Veterinary Clinic and they forced me to attend appointments every single week and every single month for 9 months straight. I repeatedly told Kathy Powelson that I was in severe medical distress and physical pain from what my doctor and I believed at the time was severe sciatic nerve pain. Kathy Powelson's response was a direct threat: she told me that if I did not go to every single appointment the vet demanded, I would be immediately kicked out of the program. She actively forced me to attend appointments while in extreme physical agony.
At the end of the day, this program is supposed to be about the animals. It is supposed to protect them and support vulnerable owners. Instead, Kathy Powelson has turned this organization into a high school drama. She acts like a high school drama queen, turning tiny situations into massive conflicts, making sweeping allegations under the rug and issuing text book threats without ever looking into the facts or listening to the client.
Kathy Powelson, I am telling you right now: you are not going to scare me anymore. You are not going to instill fear in me, and you are not going to intimidate or threaten me. Sharing my lived truth on my own blog does not give you the right to threaten my medically necessary dog's enrollment, though I fully expect you to try that next. The public is going to see exactly who you are behind closed doors.
In my next post, I will be moving directly to the original board member email chain the exact point where my relationship with Kathy Powelson became completely tainted and where her threats heavily escalated.
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