Virginia Greyt Hearts Service Dogs Inc.

Reposted from a user (Kelosaurus_rex) on Reddit with permission.

Long but worth it!

When I was first entering the community I was taken advantage of by a "trainer" in Virginia operating as Greyt Hearts Service Dogs, Inc (GHSD).

The so-called selling point behind this organization was that she acquired young retired greyhounds fresh off the track and in 6 months would provide you with a fully trained service dog. I was very naive about service dogs so to me getting a pup out of the racing circuit and into a good home seemed like a great idea.

I purchased a psychiatric service dog for $10,000 in August 2020 and took possession of him in April 2021. During this time I communicated my needs & expectations with his trainer but looking back those were glossed over in her responses. Fezzik was also involved in a car crash - the towed trailer was destroyed and he was in the vehicle doing the towing so he likely experienced some jolting/loud sounds/sharp movements - but I was not made aware until I stumbled across a GFM she set up 2 days after the fact. I was assured Fezzik would be fine and he was happy in his training so I let it go.

Unfortunately, after I got him home and let Fezzik acclimate to his new surroundings, he was unable to perform even basic obedience, never mind the tasks I required. I reached out to GHSD twice for assistance - once was essentially walked through training him to sit and once, when I asked her to provide all the commands he should know, I was ignored. I struggled for 5 months, falling in love with this train wreck of a greyhound, but after an incident in Target that involved having to call my sister out of work, I ultimately needed to return him that August.

I was accused of mishandling and mistreating him, to the point the trainer said Fezzik was unsafe with me with no evidence to support the claim. When she said two individuals from Maine, not affiliated with the training company, would pick him up I said no, she could drive to Massachusetts so I could demonstrate his lack of training. In the end, I gave the two strangers my dog (with witnesses!) and was informed that GHSD would not issue a refund, despite failing to provide the "fully trained psychiatric service dog" I contracted for.

It soon became clear that legal actions would need to be taken to recoup at least some of the money I invested in Fezzik - I couldn't afford another SD without a reimbursement. By October 2021 I filed a $7,000 suit with MA Small Claims and the case was heard in March 2022. After presenting evidence to the love/care and witnesses to the inability to task from day 1, judgment was found in my favor and a payment hearing was set for May 4. GHSD failed to present at the payment hearing so then it was up to me to figure out how to get my settlement over state lines. After speaking to county court in Virginia I knew my next steps and issued one final letter to request payment from GHSD in May 2022, including notification that I would seek judgment in Virginia.

Shortly after this letter was sent, I received payment of the settlement in full from GHSD but it was a lot of chasing pavement.

Please please please avoid this organization at all costs. When their product fails to live up to the needs of the consumer, they belittle and gaslight you. The entire process made me really think twice about trying again with a different route (I am very hands-on with Gustav's training). I ended up having a breakdown that nearly hospitalized me due to the way I had to surrender Fezzik - ironic as he was supposed to help mitigate that!

TL;DR - Greyt Hearts Service Dogs Inc is not a good trainer.

Another repost from REDDIT about these guys:

Beware of GHSD

It has been a couple years since this happened, but I recently connected with a person who had a similar experience as I did and I've decided to finally share my whole story. This will be a buyer beware post on a training organization located in Fredericksburg, VA known by the name as Greyt Hearts Service Dogs (GHSD). This organization is owned and run by a woman by the name of Patti. Patti advertises her business by saying that she takes greyhounds off the track, and within less than 6 months can fully train them to be service dogs. Please understand that this was a few years ago, I had almost no experience with dogs, and her program sounded like a great idea to me at the time. I now know better. In 2018 I decided that it was time to take my care to the next level, and with the help of my doctors, therapist and parents we all agreed that a service dog would be a good treatment option for me. After doing some research, I reached out to Patti in the hopes of obtaining a fully trained service dog to assist me with becoming more independent and hopefully reaching the point where I could attend college. We talked for a few days, my parents and I drove up to meet with her and we signed the paperwork. In February of 2019 she messaged me saying she had found a dog for me and would be picking her up. Prior to this, we had chatted a few times about what tasks I needed to be trained, and I was under the impression that would happen. Throughout her training I only received updates If I reached out first, and I only met Celia twice before she was ready to go home. When she messaged me in late April of 2019, telling me Celia was ready to go home I was so excited. I will never forget the events that occurred on the day Patti dropped her off. She arrived in my driveway in a large cargo van. There were no crates or buckles in the van, and she was hauling about 5-6 dogs. Celia was very excited to come out of the car and she rushed the door as it opened. When she rushed the door, she jumped out with no prompting or release from Patti, and when she hit my driveway she slipped and fell. The scream she let out was horrifying. She laid there on the ground crying and was unable to get up. This caused me to have a panic attack, but I do remember Patti roughly picking her up and getting her on her feet. She forced Celia to walk around while Celia was three-legged lame. Once I calmed down Patti told me that greyhounds are just dramatic, and she was fine. Patti did not give me any sort of training on how to give her commands, and after a short time at my house she left. About a week later Celia was still slightly limping, and I took her to the vet. It turns out she had completely broken her hip when she fell. She also was infested with hookworms and needed treatment for that. She was on crate rest for a few weeks after and I slowly rehabbed her with the help of my vet. Once she was recovered, I realized that she did not follow any commands. I chalked this up to her still mentally recovering from her injury and gave her a few more weeks. After that, I quickly realized that she had no obedience training, and also had severe behavioral issues. Some events that occurred included her having accidents in the house, her being dog reactive, and her experiencing extreme anxiety while out in public. Probably the worst thing that happened is when she bit me while I was taking a nap. We were both on my bed and she had a toy she was laying her head on. I shift a lot while asleep, and what I'm assuming happened is I shifted too close to her toy and she heavily resource guarded the toy and bit me. To make a long story short, I tried reaching out to Patti and multiple other trainers, but it was no use. She just simply did not have the temperament or capability to become a service dog. My mother made a deal with a local greyhound rescue that we could give her to them and she would be rehomed to a family that wanted her as a pet. The last I heard due to some expert FB stalking at 3am is that Patti reaquired Celia and sold her again as a Therapy dog. My family never got any money back, so Patti was able to sell the same dog twice. This whole event definitely messed me up a little bit, and even though its been a few years, it still affects me to this day.

TLDR: Patti is a "dog trainer" who scams people in need of service dogs. Do not under any circumstances support her business.