Neighbor wars begin when good intentions go bad. One of the hardest situations is that of an animal hoarder.  Guardians of Rescue are no strangers to this often-silent epidemic. According to the Animal Planet, approximately 250,000 cases of animal hoarding are reported annually; unfortunately, many cases remain unreported, leaving animals to suffer in cramped environments in poor health. Guardians of Rescue, a nationwide animal rescue organization, wades into the animal hoarding epidemic to save the innocent animals stuck in an unhealthy living situation.

As the world embraces the age of technology, everything is available online----including the sale of pets. Guardians of Rescue, a nationwide animal rescue organization, has stepped up to protect these poor animals from the cruelty of being bought and sold via the Internet. Guardians of Rescue is working with law enforcement in various states to try to reduce the amount of harm inflicted on these innocent dogs.

“Getting a new pet is always a big decision, and buying a dog you haven’t met in person is not smart,” says Dori Scofield, vice-president of Guardians of Rescue, an organization whose mission is to protect the well-being of all animals. “If you buy a dog through the Internet, you risk supporting puppy mill cruelty and being scammed out of your money. The Internet is also used by criminals to buy and sell fighting dogs, using certain understood language.”

If you looking to adopt a new dog, here are five tips to think about before you decide where to buy:

Guardians of Rescue, an animal rescue group, has a new way of catching animal abusers. They will be enlisting the help of private investigators. Being that it is difficult to prove animal abuse, and in many cases criminal intent, their new tactics will help protect more animals and hold more animal abusers accountable.

“It’s very difficult to prove animal abuse, even for things such as dog fighting,” explains Robert Misseri, president of Guardians of Rescue. “We will get reports of suspected abuse, we go in and check it out, but even when it’s obvious that animal cruelty is taking place by ample evidence the person is often still within the law because they are meeting the basic needs of the pet, including shelter, food and water.”

He further explains that the laws are too weak and when there is resistance from the pet owner it raises a red flag that there may be some kind of animal abuse going on, or other illegal activity.