| Location |
| 34505 County Road 29 |
| just beyond Yolo County Airport |
| Hours |
| Opens at 7:30 a.m daily, Closed Sundays |
| Phone |
| (530)661-0213 |
| Website |
| Yolo Canine Academy & http://yoloK9academy.com |
 This page is in need of a Photo.To add an image to this page, click "Edit" then click the images button. |
Owned and operated by Renee Lancaster, Yolo K9 Academy & 29 Palms Pet Resort offers a full array of canine services including
- Dog boarding
- Grooming
- Group & private training
- Home and personal protection training
- Police K-9 & Schutzhund training
- Diagnosis and resolution of behavior problems
- All breeds of dogs rescue service/adoption
- Trained dogs & AKC puppies for sale
- Breeder of Rottweilers and German Shepherds
- Titled Adults for Schutzhund, show & protection
Renee Lancaster has worked for both the Yolo County Sheriff and Roseville Police Department as an officer and has trained K-9 officers for various police and sheriff departments. She operates the Yolo County Schutzhund Club for United Schutzhund Clubs of America and shows dogs as well. With her background in Schutzhund and police K-9, she is especially adept at handling problem behaviors, as evinced in the statement at the bottom of this page. This training facility offers both covered and outdoor training areas.
Renee has a reputation for abusing her employees and illegally withholding pay. Please see the comments section for more details on her hostility and labor law violations.
Group training for basic obedience is a six-week course, typically offered Wednesday evenings and currently priced at $125. Training method is traditional praise-based, versus treat-based or clicker training; owners should bring a six-foot leather lead and choke chain collar [neck size + 2"] to the first class, along with Fido.
*For other pet services and supplies see Pet Stores, groomers, or Dogs for dog-specific listings.
2006-09-20 16:10:08 I've taken two of my past dogs to Renee for group training and can't say how happy I've been with her methods. With my first dog, I was worried about breaking his spirit, but my fears were unfounded and he came out *so* well behaved! A large black lab with a massive neck, strangers would always ask whether I was taking the dog for a walk or the other way around... after going through Renee's course, he heeled beautifully! My second dog, a Rott, loved to bark at passersby and chase cats... after training [it took two times, but repeats are free], she was able to hold a sit-stay while a cat walked around the room and a ball was thrown in front of her. A word of caution: Renee is terrible at returning calls, but don't give up! Also, you really need to follow the training techniques for success. A friend took her dog but wouldn't use anything but a gentle lead harness — today her dog has aggression problems, still isn't housetrained and can barely walk on a leash. —AlphaDog
2006-11-07 01:33:44 I worked for Renee Lancaster, and I would suggest to any other students who are looking for work, DO NOT GO TO HER. She refused to give me my last paycheck as I was leaving Davis to live in Santa Barbara, and to this day has refused to give it to me. Also, although I will admit that her training classes & methods are extremely advanced and well done, her boarding is absolutely unreliable. She is not honest with her customers and encourages her employees to be equally dishonest. Although I would HIGHLY discourage anyone from either working in the kennel/boarding unit or boarding their dogs there, Renee has an excellent dog obedience program, and that is worth checking out. —LizzEhrenpreis
2006-11-07 11:04:29 Can you provide some more detail on what she's dishonest about? This is where I board my cat, so I'd like to know what is unreliable (besides returning messages) and what she's dishonest about. Thanks. —ColleenParks
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2006-12-09 22:33:12 to clarify about her dishonesty—on occasion, she would forget to teach the employees exactly how to give certain medicines that came in with pets, and would continually disregard questions about it, thus making the pets miss their meds. She would not inform the owners of this. Another example of dishonesty: once we had a pedigree poodle come in who had a nervous stomach, and refused to eat. Over a six day period, the poodle had become extremely thin, to the point where you could see the ribs poking through its sides. Instead of calling and informing the owner, Renee tried to put the poodle on a diet that was completely different than what was specifically requested by the owner, with wet food that eventually made the dog extremely ill. Renee refused to call the owner and inform her about the dog's illness, and told us to "just deal with her" when she came to pick the dog up. More than once, when there had been an issue with a pet's health or stay, Renee would completely disappear and become unavailable when the owner was asking questions and angry about what had happened with their pet, leaving her uninformed and poorly trained employees to try and answer the questions. More than once, when radioed, she would ignore the call and avoid dealing with customers personally when there was an issue. More times than I could count, Renee would tell us to simply tell the customers what would make them happy. If you have any other questions, please contact me at [email protected]. I will be happy to answer any other questions. —LizzEhrenpreis
2006-11-13 11:02:14 Wow. I'm suprised to see the negatives...My extremely neurotic rescue dog did just fine boarding at 29 Palms and came home perfectly OK. I would appreciate details on the "dishonesty", since I can't imagine what that would be. I boarded my Lab along with his best friend...they shared a run, got to play outside, got their own food on their schedules, were bathed and groomed and happy to see us without being crazy. My Lab was a rescue and has pretty severe anxiety. He was NOT barking when I went to pick him up, so things were seemed OK. In over 30 years in Davis, I would rate this as the very best boarding experience. —FreddieOakley
2006-12-20 09:01:02 I have an almost 10 year old female Staffordshire Terrier who has been in Renee's basic obedience through her advanced obedience classes and has earned her AKC Companion Dog certificate in her first three trials. When we drive to the kennel my dog is so excited. She goes happily with whomever takes her. When I pick her up she is equally happy. My dog is on several medications and has NEVER come home ill or lacking her medications. I've witnessed Renee with several employees and all I've ever witnessed is that she demands their best work efforts. I have referred many of my co-workers to Renee and NONE of them have ever expressed unhappiness with her. I have tried every kennel in the greater Davis area and Renee's kennel is the only one where I would leave my dog. I have total confidence in Renee's ability both as a trainer and as a boarder and will continue recommending her and her facility. —BarbaraMills
2006-12-20 16:08:30 Though I've been very happy with Renee as a trainer, I can certainly see how an employee might have problems working with her. Renee has a very strong personality and isn't the type who gives you the warm fuzzies — remember, she was a cop! And since I've had to chase her down by phone just to get into her classes, I can also see how it might seem that she's unavailable to clients. I can get past that for the sake of training my dog, but I definitely understand how a staffperson might be unhappy with their employer/employee relationship. As an aside, this also might not be the best training facility for those gentle souls who find correcting their pets a bit heartwrenching; if so, most other local options are treat- or clicker-based and may be better suited. —AlphaDog
2007-01-06 19:45:21 Actually, my main personal beef with Renee is that she refused to give me my last paycheck—she STOLE money from me, and I was not able to take her to the labor board because I moved away, and I'm unfamiliar with what legal proceedings I could have taken anyway. Furthermore, my only professional issue is with the way she cuts corners with her treatment of the dogs in the kennel. As I said, I think her training programs are extraordinary. It has absolutely nothing to do with what she demanded professionally—I didn't have an issue with that at all. —LizzEhrenpreis
2008-01-13 13:17:56 I also worked for Renee and I can vouch for all of the above complaints. She would never inform me about how to give meds, unless it was a simple pill. She also never gave me my last pay check. The pedigree poodle that we "cared for" at the kennel was obviously very nervous and malnourished, Renee would purposely ignore the owners calls and messeges and tell us just to deal with her when she came in. Renee would also mock her when she called to check on her dog. Renee mocked the majority of her customers behind their backs and would even hide from them informing me to lie and say she was in a meeting of some sort or that she was out of town. I remember one dog particularly that was very finicky, and would run from outside the kennel to inside the kennel over and over until it wore off the hair on his head..when the owner asked about it, Renee said she would rub Vaseline on the doggy door to fix the problem..which she never did and flat out told me..it would make the owner happy. The same dog would often try to escape from his kennel, when I told renee she made me go inside the kennel to "kick the dog" and she said, "If he does it again, you didn't kick him hard enough." He treatment of the dogs was horrific. However, If an owner complained it would be all my fault she "blamed it on the help." —Tali
2008-01-23 16:00:40 After a TERRIBLE experience at another kennel we decided to investigate different kennels in the Davis/Woodland area. One kennel that we were interested in was this one. When we arrived Renee was there and, although she was busy, she answered all our questions about the kennel and about our dogs daily routine if we were to leave her there. She wasn't super friendly but rather answered our questions as she worked outside in one of the dog yards. We explained our concerns about our dog (slightly older, a little neurotic) and she was very understanding and reassuring. We even talked to some people in the parking lot who boarded their dogs there and they said that they have always been happy with the kennel. After we left I called our vet to see if they had any feedback about the kennel and they said that they have had no complaints about them. So we booked our dog for 2 weeks there over christmas. When we picked up our dog she seemed happy. Renee remembered us from our visit a few months earlier and remembered our many concerns and trepidation about leaving our dog at ANY kennel. I felt like she was very good about making sure that we were satisfied with our dogs stay. And we absolutely were. We will be booking our dog at 29 Palms again in the future. If you are considering leaving your dog at a kennel I would definitely suggest checking out 29 Palms for yourself (as well as the other kennels in the area. You'll see why this one is the best.) Our dog didn't have any medications or special requirements so I can't say anything about that. I would definitely recommend this kennel to anyone. —recoveringPhD
2008-02-22 17:02:00 I am in Brazil for work and I happened to run into a friend's friend. I told her that I live near Sacramento and that we have a lot of dogs. The friend mentioned a dog farm in woodland and I was going... hmm..... could it be the same place I take my rot? After talking some more, we found out that apparently Renee is well known internationally as a breeder (Renee traveled to Brazil to deliver a puppy from a prize winning dog to her family). Small world. —atwong
2008-04-19 10:47:03 I have known Renee for many years, including getting my first Rott puppy from her....who was the best dog in the world. I have boarded my animals with her facility over the years and can only say, I have no fears or issues leaving my "kids" in her hands. Recently, I adopted one of her rescues, a pittbull who is a wonderful and well adjusted dog. This dog had been in Renee's care since taken away from his original owner at 6 months old and lived an additional 2 years at her facility.
I can only think that the negative comments made by one of her former employees is "sour grapes". I have witnessed Renee on numerous occasions correct an employees performance- which goes against the old saying of "praise in public, criticize in private". These "corrections" were to immediatly fix a situation for a dogs benefit. To think a dog boarding facility is going to employee and retain higly trained people is unrealistic. These facilities are a training ground for primarily vet students. I can only praise Reneee for training them properly before they move on into their career.
I have taken her obedience classes and am consistently amazed at how she manages to convert animals into good citizen dogs- regardless of their prior poor behaviors. —Pitlvr
2008-07-18 13:25:47 I love the accusations that both of the employees who have responded simply have "sour grapes". Again, as I said previously—if there are any sour grapes at all, it's because Renee is unreliable, untrustworthy, and a terrible employer. She didn't get either of our last paychecks to us, and it speaks volumes that she has duped you into defending her on the wiki. We worked behind the scenes—frankly, I think we would know what went down better than you would. I have an impeccable work history, and fantastic references, and I will ONCE AGAIN state: my beef with Renee Lancaster has absolutely nothing to do with my work ethic or reasonable expectations of one's employees.
Thanks. —LizzEhrenpreis
2009-01-15 08:51:06 1/15/2009
My daughter (who just turned 18 a few weeks ago) worked for Renee Lancaster at Yolo County Canine Academy & 29 palms pet resort for about one week over Christmas break 2008 as a kennel technician - as part of a high school work experience program. She had held that position at local Vet hospital for a couple of years prior to working for Renee. She has excellent references. After just a few days, it became obvious how abusive this woman is! She berates, micromanages, and verbally abuses her employees. She is mean to the animals. I suppose her training philosophy includes abuse unto submission for the animals as well as her employees!? I counseled my daughter to resign. So she handed in a letter of resignation. She advised Renee that she would complete the week that she was already scheduled for. Renee became hostile, and told her to just "get out". She was yelling at her as she walked to her car. And it has now been 2 weeks, and she has not received her paycheck. I called Renee this morning, and she called my daughter a loser, and hung up on me. Several more calls were made - all unsuccessful in any attempt to communicate. She yelled as I was talking, talked over me and incessantly interrupted any attempt at resolving this. I had to raise my voice to be heard over her irrationality. She told me that she did not have our address - even though it is on my daughter's resume', letter of resignation, AND a voice message left by my daughter over a week ago. In one conversation, Renee said the check had been mailed. This woman is truly a micromanaging, hostile and abusive person with absolutely NO people skills. My daughter also told me that she is abusive to the animals in her care. My daughter has always wanted to have her own kennel one day. She has worked around animals since she was a young girl. After this experience, she told me that the one thing she learned from it is what NOT to do. I implore you to look elsewhere for facilities for your animals. We loved this place: Don O'Brien's Boarding & Training Kennel is located on 5 rural acres in Wilton, CA., just 30 minutes from Sacramento and 15 minutes from Elk Grove. They have offered boarding for dogs & cats, as well as obedience and gun dog training since 1988. They were wonderful with all of our animals! It is worth the drive! I called the labor commissioner this morning and a suit will be filed against this woman. It is a hard lesson for an impressionable young adult to have to experience this so early in her career. But I can assure you, Renee will not get away with it! Read the other posts here. There are more disgruntled employees that have posted. Please hear us! It is NOT "sour grapes" as someone suggested! I can be reached at [email protected] for more details. —Mschief
2009-01-22 16:15:40 Just a question: Would Renee permit an employee to sit with an elderly dog while she eats, or is she too tough on dogs to tolerate that kind of quirk? My older dog was rescued as a stray and for whatever reason, she refuses to eat unless I'm in the room with her. And believe me, I've tried to outwait her, but she simply won't eat until I'm busying myself in the kitchen and she can see where I am while she eats. I take her to Wag Hotel and they're great about accommodating her needs - they told me a surprising number of dogs are like this, and they WILL sit with her at mealtimes, and she eats fine there. And I love the place, but it's so pricey that I've been looking for another option. Years ago I took my dogs to A Home Away and while they didn't get sick as other people have commented on their page, the place is just a little too rundown for my tastes, and the old lady is truly difficult to deal with. —NotSure
2009-02-15 12:39:40 I know Renee very well. I have boarded my dogs with her for years and have taken many of her obedience classes as well. (They are amazing! How many trainers will let you repeat the class as many times as needed for free?) Renee is a very professional business owner who expects her employees to do their jobs well. I wouldn't expect her to be a motherly, hand-holding type of employer, because she can't afford to be. She has been given the responsibility of caring for people's precious dogs while they are gone. She has to have reliable employees who do their jobs. I've never worked for her so I will go no further in discussing her as an employer. However, let me tell you Renee is wonderful with the dogs- both boarded and rescued! Anyone who says she's abusive to dogs is crazy! For years Renee has rescued dogs from death row in animal shelters throughout Northern California. When a dog comes in that the SPCA won't take due to illness, an unpopular breed, perceived aggression, etc, Renee will get a call on euthanasia day. She always races out to pick the dog up and almost always arrives back with three or four "extra" dogs she couldn't pass up who were set to be euthanized. Since Renee raises Rottweilers and German Shepherds, she always gets a call when one is picked up, but they also call her about other dogs that for some reason tug at their heart. To see her with these dogs is amazing as she always treats them as if they are the most special dog on the planet. In January of 2008, Renee founded a non-profit (501c3) Rotts of Friends Animal Rescue to enable her to expand her rescue work. I know all this because I help her in finding adopters for these dogs who need a second chance. When someone adopts one of these rescues, she throws in a free obedience class. (Of course, as soon as she gets a dog she has it spayed or neutered and gets it up to date on its shots.) She also takes in some dogs who are virtually, due to illness, unadoptable. These dogs live out their lives with her. I just thought this information might be helpful to dog owners considering boarding their pets. Yes. Renee is often slow at responding to messages left on her phone, but between her boarding facility, her training classes (Yolo Canine Academy), working with police departments in the training of their K9s and handlers, and her dog rescue work (Rotts of Friends Animal Rescue), she's incredibly busy. I NEVER worry when leaving my dogs in her care. As to whether she would have an employee sit with a dog while it ate. I don't know but I'll ask her and get back to you! —Barbmac
2009-03-02 13:21:12 In response to the question put forth by "notsure". The answer is yes. Renee, who is a licensed Vet Tech, said, of course, she would accommodate needs of an older dog such as having an employee sit with the dog while it eats. You would just need to let them know when you bring the dog out to 29 Palms Pet Resort. —Barbmac
2009-05-11 22:24:51 wow! am truly interested in learning about all the conflicts as well as the "happy tails" going on in this forum. I currently work at Renee's kennel, 29 Palms Pet Resort, and I definately have overcome some conflicts, as well as some "happy tails" as I call it. I am a new employee and I definately, had i read everything I have read in the past couple days on various sites, everything I have read about Renee, I certainly would not have gone to work for her. I am someone who gets her feelings hurt VERY easily, as I currently have conflicts at my other job, from lack of respect in a employer/employee relationship with my bosses. I do not take it lightly and I do take it VERY personally. When I first started, I was told "Renee is a hardass." "Renee is very particular" and everything else that comes along with it. When i first started, she was pretty nice to me, so I decided to set aside what I had heard about her. I said to myself "Renee built this from the ground up, so I would expect that she would be pretty adamant about what goes on in her kennel. Let me tell you, as an employee, I cried today. Like I said, I am pretty pansy-like if thats what you want to call it, but I usually let it go when it's not that important.
This morning, I let a dog, which was rescued from Yolo County Animal Services, out into the front yard, as he has been living in a crate for months now, and only gets to go outside for a limited amount of time through out the day, and then I went and got his buddy to play with while I scooped the yard, and watched them. The first dog I let out, "plays rough." I, personally have a pit bull who plays rough, and never have I ever had a dog do this to me. He started nipping, so I told him no, knudged him with my knee and tried to get him to stop. (Keep in mind, while this is going on, Renee is outside on the phone, its about 7:15am). She sees this and says that he wants to play so I pick up some toys and throw them. What does the dog do? he comes back at me! He bit me between my legs on my thigh, my arms (which are now completely black and blue, and he bit my shoulder and broke skin. Let me tell you, being bit by a dog hurts like a mother! She SEES this. Literally, she sees this. She came over and kicked him, told him no, as I did, and walked away. That's it. Now, normally I will not kick or hit an animal, but in my case, today I did to defend myself. This is an example of a dog going kennel crazy. NOT GOOD!!! I think this dog lived n the shelter for a few months before going to Renee's, and he had the same kind of behavior there as well. That's why he was rescued. There is another dog that is housed in a crate in the front half, that has in the past bitten someone. Unknown if it was provoked or not, but in my case today, that was unprovoked.
Later on in the later shift this afternoon, we had the same situation happen. The SAME (kennel crazy dog) bit a co-worker of mine, and hurt her MORE!! What's worst, is he growled at her and showed teeth at her before he struck her. She was in pain. It (thankfully) was not lifde threatening and definately not provoked, as she was warned of what happened this morning, and he bit her too. I rushed her to the sink, as a dog bite, of any kind, is to be taken seriously, I cleaned her wounds and went to find a first aid kit... Well, guess what! There wasn't one. NO, we did not tell Renee right away what happened. We waited until the end of the evening shift, as we were training dogs with her (including the one that had just bitten us today) and he acted up and started biting my co-worker again, and Renee, waited to see if she could correct him, WHILE SHE WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF BEING ATTACKED!!! Then once she was about to just let go of the dog, Renee finally took the dog. Then she blamed it on the breed, a cattle dog mixture, and says they will be nippy dogs. Now, I have 2 years of experience working with dogs of all breeds, attitudes, personalities, etc. as i work for Yolo County Animal Services. I have never had this kind of a problem before. And the dogs at the shelter are pretty nuts!
That was just an incident today, and there have been many other micromanaging, manipulating, mind changing, un-people skilled, and unsympathetic events, too long to mention, but if there is anything else anyone would like to know as of current, I'd be happy to speak up.
Don't get me wrong. Renee is excellent at training. I have been training one of her rescues with her class, as well as here and there chances during work hours, and have already seen dramatic changes in the dogs behavior. I definately recommend taking her training classes. I take home what I learn from her, and teach my puppy and he catches up real quick. —animallover
2009-05-15 06:10:59 And just another example of her abusive nature toward young workers! My daughter finally got her paycheck after I let Renee know about my claim with the labor board. It was "short" but not worth pursuing any further. She called my daughter names, and even yelled at me with vulgarities, and hung up on me!! I encourage any "ex-employees" to not let her get away with her abuse. She needs to give you your paycheck. It is illegal for her to withhold your money. I have heard from 3 other young workers since my original post who have experienced similar abusive and nasty treatment - all of them did not receive their last paychecks. There is a lot more to tell, but this woman needs to be stopped! Not to mention her treatment of the animals . . . I wish an animal rights group could experience one day in the life at Yolo Canine Academy & 29 Palms Pet Resort . . . They would be appalled! - MsChief —Mschief
2009-05-17 02:06:59 - To animallover: Please keep in mind that this is only one dog at a rescue with many, many animals. I know EXACTLY which dog you are talking about, as I used to volunteer at the animal shelter with him before he was rescued. He is not kennel crazy, he just never learned that biting is an inappropriate way to play. He is smart and was able to learn commands while at the shelter, but he would still revert very quickly to biting more or less constantly. I would not take him out because it upset me so much to have him lunge at me all the time, so I left that to some braver people. It is my understanding that he was not put down because his biting is not aggressive, it is out of love, so there is some hope for him. I think it is very good that he is with Renee because she is very careful about who dogs meet. I saw him introduced to an 11 year old girl while at the shelter, and let me just say, that was a bad idea. —sweetMeliss
2009-05-27 To anyone considering boarding their dogs at 29 Palms Pet Resort: I heard about this wiki and had to respond. I have known Renee for over 10 years. I have been a client of hers at her boarding facility, obedience classes, and have adopted one of her rescue dogs. I have recommended her to many of my clients over the years. Infact we share many clients as I am in the dog world as well. I would ask you to talk to other professionals in the area, dog groomers, vets or even current clients. I wouldn't leave my dogs anywhere else! I have NEVER been unhappy with the care they have received. I am currently a volunteer for Renee's rescue "Rotts of Friends" and I am there several times a week. I have not witnessed anything that would change my mind! I think it's obvious that there are a couple of unhappy ex employees and one mother who is coming to the rescue of her daughter, not sure what she is teaching this child about growing up! This kind of mean spirited gossip is plainly wrong. As a business owner I couldn't spend time trying to defend myself on this wiki thing! I do not intend to read this again so NO response is required! Jeanwalker
2009-06-27 20:02:18 I was considering this place, until I read the negative comments. They seem to outweigh the good. I was taught a rougher handle on dogs, but would never actually kick one. I suggest that the owner improves her reputation if she wants any new business. —DaniD
2009-08-09 14:02:22 I went to Renee Lancaster on August 8, 2009, looking for a German Shepherd puppy. Renee answered all of our questions and gave extremely valuable advice and input as far as picking a good puppy. We were there for almost three hours while we tried to choose our new family member. Renee was very supportive and allowed us to take all the time we needed in order to make our decision. The facility was clean, organized and all of the dogs appeared extremely healthy and happy! I can 100% say that any future dog purchase would only be from Renee and I would recommend to family and friends to check out the Yolo Canine Academy & 29 Palms Pet Resort you will be extremely happy that you did. —johnlemas
2009-11-02 07:05:43 Hello. First, I have to preface by saying that I have never written a review of anything on Davis Wiki, Yelp or in any similar space. I feel compelled to warn future clients of Renee Lancaster, however, of her cruel, unprofessional, unethical, manipulative, dishonest and abusive business practices. I do not use any of these words loosely, and my experiences with Renee took place over 6 months ago, and I believe that I have had ample time to gain perspective and reflect fairly on my interactions with her. My husband and I first came into contact with Renee as a trainer for our 10-month-old German Shepherd who we'd recently adopted. He came from professional working lines (both mother and father were Czech Republic-imported police dogs, and all 11 siblings were sold to police/narcotics agencies for a lifetime of service). Our dog, however, did not appear to be cut out for a professional life by the breeders - apparently had little scent tracking desire or any other "working" desire, but was given to us for a very small fee to be our family companion. He was, however, trained in basic Shitzhund commands. We were very excited to have this dog, and wanted to make sure that we became equipped to handle such a genetically strong-tempered and well-trained boy. Upon our first meeting with Renee, we were immediatly deflated. We were immediately and incessantly challenged by her long list of criticisims of our dog, his "poor" and not up par to Schitzhund training, the fact that he didn't have a tatoo (which American-born dogs rarely do!), and the fact that he had a "serious AKC flaw" in his underbite, therefore rendering him ineligible for breeding. We never said we wanted to breed him. When I asked about the possibility of further Schitzhund training, she looked me up and down, and having evidently judged that I wasn't physically up to the "strenuous sporting challenge," said I wasn't up for it. (Dang!) She did give us some training, however peppered with continuous put-downs of us, our abilities and our dog...... We did pay in advance for 6 sessions however, so kept going back, even though it was a dread. The real mind-blower was still to come though. After just three training sessions, I needed to board my dog somewheere as my mother suddenly passed away in Southern California. Dropping off my dog turned out to be another traumatic experience, unfortunately. As my husband brought the dog into the facility on his leash and pronged-collar, Renee marched up, huffing and puffing, scolded (yes, yelled!) my husband telling him that our dog did not respect him (husband), was out of control, and violently grabbed the leash from my husband's hands, threw the clipboard like a frisbee accross the field, and marched the dog into his kennel without another word. When she was out of site, her assistant trembled, apologized profusely for Renee's tantrum, and did the paperwork with me . Wow.... nobody has ever yelled at me or my husband like that! And respect? Where was her respect? Kindness? Nowhere.... I thought I'd just witnessed a two-year-old's tantrum. With little alternative, however, I left my dog with Renee's boarding facilities for approximately one week. I often attempted to call to check on the status of my dog, and to keep Renee/her staff updated as to when I thought I'd return to retrieve him. Renee was never available, however, and did not return my multiple calls/messages. As I was heading back up to Yolo County I called Renee several times to let her know that I'd like to pick up my dog that day. I finally talked with her, and she and I agreed on a time-window to pick him up. However when I arrived, nobody. A car was in the lot, so I rang the bell, and after some time a worker finally rendered herself. She reluctantly called Renee on her cell (?), however Renee prohibited this worker to release the dog to me, stating that she "wasn't qualified," and that Renee wouldn't be available to do it herself for several hours. I just wanted my dog to hug. I'd just lost my mom. I'd made arrangements with Renee to get my dog.... where was the problem??? Insult on injury....When I arrived with my husband later that evening, Renee made no apologies, but instead lunged into a tirade, scolding us AGAIN, trying to diminish our confidence in our ability to "handle" this powerful dog, telling us that she had years of experience with this type of thing, with owners like us who "don't have a clue," stating that our ownership of our dog "wouldn't turn out well." Amazingly, she had an alternative for us.... she would generously take the dog "off our hands," and therefore allow him to live his true genetic and behavioral destiny with her as a working dog. She related to us that, while we paid for his boarding at her facility, she tested/trained him a bit, and "discovered" his potential. (Unethical.... we NEVER gave her permission to do this, and she NEVER attempted to contact us to gain our permission.) I'd had enough. I told her that I did not appreciate her criticism, or suggestion, nor her very poor timing. She dismissed me, told me that "once I got over being mad at her, and the emotions of my mother's passing," that I should seriously consider her "generous" offer. She began crying, telling me how sorry she felt for the dog having to live with humans like us. She had NO emotion for humans however, or idea/care of how much her behavior was hurtful to us. And talk about manipulative. I know that this type of dog, trained, can easily be sold for tens of thousands of dollars. Even though his breeder didn't see him as a working dog, Renee apparently disagreed, and was trying to position herself to make quite a bit of money herself, however with no offer to actually pay us. I told her that I'd never work with her again, and that I wanted a refund for the training sessions unused. She refunded two sessions, however disputed the third, and said that she'd figure it out with her books, and contact me or mail me my remaining money. Six months later, I have still not heard from Renee, nor do I think I will. $50 is a small price to pay for not having any more contact with this woman. If you end up working with this woman, I certainly hope that your experiences are NOTHING like the above, however, in my opinion, anyone who is willing to behave in the above manner in a professional, client paying circumstance, is not somebody who I'd willingly work with again. My husband, our dog and I are happily living together these days. I continue to walk/train him, and he is the BEST family dog. He's loving, obedient, willing to please, and yes, while very strong-tempered, we ARE capable of handling him. I see no benefit or truth in Renee's suggestions.... she was dead wrong. She was mean. She was heartless. She was abusive, and I believe she was dishonest and willing to take advantage of a very vulnerable person's weak moment, for her own potential profit. —Ninnifer
2009-11-02 18:52:17 Based on the last comment it sounds like Ninnifer should make a report to the dept. of Consumer Affairs and the BBB. The Dept. of Consumer Affairs will help you get your refund back and the BBB can tag them on their site... Not too long ago, I made a call here to inquire about training fees for my parent's dogs and was glad I never received a return call. This place sounds like a nightmare from all the negative reviews. —jsbmeb
2009-11-27 14:38:15 Wished I had seen these posts before getting my Rottie from Renee Lancaster & 29 Palms Pet Resort. I would have gone elsewhere. My experience is this woman is very dishonest & not to be trusted.
I will grant, after reading testimonials that Renee has an excellent track record training dogs for the public and police agencies.
Seems however she is mean to employees and has caused more then one pet owner some heartache. This one included.
I got my dog from Renee in October. I did not bring all of the $150 so we agreed I would leave $75 in cash, take the dog, and after sending the remaining $75 Renee would mail me the dog's shot records. On the "contract" it stated that she would train my dog for free for as long as she lived.
After a couple of weeks I called and she said she would send the records and get back to me about training. After several days I heard nothing & called her back. She repeated what she had earlier said. A week later I had still not received any shot records and I called back again. She said she was busy.
I asked my vet to call Renee to request shot records and they did and provided their fax. The next day I called Renee and she told me she faxed the dog's records to my vet. I called the vet's office and was informed they had received nothing from her. They called again and they were informed by Renee that she was a licensed Vet Tech and all the dog needed was a rabies shot. Great, wish I knew my dog needed a rabies shot two months ago. I also wish the women would do what she says!
In any event, why should I believe Renee that the only shot the dog requires is Rabies? Why has she allowed me to have the dog for two months and withheld this important information? Why did she tell me she'd send records and not to do, twice? Why did she tell my vet she would send shot records and refuse to do so? Why would she outright lie to me that she had faxed the records? Why would she lie to my vet? I can't explain her intentions, all I can comprehend is her actions. She is a liar!
I don't care how good this women trains dogs, that she was a cop, that her friends are cops or that she has contracts with LEO's. All I know is my experience directly with her and what you all have shared.
I would not recommend her to any Rottie Rescue organization, and I WILL spread the word. I likewise would not recommend her or her services to any pet owner or anyone who wished to rescue a dog.
I do not believe the "story" Renee shared about why my dog was with her in the first place. I believe her former employees that she is mean and unconcerned with their paychecks or her responsibilities as a boss or care giver of our pets.
This women is a train wreck. Simply said, she ain't honest. She lies, is untruthful. Wonder if she was kicked out of law enforcement for lying on police reports??
2009-11-27 15:26:48 Even though Renee "says" that my dog only requires rabies, my vet agrees, we can't let it go at that. This dog will need ALL her shots, at considerable expense to me. Renee said she'd pay for the rabies. Right. Why should I believe her? As a vet tech and a breeder and someone who trades live animals, hasn't she responsibility to maintain current shot & health records for her dogs? How could she even keep any dog with the knowledge that dog required a rabies shot? This women has zero integrity and is costing me money & heartache at this point. Do NOT get your animals from this lady and don't even think about boarding there. She seems greatly and unfortunately challenged by honesty, integrity, truthfulness, and professional behavior! —sheisdishonest
2010-01-03 23:38:57 Renee is for sure a trainwreck. She may be a great dog trainer,but she is a lousy business person. Renee lies so much she can't keep track of the one she told 10 minutes before. Return phone calls, forget it, not going to happen. Renee runs a half baked operation with young college or high school kids as employees so she can yell at them and get away with it.
My experience with Renee came as the result of an add she ran on Pet Finder.Com for an adult German Shepherd rescue dog. We had raised 3 German Shepherds before so this was not our first dance. We went to see the dog. He was a good looking boy to say the least. She introduced him to us while he was wearing a pinch collar all the time proclaiming what a sweet boy he was. The pinch collar should have been our first clue. We took him for a walk and although he had little or no training he was a piece of cake. We introduced him to our female German Shepherd and they got along fine. At this point I was very impressed with Renee. She really seemed to know her stuff. We took him home and introduced him to his new home and yard. He was so happy and excited he ran right into the swimming pool. 3 days later we took him to our Vet for evaluation. Our Vet said to be careful with him as he showed aggression. His fecal sample came back with Guardia and his ears were very red. We went from the Vets office to our dog training facility to introduce our new family member. When one of the trainers looked at his teeth he growled. The trainer exclaimed "A little aggression there". A couple of days later we went to obedience training. The dog growled at the trainer again. More aggression. Meanwhile the dog and I were bonding like crazy. He went everywhere with me. We introduced him to some friends and he mouthed them but didn't bite. He was enthralled with the birds in the back yard and we were having a problem with him coming when called. I called Renee and told her about the growling and mouthing. She said I wasn't being hard enough on him and we should get a shock collar for the recall problem. 3 days later we took him back to the vet for a blood test. He bit one of the attendents and the Vet counciled us regarding the aggression suggesting very strongly we return the dog. We left the Vets without performing the blood test and went to the training facility. Both people at the training facility had seen the aggression problem and told us to return the dog. I called Renee and told her the dog was not as represented and I was bringing him back. She gave me a bunch of fast talk about not having any room and if I brought the dog back she would put him down. The dog and I were heavily bonded by this time and my wife and I decided 28 days wasn't a fair chance for the dog. We decided to keep him. I left Renee a message to that effect and asked her to call me. That never happened. I did several one on one sessions with my trainers and the dog was doing just great. We had housebroken him, trained him in German and he was really a family member. He had graduated from his crate to the bed at night and we had even conquered the poor recall because of the birds without the use of the shock collar. We had to take him back to the Vet because his ears were really bothering him as they had since we got him. It was found that he had an infection in one ear and a piece of wax that was adhered to his other ear drum. Suddenly one night I was fixing his dinner and he was sitting at my side, my wife started to clean his eyes and he growled at her. She said no and continued. He growled and snapped at her. We wrote that off as she got between him and his food. Big mistake. The day before Christmas I tried to remove a piece of paper from his mouth and he growled and snapped at me. I corrected him very aggressively and he growled some more. Earlier that day he had been introduced to my step daughter and her daughter and all was well. He was their buddy. Christmas day after we opened presents the dog was sniffing the presents on the floor and my step daughters daughter reached out to pet him. He growled and my wife scolded him. He growled louder at her and I grabbed him by the coller and ushered him outside. He was growling snarling, barring his teeth, and staring at my wife all the way. That was it he was done. The next day I called Renee and told her the dog was coming back. Again she tried to give us some poor excuse as to why we couldn't do it today. I told her that 4 different professional dog people had seen this problem coming, how come she as a professional hadn't seen it and if she did why did she adopt the dog out knowing this problem was there. She said bring the dog back but don't come until after 4:30. With broken hearts we arrived at 4:37pm. 2 people were picking up there dogs. Neither dog was ready. They both needed baths. The place smelled like urine and Renee was doing her best to ignor us. People kept coming and we kept standing there. Renee was so disorganized she was washing the dogs instead of her employees. She probably doesn't have any employees left. Of course that way she didn't have to deal with us. About 45 minutes later Renee finally told us it was going to be a while because she didn't have a place to put the dog. So here we are with broken hearts standing there waiting to lose the dog we fell in love with and had to give back because she had misrepresented him or hadn't taken the time to know the dog. Finally my wife stepped forward and one of Renee's helpers filled out the paperwork. Another 30 minutes went by before one of her staff went to another building to get a crate to put the dog in. Her employe got a taste of the aggression when she tried to put a leash on the dog and he growled at her. When we delivered the dog we gave Renee's helper a letter that I had written to Renee and his ear medication that he still needed for another 3 days. I am pretty sure she never read the letter and he never got his medication. I tried to call Renee 7 times the following week, left messages 4 times for her to call and she never responded. This behavior seems to be the norm for her. I finally figured out that she would recognize my number and refuse to take the call, so I used my cell and got right through. She immediately launched into a tirade as to being with a client and she only had a second to talk. I told her to knock off the crap. She tried to tell me the reason she hadn't called me back was because she was really unhappy at the shape the dog was in when we returned him. She said he was a stress case, had lost a lot of weight and his hair was falling out. I told her he weighed 75 lbs 3 days after we got him, ate like a horse and weighed 77.4 lbs 3 days before we returned him, so don't lie to me. At this point she tried to talk over me and I wouldn't let her. When she said his hair was falling out I asked if she had ever heard of separation anxiety. At this point she hung up on me. Another real professional move. If she actually was with a client and this wasn't just another lie, I am sure that client was really impressed with the professional manner in which she handled the phone call. I might add that the people that I know that know her don't think much of her as a person and they are professional animal people. Had I found this sight before I adopted that poor dog that was portrayed to us as a stray, when he actually was a product of a police confiscation from a forced home foreclosure, I never would have done business with this train wreck.
2010-03-07 09:18:29 My wife and I recently adopted a dog from rotts of friends rescue, and all i can say is that we are very happy with our new baby boy, and renne was very nice to us also she did take the time to have us spend time with a few dogs till we could find out witch is the right one for us and our situation at home. , he came to us crate trained well behaved and a lover enjoys life, we plan to go back for histraining classes as well even though he has very few behvior problems many that just go with still being a puppy. But i can see how hectic thigns can get there, they have alot of dogs there to be rescued and every dog we spent time with was pretty well behavied. with alof of these sites the compliants genreally outwiegh the good becuase well the happy people dont really think to take the time and spread the news online we are happy with our new family memebers. I feel bad for the people that were unhappy but a rescue dog is a gamble and sometimes harder to break bad habbits with, and for those that had the bad habbits did you take them to training class, most important did you keep up that training at home. With these rescue anaimlas if any can find a good home and forever familys i think its better than the alternatives of say the yolo or sutter/yuba animal shleters those places are just scary and sad so thank you for giving us sage we love him dearly and hes a good boy.
2010-03-10 20:30:35 I have to agree with messiers... I have rescued two rotties from Renee and have been exquisitely happy with both my animals. Renee has a strong personality, but that is not what I am there for. It is for her dogs and the bond she shares with them. Both my dogs were well cared for and I took advantage of here training with both of them. She's not a warm-fuzzy person and her people skills are lacking, but there is none better for training and for insights into her dogs. My dog is unfortunately sick with cancer and I will be going back to Renee for my new companion. I want to get one before I lose my beloved Bodhi so that he will know that I have a new companion who is responsible and loving and will look after me in his absence.
2010-07-01 16:00:09 We previously took our 1 year old Red Heeler to A home away kennels and were very disappointed. We recently had a last minute out of town funeral to attend - I called Renee on a Sunday (expecting a recording as the facility was closed) Renee answered on the 2nd ring - answered all of my questions and was totally helpful. My husband dropped the dog of the next morning and said he loved the facility - we picked her up this morning and she was clean (they even gave her a bath) all of her stuff got returned and she seemed really happy. We will definitely be taking her here any time we need to go out of town and were very happy with the whole experience. —NichoelM
2010-09-02 12:20:18 This is addressed specifically to JeanWalker, but also to anyone else that has a problem with the way I "teach" my daughter to become an adult. I will not dignify your ridiculous statement. Read all the experiences! Not just ours. Speaks for itself. Many of these young people have contacted me for advice. You are friends with Renee, so it makes sense that you would defend her. This woman IS a "train wreck", as someone else so eloquently stated. She has some of you fooled, but she is one ANGRY, mean woman, and it comes out at those that are her young emplyees, and animals in her care. If standing up for my daughter makes you uncomfortable, too bad! Stand for something, or you will fall for anything! Looks like you have fallen!! —Mschief
2010-10-25 15:46:43 I've done business with Renee twice over the past 10 yrs. I rescued a Rott from her in 2000 and recently purchased one of the pups of her champion male. She is the only person I will ever buy my dogs from. I recommend her to everyone I can and can't wait for the opportunity to volunteer some time (not with the dogs, but with the cause). Renee definitely is a no-nonsense person. I don't have a problem with her, personally. I respect her for being a dog lover, breeder, rescuer and the fact that she was/is a cop. With both of my transactions, she has been (hard to get ahold of at times yes, but) very thorough and professional. She wouldn't let me or anyone else around the litter of pups until they had all had their shots. She let me peek at the one we were buying, once he was old enough. When I came to pick him up, she was holding the puppy like a baby, gave me the contract, shot record, a written letter explaining when he needs his next shots, when to take him to the vet to ensure I was buying a quality puppy, how to potty train him. He is practically already potty trained (at 8 weeks) and is crate trained as well. She knows dogs and she knows what she's talking about. She's a tiny thing, but can handle those bully breed bad reputation dogs like no one else and gives them the respect and good name they deserve. She probably does have more compassion for animals than people and after being a cop I don't blame her. I'm sad to hear so much negativity on this site (especially with the young kids), because my experience with her has always been amazing. So she doesn't kiss my ass? So what? She's a business woman and has dedicated her life to an amazing cause. I've been out to the ranch about 10 times and when you see her with the dogs, she is all smiles and baby talk. She's dominant when she needs to be. I don't have a problem with her at all. It takes a certain type of person to do what she does with these dogs and I respect her for that. If you are considering getting a Rottie, you should definitely give her a chance. See and judge for yourself. Don't let these negative comments sway you. —RottLover
2011-01-24 20:59:16 We got our Rottie-Mix Rescue from Renee about 8months ago and love him! We went through beginners obedience and are glad we did! Renne was awesome. No nonsense and had a genuine passion to teach us how to control our dog/monster; not only for our safety and others, but for his. I am impressed with the business she runs and we are considering boarding our dog with her while we are away on vacation. We haven't got in contact with her as far as Rates for boarding...does anyone have information on this? —Hadukes
2011-03-19 02:48:01 honestly, i would not be surprised if some of these are renee herself posting to defend her own actions. hilarious! sadly, unless you are in the kennel, you do not see her true nature and the way she treats the dogs and her employees. it's a travesty. hopefully y'all will either figure it out or continue to not have issues! i don't wish the unfortunate temperament of this outrageous woman upon anyone, or any of their poor dogs. —LizzEhrenpreis
2011-04-01 01:18:59 - We adopted our dog from Renee two years ago and we have had nothing but great experiences with her since. She provided free training which was invaluable for me as a first time dog owner. She has been very patient with us, and she really knows her stuff. Our dog was a favorite of all the staff when we adopted him, and every time we take him back to stay at the kennel he is absolutely ecstatic to be there and to see everyone. He is also has a remarkably low stress level when we come to pick him up. This is the perfect place for us and our dog. For those who asked about boarding rates, we typically pay $25/day. I will say in response to some of the negative comments here that Renee is definitely a pack leader and it is not a surprise to me that she can come off abrasive at times. This does not change my experience or my opinion. —sweetMeliss
2011-07-02 13:00:25 Just want to say for the record that we take both of our family dogs to 29 Palms for boarding several to many times a year because we travel a lot. Have for at least 5 years. A giant Lab mix and a large Golden Retriever Both dogs sashay into the back room without a backward glance and greet us appropriatly when we return. No hesitation, no crazy "squirrelienis", just happy dogs. I dont see how this could be the case if they were at all unhappy at her place. They have an indoor-outdoor run,get to go into the pasture to play. I get it that Renee may not be a skilled people manager, but I do not believe that she is unkind to dogs. Could it be that some of these young people are not acquainted with how to deal with difficult animals? It takes guts of steel and a pretty stern demeanor, in my 62 year-old experience.
2011-10-26 13:12:21 Do employees get health benefits? what if a dog bites them? I'm a little sketchy of this place after reading some of the comments on here —californianist
2011-10-28 00:45:30 Wow... I was seriously considering working here when I saw an ad on craigslist. But, after reading some of the comments on this page, I changed my mind. This Renee lady doesn't sound like someone I would want to be employed under. —ArisaGagarin
2011-12-03 13:13:19 I am a supporter of Rotts of Friends and Renee Lancaster. I am so appalled at the vicious sour grapes I have seen on this board. Most people have no idea the amount of time and effort this woman puts into her rescue and training. It takes a special kind of person to run a rescue this size..and board and train etc..if you are looking for someone to give you butterfly kisses and hold your hand while you try to figure out how to do your job then she is not for you. She is a dynamic personality and I find alot of people are intimidated by that. This woman gives her all to dogs that would end up in a euthanasia pile..as a business owner I know what it is like to deal with disgruntled ex employees..not fun..and with the advent of message boards people are free to spread whatever version of their "truth" that they like..never of course taking any responsibility for why they are "ex" employees. I have nothing but respect for Renee as a trainer and rescuer of innocent animals that are cast away by humans. I will always board my dogs at 29 Palms..not many kennels are giddy when they get pit bulls to board but Renee is downright thrilled when I call to get mine a reservation. I appreciate that more than she knows. —AnnieTorres
2012-02-18 08:47:20 2011 I worked for Renee for 7 months, at first she was good to work for I looked up to her..She turned on me and treated me bad, calling me names and criticizing me in front of clients and workers...She is mean and not easy to work for...She refused to give me my last pay check and getting my tax papers is another story. She is an awesome trainer and she loves the dogs. She is not reliable as a kennel person, she lies and is mean to some of the clients..If you are coming from out of town make sure you are there on time or she will leave you hanging.. —Dawnmarie
2012-07-28 10:47:45 We also had a horrible experience with Renee Lancaster. I spoke with Renee about potentially adopting a rescue dog and was told to come down to visit during the open house. I was not told we had to bring anything. My husband drove an hour to take a look at the dogs - just to see if there was any potential dogs there that might fit with our family. We have owned several dogs, including special needs German Shepherds and have a lot of experience with the breed. We were hoping to help a dog in need by giving it a great home with a loving family. My husband arrived and spoke with one of the assistants....so far so good. Then Renee showed up. Without knowing anything about him or knowing his name, she was immediately confrontational and looking for a fight. She lied and said that she had told me to bring proof of home ownership and that the entire family HAD to be there to even see the dogs (neither of which was ever mentioned). It was very apparent that she is a hoarder using her organization to disguise that, as well as other psych problems. She also brought up the fact she used to be a police officer, even though it was not relevant at all to the conversation. If we had read any of the below reviews we would never have even visited the 'rescue.' All of the negative reviews here are very believable after meeting Renee. The sad truth is, Renee needs more help than the dogs. —AnnaS
2012-08-05 08:25:28 It is truly amazing the borderline slanderous statements that people post to this board. if people would PAY ATTENTION to what they are told about what is needed in able to possibly adopt things would go smoothly.Unfortunately it has been my experience that people hear what they want and try to weasel their way around the rest. Renee Lancaster has more integrity in her small finger than most people have in their entire body. Her tireless efforts to rescue and place dogs in loving APPROPRIATE homes is not easy task. To get on here and make slanderous comments about her being a "hoarder" or mentally ill is not only inappropriate it is juvenile. You should be ashamed of yourself. Be an adult and take responsibility for your actions. Or better yet...take some time out of your life and go volunteer at the rescue and find out just how hard this woman and her volunteers work to save animals from the neglect and cruelty inflicted on them by ignorant people. —AnneT
2012-11-07 14:25:36 I had applied to work for Renee about 3 weeks ago, she finally called me today. However after reading all the negative comments, I won't be calling her back. I wonder if she has read this page.... —SydneyYeomans
2013-03-22 13:28:02 Renee Lancaster posts ads on Craigslist to work for "Rottsoffriends Animal Rescue". She will ask you to work split shifts for a while. You will drive 45 miles a day (if you live in Woodland) and it will seem alright to start. She will gradually get ruder and ruder to you until eventually she is screaming at you, condescending, and just downright nasty. This is in the year 2013 and I can vouch that she is NOT LEGIT. She is a TERRIBLE person. I personally have seen her make two different employees cry, on a regular basis. She challenges her employees to sue her. Throws around that she is a cop/sheriff. She often makes poor decisions with clients dogs. She never pays you less then a week after you should have LEGALLY been paid. She will tell you that you got a raise and then never give a raise. She epitomizes all that is wrong with an employers market and exploiting young labor. She bad mouths clients to her employees and employees to her other employees and I have even seen her downright embarrass and degrade an employee in front of a client!! I laugh at these posts defending her, as I know they are either her, or they are her volunteers that come on Saturday, either Barb, Annie or Jean. Or Kristen. I don't deny or say anything about her dog training abilities, but I do question every legality of anything she does. Before I started working there, I talked to four or her prior employees that I went to school with or knew through somebody. Every single person told me the same thing. "She is a fucking bitch. She is a nasty person. Don't do it. It's not worth it." And from my understanding, none of those people posted on here or knew about this site. I'm only here on this site, because when I was condescendingly getting yelled out after asking her not to yell at me, she sneeringly told me to sue her and to go on DavisWiki and see what everyone thought of her and how it didn't matter then she a successful business women and a cop. Essentially saying she is untouchable. For all of the college and high school employees that work there, what are you to do??? —AbusedWorker
2013-10-06 12:25:57 The rest of the story for former employees of this company... My daughter decided to make a difference and went to the Labor Board with valid claims - Renee was found accountable for 4 labor law violations. One could argue that she did so out of ignorance of the law except that she repeats the actions over and over. Beyond the labor law violations are the violations of young people's spirits she attempts - she is abusive. One day she told my daughter she believed it was her job to toughen my daughter up and that it was like being in the military. Frankly Renee misunderstands her responsibilities as an employer and is quite abusive to young women. After reading the definition of human trafficking, I would say that Renee comes very close to exhibiting the same behaviors as a trafficker: Isolate, threaten, verbally abuse, tries to convince them they have no value unless they behave the way she has deemed appropriate. Fortunately, my daughter had an excellent support network and realized that Renee was unstable. My hope is that if enough girls come forward this place either gets shut down for repeated violations or Renee finds a good business manager to take over the staffing and payroll and begins to follow the wage order laws. And please, for those who want to attack these young girls as spoiled, etc. - shame on you for perpetuating the myth that it is okay to bully people to help them grow into outstanding citizens. My daughter is a fabulous, compassionate, responsible person who does not try to get ahead in this world by taking advantage of other people. In fact she would never have gone to the labor board if Renee had not told her to take her problems with getting her final check to the labor board if she wanted her money. —BethCoehlo
Thanks Beth. Solid attaboy for actually following thru with the labor board violations. The three separate employees talking about the no paycheck is disquieting for sure, but the fact that the labor board came thru with flying colors just cements (imho) what has been stated above. Daubert
2014-02-10 17:35:56 Renee Lancaster = One mean scary trainwreck. Walks around with a gun in kennels (she told me that, not gossip). Because you just never know when you might need it? If your dogs are that out of control, then get out of business, threatening a dog every single day of it's life with shooting it. That isn't sanctuary living. But heck it makes Ms. Lancaster feel like a bad a— around the dogs. As for Sheriff Renee, she got fired! All you have to do is a simple google search to find the lawsuit that she LOST! She sued Yolo County when they fired her. This sheriff had problems even being a Sheriff, just a simple Google search brings up her whole crazy lawsuit. Here is the actual judgement, all in favor of the defendant (Yolo County). Check out the activities she did when she was "suppose to be working". And she tells everyone she believes in the truth, hey Renee, it's some delusional truth you make up in your head, isn't it?
What is hard to believe is that she has the nerve to still say she was a "sheriff". She even tried to get disability for a mental impairment, according to these court documents...denied! The only thing I wish they would have paid for is a nice little psychiatric ward for her.
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/USCOURTS-caed-2_03-cv-02342/pdf/USCOURTS-caed-2_03-cv-02342-10.pdf —vickiebrown
2015-06-13 18:05:47 The month after I turned sixteen, I put in an application to work here. 4 months later I got a call for an interview, whih turned out just to be the days I could work. I worked there for 3 days and left on the 3rd and never came back. I was hired without a work permit and was not given any information whatsoever on how much I was eve getting paid. I was never given any paycheck, and because I was hired without a work permit and any sort of record of me working there will probably not be able to get one. Renee was extremely abusive and cruel to me, and frequently violated my rights. Do not ever think about working here. —WolfDragon
2016-10-05 12:48:56 We are very happy to have found Renee and 29 Palms for our dog. She cares for tough dogs, though is no doubt better with dogs than with people. —elibys
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