Dog Fight

A madcap escapade of larceny, vendettas and a pair of missing mastiffs

(Jan. 21, 2010)  The story has all the elements for a crackerjack Coen brothers thriller: It starts with a burly, goateed biker called “Scooter” and his pure-bred English mastiffs, Max and Brandi. The day after Thanksgiving, Scooter reports Max and Brandi stolen — taken, he says, by a pair of devious lovebirds who loaded his gentle giants into a pickup truck and fled to Arizona. Frantic, Scooter takes to the Internet, posting his story on dog-related message boards and searching for leads on the alleged perpetrators. Shortly before Christmas he learns their location: Prescott, Ariz. He rallies one of his biker buddies, and the two men head to Arizona in a rental car, ready for a showdown. Scooter aims to bring his big dogs home.

But things may not be quite what they seem. The alleged dog thieves — a female drag racer from Fortuna and her Arizona boyfriend, a self-professed killer who’s had plenty of run-ins with the law — offer up a different story. They’ve been falsely accused, they say: It’s Scooter’s girlfriend Robin who’s the real criminal. Turns out Robin’s awaiting trial in Shasta County on charges of fraud, embezzlement and criminal conspiracy. DA’s office says she’s lookin’ at 10 years in the clink. The suspected canine bandits say they’re actually in cahoots with the prosecution. They’d been gathering evidence against Robin on the sly, they say, but were discovered by Scooter and had to flee for their lives. According to the lovebirds, this dog theft story was cooked up by Scooter in an attempt to smear their names.

GALLERY >

When Scooter and his cohort arrive in the high deserts of Arizona, they stake out the suspects’ house, hoping to catch a glimpse of Max and Brandi. Those pooches are family to Scooter, and he’s not gonna give up the search ’til he’s got ’em back. Through the Internet, he’s rallied a crack team of allies, including a woman from Phoenix who trains explosive-detecting dogs for the war in Afghanistan. On a covert recon mission, the dog trainer and her colleague snoop around a suspected dog hideout, and sure enough, the friend spots a dog matching Brandi’s description. They notify the fuzz.

As Scooter and the police get closer and closer to cracking the case, the drag racer and her Arizona boyfriend decide to fight back. Before long, what seemed like a simple case of theft has spiraled into a madcap caper full of colorful characters, courtroom drama, car chases, a pregnant jailbird — even the mafia.

It’s not a Coen brothers movie, though. This is the real story of Max and Brandi.

 

William “Scooter” Reed and Robin Moberg live on a rugged, remote patch of Loleta land where they raise horses and alpacas, fix old cars and hope someday to operate Eel River Ranch, their fledgling nonprofit for developmentally delayed kids and adults. Moberg also owns and operates a consignment arts-and-crafts store in the Bayshore Mall called the Treasure Trove, where you can find everything from nautical knickknacks to alpaca fur rugs. (Or you could before this month’s 6.5-magnitude earthquake caused extensive damage. The store is temporarily closed.)

Among the artisans who’ve supplied the Treasure Trove with wares is 35-year-old Fortuna native Shelby Allen, a drag racer and animal lover who’s been selling her metal sculptures at Moberg’s store for roughly three years.

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23 Comments

Comment / By Scooter / Jan. 22, 2010, 2:16 p.m.

I can not for the life of me figure out how Shelby Allen can continue to deny taking my Dogs.. when the prosecution has witnesses from two different states that saw her with them.. We are willing to drop the charges if she would just give us our babies back..if you are seen robbing a store just because you don’t have the money on you when they finally catch up with you does not mean that you didn’t rob the store and will be punished for it.. wise up Shelby and tell us where our dogs are.

Comment / By Betty / Jan. 22, 2010, 11:49 p.m.

SCOOTER, Get a hold of John Collins, he lives in Garbervill. He lived with Shelby for the 12 years piror to Dan. She made up all sorts of lies about him, and has his dog and will not return it. She claimed he was stocking her, when all he wanted was his personal belongings,and his dog Blue. I have known JOhn for over 20 years. He is not a stocker, and has never harmed a woman. She filed papers at the court house filled with lies to get a stay away order. Shelby broke up with John only days before she went to Arizona. Shelby and her love muffin, DAN, were secertely communicating on line and phone for some time before she told John she wanted to break up. There was no fight, he left found a new home. The only communication shelby has sent his was a picture message a few days after she got to Arizona. It was a pic of her bare but with either a tatoo or written in black ink PROPERTY OF DAN SADOWSKY. He has not been able to go to their trailer and retrive any of his personal belongings. John and Shelby purchased the trailer together and lived in it on Shelby’s parents land. He does not know who is careing for his dog or where it is. The Judge ordered that Shelby make a time for John to get his stuff but she left for Arizona right after that. I assume that is when she took your dogs. my e-mail is woodmet@yahoo.com I can help put you in touch with John if you want.

Comment / By Kristiane / Jan. 24, 2010, 3:53 p.m.

I know John and all about Scooter. John treated Shelby like crap for years. Scooter is a pathelogical lier and his stories go wayyyyy out there. Dan may have taken the dogs. If Shelby took the dogs she would have only done it because the dogs were being mistreated. Shelby is a giant animal activist. John does not have a dog. It is Shelby’s. When Shelby left to go to Arizona for a couple of weeks John had left her dog in the trailer with no food or water for a week until Shelby’s dad when to go check on the dog. John and Scooter a big liers. A lot of the wording in this story is from drug users. Scooter you shouldn’t talk about stealing unless you want to come clean yourself. You and Robin are the biggest thefts. So why dont you come clean. Shelby has never been in trouble before and she is a VERY hard worker. God will punish you for your lies.

Comment / By Response to Kristiane / Jan. 26, 2010, 11:20 a.m.

You should really get your facts straight before you open your mouth and make a fool of yourself. Yes, Shelby used to be a hard worker, but then she met Dan. Now she seems to be under the spell of a person that has a long criminal history, and has shown signs of psychosis. There are reliable witnesses in 2 states that saw her with the dogs, period.

As for the dogs being abused..I don’t think so. These dogs went everywhere with Scooter, and were ambassadors for the non profit at the animal fair and Woofstock. They were seen on a daily basis. Don’t you think someone might have noticed if they were abused. And even if that were the case, you don’t just take the dogs, you report the problem to the PROPER authorities.

I don’t know John, but I have heard from several people that do, that when Shelby dumped him, he went away quietly, and Shelby still hasn’t given him his belongings (including his dog).

So, the next time you choose to butt in where you have no right to, try having the facts first. And by the way, you might want to go back to 1st grade, as your spelling is atrocious.

Comment / By another response to kristiane / Jan. 27, 2010, 4:54 a.m.

You can not possible know John if you say he treated Shelby like shit. John is a good man with a good heart and a trusting sole. I am the one you should be calling a liar. I put that comment here. I also investigated Dan Sadowsky. I found his criminal back ground, it is easy to look up. Arizona State courts has a web site. The guy is a scallywag, thief, liar, manipulator, dead beat Dad, abuser, and want to be bad ass. He beats woman and children and gets them to do his dirty work. I don’t know what happen to Shelby but she left the horses she got from the horse rescuse organization. What type of shape are they in now? Who is caring for them? A true animal activist, right. Time will reveal his true colors and Shelby’s. There is no excuse for taking another persons dogs. That is wrong, very wrong. I do not know Scooter or his woman, but they gave Shelby and Dan a place to stay when know one else would. That’s how she repays them, she is a real good friend. All the things she said to them them. To do that to someone who opened there home/property and gave them a place to stay is really messed up. Dan and Shelby deserve to be procuted to the full extentof the law, and forced by what ever means to get the dogs back to Scooter immeditally. How long would it take her to get the dogs back if her baby is taken away from her after it is born? That is what will happen if she is in jail at the time of birth. My dachshund is my child. I would do the same thing Scooter is to find my dog. I would never let it go till my dog was returned, and I would not drop the charges. How is that baby going to be treated, and what type of lifestyle is it going to be subjected to. Dan is a self professed killer. Child protective services need to do some research and investigating before that child is allowed to go home with Shelby. She is not making good choices. Is the baby John’s or Dan’s does Shelby even know?

Comment / By John Collins / Jan. 27, 2010, 6:24 p.m.

ABUSE Shelby? Never.Kristiane you don’t know me,Let’s keep it that way. Shelby & Dan formed a conspiracy in AZ.using his penitentiary learned law degree.Accuse& disgrace John,while stealing his race car. Then we will ride off into the sunset.He was blowing smoke some where.But this is about Scooter’s dogs.All of us should do evything we can to help him get his kids back.I enlarged the picture of Shelby above,that’ not the girl I’ve cared for all these years.Dan has stripped away the goodness,pride honer and honesty.Shelby these are the presants only you can give yourself.People will remember but they can forgive.If try hard maby you can get some of your self respect back.Help scooter get his dogs home.Dan always has a scarficle lamb don’t be it,HELP Scooter.Dan I really need my tail kicked,I sure hope you get a chance But your going back to prison,in the brand new snitch bag you put on yourself. The Humbolt Co S/Dept.& courts have taken the side of refused to hear the truth.It,s no wonder Scootr hade to go to AZ. him self.Our taxes pay thier salaries.They to should stand accountable.By wrighting this I’ve disobeyed the restraining order. Though this whole ordeal they have shone me how little power I have when armed with the truth.That’s also what gives Dan his. Good luck Scooter

Comment / By Dianne Edwards / Jan. 29, 2010, 2:09 p.m.

Scooter Reid and Robin Moberg are my neighbors. I have visited their home on several occasions. They take good care of their animals and love tham all like family. I trusted in Scooter, Robin and Geoff to care for my animals while I was away for over a week on vacation, leaving them with the keys to my house. Brandi and Max were in NO WAY ever abused by Scooter or Robin!

My fear is for Brandi and Max right now! WHERE ARE THEY?!?!?!?!? Did Dan Sadowski kill them and bury them in the desert to get rid of the evidence? Did he sell them into dog fighting? Those two gentle giants would just be torn to pieces! As would any off spring they would produce, as Mastiffs are, by nature, gentle, unagressive creatures.

I don’t care at all about anyone’s past, or pending accusations! I just want my kidnapped neighbors, Max and Brandi, to come home safely! And, if that is no longer possible, for Shelby or Dan to please put an end to this nightmare by providing all of us who love those dogs with the answers to “what has been their fate?”

I lost a dog in 1983. I believe he was stolen. I never recovered him. To this day, I am STILL haunted by nightmares of his possible abuse …27 years later.

Shelby Allen, they say you were an animal lover before you got mixed up with this jerk, Dan. If you have any empathy, please tell Law Enforcement what you know about the whereabouts of the dogs. I don’t know what Scooter or Robin ever did to offend you, but they are not the only ones you are hurting. PLEASE! Tell us where the dogs are!

Comment / By Kristiane (Kris) / Feb. 11, 2010, 7:58 p.m.

So you don’t know me? huh, John. Try that again. You know me as Kris from the gas station. I have known Shelby longer than you have. You know I know how you treated Shelby. Like crap… You can’t control her anymore so that really pisses you off. As for the person who knows that the dogs where treated right, you don’t know what a Mastiff looks like. They are not humpbacked and they don’t do go by getting run over by a 1/2 ton pickup. Just as Scooter what that is all about. As for the horses, they are just fine. Shelby and I went to get hay the other day. So you don’t know what your talking about. I know when people are being filled full of bull, and Scooter is filling you full of it. He is a lier and a thief, as for being a theif so in Robin. Why don’t you guys let the cops on your property? Because you don’t want them to see the RV’s. Hope you are in for a fight Scooter because you killed Brandi and are hiding Max. So here we come. Have a wonderful day…..

Comment / By J.C. / Feb. 17, 2010, 10:51 p.m.

So your Kristiane,Don’t you think if I had ever abused her you would have heard about it before now.She’s not done lying on the stand yet and if she continues to perjur herself like she did for a restraining order to keep me away from my race cars & Blue .After justice is served I hope I never see what ever she is again.What she is just Dan’s latest sacrsficisl lamb Lies won’t work in this court thier on to her game

Comment / By J.C. / Feb. 17, 2010, 10:52 p.m.

So your Kristiane,Don’t you think if I had ever abused her you would have heard about it before now.She’s not done lying on the stand yet and if she continues to perjur herself like she did for a restraining order to keep me away from my race cars & Blue .After justice is served I hope I never see what ever she is again.What she is just Dan’s latest sacrsficisl lamb Lies won’t work in this court thier on to her game

Comment / By Response to Kristiane / Feb. 22, 2010, 11:07 a.m.

Since you obviously don’t have a grasp on reality (or the english language), why don’t you just keep your nose out of things you have no knowledge of. If you are foolish enough to be friends with Shelby, then the only thing you know about this, is the lies she has fed you. Brandy dead? Then how was it both she & Max were seen by Sadowsky’s neighbor in Arizona? Yes, she denied it at first, but Sadowsky was in her house, and she is terrified of him and what he could do. As for people being thieves, the only thieves here are Shelby & Dan. Shelby, you’re looking at 2 felony grand theft charges, that are going to get you 3-5 in a federal prison. What do you think is going to happen to that “spawn from hell” you are carrying? They won’t let Sadowsky have it (he has domestic violence charges on his record) It will go into foster care, and you will never see it (which would probably be better than being raised by a psycho and someone so naive she believes the lies a nut case tells her). By the way, the police can come on Scooter & Robin’s property any time they want, and have been there several times in dealing with this case. RV’s? what RV’s? A friend of Scooter’s has his RV stored on the property, as he lives in an apt., and has no where to park it.
As for the horses, they are only fine because Shelby’s mother has been taking care of them. If it had been up to Shelby, they would have starved to death when she ran off to Arizona for several weeks (and the only reason she came back is because she was arrested & extradited back to this county). I hope they are taken away from her, as a dog thief doesn’t deserve to be in charge of any living creature (not to mention it will be hard to feed them from prison). Shelby & Dan…you are going down, and your only hope is to give back the dogs you stole.

Comment / By Josie / Feb. 28, 2010, 2:53 p.m.

Where is Dan? Why is he not here facing the music with Shelby, if he is so good? What is he hiding in Arizona? The dogs! Your quite a piece of work Shelby. You should be locked up until you tell the truth, come clean with all your lies about the dogs and John. Confess to all the lies you made up to get the restraining order against John. Admitt it you just want to keep John’s personal belongings. You started lieing before you went to Arizona you hid Dan from John, you never said you had a new boyfriend. Come clean Shelby, John dosent deserve your lies and BS. What did any of these people do do to you to make you treat them this way? Being your friend is the biggest mistake they made. Your no friend, your just another low life scum bag who uses people for your own gain. You and Dan deserve each other. The saying goes birds of a feather flock together. “Jail birds”

Comment / By John Collins / March 8, 2010, 12:30 p.m.

Thank you Josie,I’ve been waiting for some truth,it’s nice to finally read it.Shelby and Sadowoski used family law,the sheriffs dept.and court,to obtain a restraining order against me,ever thing in it was a lie,it was Dan’s way of keeping my influence away from Shelby her family and freinds,also my property.Allowing them more freedom to continue their crime spree.Where are the dogs?Shelby’s failure to tell the truth should dictate the length of her punishment.The truth will come out in the end ,so she should choose wisely,she’s determining her own fate.

Comment / By Kris / March 14, 2010, 2:51 p.m.

O.K. John, first of all I have heard about your abuse of Shelby for years. Living in a trailer for over 10 years with no bathroom or kitchen that you promised to finish is no way to make the person you suppose to love live. As for your shit on her parents property, GO AND GET IT THEY DON’T WANT THAT SHIT ON THEIR PROPERTY. THEY HAVE BEEN TRYING TO GET YOU TO HAVE SOMEONE COME AND GET IT FOR A WHILE NOW. BUT JUST NOT YOU. YOUR NOT ALLOWED.

So to the person who is to scared to tell who they really are “Response to Kristiane” you don’t know crap. I know Scooter from The Rooms. He knows what I mean. I know all kinds of crap he pulled while working for our program. He is no better than Robin when it comes to theft. Yes, Brandy was ran over. Believe it or not that is your problem. Max I think Scooter is hiding or killed him too. He has no respect for life period. Go up and look at the dog put in with his alpaca, all matted and nasty. I am going to call on my friend in the Sheriffs Department to go and check on those animals. You can say that the cops are allowed up to the property anytime they want but really when they have snuck around up there so far they have found enough.

Janis did feed the horses for the few weeks that Shelby was in Arizona but Shelby paid for the food to feed them. Shelby takes care of those horses everyday except when she comes to stay the night with me.

When all this is said and done you all will be eating crow. I doubt this will even go to trial. JOHN GET YOUR CRAP OFF OF THE ALLEN’S PROPERTY. NOW… BUT YOU AND JASON HAVE TO STAY AWAY. Those pieces of crap are cluttering up the property. HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY Y’ALL. MUAH

Comment / By The Truth / March 16, 2010, 6:48 p.m.

Kris…it is very admirable to stick up for a friend, but when you only have that friends lies to go on..why don’t you just keep your fat trap shut. You don’t know anything about Scooter or Robin, nor do you know anything about the animals on their property. The dog in with their alpacas is curly coated, but not matted, and is treated extremely well, like all the animals there, so keep your nose out of things you don’t know anything about. You have never been on the property, so again, all you know is the lies told to you by a DOG THIEF, trying to cover her ass.

Brandi was seen not once but several times in Arizona with Dan & Shelby, so how could Scooter have killed her? Max was seen there too…so again, you really don’t know what you are talking about. You are being handed a load of crap, and you are buying it hook, line & sinker. You are so gullible it is amazing you have the ability to think for yourself at all.

As for Scooter being a thief…you don’t know shit about when he was in the program. He was, and is a respected member of the program. You don’t know anything about the program or about Scooter, and I seriously doubt you were ever connected to it. In fact the only thing you know about either Scooter or Robin is what you’ve been told by a couple of liars. Robin isn’t a thief either. She got conned into making a bad investment…period. Dan & Shelby made up a bunch of lies about the whole thing to try and justify stealing the dogs. It won’t fly in court.

This case will go to trial, and Shelby will be doing time. Hope she enjoys knowing that her baby will be in foster care, because she is too dumb or too scared of Dan to tell the location of the dogs. As for you Kris…keep your stupid comments to yourself, because you really have no idea what you are talking about

Comment / By Dianne Edwards / March 20, 2010, 7:16 p.m.

Where are the dogs? You people are all losing sight of the ONLY question in this story.

Comment / By “The Program” / March 20, 2010, 7:27 p.m.

Dear Kris,

Obviously, you have no understanding of “The Program”. Despite your cliche’ use of “the rooms”, you obviously have no understanding of the word “Anonymous”, nor do you have any grasp of our traditions.

  1. [We have] no opinion on outside issues; hence, [our] name ought never be drawn into public controversy.

AND

  1. Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio, and films.

If you wish to attend our meetings for your own benefit, we welcome you, and we will do our best to help you. However, when you pretend to represent us while violating our traditions, you are repelling others that might, desperately need our help.

Please rethink yourself and your actions.

Comment / By Annoymous / March 23, 2010, 6:19 p.m.

Yes, where are the dogs? Shelby, why would you rather go to prison than give back dogs that aren’t even yours? What rational person would make this choice? You were always a good, caring person…WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO YOU????

Comment / By HAMC CC AZ / March 30, 2010, 1:58 p.m.

LISTEN UP HILL BILLYS! Enough is enough. I have been following this little blog for awhile and I am EXTEREMLY dissopointed in the way you all have been conducting your buisness. You all need to keep all the above names out of your, mouths the law is on to all of you and is closing in.. something i learned as a prospect is ACBC wich means ANY COP BAD COP!!!! I have a soft spot for animals if you get them back you all should just kill each other because this country has enough ignorant people in it and we could do without a few more of you…. Keep your mouths shut!

Comment / By WHERE ARE THE DOGS? / April 1, 2010, 11:56 a.m.

Dear HAMC CC AZ,

Do you know where the dogs are? That is the only reason I keep coming back to this blog. That is the ONLY important issue in this whole story. I could not care less who ever dated who, or what happened when they broke up. As for Robin Moberg’s legal problems, it is my understanding that issue is proceeding through a Superior Court of the State of California, as it should, and will be resolved, lawfully. It is a non-issue in this story, not at allrelated to the theft of the dogs. I am very disappointed in the reporting of Ryan Burris to have even brought it up. The one and only question is WHERE ARE THE DOGS????? Are they still alive? Is it possible to return them to their rightful owners? If you have any information on that subject, please call the Humboldt County Sherrif’s office at 707-445-7251. I am sure that would be willing to take the information anonymously. It is my understanding that, if the dogs are returned safely, the prosecution of the two thieves, SHELBY ALLEN and DAN SADOWSKI will be dropped.

Comment / By Sound The Alarm”Secret Squirel” / July 7, 2010, 5:18 p.m.

Dear HAMC CC AZ, Please be advised Mr. William Reed, aka Scooter is a active member of Humboldt County BACA ,That is Brothers Against Child Abuse. Any Cop Bad Cop. Warning to all the rightous Bikers and affiliates at BACA Scooter is bedfellows with Law Enforcement.

Comment / By Kenneth Fournell / June 30, 8:04 p.m.

Back when this happened i was a resident in a residential drug treatment program getting hep for my addiction, one which scooter had been associated with. I recently received a social security back payment and loaned him the money $500 to go to Arizona to rescue the dogs. On the condition that he was to repay my generous loan upon his return. This has been almost 2 years now with no attempt to make things right with me. This situation has jaded me to people in his position, so called recovery. HE USED ME. HE LIED TO ME. And he needs to pay me. I am going to seek legal action against him and everything he has. I grew up with bikers and the one thing they taught me was that you keep your word. NO MATTER WHAT.

Comment / By Dan Sadowsky / Today, 11:07 a.m.

Comment to Kenneth Fournell, I’m sorry to inform you that Mr. Williiam Reed has a history of stealing monies from people at the resiidential drug treatment program you attended. If you have any further information that can assist me in defending myself in my prosecution please contact me.

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