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I have to question the wisdom of placing a shelter dog into an amateur home with a brand new baby. Perhaps people with a ton of dog experience might be able to handle a new dog and a new baby at the same time, but most people can't.
Some of the dogs in shelters are not suitable to be pets for the average family. Some of them need specialized handling and training and experienced owners. If one of those dogs gets placed with a typical family, the dog should be returned to the shelter. Actually, I think they should be put down instead of taking up a good home where one of the lovely deserving pound puppies could be placed, but that is a separate issue.
So, maybe yes, another chance with a better suited dog. Homes should be inspected and people interviewed to make sure they know what they are getting into and know how to handle it, or at least know how to get help. Dogs should go into homes that have the commitment to make it work, but sometimes there is a serious mismatch.
My friend with a new baby decided to also get a puppy. They realize after a few days that it was just to much and gave the dog back to the shelter. This was their first dog and it just didn’t work out. So now people online are tying to get their name on some kind of list to never be able to adopt again. I don’t think it’s fair? They didn’t realize. Now they will wait until their child is a little older. Or adopt an older dog. I can understand if they did this multiple times. But it was one time. They learned and now know what they can handle.
I don't know about full-on blacklisting (that would depend on how they treated the puppy while they had it, and how they handled the return) but if in the future I was taking applications for an adoptable pet and one application was from someone who hadn't done this stupid thing, and another application was from your friend, all other things being equal your friend's app is probably going into the shredder, realistically. There used to be a big surplus of adoptable dogs and a shortage of adopters, but in most regions now this isn't the case, so shelters/rescues can afford to be choosier.
That said, there are lots of circumstances where rehoming a pet is necessary despite everyone's best efforts, and also can be for the the animal's own good. If an owner works with a rescue/shelter to arrange this in a responsible way, it shouldn't be held against them.
One of the Rescues I worked with was adamant about doing home checks. No home check - no adoption. This was in a city with an active dog fighting community.
A woman came to an adoption event, filled out paper work, was interviewed and everything looked good. She wanted to adopt a little chi and she stated there were no other dogs in the house. She was reluctant to allow a home check but finally agreed knowing she wouldn't get the chi without a home check.
Two volunteers (I wasn't one of them) went to the house and everything looked okay until the volunteers looked a little further into the large, messy (junk piled) backyard and found two pit bulls chained in the back. I am not in any way anti-pit bull. Our daughter adopted a pit mix who was wonderful and gave her 14 years of love with no aggression issues. But in a community that engages in dog fighting, extra care has to be taken. Chihuahuas and other small dogs are often used as bait.
This is the kind of situation that supports having a list. City and county shelters are very different from Rescues. Shelters don't often have the manpower to do home checks.
I can't imagine any Rescue or shelter denying the OP's friend the opportunity to adopt in the future. That's not what the list is about.
One of my foster moms is currently fostering a five year old schnauzer yorkie mix. He was adopted out by our rescue in 2018 and was surrendered to animal services last month by a person who claimed he was a stray. Fortunately like most rescue dogs he was chipped and they contacted us. After a little research we discovered the person who dumped him at the shelter was the one who adopted him three years ago. That person is on the do not adopt list.
Op,what your friends did happens all the time with rescue. We have a policy of a one week trial. No questions asked if they need to return the dog and they do receive the adoption donation back. I often would stress to the new owners as I was completing the adoption that if it did not work out to bring the dog back and we will not judge them. I would much rather have the animal come back into our care so we can get it into a new home that will love and appreciate it rather than suffer in a home where they’re not wanted or possibly meet a worse fate. Of course we do screen in advance, pulling up the property records to ensure that they are the homeowner or if they are renting we get approval directly from their landlord before a meet is even arranged. As well, we do a check with their current or previous vet to ensure the animals properly cared for. If someone is local or within an hour drive we usually ask that the foster parent go to the adopter’s home if possible.
My friend with a new baby decided to also get a puppy. They realize after a few days that it was just to much and gave the dog back to the shelter. This was their first dog and it just didn’t work out. So now people online are tying to get their name on some kind of list to never be able to adopt again. I don’t think it’s fair? They didn’t realize. Now they will wait until their child is a little older. Or adopt an older dog. I can understand if they did this multiple times. But it was one time. They learned and now know what they can handle.
Flat out your friends are a**holes. They don't deserve to "own" a pet.
I don't think the people in question should necessarily be permanently blacklisted from ever adopting a dog again, but I do have to question the common sense of anyone who'd introduce a new puppy into a household where a newborn baby was also in residence.
Recently, someone in an online group for American Eskimo enthusiasts was rehoming a dog she'd had for seven years because a new baby was on the horizon. To me, that's much worse.
I been thinking since the 1st post. I Really feel the OP needs to let CPS in on this! Make sure her "Friends" Human Child is ok
Well, that's a stretch! Based on what exactly? Because they chose to stay focused on their newborn instead of getting stretched too thin by a needy puppy!?
Last edited by Parnassia; 10-20-2021 at 04:30 PM..
I been thinking since the 1st post. I Really feel the OP needs to let CPS in on this! Make sure her "Friends" Human Child is ok
You can't possibly be serious.
The couple didn't hurt or kill the puppy or put it in danger by rehoming it on Craiglist. They took it back to the shelter to be adopted by someone who's a better fit.
I volunteer with a greyhound adoption group, and when I fostered, I would occasionally get a relinquishment. Some of the reasons were understandable (one just outright broke my heart--everything that could be going wrong for the family *was* going wrong, and they were in ugly cry when they brought the dog to me when they finally had to accept they couldn't care for her anymore). Some of the reasons I've heard....I just had to bite my tongue hard while I took the dog.
The one reason I really hate is when a couple divorces. I swear it always seems that one half of the couple is in a position where they *could* keep the dog, and won't, and the other half *wants* to keep the dog, and can't.
So I wouldn't say that returning a dog means you should never be able to adopt again. It would really depend upon the reason for the return.
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Well, that's a stretch! Based on what exactly? Because they chose to stay focused on their newborn instead of getting stretched too thin by a needy puppy!? 
