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You are absolutely right, and the very reason we're all upset about this...we would have taken the dogs anyway, however, I don't want to be lied to...that is inexcusable...and will now prevent me from adopting a rescue again....this is the first rescue I've had...he is great with me...patient, loving, thankful, very very good dog....and I wouldn't trade him for the world...however, I was floored when I found out he was 10 years old...I was told he was 6...and that his shots were up to date...well, when I got him home, all his shots were due...and I paid $350.00 for him...
I love him emensely...he is my friend and companion....I so look forward to each and every day with him...but I'm always scared today might be the last day...we don't have much time together, and I vow, to make him happy...for whatever time he has left...that is why I walk him so much...he loves to be outside...he's fit and trim, I give him Taste of the Wild along with the Missing Link...which I'm hoping will help give him a longer life...but I've grown so attached to him...and I didn't have a dog for 13 years, b/c the last one I put down really tore me apart...I guess as you grow older, it just pierces the heart and soul more? anyway, thank you for understanding....
Creme
I understand you are frustrated, but please don't let the specific rescue organization from which you adopted the dog keep you from rescuing in the future. I am sure many people on this board would be happy to help you figure out how to do "due diligence" in checking out a rescue/dog. I know so many people who have had great experiences with rescues.
Also, keep in mind, many people in rescue are volunteers. They don't get paid, and they work 9-5 jobs on top of doing the rescue work. I would really hope no one would set out to rip people off or lie about shots. $350 sounds a little high to me, but rescues use these fees to provide vet care, food, shelter, transport, etc. Fees also seem to be higher for small dogs. If money is an issue, county shelters normally have lower fees.
The greyhound we adopted last year had been with the rescue (not in a foster home) for just over a year. So she'd had her shots when the rescue got her, but was due for her next set of shots in a few days (and we took care of this, even though the rescue would have). From the way her teeth looked, you would have thought she was 100.On the other hand, my aunt has a lab mix who was adopted as a puppy, and her teeth are so white and perfect you'd think she was 2! She's actually 10.
Again, sorry this rescue experience made you so mad, but aren't you happy you have a precious new addition to your family? Please don't let a knee-jerk reaction keep you from rescuing in the future.
If your friend knew ahead of time the dog had KC and was given the option to bring it home or wait and chose to bring it home, that's her decision. I"ve had one that I allowed to go home with a couple that had KC, but only because they had an unbelievably wonderful vet reference and they were in the process of packing for their summer stay in Maine and I knew getting her there would be nearly impossible. I didn't want to pass up her chance at a home. If it weren't for everything that came into play, I'd have said no.
The last thing in the world I want is a dog we adopt out to be returned. So far it's only happened one, but I got a text from someone that adopted a dog a few weeks ago. She says she has medical problems that may force her to move in with her parents (she's in her mid 50s) and if she has to she'll be forced to return the dog she adopted. She never disclosed on her application that she had this medical problem that can leave her completely incapable of caring for herself, let alone a dog. Had I known this I'd definitely had a much longer in-depth conversation with her before deciding if she were approved or not. That said, now that it's approved I'll do anything to keep him in his home. If I have to foster him a while so she can recover that's fine. The last thing I want is for him to have to find a new home.
Was it right for them to send her home sick? Depends on the circumstances I guess. I just hate that anyone ever has a bad rescue experience. It makes it harder for the good rescues to find people willing to adopt when it's so much easier to just give your money to some back yard breeder and walk away with a puppy, no questions asked.
You forgot the rest of the story, mrs1885. A year or two, give or take, after the people buy the puppy from the back yard breeder, they get tired of him; he is never houstrained; he gets destructive because he never gets exercise; he gets "too big", etc and back yard bred doggie ends up in the kill shelter or, if very lucky, in the hands of a rescue! I don't know if it is just New York City, but the expensive breeds are dumped as often as the mutts. Right now we have among the dogs and cats available many pure bred $1000 animals for adoption. Rescuing an animal is not only the kindest option it is often much less expensive than buying one.
Last edited by texan2yankee; 06-03-2010 at 03:44 PM..
You forgot the rest of the story, mrs1885. A year or two, give or take, after the people buy the puppy from the back yard breeder, they get tired of him; he is never houstrained; he gets destructive because he never gets exercise; he gets "too big", etc and back yard bred doggie ends up in the kill shelter or, if very lucky, in the hands of a rescue! I don't know if it is just New York City, but the expensive breeds are dumped as often as the mutts. Right now we have among the dogs and cats available many pure bred $1000 animals for adoption. Rescuing an animal is not only the kindest option it is often much less expensive than buying one.
Couldn't agree more. I've got a rescue packed full of gorgeous pure bred dogs that were dumped in shelters. Chihuahuas, a cockapoo , tons of beagles, german shepherds (one was even professionally obedience trained), toy fox terrier, american eskimo, couple poodles, couple boston terriers, a boxer, doxie, the most stunning golden retreiver you'll ever meet, and a St Bernard. Why people buy puppies from back yard breeders is beyond me. Housebreaking, chewing up the house, ruining carpets, all the vet bills....... Why not get one past all that stuff that's fully vetted already and save yourself hundreds of dollars? *shrug*
I work at a shelter so its a lot different then a rescue group..We estimate ages but we always tell people its strictly an estimate..You can tell if a dog has horrible teeth but it came in in terrible shape..poor nutrition does play a role.However,if a dogs eyes are very cloudy and has horrible teeth,etc,its obviously atleast middle aged..Vets opinions are more valuable but its still an estimate,they don't know exactly how old an animal is if it has no history,unless of course it is a baby.As far as kennel cough,all of our dogs are vaccinated as they come in so they dont have time to build up the immunity to it,98% of our dogs get it.If they get it while in our care we treat them,sometimes we give the remaining dose to adopters and advise them to see a vet,but for the most part we just let them go home.We cannot hold animals for kennel cough.When adopting from a shelter thats the least of your problems.I tell every adopter to watch their new pet because most likely they will get it.I feel for you since you went through a rescue..Thats insane you paid that much and the animal needed vaccines!!While i agree with them charging a decent amount since they usually do spay/neuter,vaccines,microchip,and other testing,its absurd you paid that much and the basics wasnt completely covered.My shelter does alot for adopters,we'll even do surgeries on animals who need it before they are adopted.Im talking major surgeries,that would cost $600+,our adoption fee is $60.
As far as lying about ages,i dont agree with that.Same thing goes for breed.Im always honest to people,i like them to know what they are getting.Many times when these places lie it only hurts the animal in the end.They are returned when they find out they have a completely different breed then they thought they did,or when they think theyre getting an 8 month old puppy when theyre getting a 3 year old dog.
I didn't read through the whole thread so forgive me.Good luck!!Kennel cough is easy to cure,just get the animal to a vet to make sure it doesnt have phnemonia(sp?,sorry im a little tired!)
For what it's worth, having adopted a dog from a refuge and having felt that the foster was not upfront about behavioral issues, I still advocate for adopting rescued animals, and I still support the refuge we went through. I believe any "fibbing" was on the part of the foster herself, and not sanctioned by the refuge as a whole, and I believe her intent was not malicious...she just wanted him to find a forever home - even though glossing over potential issues is a shortsighted way to do that, obviously. We are glad to have Willie even if there have been more issues than anticipated; we love him. We'd likely have adopted him anyway, had we known about his issues. When they became apparent, we could have surrendered him, and we didn't even consider it. But others might have.
But I do believe that people who are considering going the adoption route should know going in that organizations may not always be upfront, and even though such glossing over of potential issues may be done with the misguided idea that its in the dog's best interest to get him or her adopted out, it's still problematic.
I wish to thank you all, for offering explainations and feedback...I feel much better and believe I over reacted a bit...yes, my friend knew her new companion had kennel cough, I am the one who was upset that the rescue sent the dog home with her sick, with meds, and just fixed two days before...in my opinion, that shouldn't ever be done...so now she's already got a vet bill, b/c the dog started coughing so much it scared her and she took her to the vets...she never complains....I'm the one who was angry b/c this rescue did that to her....she feel in love at first sight with the dog, and if you'd see her you'd certainly understand why....
I believe it's like anything else, some rescues are so eager to make room for the next dog, to give it a chance, that I guess sometimes they don't stop and think about what they're doing...they are just glad to find these animals a home...
anyway, I love my dog, and my friends dog...we are both hoping to walk them together once hers gets over the KC. only problem is, she barks like crazy at other dogs. She seems to be afraid of them, so, I suggested we walk them together but seperate them for awhile until they get used to each other....
if any of you have any suggestions, please would love to hear them...she is also having a problem with her new found companion, and it may be that the dog is nervous, but she is urinating and deficating in her crate and not much outside...they found her as a stray in the city...so, I'm guessing she is not housebroken...I advised her to get a little bottel of dog urnine and place a few drops on the yard....I believe this new little gal of hers is just confused and nervous, but she surely loves her mama...and is so dependent upon her...
Mine, is a love to...and I'm so thankful to have found him....he is good, patient, loyal, loving and just a sweetie little guy....and I do love him dearly...
We adopted Jett from the Humane Society of Charlotte, and it was a very good experience overall. He came home with all his shots up to date, including heart worm dosage. He was neutered before leaving (requirement). We signed a ton of paperwork in which we were informed of the risk of kennel cough and ringworm, based on the fact that he lived at the Humane Society where there are a ton of dogs.
He in fact got an upper respiratory infection within a few days that cleared up with antibiotics, and the vet treated him recently for suspected ringworm that wound up being negative in the culture. No one else got ringworm in my house, so probably this was just a skin irritation.
He appears to be the age they said he is: 4 months old.
I agree 100% with the honesty policy. I feel that everyone at the Humane Society was honest and supportive, and I would definitely adopt from there again.
Last edited by chicagomichauds; 06-04-2010 at 08:25 AM..
Just a few days ago I adopted a dog - the vet summary sheet that came with the adoption papers listed the dog's age as 2 years, 3 months. Yesterday, my vet examined the dog and told me he was 6 or 7 years old, based on his exam of the pupils of his eyes and teeth (vet said teeth had been recently scraped and there was a broken molar).
The dog is very sweet and I am keeping him but I am annoyed with this vast discrepancy between the dog's estimated age on the rescue's vet summary sheet and my vet's evaluation of the dog's age.
I had requested a young dog and got a senior dog which will put an entirely different perspective on my plans for his health care, training and sports events that I like to do with dogs.
This kind of misrepresentation is not fair to the animal, the adopter of the animal and sheds a dishonesty shadow on the rescue group.
That sucks. I feel for you. In my opinion if you are going to be adopting a dog you should do a bit of research. For instance I learned how to tell a dogs age by looking at the teeth. I mean im not a pro or anything but I feel reasonably confident that I can tell a dogs age within a couple of years by looking at the teeth.
I guess Im ahead of the game a bit though since im already in the health field and my girflriend is a dental hygenist.
I've talked to several vets, and they all say it is very difficult to tell they're age by they're teeth, and mine had his teeth cleaned, there were none missing, therefore, his teeth looked young....it's not like a horse...you can get pretty close to they're age by looking at the teeth....
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, tons of beagles, german shepherds (one was even professionally obedience trained), toy fox terrier, american eskimo, couple poodles, couple boston terriers, a boxer, doxie, the most stunning golden retreiver you'll ever meet, and a St Bernard. Why people buy puppies from back yard breeders is beyond me. Housebreaking, chewing up the house, ruining carpets, all the vet bills....... Why not get one past all that stuff that's fully vetted already and save yourself hundreds of dollars? *shrug*
Dog's age misrepresented
