[actifadepette]

Just curious.

Have you ever gotten a dog say from someone that was just rehoming their dog for whatever reason. And the owner that rehomed the dog shows up saying they made a mistake and wanting their dog back, not wanting, but insisting you let them have their dog back. Possibly even Offering you more than they sold the dog for?


Just curious.


I heard about something like this happening the other day except it was with a cat.

[echocassidyde]

When we did rescue we made people giving up a dog sign a release. If they wanted the dog back they would have to go thru the adoption application crap.
I personally have never had it happen to me...

[HilaryNidierer]

Not to me personally, no. I work at a shelter and people do give up their animals and sometimes (rarely) want them back. We ask them if they really want them to consider it as we can't promise them a home.

We are a low-kill shelter and rarely euthanize, unless a dog is really unstable with humans and if an animal is really sick but we do all we can for them before even considering euthanasia.

But yes, people have asked for their dogs back and we told them they signed them over and they would have to put in an application. Hardly ever worked out anyways with me being there almost 5 years.

There was this guy who turned in his lab, Fergus last summer I think it was. He had seriously grabbed a car by the front and did a lot of damage to the car, $1,000 damage from grabbing it. The guy was pissed because he had to pay that off.

He was a huge ass lab and so sweet. The kids were calling him stupid, no the guy was stupid for letting the dog loose he could have got hurt. He had the nerve the next day to ask for Fergus back and we said no. Your kids are calling him stupid and you want him back? He was better off with us and found a great home.

[highattainlet]

I worked at a shelter and decided to adopt my first pit bull after she'd been on the floor for 100 days. She had cancer. A vet who worked at the shelter said she would remove the tumor for free if I agreed to own the dog.

The dog was brought to the shelter after being found, starving, tied to a tree in the middle of a state forest. She was found by hunters who heard her screaming.

I adopted her, had the surgery done, and fell totally in love with her. Just a week before I adopted her, there was a Christmas photo shoot at the shelter and they wanted the front page of the paper to be a shelter dog with kittens crawling all over it. (Peace on Earth...). My dog was the one chosen for the shot. The picture came out post-adoption.

My dog's former owner's called and wanted their dog back. I was the Executive Director of the shelter, so the situation was messy. I told the people to come on in and we could figure it all out. I had my dog at the shelter when they arrived. I was out of my mind and didn't know what to do. I was already in love with the dog, and she was in a really, really bad place at the end of the other peoples' ownership.

So, the people came to take my/their dog. They loved her. Every time I had to do something, my dog would cry for me or follow me, leaving her old owner's behind. The people said, "She loves us, but you're her momma now. You can keep her." They took photos, video tape, and let me keep her.

A very happy ending. They even sent me pictures of her taken throughout her life. She was 6 when I got her and had had 3 litters. This owner gave her away after an accident and the next owner's room mate tied her to a tree after her new owner was arrested and went to jail... Turned out really well, but was dicey. No idea what I would have done if they hadn't given her to me, but my instincts told me to meet with them. Glad I listened.

That dog was remarkable. It was a privilege to own her. Oh, and I learned that her name, before she became mine, was Bitch....

I am not clever enough to make this stuff up.

[SaLifHoq]

Well.. I got stuck on the opposite end of this.. I fostered a Great Dane that I had found in poor condition on Craigslist. I found what I thought was a great home for him. Well, a couple months into it, after being reassured that the dog was fine, and getting good pics, he was picked up running loose by the AC I work for, and was over 20 lbs underweight. They recognized him as mine after he was picked up by the owner. I proceeded to drive out to her mom's house, where she was now living, to see what was up. The owner wasn't home when I got there, and I got the full scoop from her mom; apparently her daughter had 2 kids and 2 other dogs (one a GD) that she hid from me, and she had broken up with her bf, and moved in w/ her mom with the dogs and kids. Her mom was nice, and told me that no matter what, I needed to take Scooby with me, b/c he wasn't getting treated right. Daughter came home, and let me take him after a lot of talking. She actually emailed me a few months later asking for him back, but I didn't respond... He's now in a new home, with great people who take great care of him!

[domeffire]

I adopted a little Corgi once and had it for about a week or so when the owner found out that we adopted her and wanted her back.

It was "her son's". Which we gave her back, but didn't wanna. She always kept getting out anyways. s:
She was a very rude person, I shouldn't have gave her back but I did it for "her son".

[Eltabaco]

I just had that happen to me, a few hours ago in fact!

I rescued 2 AB's the first of sept. after the owners moved away and left them behind. Both dogs were in bad shape but the puppy was so starved and dehydrated that she couldn't even stand. The vet said if she had been left one more day she would have been dead. Anyway the people reported the dogs stolen and I had a big hassle with the cops and animal control at first but after they came and saw the shape the dogs were in they decided they were better off with me.

Today, I got a knock on the door today and there stood the lady, wanting the male back! I explained all the vet bills I had and that both dogs had been spayed and neutered. She started crying when I said the male was neutered. I think she wanted him back to breed again.

Anyway, all went as well as could be. Both dogs are with me and NOT leaving with them. Thank God! I had visions of me in hand cuffs, screaming like a mad woman, for attacking the people for trying to take my babies away.

[Sierabiera]

I just had that happen to me, a few hours ago in fact!

I rescued 2 AB's the first of sept. after the owners moved away and left them behind. Both dogs were in bad shape but the puppy was so starved and dehydrated that she couldn't even stand. The vet said if she had been left one more day she would have been dead. Anyway the people reported the dogs stolen and I had a big hassle with the cops and animal control at first but after they came and saw the shape the dogs were in they decided they were better off with me.

Today, I got a knock on the door today and there stood the lady, wanting the male back! I explained all the vet bills I had and that both dogs had been spayed and neutered. She started crying when I said the male was neutered. I think she wanted him back to breed again.

Anyway, all went as well as could be. Both dogs are with me and NOT leaving with them. Thank God! I had visions of me in hand cuffs, screaming like a mad woman, for attacking the people for trying to take my babies away.

lol

[seperalem]

I was kinda worried about that when we first adopted Nick. His former owner surrendered him to a vet clinic where he's been for around 3 months when we got him. There was no real paperwork so it took a little work to get his microchipped transfered into our names. I had to prove that we had him licensed in our name and he had been seen by a vet while in our care. I got that done ASAP so he's listed in our name.
One of the vet techs was in the service with his previous owners but we haven't heard anything from them.

[royarnekara]

I make sure to know the law. It can get sticky, but basically boils down to the dog becomes property of the shelter after 4 days and immediately upon surrender. This means old owners can't do squat if you adopt a shelter dog. For private owners its a bit more muddled, boiling down to who currently has possession of the dog, who has registered the dog and who has provided vet care for the dog.

My brother loves his dogs. I know this. But he got into a bad spot financially (lost his job and was losing his house). Rita (formerly known as Princess) came to him and his fiance as a 3 week old pup they hand fed. They had her for a year and a half. 8 months of that she had a double ear infection that went untreated. She had literally never been to the vet! She was under weight and crated much of the time ebcause the constant head shaking made my brother nuts. Her ears were both swollen shut and had been for a while. She also had patches of missing fur from scratching.

For a couple months (4-6) my brother asked everyone he knew if someone would take her and get her cleared up. No one wanted her because she was either too old or not good breeding stock since she was never registered. Even my husband said no and he knew I had a thing for this dog since I first saw her as a 3 month old at a family gathering.

Last November, my brother called and said he had to move that week and if he couldn't find anyone to take her he was dropping her off at the LCAC (which is a high kill county animal control near him) because he couldn't take her where he and his family were going. He could only keep two of his dogs and he chose Sid and Trinity. I told my husband that Princess would certainly be killed because she is A) an APBT B) over a year and a half old and C) sick. He finally said we could take her.

Months later and after getting her renamed Rita, getting all of her vet care (well over $500 and 1.5 months just for the ears) and getting her back up to weight my brother starts making noises about wanting her back because he was getting a house and his fiance was really missing her. He didn't really ask so much as strongly hinted and making a lot of comments like "You're just her foster mom, me and K are her real parents." and "She knows who her real daddy is!" We even got into an argument once and he said something sort of quietly about how he could take her back.

HELLZ NAW! I did not work my butt off and give up a few things I wanted very badly getting that dog in good health to let her go back to no vet care and semi-responsible ownership.

So, I pointed out that Rita was registered in my name, I had a ton of vet paperwork and he had absolutely no proof he ever owned her since he never got her any vet care at all and that I was perfectly willing to disown him if he ever decided to push it. He dropped it.

[DailyRingtone]

Happened to me with Gypsy Her previous owners gave her to me when she was nine weeks old, with her ADBA papers. When I first got Gypsy I had no intentions of keeping her, but after just a couple weeks I knew she was mine forever.

Anywho, when she was about 5 months old, her old owners saw me walking down a street with Gypsy and stopped and asked if they could see her. They pet her and then told me they wanted her back. I just laughed. They didn't push, but I could tell by the looks on their faces that they were serious for a half a second

Oh, and years ago when I was a kid, my Mom 'rescued' a mini dachshund from a lady that wasn't feeding him and wanted to "get rid of him before he died". We named him Rocket. He was a brindle dachshund(mix?). He was the skinniest dog I'd ever laid eyes on at that point.

Anyway, my Mom got him healthy, had him neutered and vaccinated, and he was all settled in and happy, and 8 months later that woman and one of her kids had the nerve to come up to our house and tell my mom that they wanted their dog back.

My Mom laughed in their faces and told them to try.

They never did.

[MormefWrarebe]

The only time that's happened was actually recently.. with a GSD/bulldog mix pup.. Very long story short they had this 6wk old pup, by 'they' I mean she had no single owner, several teens/young men in the neighborhood passed her around, left her tied (at 6 weeks) outside with no shelter at night, it was cold.. I'd witnessed them beat her for not coming, when I got on them about it they told me it was to 'toughen her up, so she'll be an attack dog' - what?

I asked how much they would sell her for.. they came up with $160. $160 for a mangy, skinny mutt puppy with no shots or anything to prove health or temperament.. I beat them down to $80, which was still ridiculous..

I got her to her new owner that night.. a few days later they asked me where she was, I told them she was sick and I couldn't pay it, so I gave her to a friend who could (not entirely a lie, she did have a pretty decent cold). The one guy immediately demanded I give her back, they even got mad.. I let them know just how much trouble they could get in for all they had, or had not, done with her and they backed off about it.

She was a cutie, too..

[actifadepette]

Well I once knew a woman who purchased a dog off craigslist. The dog was a beautiful AKC registered German Shepherd puppy around 8 months old. The woman just couldn't handle her anymore. She had got her to breed but never had. She never said why she couldn't handle her. She had never been to a vet even. She had had her vaccinations at petco but she also was ill and had never been to a vet. Well my friend bought her for $150 from her and she got her papers too. She had her for over a year. And this dog was mega destructive at first, had no doggy manners. This dog was fearful of men. She got this dog in some intensive training and worked with her constantly. Gave her tons of exercise. Like I said she had the dog for over a year and the woman sees her at Petsmart with this beautiful well mannered and very obedient GSD. She asked if that was "Shelly" (renamed "Bella" which from what I understand means beauty) and she said yes. She stood there right in the middle of Petsmart and said that was her dog and she was going home with her. My friend said "No I bought her fair and square, she is licensed in my name. This is my dog". Then she had the audacity to try to buy her back. Offering her up to $500. Then when my friend went on to say all she did with this dog and how much spent on training, vet visits, the spay..." When the woman heard spay, her tune suddenly changed and she didn't want her back.

She simply wanted an easy breeding dog.

Makes me sick to think of what some people do.

[highattainlet]

Funny how "spay" and "neuter" instantly cool people off. Maybe it's the best thing we can do with homeless dogs to filter interests.

[iodillalm]

I have never had this happen to me, but I have always worried that I might find myself on the other end of this.

When my little girl, Ch. Shelana Casual Conversation was stolen from my yard some years ago, we searched for months, even still checking out leads years later. My fear was that I would be looking at a rescue sight and see her picture as having been adopted. 3 years later, I promised myself that if I did see her, no matter what, I would let her stay with her new family.

While I know it will be hard, I fully intend to keep that promise to myself and her. At this point it would serve no real purpose to uproot her if she has found a loving new home.