Who is responsible for a dog after given away?

Question

Scenerio: A family takes in a dog who can't be cared for at previous home. The dog snarls and bites the young children and after trying to work it out between the dog and kids, it only increases each time. The family is afraid the dog with seriously harm the children and vice versa. The family puts an ad up to give the dog away to a good home and states exactly why. The dog is not good with young children. A couple with no children agree to take the dog and weeks later says "it's not working out because she pees and poos at night in the house, come get your dog."

Who is responsible?

SERIOUS answers please.

I have cried rivers this passed week, sick and worried she will not find a good home. My husband is refusing to take her back because of her temperment with our two young sons. Understandable and frustrating.

I have contacted the lady who gave her to us in a desperate attempt... I asked if she would take her back. I wish I could take her back until she found another home but my husband absolutely won't have it.

Please do not judge me. I love this dog and am sick to my stomach thinking we gave her to someone who is hurting her. They did not appear that way. We did not have any kind of agreement when they agreed to take her in. They live in a different city.

She did NOT soil in our house at night (she did the first week or so when we first got her, but it stopped not long after working with her). They had her for almost 2 weeks now.

She is one year old and is a L'hasa apso mix.
I don't know what to do right now.

We had her for 3 months.

Just so you all know, we have agreed to take her back. The humaine society here has agreed to help us find her a "forever" home. They will take her in and make sure she is not aggressive, then find a family suited for her.

Thank you all for your advice!

Answer 1

If the person who gave the dog to the last people really care about the dog they will take it back and contact rescues or shelters to find another home for it. The last people who adopted it obviously don't care for the dog as housetraining is something that needs time and patience to work on and they don't have the time or the patience.

Answer 2

How many weeks? If it's in the first two weeks, it might be best to take the dog back and work on finding a better home. If it's longer than that, it's sort of after the warranty period, you might say.

If I were the first family, and it had been a while, I'd refuse, but recommend a good animal trainer or behaviorist for the couple to consult. Maybe give them pamphlets or a book on crate training and other dog problem solving.

This is a tough situation, sounds like the dog has just been passed around a lot. He/she needs a good home that will try to undo some of the stress, not just pass the buck.

Answer 3

This depends on if there were some kind of arrangement made between the family who couldn't keep the dog and the couple that took the dog in. Sadly, if they are just complaining that the dog is having accidents at nite time only and haven't thought to attempt crating the dog, they were likely not very seriously devoted to having the dog in the first place. When we took in a stray, we decided that when we did find her an appropriate home, we would continue to be there for the family that took her in. If they had her for a week and decided she didn't work out for them, then we would agree to take her back in search of a proper home still. But if this wasn't any kind of agreement, then it doesn't make the family who gave the dog to the new home responsible. I agree with the first statement that suggesting they use crate training at nite time to prevent the dog from having issues when the owners are not going to be "watching" would be the best choice. Especially if the dog is otherwise fine with potty training and only really needs to learn to wait at nite time. A crate will greatly assist in correcting this potty issue.

Overall, it depends on how much devotion the family with children have to making sure the dog were in a proper home. If I were in this situation, I would be willing to take the dog back in, and maybe work on the potty issues in an attempt to make him/her more attractive to the next potential adoptive family. Also, depending on the dog (age, size, breed) if the family with children are willing to invest in training, a behavioral specializing trainer may be of great help in working with this dog on it's issues with children.

Answer 4

That's a tough question - technically speaking "possession is 9/10ths of the law", so if they agreed to take the dog it is their responsibility.

If you aren't worried about the welfare of the animal in the long run, I would simply tell them "your problem now". However, that may not be the best answer for the dog. If you take it back, there are medications to help the dog 'cope' as well as obedience classes and just some serious patience. But if you aren't willing to take the dog back, it will likely end up as the next stray or in an animal shelter.

If you do take the dog back, check for shelters in your area that specialize in animal placement. Many of these shelters only accept certain animals or at certain times, but if you advise them of the situation they may be more willing to help. Unfortunately, there is no easy answers for the future of the dog...

Answer 5

Wow, tough call. Did you have any kind of agreement with these people? Call a Petsmart and ask for the rescue group they work with. Explain the situation, they might take the dog and keep it till they find the right place for it. If you don't have a petsmart by you, do some looking on the internet for rescue groups and see if there are any that could work with it. Then present the information to the other couple.

Answer 6

I would say the last family to adopt the dog is responsible, HOWEVER, perhaps because they feel bad for the dog bouncing from home to home so they were sort of offering to let the dog go back to your parent's home.

Unfortunately this dog will most likely end up being put down due to it's child aggression.

Tell your parents to contact the ASPCA in your area. They are known to work with dogs who have aggression issues (food, children, etc.)

Answer 7

The family with the children can't possibly take the dog back. One of the children could really get hurt. The new owners should be informed about crate training the dog. When the dog is in her crate at night, she will not potty because that is where she sleeps.

Answer 8

After you have given the dog away, if the problem was immediately to surface then I would say you probably feel obligated to deal with it, legally though I dont think you would be responsible unless you hid the fact that it does poo and pee everywhere.

But
Its been weeks later and you have no idea whats happened to the dog from the time you gave it up till now. It may have had a medical trauma, or illness and thats not your responsibility.

They took the dog, and weeks later if it has a problem let them wear it.

Answer 9

No one here within this question wants to be responsible!

The person who now has possesion of the dog is its new owner.
But in this case I wouldn't be surprised if the dog ends up in the pound because all three parties avoided fixing the problem in the first place. By finding it easier to pass the dog on rather than try to seriously work with the dog means no one here is worth owning the dog in the first place.
Get a lawyer and sue the sh-t out of each other. Geeeeeez

Answer 10

Well, if you agreed from the beginning, to take the dog back, if the new homing situation didn't work out, then it's your responsibility. It's THEIR responsibility, to try to train the dog to behave (suggest: crate training at night, or a doggy door.), before giving up....they shouldn't have offered the dog a home, if they weren't willing to work with the dog.