Do you agree with the shelters decsion?

Question

First excuse my spelling lol , anyway last year we adopted a purebred white german shepherd from the animal shelter because they were going to euthanize her. We payed the adoption fee she wasn't yet spayed so we were planning on spaying her. Anyway The shelter knew she had aggression problems but we didnt know that until one day we were at the park and she big somebody and brok the skin and she had to be qurintined (or how ever you spell it) for 10 days but during those 10 days we had her spaying apointment . Are vet is very hard to get into so the next apointment was 3 weeks after she got released from the shelter. But by then the the spaye coupen expired and the vet said they would still do it anyway a week later roxy (the white german shepherd) chewed out of our fence and attacked a lady then we decided we could no longer handle the dog and would worry she would really hurt somebody so we researched homes and found a single man (police officer) wanted a gsd after meeting the guy an

he decided to take the dog and give her a home. And promised to spay her and gave him the free coupon. Anyway we put in 40-50 hrs a week volunteering there by walking/feeding/cleaning cages, and we set of out jars at stores for people to donate money to them and we made them ober $500.00 in a month anyway we bought and make blankets and rescued and gave food to them we just recieved an email stating we broke the contact and didnt spay her and we were never allowed back in there. Do you feel that they were wrong or right.

We tried talking to the shelter about giving the dog back but they would of killed her.

/i tried spaying her the vet was full ALL the vets didnt have a appt for 3-4 weeks and if i tooken her back to the shelter for the cop the shelter said they wouldn't let the cop have her they would just euthanize her on the spot and i could not let that happen to her i have gotten attached to her but couldnt afford for her to hurt sombody. I think the shelter should of tempermant tested BEFORE they gave her up for adoption,.

Oh yeah i never signed anything that said i have to give her back if i could not keep her the shelter would give ther dogs to anybody for gods sake

Answer 1

The shelter should have destroyed the dog in the first place.
One of the things they may be dealing with is a state law. Some States demand that shelters spay animals before they let them out to the public. Because you worked there, you got to take the dog home and get her spayed yourself. Because they broke the law, they may be at risk of criminal prosecution. It depends on the law in the state where you reside, but they may be just acting out of fear.
As far as the contract, as long as you paid for the dog it was yours to do with as you pleased. Those contracts are void once cash changes hands unless there is a state law about them. You probably didn't break the law, they did.
For the safety of the public, that dog should be destroyed. It should never have been released into the public, but they saw dollar signs when you offered to pay for it. Their fault, not yours.
I'm sorry you were hurt, and that anyone was injured.

Answer 2

ANY time you adopt a dog you sign paperwork saying that you will return the dog if you cannot keep it. You are contractually obligated to spay/neuter the dogs. Shelters are full because people don't spay/neuter, you know this, it HAS to be done. Also, as much as I know it's horrible to think. A dangerous dog like that needs to be euthanized. The shelter is at risk by her being out in the world, they are liable for her behavior. Actually, YOU are now responsible for her behavior since you adopted her. But no matter what, once a dog comes into a shelter/rescue, that dog technically belongs to them. Period, forever, the end. I believe all animals deserve a chance at life. But so many animals are sooo screwed up by people they just can't live in a human society and be safe. Putting other people's lives at risk is an irresponsible and immoral thing to do, just because you don't want to see the dog put down. What happens if she gets out again and kills a child? It's possible and that's something you need to understand. You shouldn't have let the dog go to someone else. The shelter has every right to seize the dog and I think they should. The dog needs to be evaluated and possibly euthanized. She's too dangerous to be out in the world.

FYI for any that said spaying will reduce her aggression, that's untrue, it works that way for males but is the opposite for females, if a female is aggressive, spaying can make it worse and is often not recommended for seriously aggressive females. Having an aggressive female is more dangerous than having an aggressive male in my opinion, aggressive females pass on these tendencies to their puppies and are the worst possible option for breeding and extra precautions need to be taken if you own a truly aggressive female.

AMEN Bonsylar, Stina & Pitt Bull Love as well.

& Kittenslayer, as usual (gonna have to add you guys to my want to meet list lol)....that they knew the dog was aggressive is total BS, and if you volunteer there why didn't you KNOW that if they supposedly did. Local shelters have very few resources and time to fully evaluate a dogs behavior only the large spca shelters in major cities like you see on animal planet have these resources. Very VERY few local shelters have these. If she didn't show aggression at the shelter, probably b/c she was in shock or poor health, they had no way of knowing.

Answer 3

Pretty much the only thing in your story that I think the shelter did wrong was to trust an adopter to get the dog spayed-they should have had it done before they released the dog to you. If you were a volunteer there, you knew the rules-you just decided to ignore them, and the shelter probably gave you the dog unaltered because you were a volunteer. They know better now.
I find it very difficult to believe you signed a contract that said nothing about returning the dog to them. I have adopted many dogs from shelters, and it was in every contract I signed (which I of course read).
Many dogs in a shelter environment suffer from stress, and do not show their true personalities in the temperament tests. It is very easy to miss something. I own a child aggressive dog I adopted from a shelter-she temperament tested very well with them. When I realized my dog was aggressive, I hired a behaviorist and had it taken care of, which a responsible dog owner does. You, on the other hand, did not do this, or inform the shelter that the dog had bitten anyone. Your mistake.
Then you compounded your errors by giving a biting dog to someone else instead of returning the dog to the shelter.

The shelter was correct in kicking you out. They don't need volunteers who do not understand the importance of the rules and are unwilling to abide by them.

Answer 4

Unfortunately, the contract was broken and the shelter has a right to enforce their contracts. It sounds like this dog was never temperament tested, or they never would have adopted her out in the first place. Any canine that shows that kind of aggression towards humans should be euthanized. The risk to the public is too great, and the dog is set up from the beginning to fail. I hope the police officer recognizes that and upholds his civic duty to protect the public.

As for the spaying part, if there was not an appointment available at that particular vet, go to another. Find a low cost spay program in your area (they are EVERYWHERE). I'm amazed that the shelter doesn't have a spay/neuter program on site; where I live, the spay/neuter is a part of the adoption fees you pay when you rescue an animal.

Answer 5

I see their point, because presumably the contract you signed said that you would not give her to anyone else; if you could not keep her for any reason, it was their right to decide what to do with her.
I see your point too, the assumption being that if returned they would euthanize her. Still, that's what you promised-to return her and not pass her on to someone else who might have the wrong intentions.
Do you know what became of the dog? Was the policeman who he said he was and did he train and spay her? Or has he disappeared and done something with her that might be worse?
The spay certificate, btw, was issued to you on the basis of your data, and was not transferrable.
I would make it a point, in the future, to adopt only after the shelter or rescue had spayed the animal, and take time to check out the disposition. Bring an experienced person with you if you don't trust staff at the shelter. Then, if something goes wrong, talk it over with them before passing on the problem to another party.
Our local shelter has obedience classes for their adoptees, and one of the trainers is experienced with aggressive issues, and they will do what they can to make an adoption work, but they will not place an unpredictable animal with aggression and put the general public at risk, either.

Answer 6

You are 100% in the wrong.

How did the shelter "know she had aggression issues"? I find that hard to believe, as any shelter with an aggressive dog is not going to cover that up or put it up for adoption. A shelter only has the dogs for a breif period of time and does not know every single behavior about the dog. Even temperment tests are not 100%.

You signed a contract stating you would spay the dog and you didn't. Now there is the possibility she's been knocked up or had pups.

Next time you sign a contract and make an agreement, be sure to follow it.

The shelter probably DID temperment test her. Sometimes behaviors don't show up on a temperment test. I work at a shelter, and we had a dog that was adopted from us and temperment tested and passed with flying colors turn out to have MAJOR human aggression issues. It should have been euthanized, but the person who adopted it refused to do so. Hopefully it doesn't hurt someone else.

Answer 7

They are wrong! I volunteer at a shelter and the shelter CAN NOT allow you to adopt an aggressive dog. Also, the dogs at the shelter i volunteer at, must be fixed before adoption!

Although, you made some major faults yourself.

Such as:

~not contacting the shelter after the bites
~not spaying her
~Giving her to someone else to deal with

Answer 8

Sounds like some major misunderstandings. And they obviously are coming to this situation from a different position.

Either let it go and just forget it. Volunteer at another shelter or rescue group. If you want to mend fences at this one, call and make an appointment with their manager and say you want to discuss the problem and tell them your side. If you feel you made every effort they need to know that.

My opinion is that they should have never released the dog until it had been neutered so they are at fault. And they should NEVER have released an aggressive dog. Aggression in dogs can be changed and corrected but it takes a skilled trainer and lots of dedicated time.

Go to Cesar Millan if you are interested in being better able to work with dogs. http://www.cesarmillaninc.com/

Answer 9

It was not YOUR right to re-home this dog. You are supposed to give the dog back where it came from.

That's why so many dogs end up in shelters - they pass them off without returning them to their previous place/home.

This is just like the Ellen Degeneros "scandal" - she adopted a dog, didn't work out, and instead of returning it to the Rescue like the contract stated, she GAVE it to a friend. You legally cannot do that.

Did the Shelter not tell you at ALL about the aggression? It's obviously people aggression - not dog aggression, correct?

That they should have told you for sure.

I think the most Humane thing to do in this situation is to humanely euthanise her. Poor thing is frightened and miserable.

Plus, she's a liability - and HA should not be tolerated. (only in special cases) But you obviously couldn't handle that, so you passed her on to someone else.

ANyway, I'm NOT trying to make you feel bad in any way. I'm telling you the reality of the situation.

You should have returned her to the Shelter, and I feel as though she should be HUMANELY euthanized.

Sorry for your upset.

Answer 10

The shelter was completely wrong in so many ways. Tehy should have informed you right off from the start that the dog had some behavior issues, that is just wrong and dangerous. From a personal experience I know hard that can be, so it really aggravates me that they were so irresponsible. They have no right saying you broke a contract , when they were so wrong in their actions by giving you that dog without waring you. They should be GRATEFUL that they have people like you to help them and be apologetic for putting you in that situation. I know where I live I could have sued the owners of the dog I resuced for not informing the dog was dangerous. In most areas you can if you have proof they knew. hey should be grateful you did not raise issues there. Without question I think the shelter is wrong.