dog adoption mistake

[Bookwormbiker]

This story appeared on the local news yesterday.

Controversy Brewing Over Dog Adoption*

[lisa]

Wow..I would be devastated. I think the PSPCA screwed up and should fix their mistake. What kind of a family wouldn't give him back!

[brody]

4 days after being lost the dog would be able to be adopted up here too and often a small dog would be gone at the 72 hour mark

PSPCA may have checked the book and not been able to match the description to the dog in question (though in this case a spokesperson said the lost reports weren't checked - that may or may not be true)
I have had people report animals in a way that really doesn't resemble the animal at all - including details like a collar on of a different colour than the one that shows up, wrong eye colour, wrong coat colour, wrong coat descriptor (shaggy when the dog is clipped right down for example)

If you lose your dog or cat - by all means call in the description but then GO see for yourself ! Also poster your neighbourhood EXTENSIVELY and take the poster to the shelter as well - someone may let you know where they took the lost animal.. or admit they have it at home ... we got a cat back after 6 weeks when I was a young adult - on my third set of posters as the neighbour who had Sweetie Pie ghbijk(no I didn't name her) said - when you kept putting the posters up I realized you must really miss her - she was an indoor only cat that had escaped at the feet of folks doing work at the house ...

Where I live right now I have 3 different shelters I would check the day my pet vanished (and daily thereafter) and then 4 more I'd check every 2 days here ... (another note on lost pets - also ask about dead on arrivals - staff don't always think about the DOA book when chatting to somebody and it's much easier on them if you know enough to ask abotu that)

I feel badly for everybody in this situation (though I suspect the dog is doing just fine!)

the adoptive family may have done an awful lot in a week with the dog - the dog may have been badly matted, have a health issue that the new family has discovered or just be the perfect dog for them

[Bookwormbiker]

Wow..I would be devastated. I think the PSPCA screwed up and should fix their mistake. What kind of a family wouldn't give him back!

That's the part I can't understand. The family only had him a week and they're refusing to give him back! I think I read somewhere that legally the family that adopted him OWN him. Something's wrong with our legal system if this is true.

[Labradorable]

I'd give him back. The new family sucks.

[mitziandjudysmom]

Regardless of who is wrong, it's a good example of why you don't leave your dog outside unattended, even for five minutes.

[Samson]

Regardless of who is wrong, it's a good example of why you don't leave your dog outside unattended, even for five minutes.

I so agree with this !

[MidwestGirl]

What a cute dog. I hope the original owner gets him back but I would of visited the shelter ASAP if I were her.

[IdahoLabs]

Another good reason to have a dog microchipped....

[CindersMyGirl]

When Ralphie was missing the shelters wouldn't let us make an original inquiry by phone. We had to go in, look at the dogs they had, and then we could file a report and leave a picture. Probably for this exact reason. I can't imagine just calling and not going in to tell the truth.

And I was also surprised that some of the vets we contacted in the area told us that if a family brought in a pug, EVEN IF IT WAS MICROCHIPPED, they would go on the word of the 'new owners' and not the microchip info. That was an eye opener.

The new owners are definitely jerks.