Animal Shelters aren't what they seem to be

We got our chihuahua terrier at the shelter in California when we lived there she was about 6 months old and is arond 10 now. We walked in looking for a dog and paid and walked out with her. After we had her in our arms their were a coule others that wanted her and I wasn't letting go. Sounds like they were just trying to say a bunch of stuff so the staff member could get the dog. Sad thing is what if they decide that they really don't want her then what? try checking craigslist.com sometimes they have dogs on there and they are free. You look by state and then by city that you live in or live closest to. Good luck and am sorry your daughter got jerked around like that. Just remember all shelters aren't the same.

Hi fwidman, I have never heard of paying a dog from the shelter, we only give donation and give what we can afford, nobody makes demamds on payment. When we went to get our ketty from the shelter we didn't have to pay but I just put £10 in the donation box. that is disgusting, yeah they are keeping for the pther person. You should put in a complaint. Tamara

No I have'nt but it is a very cute dog and I hope Shelly can get it and I think she should get it for what the website stated it isnt her fault they havent updated.If she buys the dog she should get to take it home then,other wise if something happens to it(like someone else takes it home)she will be out some money.Be careful and have a great night.

I volunteer at a pet adoption center that works with various local shelters and rescue groups. What I've learned from my experiences there is that dealing with shelter employees is difficult. There are some really great shelter employees and volunteers out there, and the more contact you have with the shelter the more you will know who to talk to and who to avoid. My advice to your friend would be to just keep at it. Keep calling the shelter and showing up in person. Talk to as many people there as possible. See if you get the same answers from different people, or if different people have different stories. It sounds to me like it is that one employee that wants the dog that is trying to make it difficult for you to adopt. I hope Shelly gets this dog! If it doesn't work out, or if she decides to adopt another dog in the future (or if you know someone else who wants to adopt a dog and you don't want to recommend the shelter you had a bad experience with) you may want to look into adopting a dog from a private non-profit no-kill rescue organization instead. I have had wonderful experiences from all of the rescue groups I've adopted from. Unlike with a shelter, dogs in these rescue groups are not in danger of being put down. They are actually quite often dogs that were going to be put down that the rescue pulled from the shelter to save. When you adopt from these groups, it allows them more room so that they can save another animal's life from the shelter. One benefit from adopting from one of these groups is that the foster parents work with the dogs until they are ready to be adopted. If a dog has behavioral or emotional problems, they will not adopt out the dog until they have worked on these issues and the dog is well balanced. They also work with the dogs on housebreaking, walking on a leash, as well as basic commands. When you adopt from a shelter, you get the dog in whatever condition it came in as. Many dogs are perfectly fine, but some have trouble transitioning. Being in a foster home definitely helps with that transitioning period. Adopting from one of these groups can often cost a bit more than adopting from a shelter, but if the shelter is giving you a ridiculously expensive fee for adopting that one dog then this might not be the case for your particular situation! Also, because these groups don't euthanize, they are often pickier about who adopts their animals. Some groups are particularly picky and won't let you adopt if you're away at work during the day or don't have a fenced in yard. But most groups just want to find the family that is the perfect match for that specific pet. For example, I know a woman who was fostering a cat for a rescue group. This cat just loved being around other cats and dogs and was definitely happiest around other animals. Because of this, the foster parent wanted the cat to be adopted by a family that had other pets. Several families put applications in on that cat, but none of them owned any other pets so they were all denied. This is not because the rescue thought they were bad families, just that they weren't the right fit for the needs of this particular cat. If they had put in an application on a cat that didn't get along with other animals, they would have been approved. Every day I meet people who had a bad experience adopting from either one specific shelter or one specific rescue group that go around and buy a pet from a petstore or puppymill. Many are under the impression that adopting is like that everywhere. Some don't even know they have any other options. There are plenty of other options out there if you're interested in adopting! If you've had one bad experience and you don't know where else to go, I strongly recommend you check out Petfinder.com.

Thanks for the discussion. I am ok now. I will be drinking hot cocoa non stop.

Hey fwidman! That is just too mean! How can they do that? If someone at the shelter wanted the dog that much then why didn't they just take it and not tell Shelly that she could have it? That is not the way the shelters are supposed to work! They are supposed to be getting the animals adopted! They should be reported! They are not supposed to be playing around with prices and doing what you described! That is not the way they are supposed to be operating! I have never had that experience when I adopted from shelters!

I am sorry that your family is passing throught this. I hope that the animal shelter have a logical explanation behind their behaviour. Most probably they are ensuring that the dog is suitable for adoption and that he is free from any disease. They should encourage adoption and not discouraging it. I hope that Shelly will be reunited with the chihuaua soon.

years ago my brother in law an nephew said they wanted a dog so for thier birthday its on the same week I took to an animal shelter an adopted a puppy for them an it was great but recently we went to checkout some pet rabbits an a ferrit they had an to get them for my daughters they basiclly wanted me to sign my life to them they want the animals to be adopted now they are makeing it so hard to adopt them i just go to the flea market now if I want a pet I always mange to find one

We used to have a pure bred black Lab that needed company during the day when everyone was at work. We went to our local shelter and what a production! It was worse than trying to adopt a kid for crying out loud! But we'd fallen in love with a little mutt, and forked over the money, and signed all the papers, given the oath of 'proper care and consideration' and all that malarky, and just as we were getting ready to have the dog brought to us, the girl says "Oh, Mr. and Mrs. XXXXXXX, what time next week would be convenient for us to make our home visit?" WHAT???? Foster kids are put in homes and practically forgotten, but you want to set up appointments for home visits for a dog? The hubs was pretty ticked already from the rigmarole involved, and this was the last straw. He grabbed our cheque off the counter, tore up the papers we'd just signed and walked out the door. Two days later he came home, picked me up, took me out to a farmer he knew and we came home with my Spunky. Six weeks old, ugly as sin, and the best dog in the world and she didn't cost a cent except to get her licensed.

Hi fwiddy, no I have never tried to adopt a dog but it seems as if every business transaction does come with corruption. Tell Shelly to just forget about this shelter and search for another one. It is so sad that humans behave in this manner.

hi fwidman...that is very sad since your wife had her heart set on the chihuahua. we had a different experience. a stray dog came around our house bigger thant a puppy but not quite full grown. he was black with kind of long hair and very lively. we took him in and when we had to leave the house we didn't know what to do with him so we put him in the bathroom and he chewed up some towels hehe. what a site when we came back. after some days we decided we really couldn't keep the dog so we took it to a shelter. my mother was in tears and explained how we couldn't give it the care he needed and they were comforting to her. they promised they'd call when "tuffy" was given a home. it seemed like a long wait and i felt bad for the dog being in a shelter for the time period. but sure enough one day the phone call came and my mother was elated. tuffy had a good home now.

Well, what they are doing to Shelly stinks. If they wanted to keep the dog for their self they should have just said that from the beginning.. Do they really expect her to pay for the dog and not take him home? Why would they act like a sick dog is available? Does not sound right at all.....

That's horrible. I'd insist on talking to someone in charge and tell them what I think. That's just wrong of them to do. If the other person wanted the dog they should have already taken it home and taken care of it. They alos should have never told her that the dog was available if someone else wanted it. I'd be very upset if that was me. No, I have never adopted a pet from the shelter. I have gotten them from veterinary clinics that were homeless, abused or were injured or sick. I have also stolen abused animals and taken them in as my own. I have also taken in strays.

aww they shouldnt be in animal shelters. you should adopt them. why would you give your pets to the pound. people who disown pets are very cruel and mean. def. adopt the pet no matter what dont leave it. it will be lonely without you

No I've never tried to adopt a dog from a shelter, it does sound like they are holding the dog for a friend, too bad, it sounds like your friend really wants it.

No, never tried. We have lots of people who are giving out dogs without any monetary award or adoption. Friends give friends and vice versa. It is only in big urban areas that dogs are sold for a price but not adopted. Happy mylotting.