If a lost/abandoned animal was adopted (through a rescue group and with paperwork signed) and the previous owner comes forward afterwards

[Celtic Jewel]

Okay this sounds crazy but we are thinking of adding another dog to the family where looking at a rescue as breeders are asking for crazy prices but this thought crossing my mind as a lot of dogs we are strays that haven’t been microchip and found about 30 minutes from where I live. I also kinda of worried spending a fortune on a dog to turn around a have to give the dog back . maybe I just overthinking is this common Google made me more worried.

 

[meleeka]

The rescue centre will have done an abandonment notice, so that if the owner doesn’t come forward they can take legal ownership. I wouldn’t worry.

 

[Christmascinnamoncookie]

Saw a post on Facebook about this yesterday, owner surrender cos the dog needed to be pts. She then saw it advertised for re-homing a year later and the rescue refused to give it to her.

If you use a reputable rescue, I can't imagine there'd be a problem.

 

[Equi]

As long as the rescue has done all its legal requirements (such as giving the allocated time for an owner to come forward) then legally they have the ownership of the dog and can rehome it as they please.

 

[SkylarkAscending]

Okay this sounds crazy but we are thinking of adding another dog to the family where looking at a rescue as breeders are asking for crazy prices but this thought crossing my mind as a lot of dogs we are strays that haven’t been microchip and found about 30 minutes from where I live. I also kinda of worried spending a fortune on a dog to turn around a have to give the dog back . maybe I just overthinking is this common Google made me more worried.

“Spending a fortune”???

You will get a fully vaccinated neutered dog with teeth done, health checked etc
- try getting a pup at that price with all that done, I can guarantee you won’t find one…..

 

[Celtic Jewel]

“Spending a fortune”???

You will get a fully vaccinated neutered dog with teeth done, health checked etc
- try getting a pup at that price with all that done, I can guarantee you won’t find one…..

I have get the dog neutered myself , possibly have to pay for vaccinations depending on the age of the dog.

 

[gallopingby]

I think you’re ‘overthinking’. It would be unusual for a dog not to have been fully health checked and chip checked although l would hope if you did adopt a dog and for some reason its original owners turned up you would at least have a conversation with them, and potentially return their dog. I think in this situation there would be various discussions. I assume you’re thinking of the recent case where the police handed a dog to a rehoming centre because the owner had died without appropriate enquiries. It’s worth baring in mind that the cost / donation to a rescue frequently doesn’t cover the cost of vet checks and neutering before rehoming. Maybe you need to check out the costs before committing.

 

[SkylarkAscending]

I have get the dog neutered myself , possibly have to pay for vaccinations depending on the age of the dog.

I assumed that would go without saying, as they are the actions any responsible owner would take.

My query was your assertion that adoption fees were excessive “spending a fortune” - I can only guess you haven’t bought a well bred pup for a few years

 

[meleeka]

I have get the dog neutered myself , possibly have to pay for vaccinations depending on the age of the dog.

I’d be wary of a rescue that operates like this. Reputable ones usually do this first.

 

[HopOnTrot]

If it was a lost or stolen much wanted dog I would give it back (microchips have been known to move/disappear) because I hope someone would do the same for me no matter how much I had spent.

 

[Celtic Jewel]

I assumed that would go without saying, as they are the actions any responsible owner would take.

My query was your assertion that adoption fees were excessive “spending a fortune” - I can only guess you haven’t bought a well bred pup for a few years

I probably didn’t clarify I meant like paying every day cost for a few months, getting new equipment, vet visits. Imagine spending years paying for everything and then to have a give the dog back to the original owner as dog are expensive you could be down thousands. Yeah the last dog I bought was 2012 still going strong and acting like a 4 year old probably not the best breed dog as he was a cross breed. The adoption fee isn’t actually bad.

 

[Celtic Jewel]

I’d be wary of a rescue that operates like this. Reputable ones usually do this first.

Yeah I am a bit wary I have been looking at other rescues that are more popular.

 

[Caol Ila]

magine spending years paying for everything and then to have a give the dog back to the original owner as dog are expensive you could be down thousands.

An asteroid could also land on the roof of your house. Honestly, the chances of someone crawling out of the woodwork, years later, after you'd acquired a dog and then claiming it was their dog and they'd like it back, please, are so astronomically low that it would not cross my mind as a significant enough problem to put me off getting a dog from a rescue.

 

[Smitty]

20 years ago a lovely lab sized mixed breed do wandered past our house which was on a dead end lane leading to a bridleway. She was headed towards the main road so I caught her and waited for half an hour or so to see if anyone turned up, no one did. I reported it to dog warden who asked if I could hang onto her for a while. My sister wanted a dog and I mentioned this to the DW, who said she could hold onto her but take her to vets for a chip scan and if no one claimed her in 7 days she could keep her. I think 28 days were also mentioned, but cant be sure now. Anyway, no chip and for the 14 years they had her, not one person tried to reclaim her (although BIL was convinced for at least 2 years that they would!).

 

[poiuytrewq]

I wouldn’t worry about that. Once it’s yours it’s yours.
Obviously not all dogs in a rescue will be neutered (age etc) but all should absolutely be vaccinated.
One I looked at online provided neutering as part of the adoption fee at a later date if applicable. I believe it was contracted that you had to take them up on it when the dog was old enough.

 

[Smitty]

Also, have had 3 dogs direct from rescue centres, two from a centre 10 miles away. We were the 4th home for one of the dogs (separation anxiety amongst other things) and apparently one of his previous homes had contacted the rescue trying to find out where he was as she was very fond of him but just couldn't cope and they refused to tell her where he was. He was with us at our local one day when it suddenly clicked with the lady's daughter who was a regular there, that this was the dog her mum had returned. She said her mum, who had since died, had felt very guilty about sending him back and had just wanted to know that he was OK.

Nobody ever tried to reclaim him or our other 2, and in the terrace where I live now 4 of the homes have 2 rescue dogs each and they have not been asked to return them either.

And what Caol Ila said.

 

[skinnydipper]

Saw a post on Facebook about this yesterday, owner surrender cos the dog needed to be pts. She then saw it advertised for re-homing a year later and the rescue refused to give it to her.

What were the circumstances?

If the dog needed pts why didn't the owner take it to a vet?

Did the owner give the dog up because they couldn't afford medical treatment which the rescue then paid for?

 

[gallopingby]

I probably didn’t clarify I meant like paying every day cost for a few months, getting new equipment, vet visits. Imagine spending years paying for everything and then to have a give the dog back to the original owner as dog are expensive you could be down thousands. Yeah the last dog I bought was 2012 still going strong and acting like a 4 year old probably not the best breed dog as he was a cross breed. The adoption fee isn’t actually bad.

That would be rare but tough. Hopefully you could come to an agreement with the owner, however in the rare cases this happens it’s usually because the dog was stolen, is much loved and there’s so much publicity that it would be hard to miss.

 

[gallopingby]

What were the circumstances?

If the dog needed pts why didn't the owner take it to a vet?

Did the owner give the dog up because they couldn't afford medical treatment which the rescue then paid for?

It’s surprising how many people think a ‘rescue’ Will pts their old or unwanted dog. Older dogs being rehomed / rescued for a genuine reason usually live out their lives in a new home or in a foster home. Dogs requiring extensive treatment are sometimes signed over to a rescue because the owner can’t afford the treatment and sometimes bitches who’ve had no contact with other dogs appear and suddenly put on a load of weight!! In these circumstances the puppies are eventually rehomed but for a higher donation and there’s usually a flurry of applicants who are carefully checked.

 

[Rowreach]

Well just to be the fly in the ointment, it happened recently to a rescue/re-homer here, and the dog was eventually returned to the original owner. Not great for any of the parties involved, and very confusing for the dog, who let’s face it was the only party with no choices. The abuse the rescue centre got from Facebook warriors was disgraceful.

 

[tda]

I think it depends on the "charity "
One of my dogs ran off, hunting, she didn't come back.

Very long story short, she'd been handed in to a local vet, passed onto a local charity, boarded for a while and then been rehomed.
When I did finally track her down with help from the lady who had boarded her I went to see the old lady who had rehomed her, she was sad, but could clearly see the dog know me, and said dog had also started guarding the old lady which she wasn't really keen on.
I actually gave the lady the money she had paid the "charity" so she wasn't out of pocket £150, I was just pleased to have my dog back

 

[webble]

@tdahow recently was this? Surely these days with microchips and social media it would be fairly easy to find an owner that was actively looking

 

[tda]

Years ago, just as FB was starting, that's why I joined originally ! She was not microchipped
I put a picture of her in a local paper

 

[Smitty]

Years ago, just as FB was starting, that's why I joined originally ! She was not microchipped
I put a picture of her in a local paper

Just curious, did you report the loss to the dog warden?

 

[ycbm]

Imagine spending years paying for everything and then to have a give the dog back to the original owner as dog are expensive you could be down thousands. Yeah the last dog I bought was 2012 still going strong and acting like a 4 year old probably not the best breed dog as he was a cross breed. The adoption fee isn’t actually bad.

I don't understand this post. The costs you pay for having the dog around every day are for the privilege of having the dog around every day. They aren't an investment in an asset, they're running costs. If the dog dies or is taken back, you still had the time with them, so the money they cost day to day is irrelevant.

"down thousands" isn't normally how a dog lover would talk about having to give a dog back after years of enjoying the dog.

If you were talking about the emotional pain I would understand, but if it's the money for feeding the dog for years that really concerns you then perhaps you should rethink dog ownership?
.

 

[tda]

Just curious, did you report the loss to the dog warden?

Yes, not really interested. She did know of the local rescue, and was not complimentary.
I write the whole story out long hand for when she came to see me, but she never came

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

My feeling, for what its worth, is that if an owner doesn't have any animal (cat, dog, or whatever) chipped then frankly they don't deserve to have it back. This is an essential (and legal) part of pet ownership, and alongside relevant vaccinations it is the first thing that should be thought about after the animal comes into the world.

The issue might be, I guess, if the microchip cannot be detected and/or is faulty so doesn't give adequate data, and the animal is then rehomed. There just could be an owner out there, I suppose, and they may recognise their pet. If this were to happen it would then be a very difficult situation as the original owner would then have to prove ownership, which if the chip was defective would be impossible.

 

[Christmascinnamoncookie]

Again, Facebook posts show owners reunited years later (America, I follow the Dodo). One recently showed an owner who’d been looking for weeks and saw his dog in a rescue, successfully retrieved him, but hopefully cases like tda are rare. If I lost one of mine, I’d not rest til I got them back, obviously a dog is going to recognise the owner even months later. I’d hope the new owners would return the dog but legally I don’t think they have to.

 

[Equi]

What were the circumstances?

If the dog needed pts why didn't the owner take it to a vet?

Did the owner give the dog up because they couldn't afford medical treatment which the rescue then paid for?

The dog was a puppy that had an issue, incontinant and something else with its back end. She couldn’t afford the costs of an operation and treatment and had decided with the vet/rescue she would pts as the best option. The rescue had her sign it over and then she left.

The rescue then did the treatment and rehomed the dog.

 

[TheresaW]

Our 2 rescues were picked up as strays, both were chipped. I can only assume the chips weren’t registered (as happened with Bo when we got him) or details never updated maybe. Their chips are all up to date in my name now, and the rescue two have the rescue organisation in the background.