She signed to euthanize her dog last year. Now he’s up for adoption.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
They placed the dog a few months ago.

This is an erroneous statement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are so many stupid and uninformed people on this thread. I hope you aren’t pet owners.

Which side are you on?

Rescue

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mean, the dog needed a $7k surgery. Most normal people wouldn’t be able to pay that.

We surrendered a dog to Montgomery county in order to save its life.

We’d just adopted the dog about 6 weeks before, and while crated, he ate a substantial amount of a blanket that was used for bedding. He ended up with blocked intestines and required surgery. The animal hospital (on Nebel Street in north Bethesda- don’t EVER go there, btw) quoted us $8,000 for the surgery plus more for recovery and follow up care.

We were heartbroken. We couldn’t afford that. We were considering having the dog euthanized. The techs said if we surrendered the dog to the county, the county would pick up the tab for the surgery, thus saving the dog’s life - but we’d never see the dog again.

So we cried together as a family and said goodbye to our dog and signed the papers and surrendered him to Montgomery county. The hospital started prepping him for surgery immediately.

Right before we left, one of the techs told us she’d call us because she needed to tell us something but couldn’t talk to us about it at work. We were puzzled. But it made sense shortly afterwards…

A few hours later, after we were home….and feeling empty and heartbroken and devastated and crying as we cleaned up all of the dog toys and his crate and tried to remove any reminders of our dogs presence …. the phone rings.

It was the Dr at the animal hospital. The Dr who quoted us $8,000 plus for the surgery. She said “it wasn’t as bad as initially thought, and the surgery was now only $2,900 instead of $8,000.

We were confused. We said “we’ve already signed the paperwork to surrender the dog to the county”….”we’re happy that he’s going to be OK, but we’ve already surrendered him”.

The Dr then said “oh we can just throw that paperwork out”. You can get your dog back right now. Just come pick him up and pay, he can go home tonight”.

At this point, we were already an emotional mess and had just endured the further trauma of sanitizing our home of any reminders of our new dog, and had convinced ourselves that we did what was best for the dog in order to save his life. We would just have to accept that we had to give him up to save him…

So we said we couldn’t really afford $3,000 anymore than we could afford $8,000…. which probably wasn’t too far from the truth…we might have been able to, but it would’ve been a real squeaker and left us vulnerable to another emergency. The dog was saved. That was the most important thing. He’d go home and live - but with some other family. Not us. So we accepted that.


A couple hours later, the vet tech from earlier called us. She was off work now and was able to speak freely without anyone overhearing her.

She told us the dog would be absolutely fine, and the county only pays $1,200 for such surgeries. That’s what the county would be paying them for our dog. Not $2,900. Not $8000+. Nope. $1,200. The hospital quotes to the moon, hoping they’ll get people to pay it. If they can’t, they offer the surrender program, just like they did to us. Then after the procedure, they come back again with a lower quote and offer to “make the whole surrender thing disappear”…. Hoping we’d go for it. We didn’t. So they got what the county pays. $1,200. We could’ve easily afforded $1,200. We would’ve jumped at that. But they quoted us $8,000

We almost euthanized the dog because of the original $8000 quote! And we were heartbroken to give the dog up, but at the time we thought it was the only way we could save his life, and we were GRATEFUL for the chance to give him up if it meant it would save his life. Now we find out it was just a pricing strategy to soak us tor as much as they could get out of us, and $1200 would’ve been enough?

And we would’ve never known any of this were it not for a disgruntled employee telling us about the whole scam.

We never pursued any action against that animal hospital (on Nebel Street in north Bethesda) but I will tell as many people as I can what that place did to our family. The anguish that they put us through.



So I’ve learned enough about animal hospitals to give the woman in this story the OP posted the benefit of the doubt. She may have been in a situation just like the one we were placed in.

This should be illegal. What a scam!!!

Yes, this story sounds horrible, and if I’d gone through what this family went through, I’d be super angry too. I truly feel for that poster and their family. They did the most loving, selfless thing they could do under terrible circumstances. However, if you look at it logically and remove emotion from the equation, scans can’t necessarily tell vets everything that’s going on internally. It can be difficult to predict how involved a surgery will be. Emergency vets have to get approval before the surgery to make sure clients will pay. What would this family have said if the vet had given them a quote of $3000-8000? They didn’t feel they could afford even $3000, so the outcome would still have been the same; they would have had to surrender the dog so someone else paid for the necessary life saving surgery.

PP says they could have “easily” paid $1200 for the surgery. If $3000 would have dangerously depleted their emergency funds, then obviously $1200 wasn’t going to be “easy” for them, even if it was doable. Let’s say they were offered the same rate of $1200 that the county shelter allegedly would pay. What would they have done if there were costly post-surgical complications? Could they have come up with another $500 or $800? What were they going to do if the dog ate something he shouldn’t again before they replenished their savings? Dogs who eat a “substantial” amount of blanket don’t tend to have only a single instance of eating something they shouldn’t.

Finally, as to the vet tech’s assertion that the county shelter would have been charged only $1200 for the same surgery, how do we know that that price was accurate? It may have been a ballpark estimate. It may have been the amount that was charged for another dog’s surgery due to “dietary indiscretion,” but that surgery may have been less complicated. Even if it was accurate, veterinarians can only discount their work so much and stay in business. Do you really want them to donate free labor to responsible pet owners who do have some money instead of donating it to shelters and rescues that couldn’t possibly save homeless animals without that kind of charity? The system works the way it does to maximize the number of animals saved. People take on the responsibility for an animal’s care when they adopt it. People who can’t afford the necessary care can’t afford that pet. It’s heartbreaking, but that’s the reality.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mean, the dog needed a $7k surgery. Most normal people wouldn’t be able to pay that.

We surrendered a dog to Montgomery county in order to save its life.

We’d just adopted the dog about 6 weeks before, and while crated, he ate a substantial amount of a blanket that was used for bedding. He ended up with blocked intestines and required surgery. The animal hospital (on Nebel Street in north Bethesda- don’t EVER go there, btw) quoted us $8,000 for the surgery plus more for recovery and follow up care.

We were heartbroken. We couldn’t afford that. We were considering having the dog euthanized. The techs said if we surrendered the dog to the county, the county would pick up the tab for the surgery, thus saving the dog’s life - but we’d never see the dog again.

So we cried together as a family and said goodbye to our dog and signed the papers and surrendered him to Montgomery county. The hospital started prepping him for surgery immediately.

Right before we left, one of the techs told us she’d call us because she needed to tell us something but couldn’t talk to us about it at work. We were puzzled. But it made sense shortly afterwards…

A few hours later, after we were home….and feeling empty and heartbroken and devastated and crying as we cleaned up all of the dog toys and his crate and tried to remove any reminders of our dogs presence …. the phone rings.

It was the Dr at the animal hospital. The Dr who quoted us $8,000 plus for the surgery. She said “it wasn’t as bad as initially thought, and the surgery was now only $2,900 instead of $8,000.

We were confused. We said “we’ve already signed the paperwork to surrender the dog to the county”….”we’re happy that he’s going to be OK, but we’ve already surrendered him”.

The Dr then said “oh we can just throw that paperwork out”. You can get your dog back right now. Just come pick him up and pay, he can go home tonight”.

At this point, we were already an emotional mess and had just endured the further trauma of sanitizing our home of any reminders of our new dog, and had convinced ourselves that we did what was best for the dog in order to save his life. We would just have to accept that we had to give him up to save him…

So we said we couldn’t really afford $3,000 anymore than we could afford $8,000…. which probably wasn’t too far from the truth…we might have been able to, but it would’ve been a real squeaker and left us vulnerable to another emergency. The dog was saved. That was the most important thing. He’d go home and live - but with some other family. Not us. So we accepted that.


A couple hours later, the vet tech from earlier called us. She was off work now and was able to speak freely without anyone overhearing her.

She told us the dog would be absolutely fine, and the county only pays $1,200 for such surgeries. That’s what the county would be paying them for our dog. Not $2,900. Not $8000+. Nope. $1,200. The hospital quotes to the moon, hoping they’ll get people to pay it. If they can’t, they offer the surrender program, just like they did to us. Then after the procedure, they come back again with a lower quote and offer to “make the whole surrender thing disappear”…. Hoping we’d go for it. We didn’t. So they got what the county pays. $1,200. We could’ve easily afforded $1,200. We would’ve jumped at that. But they quoted us $8,000

We almost euthanized the dog because of the original $8000 quote! And we were heartbroken to give the dog up, but at the time we thought it was the only way we could save his life, and we were GRATEFUL for the chance to give him up if it meant it would save his life. Now we find out it was just a pricing strategy to soak us tor as much as they could get out of us, and $1200 would’ve been enough?

And we would’ve never known any of this were it not for a disgruntled employee telling us about the whole scam.

We never pursued any action against that animal hospital (on Nebel Street in north Bethesda) but I will tell as many people as I can what that place did to our family. The anguish that they put us through.



So I’ve learned enough about animal hospitals to give the woman in this story the OP posted the benefit of the doubt. She may have been in a situation just like the one we were placed in.

This should be illegal. What a scam!!!

Yes, this story sounds horrible, and if I’d gone through what this family went through, I’d be super angry too. I truly feel for that poster and their family. They did the most loving, selfless thing they could do under terrible circumstances. However, if you look at it logically and remove emotion from the equation, scans can’t necessarily tell vets everything that’s going on internally. It can be difficult to predict how involved a surgery will be. Emergency vets have to get approval before the surgery to make sure clients will pay. What would this family have said if the vet had given them a quote of $3000-8000? They didn’t feel they could afford even $3000, so the outcome would still have been the same; they would have had to surrender the dog so someone else paid for the necessary life saving surgery.

PP says they could have “easily” paid $1200 for the surgery. If $3000 would have dangerously depleted their emergency funds, then obviously $1200 wasn’t going to be “easy” for them, even if it was doable. Let’s say they were offered the same rate of $1200 that the county shelter allegedly would pay. What would they have done if there were costly post-surgical complications? Could they have come up with another $500 or $800? What were they going to do if the dog ate something he shouldn’t again before they replenished their savings? Dogs who eat a “substantial” amount of blanket don’t tend to have only a single instance of eating something they shouldn’t.

Finally, as to the vet tech’s assertion that the county shelter would have been charged only $1200 for the same surgery, how do we know that that price was accurate? It may have been a ballpark estimate. It may have been the amount that was charged for another dog’s surgery due to “dietary indiscretion,” but that surgery may have been less complicated. Even if it was accurate, veterinarians can only discount their work so much and stay in business. Do you really want them to donate free labor to responsible pet owners who do have some money instead of donating it to shelters and rescues that couldn’t possibly save homeless animals without that kind of charity? The system works the way it does to maximize the number of animals saved. People take on the responsibility for an animal’s care when they adopt it. People who can’t afford the necessary care can’t afford that pet. It’s heartbreaking, but that’s the reality.

They weren't offered that option so it's a non-issue. If they were offered it at a more reasonable price, they probably would have done it. But, the shelter and rescue should have given her the dog back. They placed a dog that had health issues. Work with her without forcing her to give up the dog. Rescues complain people give up their dogs and look at how these recuses treat people and dogs. This is not healthy for the dog to linger in foster care with no stability for the first few years of their lives. Think about the dog.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This lady refused diagnostic testing, so no one had any way of knowing what was wrong or wasn’t wrong with the dog. She clearly is either broke, cheap, or irresponsible.

She refused testing the vet said the end result was an expensive surgery she couldn't afford. Not everyone is as wealthy as you.

[Anonymous]

The adoption fee for a puppy at LDCRF is $475, one of the highest in the region for a rescue. Presumably, one should be able to afford further care. But if they can't, the adoption agreement is very clear that if you cannot keep the dog for ANY reason, you return it to LDCRF. She agreed to the terms, didn't comply, and got found out. The fact that the vets who supposedly gave her bad info haven't been named makes this all quite fishy. I suspect there's a lot that's been purposely omitted.

Also, the reason why some places do not allow the owner to be with the dog during euthanasia is because a lot of owners show up trying to gas perfectly healthy animals. They don't want them, can't afford them, etc. and will try to have the animal killed instead of simply surrendered and re-adopted. Therefore the shelters treat a euthanasia request just as they'd treat a surrender - health eval, temperament assessment, etc and adopt out as possible. When I was a volunteer, someone brought in a dog and requested euthanasia because he claimed the dog had bitten someone. Young dog, unfixed, and obvious signs of abuse. We took him in, cleaned him up, neutered him, fostered him without incident, and adopted him out to a family that still has him (as far as I know). I see how the rule can seem cruel, but it's there for a reason.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mean, the dog needed a $7k surgery. Most normal people wouldn’t be able to pay that.

We surrendered a dog to Montgomery county in order to save its life.

We’d just adopted the dog about 6 weeks before, and while crated, he ate a substantial amount of a blanket that was used for bedding. He ended up with blocked intestines and required surgery. The animal hospital (on Nebel Street in north Bethesda- don’t EVER go there, btw) quoted us $8,000 for the surgery plus more for recovery and follow up care.

We were heartbroken. We couldn’t afford that. We were considering having the dog euthanized. The techs said if we surrendered the dog to the county, the county would pick up the tab for the surgery, thus saving the dog’s life - but we’d never see the dog again.

So we cried together as a family and said goodbye to our dog and signed the papers and surrendered him to Montgomery county. The hospital started prepping him for surgery immediately.

Right before we left, one of the techs told us she’d call us because she needed to tell us something but couldn’t talk to us about it at work. We were puzzled. But it made sense shortly afterwards…

A few hours later, after we were home….and feeling empty and heartbroken and devastated and crying as we cleaned up all of the dog toys and his crate and tried to remove any reminders of our dogs presence …. the phone rings.

It was the Dr at the animal hospital. The Dr who quoted us $8,000 plus for the surgery. She said “it wasn’t as bad as initially thought, and the surgery was now only $2,900 instead of $8,000.

We were confused. We said “we’ve already signed the paperwork to surrender the dog to the county”….”we’re happy that he’s going to be OK, but we’ve already surrendered him”.

The Dr then said “oh we can just throw that paperwork out”. You can get your dog back right now. Just come pick him up and pay, he can go home tonight”.

At this point, we were already an emotional mess and had just endured the further trauma of sanitizing our home of any reminders of our new dog, and had convinced ourselves that we did what was best for the dog in order to save his life. We would just have to accept that we had to give him up to save him…

So we said we couldn’t really afford $3,000 anymore than we could afford $8,000…. which probably wasn’t too far from the truth…we might have been able to, but it would’ve been a real squeaker and left us vulnerable to another emergency. The dog was saved. That was the most important thing. He’d go home and live - but with some other family. Not us. So we accepted that.


A couple hours later, the vet tech from earlier called us. She was off work now and was able to speak freely without anyone overhearing her.

She told us the dog would be absolutely fine, and the county only pays $1,200 for such surgeries. That’s what the county would be paying them for our dog. Not $2,900. Not $8000+. Nope. $1,200. The hospital quotes to the moon, hoping they’ll get people to pay it. If they can’t, they offer the surrender program, just like they did to us. Then after the procedure, they come back again with a lower quote and offer to “make the whole surrender thing disappear”…. Hoping we’d go for it. We didn’t. So they got what the county pays. $1,200. We could’ve easily afforded $1,200. We would’ve jumped at that. But they quoted us $8,000

We almost euthanized the dog because of the original $8000 quote! And we were heartbroken to give the dog up, but at the time we thought it was the only way we could save his life, and we were GRATEFUL for the chance to give him up if it meant it would save his life. Now we find out it was just a pricing strategy to soak us tor as much as they could get out of us, and $1200 would’ve been enough?

And we would’ve never known any of this were it not for a disgruntled employee telling us about the whole scam.

We never pursued any action against that animal hospital (on Nebel Street in north Bethesda) but I will tell as many people as I can what that place did to our family. The anguish that they put us through.



So I’ve learned enough about animal hospitals to give the woman in this story the OP posted the benefit of the doubt. She may have been in a situation just like the one we were placed in.

This makes no sense to force a family to surender a dog vs. help it get the medical care and be back with its family. I have to question these rescues and shelters. Dogs have attachments and its trauma to have a dog in a shelter and rehome it especially when it has a home. They wouldn't do that to a child so why is that ok for a dog? That's inhumane.

Rescue 100 dogs yourself or stop chirping about the people who do the hard work you are too lazy to do yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The neuro surgery thing sounds like a guess. If the vet told her they would perform that surgery without doing diagnostic testing first then that sounds very unethical. More likely she couldn't or refused to pay for the diagnostic testing, and since the dog was suffering, the vet recommended to euthanize.

It's unlikely that this woman, and arguably many people except the top tier of society, would be able to pay for this dog's extensive medical care. I read the rescue's letter someone linked, and it says the dog required TWO surgeries and an MRI. At a private vet that would cost FAR MORE than $7k.

I am personally conflicted about putting a dog through that much medical care. It must have suffered terribly and been scared without its person. I know rescues do it because they are committed to saving every dog, but I have to question how much suffering it's ok to put an animal through.

I do think she made mistakes and I wouldn't adopt to her again if I were the rescue. It sounds like she did choose not to be with him when she left him to be put down, and I know there are people who make that decision but I think they shouldn't own pets.

The rescue gave her a dog with serious medical issues and wouldn't help her. They should not be a rescue and shut down.

They did offer to help her. They told her that if she was not going to be with the dog when she put it down that they would take it back. They will always take back a dog they adopt out. She opted to not give it back to them, but instead chose to drop it at a shelter to be euthanized alone.

They also did not knowing adopt out a dog with medical issue. They spend a ridiculous amount of money on dogs they take in with medical issue and do not adopt them out until they have been treated and cleared. No rescue or even breeder knows what medical issues may arise. She even stated these issue showed up months after she adopted him. Again, every article stated that they told her they would take him back, but never heard from her again.

When you pay the huge rescue fees you assume the dog is checked out and ok. THEY LIED TO HER. THEY should have helped her get the dog the medical attention. The shelter policy is she could not be with the dog. That seems to be the logical place to go. That's where I might have gone (not now I wouldn't trust them).

Wtf are you talking about? You know what they say about assuming…..

They did not lie to her. He was adopted as a puppy and it was months before the issues arose. No shelter or breeder can or will guarantee a dog is free of all medical issues. Even breeder do guarantee healthy will do a the rescue did and offer to take the dog back if there an issue. They don’t do a full MRI on a dog that appears healthy and this dog needed an MRI to diagnosis his issue.

They placed the dog a few months ago. They should have helped with the medical costs. They are being spiteful and nasty.

I agree with this. If the rescue was willing to go to any lengths to save the dog, why not save its ability to stay with its person who was trying to care for it, too? The owner may have been working on some less-than-great info, but seems to have been communicative, and actively trying to figure out and do what was best for the dog. That's an ideal environment. All this "we'll take him back and fix him up, but you'll never see him again" stuff just sounds spiteful and vindictive.

Because the rescue can't afford to give free universal healthcare to everyone who wants a dog.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What breaks my heart is that families can’t be present for euthanasia for surrendered dogs.

I have needed to humanely euthanize four of my dogs, and I have been there with them until the very end. I held them all in my arms and made sure they felt loved.

Euthanasia at a vet can be expensive (my last one was close to $500) so my wish is that if the county offers the service and a family wishes to be present that they should be so that their dogs don’t die alone, scared and feeling unloved.

You can euthanize your dog at home yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What breaks my heart is that families can’t be present for euthanasia for surrendered dogs.

I have needed to humanely euthanize four of my dogs, and I have been there with them until the very end. I held them all in my arms and made sure they felt loved.

Euthanasia at a vet can be expensive (my last one was close to $500) so my wish is that if the county offers the service and a family wishes to be present that they should be so that their dogs don’t die alone, scared and feeling unloved.

You don’t even want to know how these dogs get euthanized at the county shelter facility, poster. It is not the experience you are familiar with wherein a single dog is injected with paralytic and then the drug that stops their heart.

That’s why the people aren’t allowed to be there. In many counties still, especially in the south, multiple dogs are put into a container (that is basically a metal dumpster) at the same time and they howl and bark and scrabble over one another while they are gassed by the exhaust from a county vehicle. No, I am not making this up - you can find video in various documentaries and online.

3-4 million dogs and cats are euthanized at shelters every year, there is no way they can afford to individually euthanize each animal in a loving, quiet and humane atmosphere. That’s the very brutal reality of shelters across this country and it’s the biggest reason why buying cats and dogs while 4 million die horrible deaths is just not the right moral choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What breaks my heart is that families can’t be present for euthanasia for surrendered dogs.

I have needed to humanely euthanize four of my dogs, and I have been there with them until the very end. I held them all in my arms and made sure they felt loved.

Euthanasia at a vet can be expensive (my last one was close to $500) so my wish is that if the county offers the service and a family wishes to be present that they should be so that their dogs don’t die alone, scared and feeling unloved.

You don’t even want to know how these dogs get euthanized at the county shelter facility, poster. It is not the experience you are familiar with wherein a single dog is injected with paralytic and then the drug that stops their heart.

That’s why the people aren’t allowed to be there. In many counties still, especially in the south, multiple dogs are put into a container (that is basically a metal dumpster) at the same time and they howl and bark and scrabble over one another while they are gassed by the exhaust from a county vehicle. No, I am not making this up - you can find video in various documentaries and online.

3-4 million dogs and cats are euthanized at shelters every year, there is no way they can afford to individually euthanize each animal in a loving, quiet and humane atmosphere. That’s the very brutal reality of shelters across this country and it’s the biggest reason why buying cats and dogs while 4 million die horrible deaths is just not the right moral choice.

I’m sorry, but that was so graphic. I couldn’t read too much of it. My heart cannot bear it.

[Anonymous]

We adopted from Lost Dog. I believe that the adoption agreement said that the dog should be returned to Lost Dog in the event of a medical issue or the need to rehome. The owner did not do that.

What stands out to me is that the owner paid a good amount to the shelter to have the dog euthanized and didn't stay with the pup during the process. It sucks but the least that we owe our pets is to see them through their last stage of life. Dropping off a dog to be put to sleep is cruel. The dog is scared because they are in a new place. They are alone without the human that they know and trust. And then they are subjected to a medical treatment, in this case to end their life, without the people they know best to help them.

I am glad that the dog was able to be treated and is now looking for a new home. I don't think that they dog should be returned to the woman in the story. I would be surprised if Lost Dog allowed her to adopt through them again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What breaks my heart is that families can’t be present for euthanasia for surrendered dogs.

I have needed to humanely euthanize four of my dogs, and I have been there with them until the very end. I held them all in my arms and made sure they felt loved.

Euthanasia at a vet can be expensive (my last one was close to $500) so my wish is that if the county offers the service and a family wishes to be present that they should be so that their dogs don’t die alone, scared and feeling unloved.

You don’t even want to know how these dogs get euthanized at the county shelter facility, poster. It is not the experience you are familiar with wherein a single dog is injected with paralytic and then the drug that stops their heart.

That’s why the people aren’t allowed to be there. In many counties still, especially in the south, multiple dogs are put into a container (that is basically a metal dumpster) at the same time and they howl and bark and scrabble over one another while they are gassed by the exhaust from a county vehicle. No, I am not making this up - you can find video in various documentaries and online.

3-4 million dogs and cats are euthanized at shelters every year, there is no way they can afford to individually euthanize each animal in a loving, quiet and humane atmosphere. That’s the very brutal reality of shelters across this country and it’s the biggest reason why buying cats and dogs while 4 million die horrible deaths is just not the right moral choice.

I’m sorry, but that was so graphic. I couldn’t read too much of it. My heart cannot bear it.

The first time I saw video of it in a documentary, I sobbed and felt sick I thought I might throw up. I felt heartbroken for the dogs but also for the poor shelter worker who had to do the killing. He was dropping dogs into the dumpster container one after another, and many were clearly young and really beautiful dogs. Such a horrible waste. I went online that same night and adopted a rescue dog saved from a shelter..

It is awful and graphic and I’m sorry to make you think of it, but I also think all of us in this society where it is happening need to think of it every once in a while.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What breaks my heart is that families can’t be present for euthanasia for surrendered dogs.

I have needed to humanely euthanize four of my dogs, and I have been there with them until the very end. I held them all in my arms and made sure they felt loved.

Euthanasia at a vet can be expensive (my last one was close to $500) so my wish is that if the county offers the service and a family wishes to be present that they should be so that their dogs don’t die alone, scared and feeling unloved.

You don’t even want to know how these dogs get euthanized at the county shelter facility, poster. It is not the experience you are familiar with wherein a single dog is injected with paralytic and then the drug that stops their heart.

That’s why the people aren’t allowed to be there. In many counties still, especially in the south, multiple dogs are put into a container (that is basically a metal dumpster) at the same time and they howl and bark and scrabble over one another while they are gassed by the exhaust from a county vehicle. No, I am not making this up - you can find video in various documentaries and online.

3-4 million dogs and cats are euthanized at shelters every year, there is no way they can afford to individually euthanize each animal in a loving, quiet and humane atmosphere. That’s the very brutal reality of shelters across this country and it’s the biggest reason why buying cats and dogs while 4 million die horrible deaths is just not the right moral choice.

I’m sorry, but that was so graphic. I couldn’t read too much of it. My heart cannot bear it.

The first time I saw video of it in a documentary, I sobbed and felt sick I thought I might throw up. I felt heartbroken for the dogs but also for the poor shelter worker who had to do the killing. He was dropping dogs into the dumpster container one after another, and many were clearly young and really beautiful dogs. Such a horrible waste. I went online that same night and adopted a rescue dog saved from a shelter..

It is awful and graphic and I’m sorry to make you think of it, but I also think all of us in this society where it is happening need to think of it every once in a while.

I didn’t know exactly how shelters euthanize animals, but obviously it’s not peaceful and not done individually if they won’t let people be present. You know the manner of death must be extremely upsetting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mean, the dog needed a $7k surgery. Most normal people wouldn’t be able to pay that.

We surrendered a dog to Montgomery county in order to save its life.

We’d just adopted the dog about 6 weeks before, and while crated, he ate a substantial amount of a blanket that was used for bedding. He ended up with blocked intestines and required surgery. The animal hospital (on Nebel Street in north Bethesda- don’t EVER go there, btw) quoted us $8,000 for the surgery plus more for recovery and follow up care.

We were heartbroken. We couldn’t afford that. We were considering having the dog euthanized. The techs said if we surrendered the dog to the county, the county would pick up the tab for the surgery, thus saving the dog’s life - but we’d never see the dog again.

So we cried together as a family and said goodbye to our dog and signed the papers and surrendered him to Montgomery county. The hospital started prepping him for surgery immediately.

Right before we left, one of the techs told us she’d call us because she needed to tell us something but couldn’t talk to us about it at work. We were puzzled. But it made sense shortly afterwards…

A few hours later, after we were home….and feeling empty and heartbroken and devastated and crying as we cleaned up all of the dog toys and his crate and tried to remove any reminders of our dogs presence …. the phone rings.

It was the Dr at the animal hospital. The Dr who quoted us $8,000 plus for the surgery. She said “it wasn’t as bad as initially thought, and the surgery was now only $2,900 instead of $8,000.

We were confused. We said “we’ve already signed the paperwork to surrender the dog to the county”….”we’re happy that he’s going to be OK, but we’ve already surrendered him”.

The Dr then said “oh we can just throw that paperwork out”. You can get your dog back right now. Just come pick him up and pay, he can go home tonight”.

At this point, we were already an emotional mess and had just endured the further trauma of sanitizing our home of any reminders of our new dog, and had convinced ourselves that we did what was best for the dog in order to save his life. We would just have to accept that we had to give him up to save him…

So we said we couldn’t really afford $3,000 anymore than we could afford $8,000…. which probably wasn’t too far from the truth…we might have been able to, but it would’ve been a real squeaker and left us vulnerable to another emergency. The dog was saved. That was the most important thing. He’d go home and live - but with some other family. Not us. So we accepted that.


A couple hours later, the vet tech from earlier called us. She was off work now and was able to speak freely without anyone overhearing her.

She told us the dog would be absolutely fine, and the county only pays $1,200 for such surgeries. That’s what the county would be paying them for our dog. Not $2,900. Not $8000+. Nope. $1,200. The hospital quotes to the moon, hoping they’ll get people to pay it. If they can’t, they offer the surrender program, just like they did to us. Then after the procedure, they come back again with a lower quote and offer to “make the whole surrender thing disappear”…. Hoping we’d go for it. We didn’t. So they got what the county pays. $1,200. We could’ve easily afforded $1,200. We would’ve jumped at that. But they quoted us $8,000

We almost euthanized the dog because of the original $8000 quote! And we were heartbroken to give the dog up, but at the time we thought it was the only way we could save his life, and we were GRATEFUL for the chance to give him up if it meant it would save his life. Now we find out it was just a pricing strategy to soak us tor as much as they could get out of us, and $1200 would’ve been enough?

And we would’ve never known any of this were it not for a disgruntled employee telling us about the whole scam.

We never pursued any action against that animal hospital (on Nebel Street in north Bethesda) but I will tell as many people as I can what that place did to our family. The anguish that they put us through.



So I’ve learned enough about animal hospitals to give the woman in this story the OP posted the benefit of the doubt. She may have been in a situation just like the one we were placed in.

This makes no sense to force a family to surender a dog vs. help it get the medical care and be back with its family. I have to question these rescues and shelters. Dogs have attachments and its trauma to have a dog in a shelter and rehome it especially when it has a home. They wouldn't do that to a child so why is that ok for a dog? That's inhumane.

Rescue 100 dogs yourself or stop chirping about the people who do the hard work you are too lazy to do yourself.

Rescue what, a dog with a home so it can be resold so you can profit. No thanks. I only adopt kids.