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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]As many have pointed out on this thread, the shelter form said that the dog would be euthanized “if necessary.”  As someone who is dealing with a sick pet and may not be able to afford all of the vet bills that would be associated with treating the pet, I can understand why the owner may have decided to surrender the pet to the shelter rather than watch a euthanasia in the vet’s office. The outcome of the story is the dog did get the medical treatment he needed and survived- so why is the decision the dog owner made so horrible? Why does that make the person a terrible pet owner?  She was in a position for whatever reason she could not take care of the sick dog, so she did the responsible thing of taking the dog to qualified professionals to handle the dog.  Deciding how to handle a sick pet is a very fragile decision for people- and she didn’t leave the dog abandoned, starving, or injured (or alone - obviously the dog was left with vets and qualified professionals as it got the surgery it needed).  Perhaps some people would make a different choice and would hand an animal off to a no-kill shelter or a charity organization, but it seems unfair to say she was an irresponsible pet owner.  Shelters exist, and she used one.  We have already spent thousands on our sick pet, with no diagnosis yet.  We are at a point of having to decide whether we can spend thousands more to continue to try to get to a diagnosis, and then potentially spend thousands to treat the illness (if it’s even treatable). But given we don’t really have a diagnosis and it only *may* be treatable, I have to grapple with can I handle having my pet be out there without me if I did surrender her, versus what I would view as potentially selfish and euthanizing her if she continues to decline.

What I can’t understand is why the rescue organization felt like this woman is not a suitable candidate to adopt a dog that is available for adoption.  That she is “ineligible” because it was previously her pet seems like an absurd policy.  I don’t think removing that policy would create the consequence some describe of everyone surrendering their pet to get free medical care and then re-adopting because there would be no guarantee you’d be the first one to try to adopt your pet, etc. but if the pet was saved and then is still available for adoption, I don’t understand why the rescue would think she was any less good of a home than a different applicant. The dog is with a foster while being treated that isn’t financially responsible for the dog at all- and the next owner was not responsible for any of the expenses either.  This bright line rule that the pet rescue has set around who is worthy of pet ownership seems like the concerning part of this story- they are treating this woman like she put the dog in a dumpster.  If they don’t think a person who can’t afford 7k (and probably plus for miscellaneous expenses) for an unexpected illness should own a dog- they should be charging significantly higher adoption fees (which would help fund their organization anyways). [/quote]
According to the rescue, she didn’t surrender the dog to the shelter after diagnostic tests were run and she found out what surgery the dog needed and that she couldn’t afford it; she didn’t pay for diagnostic tests in the first place. The vets she consulted were making a guess about what was wrong with the dog, based on its reported symptoms and simple examinations. The rescue offered to take the dog back and have their vets evaluate it. She declined. She didn’t pay a vet for euthanasia, she took the dog to the cheapest place that would euthanize (the shelter), even though they don’t allow people to be with animals when they’re euthanized. She signed away her rights to the dog. The shelter didn’t observe the same symptoms the woman had, so they contacted the rescue to see if they’d take the dog back. The rescue was informed that the dog had been surrendered for euthanasia. They took the dog back and assumed the financial burden of his medical bills. A year and a half, thousands of dollars, and two surgeries later, the dog is well and able to be adopted. Nobody did anything wrong, but the dog doesn’t belong to the woman anymore, and she’s probably not the best candidate to adopt a dog with a complicated medical history. Everyone in this story did the best that they could for this dog. I don’t know that the rescue has said that this woman is ineligible to adopt any pet ever again, but they’re not returning this dog to her, which is not unreasonable.

I’m very sorry your pet is suffering. It’s awful to feel powerless to help a sick pet. I wish you the best of luck during this difficult time.[/quote]

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