"Adopting a dog"

[Fashionista101]

Hi, my grandma wants to adopt a rescue dog. After been paired with a couple they've had too many issues so she's a dog for sale through her friend. (She doesn't want a puppy)

So I'm taking her to look at it on Monday. She's just messaged me (grandma) saying she's going to ask the current owner to sign something saying she will take her back after a month if it's not working. For a full refund.

That's never going to work is it? Legally my grandma won't have a leg to stand on surely.

[Dontgiveamonkeys1350]

Is she getting it from a private house ? You don’t re home a dog without a lot of reasons. I doubt they would do this. I wouldn’t. Not good for the dog either. I would suggest she maybe does some visits there over a period of time to get to know the dog before she brings it home

[Fashionista101]

Yes it's a friend of a friend. Thanks, not really what I'm asking though.

[Dontgiveamonkeys1350]

I don’t think them signing a piece of Paper that she writes up is anywhere near legal. But I’m happy to be proved wrong.

What was it that I said u were not asking? I think visiting a dog maybe a good idea. Re homing a dog and the. Giving it back is not good for many reasons. So if she was worried getting to know the dog before taking I think is a sensible idea.

[sanpelle]

There should really be no money involved when it comes to adopting or rescuing an animal unless it's from a charity. It's a sick cash making scheme. Yeah they may have bought the dog, paid for it's vet bills and food etc. But that was their choice. I've known a fair few people sell their pets simply because they need money it's so awful. I would suggest your GM doesn't get involved in this and gets a rescue from a reputable place such as the RSPCA. The RSPCA don't charge a ridiculous amount and I think I remember seeing 2 kittens for £25. They need to get their money from somewhere and would be a much better cause than straight into some idiots pocket who doesn't care about their poor animal

[Fashionista101]

That's what I'm thinking.

No I agree I just wasn't really posting to get into that side of things. My grandma has been a KC breeder so she 100% has the dogs best interests at heart. It not a must for the dog to be rehomed. Potentially she might not even take it.

[AvocadosBeforeMortgages]

I would urge caution on a private rehome, and insist on full access to veterinary records and a trial period, starting with simply taking the dog out for a walk. There are some issues that only become apparent after some time spent with a dog. I would also consider having the dog's temperament independently assessed by an APDT trainer.

I say this as someone who adopted a dog from a former flatmate - obviously a bit different as I'd already lived with DDog, but if the old owner had been giving a description of him he would have missed out a lot of important things behaviour wise as he was a bit inexperienced (frustrated greeter, reactive towards certain forms of traffic, mild resource guarding around dogs, no basic training, a seasoned bin raider...). He'd also been burying his head in the sand about veterinary things - no booster jabs, microchip out of date, what I thought was patella luxation ignored etc. He wasn't a bad person, just out of his depth and in a situation not of his making, but if you met DDog in the house you could believe he was the perfect dog like I did when I viewed the flat

I've also rehomed small furries from the small ads. I've had people not even ask my name let alone what I plan to do with it, different species handed over to the one in the picture and one that was being kept in a bucket and died in an expensive fashion three weeks later. I doubt the quality of people rehoming dogs in similar ways is much better.

The difference between the dogs from proper rescues that she rejected on the grounds of having too many issues and this one is that this dog is a total unknown - the proverbial pig in a poke.

If they didn't want to take it back after a month, it would be hard to force them, and you'd fear for what happens next to the dog - they may simply dump it, and it would probably end up in another unsuitable home. How much are they asking her to pay for the dog? I wouldn't agree to pay any more than I was willing to lose, and would plan to rehome via a proper rescue if she really can't cope.

[Fashionista101]

No I completely hear what you're saying. Nothing is being taken lightly, the friend who's friend it is, is playing a large part as knows the dog very well. The money is more of a thank you as her situation isn't great and my grandma knows she really needs the money and I think she feels like if the owner feels it's more like a business transaction it will be easier for her (I don't really agree but...)

I just want her to know that a signed piece of paper is worth sweet eff all.

[AvocadosBeforeMortgages]

I think fundamentally she could write up a contract that's as legal as she likes - but if there's no realistic way of enforcing it (courts unlikely to make owner take dog back; she won't have any money if sued) then realistically it's not worth the paper it's written on.