Saveayorkie is stealing my dog
 

I had a 18 mo old yorkie. He is my baby. I have had him since he was 9wk old. He has all his shots, was neutered, micro chipped. And spoiled as he should be.

In May I noticed every once in a while he would limp. I took him to the vet and they said he had luxating Patellar's. and would need surgery but the vet did not do surgeries and referred me to another vet. The diagnosis was the same .Both knees need to be done and the coast would be 6000.00 dollars. Of cause they would do one at a time.

I am a senior citizen and on a fixed income it is impossible for me to raise this amount of money right away. I could not get credit because of insufisant income. I had no choice but to surrender my dog to save a yorkie for him to get the treatment he needs.

Not 8 hours after they took my dog I had access to the funds I needed. I called and asked them to give him back as now I could pay for the surgery.

They say he is very happy where he is and they do not think he needs the surgery . They have not even taken him to a vet yet. But they say he does not need surgery.

They will not return him to me. I had the vet call them and explain the diagnosis. I even offered to pay the adoption fee to buy him back. They are stealing my dog. What can I do? Any suggestion?
. Im broke hearted.

Oh I'm sorry this is happening to you, maybe a call to the Sheriff? Remain calm talk clam and maybe he can talk to them. Do you have a lawyer? Maybe your daughter could help you with this?

I am sorry this is happening. I'm not sure why a rescue would not want the pup to have the medical care it is needing. I don't understand why it wouldn't want the dog to be back with it's loving owner, either, but usually the rescues are all about fixing physical ailments. That's a head scratcher.

I would contact a lawyer if I were in your situation.

This is horrible! I cannot believe that this group decided your dog does not need surgery -- the only reason you would sign him over -- and then not return him to you.

I am very sorry that I don't have any advice other than to contact a lawyer, which would cost a lot of money. :(

I would try talking to the police and asking your vet for help.

Did this Rescue Group not explain to you when you surrendered the Yorkie to them, that you needed to make sure you wanted to do this???

I am coming at this from the Rescue point of view. I have Volunteered with a Rescue Group and when ever we have someone wanting to surrender their dog we talk with them before any papers are signed. Signing those papers are legal. WE make sure the owner knows that the Pet can be returned once they sign them over. That is why we explain and talk with them.

It is unfortunate that this Rescue Group is saying he doesn't need surgery. I pray that they have taken him to the Vet and had him looked over and had leg's checked out.

I did go their web site and looked and he is posted. It does say he will be going to the Vet.

I am sorry this happening to you.

Can a friend or family member adopt him for you?

If it were me, I would first try to calmly talk to them again & explain exactly what you've told us. I wish you luck.

Can you go down there in person? Do you know any lawyers? I would keep calling until you reached someone who can help you. This makes no sense. Obviously he needs a home and you're clearly the most suited person, not to mention that they are being neglectful about him needing the surgery. Perhaps you have friends or family members that can be more insistent with them?

If she signed papers to surrender the dog, it was because she could not afford to pay for the medical care.

Now they are saying he does not need it. This voids the contract. She surrendered the dog because they said they would take care of him. They took him under false pretenses and are not honoring their end.

Of course, I'm not a lawyer.

OP, I would strongly suggest getting the police involved. If they cannot/will not help you, there are law services that will help you in your situation.

I can imagine how devastated you must be. I will keep you in my prayers & hope you get your baby back.

I agree with Vicki.

From a shelter's side, the owner surrendered the dog because she had NO other option, and couldn't pay for medical care. Just because she found the money 8 hours after she surrendered him this time, what will happen next time he needs medical care and she cant afford it? Will she surrender him again? Obviously they are looking at long term for the dog. You people say he needs to be home and that its the best place for him but honestly, we don't know that to be true. People often shiny up the truth so they'll come out looking better. I mean no offense to the OP because I don't know her, but that's the thing, no one here knows her.

Unless any of us were in the room or listening in on the phone, we don't know exactly what was said by either party. We are going based off one person's word. The dog is on the shelter's site and it states he will be visiting the vet. Maybe they said "they didn't feel like he needed the surgery right away" but because the OP is so upset by them not returning the dog, she misheard. Like I said- no one knows the exact words spoken because none of us were party to the conversation.

I am sorry that the OP feels they are stealing her dog. This is simply NOT true. She GAVE them her dog because she wasn't able to provide the medical needs of the dog. Stealing him would be going into her home and taking him without her knowledge. She knew when she signed the paperwork it was a permanent arrangement. I honestly don't think the police are going to do anything, this is a civil matter and no crime has been committed. The owner surrendered her dog. The shelter will have all the paperwork in place to cover their side of it.

Typically I would agree that once the papers are signed, there is no turning back. But if the circumstances changed on the same day, or the next day (OP's financial status), then I think exceptions should be made.

How do you figure they aren't honoring their end? They are taking him to see a vet. see my other post- it says it all in there. This is one side of the story and of course we all paint ourselves in a better light.

McheleM, I agree that the rescue is not stealing the dog.

According to their website, the pup hasn't seen a vet yet. So they probably can't make a definite call about the surgery at this time. OP, is this your boy?
Tiki from Jersey's Web Page
It's just a terrible situation. I can only imagine how difficult it was to sign the papers to surrender. Then to realize that the a solution was only hours too late. I wish the OP & the sweet puppy the best.

But what happens the next time doggie needs something and she can't provide? Does doggie get surrendered again? How many times can OP surrender and take back doggie?? I understand where everyone is coming from, and normally I would be up in arms about this but the OP admitted she couldn't take care of the dog, she's on a fixed income, and this may be what's best for doggie.

Again, we don't know the whole truth, because we are getting one version of it. I am looking at long term for doggie and he needs to be taken care of. If OP can't do that, or is unsure about being able to do that, surrender was the best thing.

I am sorry this happened and as long as the rescue gets him the medical attention he needs then they are legally right, and as someone said before what happens next time he need medical help. That is what the rescue has to look at so the dog does not keep going in a circle. It is unfortunate it happened to you.

I think it proves that the owner loves the dog if she was willing to surrender it to get medical treatment. Can you imagine how hard that is?

I replied in the way I did because I'm not clear on all the facts. All we have is what the owner is saying. So, really, all we can do is respond to it. IF it is true (and not "shinied"), then I would seek legal advice. And, note, I also don't agree that they are "stealing" the dog. But I'm sure it feels that way...it would to me.

I have no desire to post my viewpoint, but I will say one thing, if I may. Since you're a senior citizen on a fixed income, it is my suggestion that you contact a Yorkie rescue in your area and see if they would consider you as a foster home. Make sure you choose one that covers necessary vet costs, which many do.

This way you get the relationship with many little furbutts, without having to worry about whether or not you'll be able to afford veterinary care if need be.

I don't know this rescue organization and there is only one side here, the OP's. If I take what the OP says at face value, I would have to say this rescue group sounds like they want to make a quick buck off this dog.
1. The owner surrenders him ONLY based on needing expensive surgery after consulting with not one but TWO vets.
2. However They DO NOT take him to a vet, rather they immediately put him on their web site as available, just after a look see. Is that common place after being told that two vets told the owner the pup needed expensive surgery.
3. In just a day or so at a foster home they claim he is more happy there, then where he has been for over a year.

If I was the OP I would get on the phone, on email, and on facebook and call every TV and radio program in the area, and tell them how after surrendering a dog because 2 vets said he needs surgery they claim he does not and has offered him up for adoption even though you have offered to take him back.

Unless there is more to this story I think this group is not one I would ever want to adopt from and is what often gives breed specific groups a bad rap.

Ok, I have more info. This story bothered me so I called and spoke to the adoptive mom. She told me, the owner loves the dog but does not have a car and they had to pick up the dog, no air conditioning, heavy heavy smoke filled home. Dog is being fed scraps of meat and teeth are not in good shape. The owner said the dog would not eat dog food, but adoptive mom is feeding good quality dog food. The dog is behind in his shots. A vet appointment is set for next week and there was to have been a conference call between the owner of the rescue group and the OP's vet. They have also discussed giving the dog back to the owner if they truly believe he can get the proper overall care. So I guess the only thing I don't understand is why they listed him for adoption with so much going on, the adoptive mom said she did not know why, and did not realize he was listed but he would not be going anywhere before all this was settled.

So like I said earlier I made my post from one side of the story the OP's but like most stories there are two sides.

A 3 month old stray? Whoa!

Yankee Doodle Doo's Web Page

Most certainly there always is.

Just had a call from the foster mom, Wow what a turn of events, the rescue gal spoke to the vet and the vet is now doing the surgery for free and they are returning the dog to the OP. They are discussing transportation options for the dog's return. They do plan on giving the OP nutritional and other care advice that for the overall health of the dog I hope the OP takes and of course if questions arise down the line there are lots of people on YT that will help. When it comes to the LP surgery I hope the OP will check out the numerous threads on this topic.

Thank you Donna for looking into this.

WOW!!! A happy ending :)

Thank you, this story really got me, but I made the call so quickly and after I hung up, I am like what did I just do this is not my business but then I guess when something is made public it becomes everyone's business.

Thanks for the updates, it's nice to get some closure! Hopefully with the extra care and advice/education the dog will be in a better situation and still with the OP.

We spent quite a bit more on the LP surgeries for our dogs, and there were a lot of followup visits with the surgeon as well as to the physical therapist. I don't think LP is covered by most insurance plans, but it might worth getting some insurance to avoid unexpected future situations where the cost of needed health care is prohibitively expensive.