We will Always Take Our Dogs Back

I want to stress that MABTR will take every dog back. No questions asked.  Every MABTR dog that gets adopted, can be returned to us. We want our adopters to be happy but most of all our dogs to be happy and feel safe.  We take every dog back, we always have, and we always will. It literally is the first line of our adoption contract.

I received a call from a shelter about a dog that had a microchip leading back to MABTR. Per the shelter she was dropped off by someone who stated they could not care for the dog any longer.  The shelter scanned for a microchip and called me thank God. I was pissed off and called the adopter for answers. Her response to me did not match up to what she told the shelter.  Unfortunately, the adopter and the dog were not a good match so why did she not call MABTR instead of dumping her off at a shelter who is already experiencing overpopulation. I was not polite nor empathic to the adopter’s excuses. I knew I would not change the adopter’s behavior and made it clear she would never get a dog from a rescue.  This little girl did not deserve the experience of being in a shelter because of the adopter’s stupidity and selfishness.  This is one prime example of why MABTR does not transfer microchip registrations into the adopter’s name unless they request it.  If our dogs get picked up we want to ensure they are back home safely, should they be abandoned or just got out of the yard. Then we can troubleshoot on how to ensure this incident does not happen again.

We get owner surrender requests for dogs with behavior issues with people. Some are open, honest and asking for help. They acknowledge there is a serious, potentially dangerous issue and they know that they can cause serious harm by lying. Then we have returns or surrender requests where they list all the "bad things' the dog is doing and often times when we offer a solution or training method for each minor issue, they suddenly accuse the dog of being aggressive towards people.  

We take our dogs back, always have, always will. I made the choice to save her life. She was my responsibility the minute I saved her the first time.  I sure in the hell was not going to leave her at the shelter to be failed again. I was responsible for her safety.  We take our dogs back, always have, always will.

Dogs that cannot safely be handled by shelter staff or rescue foster parents, can be extremely unsafe dogs and a liability for the caretaker. They are often euthanized to protect the staff and the general public. It's sad and it sucks, we all hate it. But its harsh, honest and raw reality. I don't want an unsafe, unpredictable, human aggressive dog living next to me. 

Behavior euthanasia is real and necessary. If someone has a truly aggressive dog that dog is the owner’s responsibility. It should never be the responsibility of a shelter or a rescue to euthanize your family pet that has some wires crossed wrong in its brain. (Not all aggression comes from abuse, some dogs just aren't ok. That's a very common misconception.) 

The responsible thing to do if you are the owner of a dog who has aggression towards humans, after exhausting all resources and for everyone's safety, is to take your dog to the vet yourself and let him/her cross the rainbow bridge with someone they know and love. Dogs like that carry so much anxiety and fear, and to dump them to a rescue or a terrifyingly loud shelter with strangers, is absolutely horrible. Take responsibility for your dog. No rescue or shelter is going to look down on you for being honest and protecting yourself and your community. I am not promoting euthanasia of unwanted dogs, we are talking about safety and liability.

I hope this post hit some nerves, I really do. This is the life of rescuers, so when my tone sounds rude and I look tired. It's because I am sick of this world and the pain that humans cause these animals.

Dogs deserve better, so humans need to do better. Honesty can get you so much further than lying and sneaking around.