Would you ever return a pet?

[Colleen27]

Absolutely I would. Not over routine things like barking or housebreaking or chewing, but if there's a safety issue involved (for either my children or for the pet itself) I would find a new home myself or return it to the rescue to be placed in a more suitable home.

Over 15 years of having pets, we've had two that we've had to let go. One was a cat I had prior to having children who acted agressively towards my daughter when she was an infant. The cat never much liked my son (oldest child) but just avoided him; for some reason with my daughter she was downright agressive to the point of climbing into the crib and scratching/biting while she slept. We had a neighbor with older kids who just loved Shadow, so we let them take her and she's still very happily their cat. She's fine with school-aged kids, but still skittish and defensive around babies and toddlers.

The other was a beautiful black lab-malamute mix that just couldn't seem to adjust to city life. He was a good dog, fixed, sweet with the kids, loved long walks, but he was a runner. We've got a fenced yard and he learned how to jump the fence (actually, he figured out how to open one latch too, but that was easily replaced). We put him on a dog run/tie out and he broke chains rated for dogs twice his weight. We kept him in the house more and he broke screens to get out windows. We tried for over a year to get him used to our home, because our choc lab-spaniel mix does well here and just needed lots of walks and attention in the puppy phase to settle in, but nothing worked. We were all sad to let him go, but when a family friend's father mentioned that he could use a good dog up on his 50 acres of farm and woods we knew that would be a better fit for him. Far better that than to have him hit by a car running around our neighborhood. And my kids do appreciate that they get to visit Junior a couple times a year when we're up north and when his new owners come down here to visit their kids & grandkids.

 

[ZephyrHawk]

"Return" is a very specific word.

Would I return an animal I purchased from a breeder?

Yes, if there was a return policy in our contract and the animal turned out to have medical issues warranted against.

Would I return a dog to an animal shelter?

Never. If I could not keep it (allergies, inter-pet aggression or some other valid reason) I would work and work to find a friend/relative/casual acquaintance/whatever to take it. If it had incurable behavioral issues (for instance, if after long standing attempts at training have failed to make the animal safe around people) then I would have it put to sleep.

I wouldn't ever get an animal from a store, so I can't really comment on that.

 

[agnes!]

I've returned a pet.

Three years ago we got a cat from the Humane Society. He appeared to be a sweet cat, age 3, male. We were a bit concerned because we had another cat at home, ...

For three months we tried everything we could to get him to relax and calm down. Nothing worked. Three moths after we got him I returned him to the Humane Society. It was no fun having a pet that everyone in the house was terrified of. I felt terribly guilty (and still do), but there really was no choice.

I didn't answer the poll but wanted to post my experience.

I've returned a pet *once* and the scenario was very similar to yours. In our case the cat seemed to be somewhat psychotic (I seem to remember some attacking issues, but I've blocked a lot of what happened out of my memory), but it was also not at all attuned to people and then started pooping everywhere (no known medical causes). I tried and tried and TRIED to make everything right but it just didn't happen. So I made the decision to take the cat back, feeling terrible about it the whole time and the people at that shelter were horrible to me.

I never adopted a pet from those people again. I guess they showed me eh?

And it's not as if I willy-nilly returned pets when they became inconvenient - I have kep pets in very difficult circumstances, giving one cat insulin shots for his diabetes, nursing other cats fot months/years until their end through Feline Leukemia/Feline AIDs.

agnes!

 

[browneyes106]

It's hard to answer. I agree with others if safety issues came up I would return a pet. I have known a few people who have returned pets to breeders or shelters due to pets being dangers to their children.

A few years back I had a coworker who took in a beagle whose owners were going through a bitter divorce and the safety of the dog was being threatened. The beagle was 2 years old at the time and the owners simply couldn't decide who should take the dog. The husband began threating to kill the dog as a way of hurting the wife. The breeder from whom they purchased the dog from refused to take the dog back because he was facing financial issues. The wife was friends with my coworker's brother in law and she asked if he knew anyone who had owned a beagle or had been a previous owner. The brother-in-law told her about my coworker and after talking on the phone a couple of the times. The woman drove a few hours to my coworker and she arranged for the papers/records to be transfered. The woman felt really bad and my coworker offered to house the dog temporarily until the divorce got settled but the woman said that she feared that even if she got the dog back her soon to be ex would harm the dog. I haven't kept in touch with my coworker so I don't know if her BIL is still in contact with the original owner.

I had a friend in college who gave up a cat to a shelter because she was going through some health problems and felt she couldn't properly care for the cat.

 

[Luvchefmic]

adopted an Irish Setter from North Shore Animal League (in NY) and allergies were discovered in the family, they took him back but only because we got a Drs note..would I return a pet that was aggressive.?.first and foremost is the safety of my family, friends, other dogs, etc...of course...but I would do everything humanly possible to "fix" this .

 

[moburg]

I've returned dead fish within the 2 week return period. Does that count?

 

[STLDisney_Freak]

If the pet was not fitting in to our family and our family was not able to provide the best for the animal then yes I would return it. I'm not talk about you buy a dog and then five days or five months later you decide you don't wanna a dog anymore then return it because you have buyers remorse. I'm talking the the dog is too needy for the family and schedules are clicking, etc etc, but then just goes along with needing to do your research before you buy the pet. So yeah there is a lot of variables involved and I'm sure I was no help.

 

[paintnolish]

We returned a cat to the Humane Society. We had another cat at the time. We tried to introduce them slowly. We gave them "safe places" to be away from one another, but it wasn't working out. The older cat was bullying the new cat. The new cat began marking all over the place. We even bought the expensive spray that was supposed to help him stop marking. With two small children especially, I couldn't turn my home into a giant litter box. We took the cat back.

 

[Robinrs]

There are so many variables I couldn't answer either.
One of my cats died suddenly in November . My son was torn up and wanted another one. We went to a rescue center and they had a requirement to not split up certain pairs.

We fell in love with an adorable kitty who was paired up with another quiet one. We adopted them both. As soon as we got them home one fit in immediately but the other CRIED all night. She chased after my male cat and hissed at my female cats. She made life miserable for us at night.

I took her in for her shots and the vet there was amazed we had adopted her. She's a LOUD one, isn't she? she said. That's why they paired her with Chewy (the one we wanted) because they knew no one would adopt her...

I ended up returning her because she was making my other cats lives miserable. I felt HORRIBLE but she was eventually adopted 2 months later. I think she would do fine in a one cat household but not with my litter.

 

[LisaR]

Years ago, we got rid of a dog shortly after adopting him. We didn't want to but we felt it was in the best interest of the dog. We visited him twice before adopting him and he was the calmest dog I have ever seen in my life. The rescue group said the same thing. He was a 30 pound lap dog and very mild mannered. We adopted him and he remained that way for about 3 weeks.

Suddenly, he came to life. He was a great dog but he found energy that even surprised him! We adopted him with the knowledge that we had a very small backyard. We would walk him daily but he didn't have room to run. When he came to life, he literally hurdled our chain link fence and ran the neighborhood. We installed an 8ft wood privacy fence days later and he scaled that in a heartbeat. He just wanted to run, run, run. We lived near a very busy road so we had to resort to tying him up. He was not happy.

I have a friend that lives on acreage and she was more than willing to adopt him permanently. I am so thankful. He is happily running around on her property to this day and enjoying his life. While we truly loved him and he was a great dog, I do not feel he was happy living in our conditions with being chained up. It worked out for the best. Unfortunately, not every dog fits with every family and until you learn their personality, it is a crap shoot.

 

[DebbieB]

Depends on the reason. If it involved safety of a family member, definitely.

Years ago, when our cat of 18 years died, we went to the shelter and brought home a little kitten. The day after we got her, she started sneezing and coughing. We took her to the vet and she had an upper resp infection. He said she was not 8 weeks old like they told us, she was no more than 6 weeks. Some people suggested we take her back, she's probably sickly. We didn't and she was a wonderful pet for 15 1/2 years and had very few health problems after that.

 

[LiLIrishChick63]

you adopted the animal into your house, now it's your responsibility.

now, if it's NOT working out then it's your responsibility to find another stable home for the animal, not to bring it back to the shelter where you got it from.


my mother adopted a cat last year and she hasn't had a "new" pet in 10 years(since they got their dog) and she didn't quite understand how it works, introducing a new pet into the home. she didn't have the patience and "just didn't feel like it" so she ended up bringing the cat back to the SPCA where she got it from a few weeks later.

she also refused to clean up the litter box and to feed it, she said "That's your father's job, not mine"

so yes, i strongly believe that if you bring a pet into your home it is now your responsibility.

 

[scrapquitler]

you adopted the animal into your house, now it's your responsibility.
now, if it's NOT working out then it's your responsibility to find another stable home for the animal, not to bring it back to the shelter where you got it from.

I believe that the paperwork that came with my cat from my local Humane Society stated that I was NOT to give the pet to someone else, I was to return it to the Humane Society.

Didn't Ellen get in a big fiasco a couple of years ago for finding a different home for a dog that wasn't working out in her home? She gave it to someone else and then the Rescue organization went and repossessed the dog. So No, its not necessarily MY responsibility to find the animal a new home.

And in my case, we tried very very hard to work it out and be responsible pet owners for three months (we've had cats for about 15 years, so its not like we don't have any idea how to be responsible pet owners), but once the cat was attacking MY CHILDREN, there was no way I was going to keep trying to work it out after three months.

 

[tonilea]

I returned two cats to my vet after having them for a couple years. One or both took a dump in MY BED! Not once, but twice! After the first time, I did everything I knew (10 years of working in a vet clinic) and nothing worked.... so it was either back to the vet or put to sleep. Thankfully the vet clinic took them back and they live in the kennel.

Just for the record, multiple litter boxes cleaned daily.

ETA: I wish I had returned them sooner. My home is much better off without them.

 

[NikitaZee]

Yes, I would. When I was a child, we had an Alaskan Malamute that we loved. We had him for about 2 years. After a while my parents realized that our home/yard wasn't enough space for him - he really needed a lot of room to roam. My folks spoke with the breeder we got him from, and he was given to a family with 5 acres of land. We kids were absolutely heartbroken - but keeping in touch with the new owners let us know that he thrived at his new home. So - no health or safety risk involved - just a better life for our dog.

 

[Handbag Lady]

I voted it is always wrong to return a pet.


But then again, I would never get a pet without researching which pet (dog, cat, bird, fish?), what size (do I need a larger fish tank, do I have the time for a big dog or a small one), breed or mutt, and then I'd spend a LOT of time with that animal before I decided.

ETA: I think I sounded harsh. I don't have kids so I don't have that problem to worry about.

 

[princessmom29]

I voted it is always wrong to return a pet.


But then again, I would never get a pet without researching which pet (dog, cat, bird, fish?), what size (do I need a larger fish tank, do I have the time for a big dog or a small one), breed or mutt, and then I'd spend a LOT of time with that animal before I decided.

ETA: I think I sounded harsh. I don't have kids so I don't have that problem to worry about.

I totally agree with you about doing your homework and knowing what you are getting into, but as a parent, I have to say the if a pet was a real threat to my child it would HAVE to go. We adpoted a mini doxie 2 weeks agor, and so far we ADORE her. We researched for months, visited homes of friends and family with the breed, and loked at multiple breeders bfroe getting Bella. We nintally wanted a smaller puppy, but after doing my homework decided that an older puppy would be a better fit for us. Bella is 4 1/2 months old and doing great! We all still working on fully potty trainig her, but realize it will be a while before she is totally reliable.

 

[webprinter]

I would only return a pet if I was unable to take proper care of it or if it would suffer. I would never want to hurt an animal. I also believe that if I commit to caring for a pet, I should do it.

 

[funkychunkymonkey]

Its only ok to give up a pet if you find it a wonderful home. Like my holly cat, She was adopted by my mother as a compainion for her cat tabby. Holly was much to playful for tabby and was very unhappy living in a multiple (8 total cats) household. So my mom asked me to take her to my 2 cat household. It worked out great and holly is now a happy (and very spoiled) cat.

 

[Imzadi]

I've read many dog adoptions here on the DIS, so I guess I'm addressing all of them. But there is always someone who brings up how traumatic it is to the dog to have to re-adopt them back out.

Oh, puh-lease! Dogs and cats are probably the most resilient & adaptable of all species. That's why they've lasted so long on the planet & in such plentiful numbers, in all breeds. (Darwin's Survival of the Fittest = adaptability.)

If a dog or cat can't last in a temporary environment for a couple of weeks to months, then there shouldn't be dog rescues or shelters or fostering programs which take them in for extended periods of time. The dogs should be taken out back & shot instead if they are so easily traumatised. (NOT really!) There certainly should be no boarding kennels. God forbid anyone go away on vacation for 2 weeks or more for vacations or jobs. The dogs/cats would be ruined for life. That also means our armed service should never own a dog, as being deployed & serving our country is being too selfish, since it would traumatize the dogs. And when longtime owners die, the dogs should be put down right away, as people make it seem like the dogs will never be able to adjust to another owner.

Get real, people - (in general.) People aren't necessarily being thoughtless about getting a pet then needing to return it. Some people really try to whatever extent they were comfortable with and then find out the pet is not a good FIT. Next time, if there is a next time, they will know to do things better or differently. The dog/cat will go to a new home & will adapt. If the original owners foster the dog until it finally went to a new owner, the dog would go through the same thing. It's not like people had the dog for years and are giving it up.

If two human beings get into a relationship and find out it doesn't work, they are allowed to break up or get divorced. We know not all humans fit together and there are too many variables people can't know before attempting a relationship. Other people don't get to decide whether they tried enough, or what steps and to what degree they need to attempt before ending it. There is even a trial period (for lack of a better word,) on determining the fit of human adoptions. But adopt a pet? According to some here on the DIS, no, people must take home a stranger pet and live with it immediately and forever. No "getting to know each other" period, no allowance for unknown variables. The owner can never change his mind, find out the personalities of the pet & humans don't mesh right, or the human finds he's allergic. Never mind the trauma to the humans. No, the humans must adapt completely. Or instead, the humans should be flogged.