Is this illegal?
Discussion
My mate got a dog from a rescue home about 2 months ago but last week it decided to bite his young daughter in the face. Him & his wife decided to return the dog as they has lost any trust that had built up. they drove the 150 miles to return it & wasn't offered any money in return (which he was fine about) but the very next day the dog was advertised back on their website with a completely different name. My mate feels that this is bit naughty because it would appear that they are trying to change the identity of the dog & withheld important information about it. Are they able to do this or does this happen alot?
They may rehome it to an adult-only home. The dog rescues I've been to won't rehome a dog with children unless the dog has a proven track record with children or is a young puppy, and they're very strict on that. If a dog snaps at a child, they won't run the risk of happening again, I shouldn't think.
on the side of the dog I am told in the same place she had for the previous 2 months. The dog was checked over on the day they bought it & was givin the all clear.
+ The way the place has changed the dogs name & no mention on the advert what so ever of it biting a child indicates that perhaps the dog has done it before.
+ The way the place has changed the dogs name & no mention on the advert what so ever of it biting a child indicates that perhaps the dog has done it before.
Edited by boobles on Tuesday 17th July 10:07
It's possible. Did they actually see it?
If they want to know for sure if it bit someone else they could make a request of the shelter, and if they don't provide it they could ask for the information under the court rules....
ETA - why don't you phone them as a potential party interested in the dog and ask them a few questions about pets and kids and see what they say?
If they want to know for sure if it bit someone else they could make a request of the shelter, and if they don't provide it they could ask for the information under the court rules....
ETA - why don't you phone them as a potential party interested in the dog and ask them a few questions about pets and kids and see what they say?
All they are concerned about is another family with children getting this dog. Will the rescue home mention to any family that the dog has bitten a child? very much doubt it & this concerns them more than anything. I think they plan to contact the place & ask questions as a potential customer to see what they say.
boobles said:
All they are concerned about is another family with children getting this dog. Will the rescue home mention to any family that the dog has bitten a child? very much doubt it & this concerns them more than anything. I think they plan to contact the place & ask questions as a potential customer to see what they say.
See my message above. It depends on the rescue, I suppose, but every rescue I've ever visited has always been careful not to rehome certain dogs with children. They don't want to be sued. What's the alternative, then? Put the dog down, I suppose. Why didn't your mate do this, if he felt so strongly about it? Why take the dog back and make it someone else's problem? The home can't keep the dog indefinitely, they have to rehome it or put it down.
Incidentally, could the bite have been in play rather than a vicious attack? Was the child being supervised by an adult at the time of the bite? There's always more to the story than just "dog bites child", but people just tend to see the result and assume "vicious dog". Dogs which have been perfectly well behaved in the past don't usually turn and bite for no reason.
Edited by SGirl on Tuesday 17th July 11:04
SGirl said:
See my message above. It depends on the rescue, I suppose, but every rescue I've ever visited has always been careful not to rehome certain dogs with children. They don't want to be sued.
What's the alternative, then? Put the dog down, I suppose. Why didn't your mate do this, if he felt so strongly about it? Why take the dog back and make it someone else's problem? The home can't keep the dog indefinitely, they have to rehome it or put it down.
Incidentally, could the bite have been in play rather than a vicious attack? Was the child being supervised by an adult at the time of the bite? There's always more to the story than just "dog bites child", but people just tend to see the result and assume "vicious dog". Dogs which have been perfectly well behaved in the past don't usually turn and bite for no reason.
Thats just it... They don't no the history of the dog as the rescue home didn't have much to say.What's the alternative, then? Put the dog down, I suppose. Why didn't your mate do this, if he felt so strongly about it? Why take the dog back and make it someone else's problem? The home can't keep the dog indefinitely, they have to rehome it or put it down.
Incidentally, could the bite have been in play rather than a vicious attack? Was the child being supervised by an adult at the time of the bite? There's always more to the story than just "dog bites child", but people just tend to see the result and assume "vicious dog". Dogs which have been perfectly well behaved in the past don't usually turn and bite for no reason.
Edited by SGirl on Tuesday 17th July 11:04
Both parents were present at the time so they know what they saw & it was completely unprovoked.
They certainly didn't want the dog to be put down but they also didn't want to risk it around their child which is understandable really. They took it back were they got it from & told them what had happened but what they didn't expect to see was the same dog advertised the very next day but with a different name. This thread isn't about whether or not the dog was provoked (which it wasn't) it's about whether or not the rescue home are being honest...
Edited by boobles on Tuesday 17th July 11:23
boobles said:
Thats just it... They don't no the history of the dog as the rescue home didn't have much to say.
Both parents were present at the time so they know what they saw & it was completely unprovoked.
They certainly didn't want the dog to be put down but they also didn't want to risk it around their child which is understandable really. They took it back were they got it from & told them what had happened but what they didn't expect to see was the same dog advertised the very next day but with a different name. This thread isn't about wether or not the dog was provoked (which it wasn't) it's about wether or not the rescue home are being honest...
If the history of the dog wasn't known - and it's not a young pup - the parents should never have taken it in the first place, and the home shouldn't have let them have it. I think that's the bottom line. Any decent home will check what conditions its dogs are going to (they don't want them back usually!), and if there's a small child they shouldn't rehome an "unknown quantity" adult dog to that home. Both parents were present at the time so they know what they saw & it was completely unprovoked.
They certainly didn't want the dog to be put down but they also didn't want to risk it around their child which is understandable really. They took it back were they got it from & told them what had happened but what they didn't expect to see was the same dog advertised the very next day but with a different name. This thread isn't about wether or not the dog was provoked (which it wasn't) it's about wether or not the rescue home are being honest...
(I'm assuming this isn't a Dogs' Trust home we're talking about - it took me ages to persuade them to let us have one of their dogs because our son is 9 now. We started looking when he was 6 and it was hard work finding a dog from them that was "child-friendly" and that suited us.)
So it was a vicious bite then, and definitely not play? You said the little girl was stroking the dog at the time - is there any chance she could've accidentally poked it in the eye, or leaned over it in some way that would've made it feel threatened, or caught a sore spot on it?
The different name could be a bit of a red herring, I think. It's not like changing the dog's name from Fido to Spot (or whatever!) is going to make much difference to whether the dog is rehomed or not. But out of curiosity - they are 100% certain it's the same dog, aren't they? I've never seen a dog make it to a home's website the day after being brought in. The last two rehomed dogs we had in our family had both been at their respective homes for over a week: one wasn't on the website at all, the other was included in the website updates for the week but the updates hadn't gone live when my Dad adopted him.
Out of interest, what kind of dog is it?
It'd be worth phoning and pretending to be a young family interested in this dog and see what they say.
IMO they are on dangerous ground to rehome a dog that has bitten especially when the circumstnces are obviously clear in this case.
Some charities need to take a firmer line but don't always realise when to. I'd say this dog should at least have a thorough behavioural assessment (any good rescue centre should do this) and then make it clear that adult only home, however it is always going to be a gamble knowing what the dog has already done.
IMO they are on dangerous ground to rehome a dog that has bitten especially when the circumstnces are obviously clear in this case.
Some charities need to take a firmer line but don't always realise when to. I'd say this dog should at least have a thorough behavioural assessment (any good rescue centre should do this) and then make it clear that adult only home, however it is always going to be a gamble knowing what the dog has already done.
SGirl said:
If the history of the dog wasn't known - and it's not a young pup - the parents should never have taken it in the first place, and the home shouldn't have let them have it. I think that's the bottom line. Any decent home will check what conditions its dogs are going to (they don't want them back usually!), and if there's a small child they shouldn't rehome an "unknown quantity" adult dog to that home.
(I'm assuming this isn't a Dogs' Trust home we're talking about - it took me ages to persuade them to let us have one of their dogs because our son is 9 now. We started looking when he was 6 and it was hard work finding a dog from them that was "child-friendly" and that suited us.)
So it was a vicious bite then, and definitely not play? You said the little girl was stroking the dog at the time - is there any chance she could've accidentally poked it in the eye, or leaned over it in some way that would've made it feel threatened, or caught a sore spot on it?
The different name could be a bit of a red herring, I think. It's not like changing the dog's name from Fido to Spot (or whatever!) is going to make much difference to whether the dog is rehomed or not. But out of curiosity - they are 100% certain it's the same dog, aren't they? I've never seen a dog make it to a home's website the day after being brought in. The last two rehomed dogs we had in our family had both been at their respective homes for over a week: one wasn't on the website at all, the other was included in the website updates for the week but the updates hadn't gone live when my Dad adopted him.
Out of interest, what kind of dog is it?
They are 100% certain it's the same dog. It's very distinguished but I couldn't tell you the breed.(I'm assuming this isn't a Dogs' Trust home we're talking about - it took me ages to persuade them to let us have one of their dogs because our son is 9 now. We started looking when he was 6 and it was hard work finding a dog from them that was "child-friendly" and that suited us.)
So it was a vicious bite then, and definitely not play? You said the little girl was stroking the dog at the time - is there any chance she could've accidentally poked it in the eye, or leaned over it in some way that would've made it feel threatened, or caught a sore spot on it?
The different name could be a bit of a red herring, I think. It's not like changing the dog's name from Fido to Spot (or whatever!) is going to make much difference to whether the dog is rehomed or not. But out of curiosity - they are 100% certain it's the same dog, aren't they? I've never seen a dog make it to a home's website the day after being brought in. The last two rehomed dogs we had in our family had both been at their respective homes for over a week: one wasn't on the website at all, the other was included in the website updates for the week but the updates hadn't gone live when my Dad adopted him.
Out of interest, what kind of dog is it?
Their daughter was stroking it on his side in the same place as always & she didn't do anything different than before. My mate said the dog just snapped & bit her on the face. Perhaps the dog was feeling under the weather but this is the risk they are not willing to take. It was a lovely looking dog & a very hard decision for them to make but they had to do something.
Our dogs would bite you if you got in its face and irritated it, I don't buy that the kid was just stroking it and it bit her in the face!
Seems times have changed, when our dog bit my brother, my dad had a go at my brother for being stupid with the dog and intimidating it, never would we have got shot of the dog. Although oddly when I was attacked by one of our cockerels it was shot! Priorities I guess.
Seems times have changed, when our dog bit my brother, my dad had a go at my brother for being stupid with the dog and intimidating it, never would we have got shot of the dog. Although oddly when I was attacked by one of our cockerels it was shot! Priorities I guess.
okgo said:
Our dogs would bite you if you got in its face and irritated it, I don't buy that the kid was just stroking it and it bit her in the face!
Seems times have changed, when our dog bit my brother, my dad had a go at my brother for being stupid with the dog and intimidating it, never would we have got shot of the dog. Although oddly when I was attacked by one of our cockerels it was shot! Priorities I guess.
FFS why has PH become the place for people always assuming that everyone else must be lying?Seems times have changed, when our dog bit my brother, my dad had a go at my brother for being stupid with the dog and intimidating it, never would we have got shot of the dog. Although oddly when I was attacked by one of our cockerels it was shot! Priorities I guess.
Did I say that she was in it's face? No I didn't!
boobles said:
FFS why has PH become the place for people always assuming that everyone else must be lying?
Did I say that she was in it's face? No I didn't!
Because PH has become a place where people tell half the story expecting a proper answer Did I say that she was in it's face? No I didn't!
"she was stroking the dog and it bit her in the face" that sounds incredibly far fetched!
Why do you think so many people have asked you to clarify events!
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