# Fraudulent Dog Adoption **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 12, 2009, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fraudulent-dog-adoption/517349 "2009-11-12T19:36:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fraudulent-dog-adoption/517349/41 "2009-11-13T07:26:08Z")
> [@BMada](#): > > don’t get me wrong I love dogs. But I could care less if one is gonna be euthanized. My dog recently to cancer I was there when I saw her die, but I would care less about anyone that wants a dog and can’t get it, and i could care less if a dog died in the world and no one was gonna comfort it. I still tear up from remembering my dog but my feelings are mine. if you were trying to score points with God why not do something like help out at a food kitchen, that’s about the same time it takes to fill out forms take a dog and give it to a stranger. Couldn’t care less. ---
**Author:** ![shantih](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f6c823/32.png) [@shantih](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shantih)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fraudulent-dog-adoption/517349/42 "2009-11-13T08:45:29Z")
Wait. She had a great family with plenty of space lined up to adopt the dog – why weren’t they the ones to go to the shelter and fill out the forms and such? If it’s such an aboveboard situation, why weren’t they aboveboard about it? What need was there to be deceptive at all? ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fraudulent-dog-adoption/517349/43 "2009-11-13T11:23:20Z")
> [@Logical\_Phallacy](#): > > I was in touch with the family that adopted him today, I feel he is fine. Wait – you keep saying “in touch” with this family. Does that mean you emailed or phoned them, but have never actually been to their ‘place in the country’? Anybody else wonder if their ‘nice home in a rural area’ is the site where the dogfights are actually held? ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fraudulent-dog-adoption/517349/44 "2009-11-13T11:31:28Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > Anybody else wonder if their ‘nice home in a rural area’ is the site where the dogfights are actually held? Or people contacted by another Craigslist/whatever ad. 😃 “Please help, this guy I adopted a dog from wants to know that it’s living in a nice house in the country. I have a smaller yard than he liked, so I lied and told him I gave up the dog. If you could claim that you adopted it from me…” ---
**Author:** ![PuddingCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b4bc9f/32.png) [@PuddingCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PuddingCat)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fraudulent-dog-adoption/517349/45 "2009-11-13T13:23:55Z")
Is there some huge all-pervasive dog fighting ring that you all know about but aren’t giving us any information on? This seems, once again, to be a hysterical response to somebody doing something (arguably) a bit unusual. Clearly I am doing this “society” thing wrong. I stupidly assume that in the absence of evidence to the contrary, most people are decent individuals. It would be good if the posters could provide some detail on this “every person I don’t know is part of a dog fighting syndicate”, so that I can worry about every random person being both a paedophile \*\*and \*\*a dog fighter. Going by the number of “OMG dog fight” comments it seems that every second person is a secret sadist, so given the number of posters in this thread are any of you dog fighters too? Or have I misunderstood the paranoid ramblings. To the OP, it seems to be a bit of a strange thing to do but if you are happy with the situation I see no reason to beat yourself up. You decided to help somebody, their situation didn’t set off any alarm bells and to the best of your knowledge it all ended well. I think giving people the benefit of the doubt is a good thing; your actions go some way to restoring my faith in community, which is then sadly dashed by everybody claiming there are dog fighting rings behind every bush and under every stone. I would be rather upset if an animal rehoming charity I contribute to[1] spent money on litigation rather than the welfare of their animals[2], so I hope that rather unlikely scenario doesn’t play out here. t. [1] I do indeed support local animal charities so please don’t go for the “why do you hate animals so” angle. [2] I am sure somebody will come back and say suing the OP **is** taking care of the animals. I personally disagree. The cost of tackling this one person is going to be enough to provide food and care for a large number of animals. ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fraudulent-dog-adoption/517349/46 "2009-11-13T13:25:08Z")
I think it’s highly suspicious that she was able to find a home for the dog so quickly. My daughter and her fiancee have been trying to find a home for their German Shepherd for months now with no luck. In addition to being harassed by people on Craigslist for even trying to find a home for the dog, they had given the dog to a family who two days later returned it because they didn’t know their lease limited the size dog they could have…asked her to keep the dog for them for a year (sort of a layaway) until they moved into a house! And you called the people at a number she gave you, right? You haven’t actually seen the dog? I have a bridge I’d like to sell you… And **trmatthe** it DIDN’T end well…the OP is now in potential legal trouble as a result! ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fraudulent-dog-adoption/517349/47 "2009-11-13T13:43:52Z")
Moreover, if there was a family on a rural farm looking for a dog - there is a dog in a shelter somewhere that didn’t get adopted by that family. The problem with pet adoptions is that its a zero sum game for the most part. People only adopt the number of pets they are interested in. If they adopt this dog, that one stays in the shelter. There is only so much room in rescues and shelters. So one dog the OP didn’t know but met was supposedly saved likely at the expense of another dog the OP will never meet. And for this he might get legal trouble. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fraudulent-dog-adoption/517349/48 "2009-11-13T14:08:40Z")
> [@trmatthe](#): > > Is there some huge all-pervasive dog fighting ring that you all know about but aren’t giving us any information on? This seems, once again, to be a hysterical response to somebody doing something (arguably) a bit unusual. > > Clearly I am doing this “society” thing wrong. I stupidly assume that in the absence of evidence to the contrary, most people are decent individuals. It would be good if the posters could provide some detail on this “every person I don’t know is part of a dog fighting syndicate”, so that I can worry about every random person being both a paedophile \*\*and \*\*a dog fighter. > > Going by the number of “OMG dog fight” comments it seems that every second person is a secret sadist, so given the number of posters in this thread are any of you dog fighters too? Or have I misunderstood the paranoid ramblings. But we’re not talking about your average person. This girl went out of her way to fraudulently adopt a dog with a total stranger and then gave it away days later. She’s a little more suspect than the average person. This whole thing just feels so scam like. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fraudulent-dog-adoption/517349/49 "2009-11-13T14:13:20Z")
People keep saying “dogfighting ring” because people really do get large shelter dogs for dogfighting, see. Especially under false pretenses. If you want to adopt a bully-looking dog from the Animal Protection League here they do a background check on you because rural South Carolina is crawling with dogfighting rings, and not in a “OMG more at 11!” sense, in an actual sense. ---
**Author:** ![Snowcarpet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowcarpet/32/257_2.png) [@Snowcarpet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowcarpet)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fraudulent-dog-adoption/517349/50 "2009-11-13T14:45:14Z")
Also, there are professional “pet flippers” who use Craigslist and other listing services to make a fast buck on animals - if she sold the Dobie for, let’s say, $350, she just made a fast hundred. Do this 10 times, “profit!!!” And, of course, all the reputable shelters won’t let you within 100 feet of them. Her whole family may be involved. And trust me, this happens regularly. ---
**Author:** ![ILovCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e99b99/32.png) [@ILovCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ILovCoffee)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fraudulent-dog-adoption/517349/51 "2009-11-13T14:48:31Z")
We returned the cat we adopted back to the “No-Kill” group when it was determined it wasn’t working out. What is the difficulty with going back to the group and explaining it didn’t work out after all and returning the animal? Bring the “new family” with you, if you found one, and fulfill the agreement signed at the original adoption. It saves everyone trauma & stress. It isn’t as though you weren’t made aware of the terms. You agreed to the arrangements. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fraudulent-dog-adoption/517349/52 "2009-11-13T14:48:37Z")
Some people would also tell you that people sell animals to labs for experimentation, but I think that’s far-fetched and unlikely to be common. Dogfighting, on the other hand, is. And they need a lot of dogs, both to fight and for bait. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fraudulent-dog-adoption/517349/53 "2009-11-13T14:54:12Z")
Yeah, our local Freecycle group stopped allowing pet postings because this was becoming a major problem. ---
**Author:** ![pbbth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f9ae1b/32.png) [@pbbth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pbbth)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fraudulent-dog-adoption/517349/54 "2009-11-13T15:32:19Z")
[Animal abuse](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33895944/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/) happens every day. There are reasons the shelters have the requirements for adoption and it is to prevent animals from going to unsuitable homes. Even though they are sometimes stringent and prevent pets from going to otherwise loving owners they are meant to protect animals from harm and I can’t fault them for that. I live in a neighborhood where every day I see pit bulls being walked that have had their ears and tail surgically removed and are covered in scars or missing an eye or whatever. I believe that there is probably a dog fighting set up somewhere in my neighborhood but I can’t prove it so it really can’t be reported. I hope for this dog’s sake that this woman on CL is legitimate but somehow I doubt it. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fraudulent-dog-adoption/517349/55 "2009-11-13T21:42:42Z")
> [@trmatthe](#): > > Clearly I am doing this “society” thing wrong. I stupidly assume that in the absence of evidence to the contrary, most people are decent individuals. But there is _evidence to the contrary._ She had already been turned down by the shelter. Then she persuaded you to conspire with her to falsely obtain a dog from the shelter. Then she suddenly sold the dog (against the shelter rules) to someone else (whom he’s never actually seen). Smells to me like a whole lot of _evidence to the contrary_. ---
**Author:** ![pan1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e495f1/32.png) [@pan1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pan1)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fraudulent-dog-adoption/517349/56 "2009-11-13T21:45:31Z")
> [@Logical\_Phallacy](#): > > I was in touch with the family that adopted him today, I feel he is fine. > > I used my judgment to decide the dog was better off with this girl than in the pound. While she was certainly a let-down, I remain confident she had truly was a dog person and would not have any harm come to him. The original question has long since been answered. The actions described were illegal. They’re illegal because doing what you did was dangerous to the dog, if the family you’re “in-touch” with is telling the truth, you got lucky, very lucky. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fraudulent-dog-adoption/517349/57 "2009-11-13T22:02:32Z")
> [@pan1](#): > > The original question has long since been answered. The actions described were illegal. They’re illegal because doing what you did was dangerous to the dog, if the family you’re “in-touch” with is telling the truth, you got lucky, very lucky. And it shoujld be pointed out we do NOT think you had any bad intentions in this situation. On the contrary, you seem to be genuinely concerned about animals and the fate that awaits unwanted dogs at the overcrowded pounds, and you went out of your way to take an action that you thought would help this dog. That is a good thing. It’s just that several of us think that this situation smells of some dog adoption scams that are becoming common, most often involving dogfighting operations. We think it possible that you may have been fooled by one of these. If not, great. But we want to warn others about this possibility, and prevent them being unwitting accomplices in such a scheme. Sorry if it sounds like we are being a bit harsh on you. You meant to do a good deed. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fraudulent-dog-adoption/517349/58 "2009-11-13T22:25:54Z")
> [@Logical\_Phallacy](#): > > Wanna hear my very strange doggie adoption story? Ok here goes: > Late Saturday night, I come across the following post on craigslist, > \*\* > Looking for a guy to help adopt! Dog lovers APPLY - \*\* > Date: 2009-11-01, 12:14AM EDT > > thats right ADOPT > > a dog of course! 🙂 > okay so I wanted to rescue a dog, but filled out one question wrong and now I can’t go back but I’m in desperate need of getting that dog, so I need someone tomorrow to go with to the pound and get them to bring the form back in the car and we’ll fill it out together, must have a car and live in a house! . > You can’t be afraid to meet the dog either! Dog lovers APPLY Was this in the [Personals section](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=%22Looking+for+a+guy+to+help+adopt%21+Dog+lovers+APPLY%22&aq=f&oq=&aqi=)? ---
**Author:** ![RedSwinglineOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a9adbd/32.png) [@RedSwinglineOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedSwinglineOne)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fraudulent-dog-adoption/517349/59 "2009-11-13T22:30:14Z")
> [@pan1](#): > > The original question has long since been answered. The actions described were illegal. They’re illegal because doing what you did was dangerous to the dog, if the family you’re “in-touch” with is telling the truth, you got lucky, very lucky. What law did **Logical Phallacy** break? ---
**Author:** ![G.Pie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@G.Pie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G.Pie)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2009, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fraudulent-dog-adoption/517349/60 "2009-11-14T04:20:41Z")
I’m skeptical. If it became apparent that the dog wasn’t going to work out with the condo, and if it didn’t occur to the girl to return the dog to the shelter, wouldn’t the logical next step be to see if the OP could take the dog? I know on the phone this idyllic farm and loving family are described in glowing terms. I’ll bet you a large sum of money, though, that if the OP suggested a visit, there’d be excuse after excuse about why that wasn’t a good idea. Sorry, OP, but you really fucked this one up. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fraudulent-dog-adoption/517349.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fraudulent-dog-adoption/517349.md?page=4)