# Legal Question: Adopted Dog Sick **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 1, 2016, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-question-adopted-dog-sick/753628 "2016-05-01T21:03:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2016, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-question-adopted-dog-sick/753628/61 "2016-05-05T15:56:32Z")
Best wishes on the puppy. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2016, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-question-adopted-dog-sick/753628/62 "2016-05-05T15:59:24Z")
> [@AngelSoft](#): > > During my search I saw SO many pitties. We have a delightful little pit bull – she loves people and other dogs. Simone has her own meet-up group for walks, and there are 1093 people signed up so far. We’ve had two other pit mixes. So at one point last year, I looked on Pet Finder for pit bulls. Pet Finder is an aggregator of animals from various sources, but it is not the end-all, be-all source – it will only show _some_ of the available animals. And with that in mind when you read this, Pet Finder listed _twenty thousand_ available pit bulls in my zip code. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![AngelSoft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angelsoft/32/440_2.png) [@AngelSoft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelSoft)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2016, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-question-adopted-dog-sick/753628/63 "2016-05-06T02:14:32Z")
[Duplicate post deleted] ---
**Author:** ![AngelSoft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angelsoft/32/440_2.png) [@AngelSoft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelSoft)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2016, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-question-adopted-dog-sick/753628/64 "2016-05-06T02:16:06Z")
Yeah I actually checked Petfinder first. That’s where I found all the rescues and shelters that turned me down lol But popping in for an update. Toby’s doing much better. He’s been really playful today but sleeping a lot. I’d say about an hour of sleep for every 15 minutes of play. Though he’s not got the best appetite yet. It seems to come and go. Sometimes he’s eating everything he can but then nothing at all. He’s still got diarrhea and it’s still liquid :\ I’ve been trying to get him to eat canned pumpkin but he hates it, even mixed with his normal food. The vet suggested some Pepto Bismal, which I gave but I dunno if that really help. But either way, there is definitely improvement! So here’s a [happy puppy](http://imgur.com/zWRUTZZ) picture from earlier today 😃 ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2016, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-question-adopted-dog-sick/753628/65 "2016-05-06T02:29:37Z")
> [@AngelSoft](#): > > But either way, there is definitely improvement! So here’s a [happy puppy](http://imgur.com/zWRUTZZ) picture from earlier today 😃 Puppy grins are the best! ---
**Author:** ![spamforbrains](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@spamforbrains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spamforbrains)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2016, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-question-adopted-dog-sick/753628/66 "2016-05-06T02:46:16Z")
> [@](#): > > This is pretty harsh. Ultimately the blame lies with the abusers and the abusers alone. Most of the general public doesn’t understand what’s going on. They usually believe they are helping or rescuing the dog. Yes, it perpetuates the abuse, but insulting and blaming the public is not the way to educate them. Public service announcements from legitimate breeders, rescues and shelters would go a long way in educating the general public on how it perpetuates abuse to “rescue” these dogs from backyard and negligent breeders. I think that today the public fully understands what is going on and prefers to simply pretend it isn’t happening. Do you seriously think anyone hasn’t heard of puppy mills today? Kind of like people who continue to eat factory-farmed eggs. The OP certainly does understand what happened. If there is no demand, there will be no product and I place the blame squarely on both parties: the abuser and the purchaser. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2016, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-question-adopted-dog-sick/753628/67 "2016-05-06T04:28:16Z")
Why canned pumpkin? ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2016, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-question-adopted-dog-sick/753628/68 "2016-05-06T04:43:43Z")
> [@AngelSoft](#): > > Yeah I actually checked Petfinder first. That’s where I found all the rescues and shelters that turned me down lol But popping in for an update. > > Toby’s doing much better. He’s been really playful today but sleeping a lot. I’d say about an hour of sleep for every 15 minutes of play. Though he’s not got the best appetite yet. It seems to come and go. Sometimes he’s eating everything he can but then nothing at all. He’s still got diarrhea and it’s still liquid :\ I’ve been trying to get him to eat canned pumpkin but he hates it, even mixed with his normal food. The vet suggested some Pepto Bismal, which I gave but I dunno if that really help. But either way, there is definitely improvement! So here’s a [happy puppy](http://imgur.com/zWRUTZZ) picture from earlier today 😃 When the board was unreachable this morning, I realized that all I really cared about was puppy updates. So happy to hear that he’s feeling playful but I’m not surprised he’s still sleeping. Hopefully the pepto will help. Has the vet had another look at him? ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2016, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-question-adopted-dog-sick/753628/69 "2016-05-06T04:50:37Z")
> [@AngelSoft](#): > > Yeah I actually checked Petfinder first. That’s where I found all the rescues and shelters that turned me down lol But popping in for an update. > > Toby’s doing much better. He’s been really playful today but sleeping a lot. I’d say about an hour of sleep for every 15 minutes of play. Though he’s not got the best appetite yet. It seems to come and go. Sometimes he’s eating everything he can but then nothing at all. He’s still got diarrhea and it’s still liquid :\ I’ve been trying to get him to eat canned pumpkin but he hates it, even mixed with his normal food. The vet suggested some Pepto Bismal, which I gave but I dunno if that really help. But either way, there is definitely improvement! So here’s a [happy puppy](http://imgur.com/zWRUTZZ) picture from earlier today 😃 I love how his one ear sticks up and his other one flops over. I’m thinking good thoughts that he continues to do better and you spend many happy years together. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2016, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-question-adopted-dog-sick/753628/70 "2016-05-06T05:52:27Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Why canned pumpkin? It helps with diarrhea. So very happy to hear puppy is doing better. Puppies sleep a lot anyway (growing is hard work!), so that amount of sleeping for a recovering pup sounds fine. Super cute picture. Thanks for sharing it. ---
**Author:** ![leftfield6](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leftfield6/32/18780_2.png) [@leftfield6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leftfield6)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2016, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-question-adopted-dog-sick/753628/71 "2016-05-06T09:47:53Z")
Years ago, when I had an elderly dog who was battling diarrhea, a mixture of 1 part prepared rice, one part boiled chicken, and one part pumpkin was appetizing to her, and helped her GI system slow down. Come on Toby!!! ---
**Author:** ![JcWoman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jcwoman/32/2889_2.png) [@JcWoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JcWoman)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2016, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-question-adopted-dog-sick/753628/72 "2016-05-06T15:25:47Z")
It sounds to me like he’ll make it. When we’ve had puppies die of parvo in the rescue shelter, they go very quickly, like a day or two. Super contagious too. Nasty thing! I’m glad he’s doing well, hang in there! ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2016, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-question-adopted-dog-sick/753628/73 "2016-05-08T00:22:44Z")
I don’t have any advice, but I’d like an update on the puppy. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2016, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-question-adopted-dog-sick/753628/74 "2016-05-08T02:44:50Z")
> [@Omega\_Glory](#): > > I don’t have any advice, but I’d like an update on the puppy. I think you mean you’d like a “pupdate”. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2016, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-question-adopted-dog-sick/753628/75 "2016-05-08T14:20:18Z")
> [@spamforbrains](#): > > I think that today the public fully understands what is going on and prefers to simply pretend it isn’t happening. Do you seriously think anyone hasn’t heard of puppy mills today? Kind of like people who continue to eat factory-farmed eggs. > The OP certainly does understand what happened. If there is no demand, there will be no product and I place the blame squarely on both parties: the abuser and the purchaser. You know that this poster believed they were getting a dog the normal way–from someone who had an extra puppy. So you have no reason to suspect they knew. So why the hostility? Why try to make someone who is taking care of a sick pup feel even worse? People are animals, too, after all. I didn’t know about any of this, either. I’ve always gotten my dogs from people I knew giving them away, or from friends. Very occasionally we’ve bought a dog, but we knew exactly how they were treated because we knew the people and had been there as they were growing up. No sick ones, BTW. The sole exception is our current chihuahua who we found in the garbage at my mom’s work. Anyways, if I saw one on Craig’s list, I would never think it was a puppy mill. And, even if it was, I might buy the dog simply because I would not want to leave the dog at such a bad place, any more than I’d leave that chihuahua in the garbage, even though rescuing dogs like her probably emboldens people to leave their unwanted pets there. Plus, having the rescues charge a ton would, I think, perpetuate puppy mills. All they have to do is charge less than those other methods. Overpricing goods always creates a black market. ---
**Author:** ![spamforbrains](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@spamforbrains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spamforbrains)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2016, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-question-adopted-dog-sick/753628/76 "2016-05-08T19:29:25Z")
> [@](#): > > You know that this poster believed they were getting a dog the normal way–from someone who had an extra puppy. So you have no reason to suspect they knew. You have a very odd definition of the “normal” way of getting a puppy. He states he tried to get a puppy from several rescues and was repeatedly turned down. Getting a puppy from a rescue is “normal” but if you are repeatedly being turned down it strongly suggests you’re not a good home for a puppy. The only other “normal” option for a puppy is buying one from a reputable responsible breeder, which can cost a lot and takes time, because responsible breeders only produce a limited number of puppies and can be picky about where their puppies go. You generally have to impress the breeder and get on a waiting list. If you’ve been turned down by multiple rescues, the odds of a reputable breeder being willing to sell you a puppy are around zero. It’s not “normal” for anyone other than a puppy mill or an irresponsible backyard breeder to have an extra puppy. Everyone knows this. People trying to sell dogs on Craigslist or other webpages are fronts for puppy mills or are irresponsible breeders. If you don’t feed them by buying their flawed products, they will stop. Every person who pays money for a pup to these people perpetuates horrific abuse to the parents of these puppies. The mother of the OP’s pup probably lives in a tiny cage and is probably already pregnant again. ---
**Author:** ![Helena330](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/helena330/32/531_2.png) [@Helena330](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena330)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2016, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-question-adopted-dog-sick/753628/77 "2016-05-08T19:36:50Z")
I was a shelter volunteer for a long time and still have my hand in cat rescue. I had NO IDEA puppy mills had moved their “business” to craigslist. I’m not uninformed. I hope you haven’t chased off \*\*Angelsoft \*\*or that her not posting means bad news. ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2016, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-question-adopted-dog-sick/753628/78 "2016-05-08T19:44:11Z")
Getting turned down by a shelter or rescue group doesn’t necessarily mean you are unfit to have a pet. some groups and shelters have very rigid rules that really don’t have a lot to do with suitability to adopt. I have to agree with **BigT** this time. And I don’t see the point of beating up on someone trying hard to do the right thing. ---
**Author:** ![spamforbrains](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@spamforbrains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spamforbrains)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2016, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-question-adopted-dog-sick/753628/79 "2016-05-08T19:44:24Z")
> [@](#): > > I had NO IDEA puppy mills had moved their “business” to craigslist. I’m not uninformed. seriously? the breed rescue I’m involved with has people who daily scan craigslist in order to try to shut down the sources by reporting them to Craigslist and getting them banned. Craigslist is very helpful in this endeavor because they flat-out forbid the sale of dogs. ---
**Author:** ![AngelSoft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angelsoft/32/440_2.png) [@AngelSoft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelSoft)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2016, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-question-adopted-dog-sick/753628/80 "2016-05-08T19:57:35Z")
First, a ‘pupdate’ lol He’s doing fantastic. Full of energy, running, playing being a regular puppy pain in the ass. Still has a bit of diarrhea but it’s slowly but surely firming up. He refuses to eat anything helpful like rice or pumpkin so I just gave in and got him back on his regular food. I’m going to contact the vet on Monday to figure out how to handle his vaccines going forward, to see if we need to wait or not. But pretty much it looks like we’ve got a happy, healthy puppy back 🙂 > [@spamforbrains](#): > > He states he tried to get a puppy from several rescues and was repeatedly turned down. Getting a puppy from a rescue is “normal” but if you are repeatedly being turned down it strongly suggests you’re not a good home for a puppy. I mentioned this before but I’ll do it again. The ONLY reasons I was turned down for the dogs I was interested in were as follows: -I have a child under the age of 10 and was looking to adopt a small dog. -I have no fenced yard. That’s it. All the places said I was otherwise a perfect fit but they couldn’t adopt because of one or both of those reasons. One rescue even brought the dog to me to look over the home and see if they felt comfortable overlooking the fenced yard rule. But since we’re in the country, they stated that they weren’t comfortable because of the presence of coyotes and being near a country road. I know the way I got this puppy wasn’t ideal. I honestly didn’t get the feeling that this was a backyard breeder, as I’d seen plenty of ads that seemed that way when I was searching. In my mind, it was someone who was careless/ignorant and their dog got pregnant. Either way, what’s done is done and by the time I look for another dog my daughter will definitely be way over 10 and hopefully I’ll have a fenced yard by that point. So maybe I’ll be more successful with rescues. But for now, I’ve got a happy puppy who, I feel, has a very loving home. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-question-adopted-dog-sick/753628.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-question-adopted-dog-sick/753628.md?page=5)