Questions About SPCA

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AtlantaBraves

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Parents just told me that they gave my dog to the SPCA a little over a month ago while I was away at school. How long does the SPCA try to find homes for dogs before they euthanize them? Also, if I call and inquire about her, are they able to tell me whether or not she was adopted or euthanized? Thanks for your time.
 
Each one has different policies depending on the volume of animals they receive versus how much space they have...you'll have to call the location your parents went to in order to find out.

I'm so very sorry--this must be unbelievably stressful. 🙁
 
That's pretty sucky 🙁 Hold times depend on the individual shelter and depends on if they're public or private and what their local hold times are if they're public. You should be able to call and inquire about her and they should be able to tell you what happened to her. Good luck.
 
O.K. I was just wondering because my parents said they tried to find out what happened to her, but the SPCA would not tell them. I wasn't sure if they have a policy that prevents them from disclosing that information.
 
Like everyone else said above, policies are different from shelter to shelter, but most people working at shelters have a heart so especially if you explain your situation, I think it's pretty likely that they'll let you know. They should be able to look it up based on your parents' names.
 
Do you know for a fact that it was given to a kill-shelter? If it did, it could vary greatly depending on how many many animals are there at the time.

And I agree to not trust what your parents say. They obviously do not have this dogs best interest in mind.
 
That's awful!!! I would never speak to my parents again if they did that!!!
 
If it was a small dog, like a yorkie, most likely was adopted. If it was a black lab, not so much. (based on adoption statistics)
 
I am so sorry for you! I hope you are ok, I know this must be unbelievably heartbreaking. I'm assuming they didn't give you any warning or notice this was a possibility??

I hope you find out what happened to your dog and hope the outcome is positive.

Hang in there!
 
Mohorsegirl said:
If it was a small dog, like a yorkie, most likely was adopted. If it was a black lab, not so much. (based on adoption statistics)
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oh my effing god! why the f*** would you say something like that???

plus, what "adoption statistics" are you talking about? unless you know at least the county or really, the shelter the OP's dog was dropped off at, it's very difficult to make any inferences like that.
 
Minnerbelle said:
oh my effing god! why the f*** would you say something like that???

plus, what "adoption statistics" are you talking about? unless you know at least the county or really, the shelter the OP's dog was dropped off at, it's very difficult to make any inferences like that.
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...Personally, I didn't really see anything wrong with that comment...That's true for the shelters in my area too, that small cute dogs get adopted out quicker than large dogs. I think she just meant that as an FYI for the OP, that if it's a large dog, it may still be there, but if it's a small dog, don't get your hopes up.
 
Minnerbelle said:
oh my effing god! why the f*** would you say something like that???

plus, what "adoption statistics" are you talking about? unless you know at least the county or really, the shelter the OP's dog was dropped off at, it's very difficult to make any inferences like that.
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yeah a black lab would be snapped up by adopters at the Penn SPCA in Philly.

To the OP, it's hard for us to say because every SPCA is different. They aren't actually affiliated - it's like there might be an "Instant Laundromat" in many cities but they just happen to use the same name.

Many shelters do have a policy of not giving out information - mostly because they don't want to get yelled at by people that are angry. I think you should absolutely call the shelter, and if the person isn't able to help you, just ask to talk to a manager. Stay calm, be polite, and explain that you never wanted the dog surrendered and would take him/her back if they were still there.

From working in a shelter I have seen that situation happen before and I remember a particular case where the owners were able to track the dog from the animal control shelter to the SPCA and eventually reclaim the dog months later (someone else caring for their dog had surrendered it). Very sad that people will do that, and I hope you are able to get your dog back or at least learn that it has been placed in a good home. :luck:
 
bunnity said:
Stay calm, be polite, and explain that you never wanted the dog surrendered and would take him/her back if they were still there.
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I imagine that this is specifically why a non-disclosure policy would be in place..
It's not at all fair to those who adopted the pet for the ex-owner to call them up or show up at their door and say "hey that's my dog can i have him back now?"
It's an unfortunate situation, but when you leave a pet with people who don't want a pet or are unreliable as owners, you don't have veto power over whether the dog gets sent away to the spca..
The dog is living in your parent's house while you're away for months at a time.. I presume that in terms of the law your parents would then be considered the "owners" of the dog, no?

unless it's some extreme circumstance like if the dog was stolen or lost and was being searched for and then happened to end up at the spca and get adopted.. Then I can certainly see the spca lifting a non-disclosure policy..

But they probably wouldn't tell you what happened to your dog because it's basically a lose-lose..
You tell someone "sorry we put down your dog" and they are crushed in the best case scenario or raging mad and filing lawsuits in the worst case scenario..
Or alternatively you tell somebody their pet was adopted.. Then perhaps the ex-owner takes it well and lets it go and rests knowing the dog has ahome.. but in most cases like the OP's, i presume they want to know about the dog because they still feel that the dog is their own and they want to at least try to garner the adopter's sympathy..



also, minnerbille. i dont get what was so awful about mohorsegirl's statement.. ? sure, the specifics definitely vary by location.. but whats wrong with stating the obvious (that some breeds of dog are in much higher demand than others)?
You act like what she said was so offensive..
It may not be accurate nation-wide, and she may not have numbers to back it up.. but why do you act like she's so horrible for saying sucha thing?
 
New Foundland said:
but why do you act like she's so horrible for saying sucha thing?
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sorry, just reread the post and realized that i made presumptions about what mohorsegirl said. when i read it the first time, i thought she was insinuating that the OP's dog was euthanized. From the OP it seemed like the OP wasn't looking to reclaim the dog as much as he/she just wanted to know what happened to the dog for peace of mind. After a month, the outcomes are generally either adopted, sent to rescue, or euthanized... so that's where my thoughts went. I didn't realize mohorsegirl was saying that a big dog would likely be still sitting in the shelter... since I've never thought of a dog getting adopted out as a negative outcome.

as for disclosure policies though, I've known several mid-large sized shelters that have policies where they will not call the dropper offer if anything happens to the animal, but will let them know what the outcome was if you call and ask (or will give you an animal control number for the animal so that you can check yourself on an automated system). they will let you know if the animal was still there, adopted, or euthanized. i've also known shelters with no-disclosure policies that would bend the rules for special circumstances. But i don't know ANY shelter that will ever ever tell you WHO the animal was adopted out to, 'cause that's obviously shady business.

people might get upset if their animal was euthanized, but they really don't have any grounds to be upset at the shelter. anyone who surrenders an animal must sign a statement saying that they are the legal owners/guardians of the animal, and that they understand the animal can be euthanized. at least at the shelters i've been involved with, they've always required ID to cover their ass. Now, if the surrendered animal was dropped off by people who falsified themselves as the owners... then those people will be the people sued/prosecuted.
 
Mhm sure, I don't disagree with anything you said there.
Just to clarify, I understand that the OP probably didnt plan on going and seizing a dog from a new owner.. My comments were not only meant for this specific situation, mostly just general.
Makes sense that some shelters would tell you what happened.. But it's also perfectly understandable that some shelters don't want to disclose any info for convenience's sake.. to prevent any unjustified further escalation by the ex-owner
 
No shelter would give out info from a new adopter but they might say the dog was adopted.
 
The reason I was inquiring about my dog was because I wanted to make sure she wasn't still sitting at the pound with a chance of being euthanized. If she was, I would drive back to my hometown and pick her up. Unfortunately, I cannot take her because I am in school, living in dorms. But, I would do everything I possibly could to make sure she gets a good home. Anyways, I called and they told me that she was adopted! I know I am gonna miss her, but I would rather have her with a family that will actually take care of her, unlike my parents.

New Foundland, I never said that I was planning on trying to reclaim my dog. And thanks, but I don't need to be lectured on leaving my dog with unreliable people. If I knew they were going to give her to the SPCA, I would have done something about it. You are absolutely right about my parents' owning the dog though. Come down off your pedestal and realize that anybody with common sense knows these things you are saying. It sounds to me like you think your ideas are somehow novel and haven't been thought of.

I was not planning on trying to garner the adopter's sympathy. I agree with you about the statistics though, and just stating the obvious.. It's just that sometimes it's not always polite to state the obvious. For instance, based on your preachy statements, I could statistically say that there is a very good chance you are a douchebag that thinks he/she is a lot smarter than he/she actually is. But that wouldn't be polite. Right?

And don't say that you didn't mean to infer that I meant to go seize the dog from a new owner when that is actually exactly what you were implying.

"Unjustified further escalation"? With all do respect, you sound like a total tool.

Thanks to everybody else for all of your ideas! Now that I know she is okay, I am perfectly satisfied with leaving her that way! Good luck to you all in vet school. Maybe help New Foundland out…
 
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OP, I'm really glad to hear that your dog is safe in a new home... but I feel like your anger towards New Foundland is misdirected.

I don't think New Foundland was making any comments directed at or about you. I think he/she was simply discussing why some shelters would have a non-disclosure policy. And he/she is actually spot on about parts of the rationale behind such policies. When New Foundland was talking about angry people, or people trying to buy sympathy, or whatever, it was about people in general (and omg shelters tend to attract a bunch of the crazies) and not about you.
 
Minnerbelle said:
OP, I'm really glad to hear that your dog is safe in a new home... but I feel like your anger towards New Foundland is misdirected.

I don't think New Foundland was making any comments directed at or about you. I think he/she was simply discussing why some shelters would have a non-disclosure policy. And he/she is actually spot on about parts of the rationale behind such policies. When New Foundland was talking about angry people, or people trying to buy sympathy, or whatever, it was about people in general (and omg shelters tend to attract a bunch of the crazies) and not about you.
Click to expand...

Yeah. Maybe misdirected I guess. But come on, you gotta admit New Foundland sounds like a douche! Definitely a "know-it-all"
 
AtlantaBraves said:
But come on, you gotta admit New Foundland sounds like a douche! Definitely a "know-it-all"
Click to expand...

I honestly don't understand where you're getting this idea (and no, you really don't have to explain).

I dunno about the other health forums on SDN, but it's very common and generally welcome on the pre-vet forum for posters to digress a little to talk/philosophize about topics that relate to the original post. Since vet med is such a broad field, that's how a lot of us learn about new topics. If anyone's guilty of being a douchy "know-it-all" on this forum, that would probably be me 😳. And for the most part, people are really good about ignoring long annoying posts from me if they don't care to hear what I had to say. Unless posts are perceived as offensive or off-base, we try to be respectful of what others have to say, and name-calling is relatively rare. I hope you can respect that, and refrain from making others uncomfortable for contributing thoughts on this forum.
 
AtlantaBraves said:
Yeah. Maybe misdirected I guess. But come on, you gotta admit New Foundland sounds like a douche! Definitely a "know-it-all"
Click to expand...


I wouldn't go as far to call them a douche, but from what I have seen they tend to push a lot of people's buttons in several threads. I would say "opinionated and very self justified" but things can come off very differently online.
 
New Foundland said:
I imagine that this is specifically why a non-disclosure policy would be in place..
It's not at all fair to those who adopted the pet for the ex-owner to call them up or show up at their door and say "hey that's my dog can i have him back now?"
Click to expand...

I would imagine that in some cases the shelter *might* be willing to make a call on your behalf. (I also imagine most wouldn't want to.)

When we adopted our first dog (a Husky), we weren't made aware that she had been dropped off as part of a twosome (with a litter-mate or a parent, I can't remember which). About a month after we adopted her, we got a call from the humane society; they said the person who adopted the other half of the pair felt like that dog was having a tough time adapting to the loss and wanted to know if we had interest in re-pairing the dogs. (We didn't pursue the conversation far enough to learn whether they wanted to give us the other dog, or take our dog into their home; our dog was adapting great and we thought it was best to leave well enough alone and not put one of the dogs through yet another change.)
 
AtlantaBraves said:
New Foundland, I never said that I was planning on trying to reclaim my dog. And thanks, but I don’t need to be lectured on leaving my dog with unreliable people. If I knew they were going to give her to the SPCA, I would have done something about it. You are absolutely right about my parents’ owning the dog though. Come down off your pedestal and realize that anybody with common sense knows these things you are saying. It sounds to me like you think your ideas are somehow novel and haven’t been thought of.

I was not planning on trying to garner the adopter’s sympathy. I agree with you about the statistics though, and just stating the obvious.. It’s just that sometimes it’s not always polite to state the obvious. For instance, based on your preachy statements, I could statistically say that there is a very good chance you are a douchebag that thinks he/she is a lot smarter than he/she actually is. But that wouldn’t be polite. Right?

And don’t say that you didn’t mean to infer that I meant to go seize the dog from a new owner when that is actually exactly what you were implying.

“Unjustified further escalation”? With all do respect, you sound like a total tool.
Click to expand...

I think NF was shedding light on the fact that although you may have not had any of those intentions ("seizing the dog", harassing the owner, whatever), there are others in this world aren't so balanced and may go overboard if they happened to find out where their dog went... thus some places possibly not having the license to disclose any information about the future of their shelter animals. Glad she got into a good home though...
 
AtlantaBraves said:
And don’t say that you didn’t mean to infer that I meant to go seize the dog from a new owner when that is actually exactly what you were implying.
Click to expand...

Um, whoa! 😱 That's a pretty serious accusation there, aimed at someone you don't know. I never saw anything in any of NF's posts here that would even vaguely imply that he thought you were going to try to seize the dog back. I understand you're emotional and upset about the situation, we all would be, but that's no need to point the finger at a virtual stranger on a message board. I fail to see how someone talking in general terms is coming off at as a know-it-all or douchebag. [/soapbox]

Happy to hear that your dog is at least safe, but very sorry she's not safe with you.
 
Coquette22 said:
Um, whoa! 😱 That's a pretty serious accusation there, aimed at someone you don't know. I never saw anything in any of NF's posts here that would even vaguely imply that he thought you were going to try to seize the dog back. I understand you're emotional and upset about the situation, we all would be, but that's no need to point the finger at a virtual stranger on a message board. I fail to see how someone talking in general terms is coming off at as a know-it-all or douchebag. [/soapbox]

Happy to hear that your dog is at least safe, but very sorry she's not safe with you.
Click to expand...

So this doesn't vaguely imply that I was going to try to seize the dog back: "...but in most cases like the OP's, i presume they want to know about the dog because they still feel that the dog is their own and they want to at least try to garner the adopter's sympathy."

Anyways, it doesn't matter. I'm sorry for being so frustrated. I personally don't know how you all don't see what I see in New Foundland. I just don't like being lectured to, but I can appreciate and respect the fact the New Foundland, and all the rest of you had the best of intentions with your advice. I'm sorry for being ungrateful for all of the advice. I really do appreciate it, even from you New Foundland. Best of luck to you all.
 
AtlantaBraves said:
So this doesn't vaguely imply that I was going to try to seize the dog back: "...but in most cases like the OP's, i presume they want to know about the dog because they still feel that the dog is their own and they want to at least try to garner the adopter's sympathy."

Anyways, it doesn't matter. I'm sorry for being so frustrated. I personally don't know how you all don't see what I see in New Foundland. I just don't like being lectured to, but I can appreciate and respect the fact the New Foundland, and all the rest of you had the best of intentions with your advice. I'm sorry for being ungrateful for all of the advice. I really do appreciate it, even from you New Foundland. Best of luck to you all.
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No, it doesn't imply it to me - NF is speaking in general terms there, so my reading is just that.

But given your second paragraph, I'll consider the matter dropped. Best of luck to you too. 🙂
 
Minnerbelle said:
oh my effing god! why the f*** would you say something like that???

plus, what "adoption statistics" are you talking about? unless you know at least the county or really, the shelter the OP's dog was dropped off at, it's very difficult to make any inferences like that.
Click to expand...



Actually, I have heard the same stats. It's a very true statement that on the whole, smaller, "cuter" dogs and puppies are much more easily adopted out than older dogs. The generic "black dog" is the hardest to adopt out most of the time.

Based on a nationwide Petfinder.com shelter and rescue survey:

http://www.examiner.com/dog-rescue-...k-shelter-dogs-face-tougher-odds-for-adoption

I don't think she was trying to be inflammatory - it just came off sounding wrong (let's be honest, a lot of us say things on here that, without the liberty of context, sound differently than we intend - it IS the internet).
 
libster06 said:
I think NF was shedding light on the fact that although you may have not had any of those intentions ("seizing the dog", harassing the owner, whatever), there are others in this world aren't so balanced and may go overboard if they happened to find out where their dog went... thus some places possibly not having the license to disclose any information about the future of their shelter animals. Glad she got into a good home though...
Click to expand...

That's exactly how I took it.
 
off topic, but WhtsThFrequency you need to update that avatar with a "The Creep" screenshot :laugh::laugh:
 
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JSpitz said:
off topic, but WhtsThFrequency you need to update that avatar with a "The Creep" screenshot :laugh::laugh:
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NO! I love her Andy Samberg one! Makes me smile every time.... plus I like to think of her as dressed like that when she answers/posts. Hehe 😉
 
libster06 said:
NO! I love her Andy Samberg one! Makes me smile every time.... plus I like to think of her as dressed like that when she answers/posts. Hehe 😉
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I thought she was a boy? (sorry if you're a girl!)

In any case, got your arms t-rexin'?
 
twelvetigers said:
WTF is hottttttt. Haha. Very much a girl. 🙂
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Oh man so sorry WTF.... I don't know I must have read another post that made me think you were a guy, or mixed you up with someone else. Then another one of your posts said "my boyfriend" so I totally thought you were a gay guy. Couldn't be further from the truth. So sorry 🙂
 
lostbunny said:
Oh man so sorry WTF.... I don't know I must have read another post that made me think you were a guy, or mixed you up with someone else. Then another one of your posts said "my boyfriend" so I totally thought you were a gay guy. Couldn't be further from the truth. So sorry 🙂
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😆

No harm done. Hilarious.

I totally got my arms t-rexin, bishes. And I am wearin my flippy floppies, not looking at explosions, and turning into a jet LIKE A BAWSS.
 
WhtsThFrequency said:
😆

No harm done. Hilarious.

I totally got my arms t-rexin, bishes. And I am wearin my flippy floppies, not looking at explosions, and turning into a jet LIKE A BAWSS.
Click to expand...

well, I knew you were female but I will admit that I occasionally get confused because of the avatar (for some reason it makes me think male poster) and the "(not) on uh boat" which makes me also picture a guy. 😉
:laugh:

There were a couple people who posted in the stats thread that floored me when I found out they were guys. My preconceived notions and imagination are so much more fun than reality!
 
Peeps think I'm a dude in the lounge sometimes. Cuz girls don't like Top Gear?

Watch out for avatar-based assumptions. Also, if you're going to assume in the pre-vet forum, you should probably just assume XX. Your odds are way better.
 
heylodeb said:
well, I knew you were female but I will admit that I occasionally get confused because of the avatar (for some reason it makes me think male poster) and the "(not) on uh boat" which makes me also picture a guy. 😉
:laugh:

There were a couple people who posted in the stats thread that floored me when I found out they were guys. My preconceived notions and imagination are so much more fun than reality!
Click to expand...

I'll admit it, I thought WTF was a guy too! That avatar threw me off! And...I also thought she was a gay guy like lostbunny until I figured out that she was a girl. Oops! :laugh:
 
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