[puppylove2009]

When I heard this it really got me thinking

someone I know adopted what the shelter told them was a Lab/Boxer mix.

The paperwork that was signed was that the couple was adopting a lab/boxer mix.

Pit Bulls are banned in the county they live in and the county where the shelter is.

Two days later they were out walking their dog. The dog was around a year old and a cop stopped them and told them they could not have a Pit Bull in that specific county.

They were fined for illegally owning a pit bull. The cop Told them they could face jailtime if the dog wasn't turned over immediately

They turned the dog over and he was destroyed 2 days later.

I saw pictures of this dog, the dog was in now way a lab/boxer mix. The dog was probably 2/3 Pit Bull and 1/3 boxer.

And though he was a sweet dog it didn't matter.

Can the shelter be held accountable for this?


(Around here I have known two shelters that puposely pass off Pit bulls as other breeds to get them adopted, they could have been doing the same thing)


These people have been through a nightmare over this. They adopted a dog and believed them when they said the dog was a Lab/Boxer mix.

Anyways what can be done? Does they shelter owe them another dog?

[Lara's mom]

I don't know your laws but, common sense says that if they sold this dog under false pretenses, at the very least the shelter should be responsible for the fine and provide this couple with another dog. This would perhaps be handled in small claims court. Obviously, if pit bulls aren't allowed in that particular area, they'll have to give up the dog but any fines and the cost of a replacement dog should be borne by the shelter.

What a sad story. I thought our laws against pit bulls were tough but, they're way worse in your area. Nobody here had to give up their pit bull when the ban went into effect in 2005, although a lot of people did. However, any puppies born 90 days after the ban came into effect are euthanized; no ifs, ands or buts. Also, they all had to be spayed/neutered. I really feel for these people. They really got screwed by that shelter.

[sandyh]

i dont know how we as a whole can allow these people to get away with killing a dog just because of what type it is. Its time all these so called dog lovers step up and start stepping on some of these law makers toes. Why do they get to make all the rules. No pitbulls, no smoking, pretty soon no drinking zero tolerance, then whats next? no dumb people or no ugly people or no fat people because you are scaring the pretty peoples kids and they might be under duress all their lives? Just absolutely sickening!!!

[puppylove2009]

I wanted to add: Where I live there is no BSL. Which I'm very glad about. But where this person lives there is.

Also the worst part of this story is. The dog was picked out by their 10 year old son. And the son was with them on the walk when the dog was turned over to the cop

[LabMan2]

I would think that the shelter should be held somewhat accountable in this matter as they failed to properly identify the breed. Perhaps they did it on purpose, that remains to be said. In some cases it doesn't seem fair that the breed is singled out like this, especially if the dog is not a threat. On the other hand, it's hard to feel safe around them when all you hear are the bad stories. You could go on and on about this issue because it's hard to say what the best answer is.