Rescue dog let down

jimmyjimsgin

Please help.
We recently recieved a home visit from a large labrador rescue centre. I explained to them that we wanted a dog who was good with children and dogs as we have a 6 year old lab and a 5 year old daughter. they noted that the temperment was our only requirement, we didnt mind a !!!!! or dog, etc. 2 days later, surprise they found us the "perfect" dog, rescued from Ireland and would fit in with our family fantasticly. We collected the dog (lab cross) paying a "donation" for £175 (donation however that was the price we were told to pay) & 4 days later he savagely attacked our lab (totally unprovoked!), I had to pull him off my dog who recieved 4 large wounds. Really upset and shocked I contacted the centre, lady very rudely told me to wait 2 months and to give the dog another chance. i contacted my vet who advised me to remove the dog as he clearly had severe behavior problems, possibly possesion issues and would possibly attack our daughter too. We returned the dog to the centre, all very upset and shocked, took my dog to the vets for antibiotics etc for his wounds. The centre refused to refund all or part of the £175 stating that it was non refundable. I explained that we had needed a dog and child friendly dog and it was clearly not good with dogs, hence the mis sale. They were rude and arrogant, I contacted the chair man who agreed to refund the money as it was a sad outcome. 4 weeks later, no cheque contacted by the lady who is a trustee who placed the dog with us in the begining, she was so rude and agressive, called me a bad dog owner, that she would never refund me the money, it is a charity....... blah blah blah..... she over ruled the chairpersons decision. I wrote to the charity, contacted my vet who also wrote explaining that it was correct to return the dog due to the scale of dog attack etc, and I have had no response, not even a reply.
I dont know what to do as I am furious with the attitude of the charity. i realised that i had to pay £175 for the dog but I didnt realise that the charity did not find a suitable dog. It would have been dangerous to have kept the dog. we now are £175 worse off, and with no dog. i am seriously considering going to court as i feel so strongly. They have accepted no liability with placing this dog with our family. They have not offered us any refund at all. Just because it was a non refundable donation I dont feel that it gives the charity the right to sell dogs and place them hap hazardly in homes, risking safety etc. please let me know what you think. I know a dog falls under the Sale of Goods act 1979 so therefore must be fit for purpose, but paying the "donation" does that rid all liability from the charity.
also the charity resold the dog to another home 1 week later for £175 to a home with no dogs therefore the charity have sold the same dog for £350! i thought it was a charity who's aim is to rehome unwanted labradors not to make a business.... .

any idea if i have a case to go to court as I feel like they are bullying me because they are a charity etc, help me decide???? :eek:

Esqui

It was a donation, and so unconnected to getting the dog. Like the chairperson said, it would only be refunded under goodwill, although it would make sense for them to do so. Are you not able to get another dog from them without paying the donation again?

And I just want to point out that I completely disagree with referring to dogs as 'goods'.

ihatecaptcha

From the rescue centre's point of view, it wasn't about finding a dog for you, it was about finding a good home for the dog. If you want to buy a dog from a breeder, there's some advice about this at http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/HomeAndCommunity/InYourHome/AnimalsAndPets/DG_180127

jimmyjimsgin

We did ask for a puppy as we were dubious with the way that they assess their dogs but they refused.
Re dogs being referred to as "goods" I agree that it is harsh to say this but dogs do fall into this category in the eyes of the law. I love my dogs and dont consider them to be "goods"but they are treated the same with regards to the sale of goods act.
Im still at a loss as to what to do. thank you for your comment though.

alleycat`

Hi,

Sorry to hear what happened.
Good luck in getting any money out of them. I imagine it won't happen.

Out of curiosity:-

Did they give you the dog without actually introducing it to yours on neutral territory?

Did they even have the dogs meet before they handed it over (say in a room or safe area at their headquarters / kennels?)

If they didn't do some basic introduction with the pair then they want a kick in the goddamn pants..

It is never in a dogs best interest to just hand it over into another dogs territory.
I imagine there would always be a bit of a scrap over dominance / pecking order (but if handled correctly it should not have ended up like this) and if they did not advise you of this then i don't believe they have a clue what they are doing.

(there is a pets forum - they might have some more advice in this area)

look_after_the_pennies

Write to the local press. You shouldn't have to pay for a rescue animal and the treatment you have received from the "charity" is appalling.

jimmyjimsgin

Thank you for that,

when I went to collect the dog I took my dog with me and took them both for a walk in the countryside, neutral ground. My dog is extremely submissive for a male and I knew that there would be no problem with him. for the first couple of days they were fine, however the other dog did show tendancies of dominance, I always fed them seperately, the rescue dog was in his dog crate when we were not with them. I expected normal pecking issues, maybe a bit of snapping initially but not full on dog fight. he lunged for my dogs throat as my dog walked out of the room, he bit him so many times pinning him to the floor, my dog was bleeding heavily and never retalliated once. Really horendous. THe dog was clearly not the temperment that I had been told he was yet we are thank ful that he didnt attack our daughter and that the dog fight was stopped in time.
I really want to take them to court on principle but am anxious that the judge will just say "tough luck"

alleycat` wrote: »

Hi,

Sorry to hear what happened.
Good luck in getting any money out of them. I imagine it won't happen.

Out of curiosity:-

Did they give you the dog without actually introducing it to yours on neutral territory?

Did they even have the dogs meet before they handed it over (say in a room or safe area at their headquarters / kennels?)

If they didn't do some basic introduction with the pair then they want a kick in the goddamn pants..

It is never in a dogs best interest to just hand it over into another dogs territory.
I imagine there would always be a bit of a scrap over dominance / pecking order (but if handled correctly it should not have ended up like this) and if they did not advise you of this then i don't believe they have a clue what they are doing.

(there is a pets forum - they might have some more advice in this area)

candygirl

Whereabouts are you?Not the NW by any chance?

jimmyjimsgin

No, SE, why?

candygirl wrote: »

Whereabouts are you?Not the NW by any chance?

candygirl

jimmyjimsgin wrote: »

No, SE, why?

The woman just sounded familiar that's all;)They should deffo have given you your money back, as the dog was obviously not thoroughly assessed with other dogs properly:(

redfraggle_2

look_after_the_pennies wrote: »

Write to the local press. You shouldn't have to pay for a rescue animal and the treatment you have received from the "charity" is appalling.

You should have to pay a donation for a rescue dog, how else do you think that they can continue to rescue and place dogs?

Its sounds a very unfortunate incident and of course it must be upsetting for you. However, as others have said, a dog is not a refundable item, its an unpredictable animal. Yes, it sounds like the charity may be rather lax with its procedures and if you want to punish them I'd go down this path with the local press, I'm sure you don't want others to suffer the way you have

However, in law, you have given a donation to the charity, and unless you signed something that links that donation to particular conditions you will have no recourse

if you had adopted a child that didn;t get on with your family, would you pursure the council in the same way?