Bad Experience with Adoption

moneyhelpplease

Apologies if this is the incorrect location for this thread.

Late last year my partner and I adopted a dog through a well known charity who rescue dogs from various countries outside of the UK. They allege that all the relevant vaccinations etc have been given to the dogs before they come to the UK and as such we naively thought everything would be fine. Cutting a very long and painful story short the dog was put to sleep after it transpired she had leishmaniasis and as a result had experienced irreparable damage to her spine. Approx £5,000 vet bills later our insurance claim (with their partnered insurance company) is rejected because they don't cover for leishmaniasis. 
My question is whether there is some kind of ombudsman for charities as we don't believe they took the correct precautions when listing the dog. The previous vet records suggest there may have been knowledge of underlying conditions that we weren't made aware of. Are we allowed to ask for access to those records directly from the previous vets?
A lot of our anger is of course because of the emotional pain of what we went through but also the monetary loss is quite a substantial amount to us. Any suggestions of what we should do would be appreciated. Maybe we should just let it go?

theoretica

This website seems quite clear that leishmaniasis is something that should have been considered - and if the dog came from certain areas - tested for and looked out for even if the test were negative.

http://www.giveadogahome.org.uk/leishmania.html

moneyhelpplease

theoretica said:

This website seems quite clear that leishmaniasis is something that should have been considered - and if the dog came from certain areas - tested for and looked out for even if the test were negative.

There never was a test done by either the charity or the people that originally bought he dog to the UK so the charity took their word for it that the dog was fine.

Vegastare

Yes there is a complaint procedure against charities which are registered in UK and are given a licence number etc.  It can be seen https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/charity-commission  . It is for misconduct in running of the charity and finance misconduct etc.  But they do have the right to act on closures of animal charities and have closed them down and relocated animals. But again they are UK based animal charities and I believe they act with RSPCA inspection.  One was closed down in Wales a couple of years back.
As for access to vets records I am not sure  - but the insurer will have had access so maybe they can help.
It seems a dreadfully painful time for you.

sheramber

 What have the charity said about what happened?
  

moneyhelpplease

sheramber said:

 What have the charity said about what happened?
  

They were very difficult to get hold of but basically washed their hand of us. Eventually said they would never do a private adoption again (they took the dog in from a couple that brought the dog back from abroad, normally they only bring dogs back themselves) because of the private adoption situation they made exceptions they wouldn't usually and did not do a health check or ask about medical records as they took the previous owners word for it.

sheramber

So they didn't mislead you as you never asked about  leishmaniasis.  
It is not a requirement for the Pet Passport.
Chances are that is the reason the original owners put it in for rehoming but if the dog was so badly affected I would have thought  there would have been signs when it was in the rescue.
Or was it a straight transfer form the original home to you?
if it a charity then there should be details of the trustees. You could try a complaint to them but otherwise I am not sure what action you can take. You do not buy a dog from  a rescue , you make a donation. 
What action/result are you looking for.?

moneyhelpplease

sheramber said:

So they didn't mislead you as you never asked about  leishmaniasis.  
It is not a requirement for the Pet Passport.
Chances are that is the reason the original owners put it in for rehoming but if the dog was so badly affected I would have thought  there would have been signs when it was in the rescue.
Or was it a straight transfer form the original home to you?
if it a charity then there should be details of the trustees. You could try a complaint to them but otherwise I am not sure what action you can take. You do not buy a dog from  a rescue , you make a donation. 
What action/result are you looking for.?

Straight from the original home to us. I'm not sure what I want really. I don't feel like they did everything they could have to prevent the dog's and our suffering and that doesn't feel right to me. It was one of the trustees that eventually contacted us with some very unprofessional emails saying we should stop bothering them as people were furloughed and they didn't have time to help us. Regardless of whether we were naive relating to understanding leishmaniasis it didnt seem right for them to be so uncaring when an animal that they bought into our lives had died. Perhaps I'm still looking at it too emotionally still.

Spendless

moneyhelpplease said:

sheramber said:

 What have the charity said about what happened?
  

They were very difficult to get hold of but basically washed their hand of us. Eventually said they would never do a private adoption again (they took the dog in from a couple that brought the dog back from abroad, normally they only bring dogs back themselves) because of the private adoption situation they made exceptions they wouldn't usually and did not do a health check or ask about medical records as they took the previous owners word for it.

Hmmmm  do you know that story to be correct? I ask because 2.5 years ago we were looking for a dog and fully intended to 'adopt not shop'. We looked around a local charity that does fetch in dogs from abroad, we didn't think there was anything wrong with that (maybe we were being naïve) . Then the night before we were going to choose one, a friend  mentioned her Goddaughter had worked there and the animals mostly had health issues that frequently only came to light after the owner had parted with their cash and had bonded with the dog. I checked this story out with a friend of mine who's a Vet, not realising she worked in the same vicinity as the animal charity concerned. She confirmed what I'd been told and said that the Charity had been told by them (vet practice) to stop importing dogs that were ill.

It just seems very coincidental that they've made one exception to accept a private adoption and foregone a health check and just accepted the original owner's word and that turns out to be the dog that was too ill to survive. I don't know what if anything you could do though. Yes, I should imagine you are very emotionally raw after this as well as financially stung. I can only suggest if you still want to adopt a dog you go through a reputable re-homing charity next time. Sorry for you loss. 
 

sheramber

I can understand how you feel, especially with the attitude of the rescue. It does seem wrong that they can just dismiss it without even an apology.
I do not know what , if anything, you can do.  
Is there any paperwork from the rescue? Does it say anything about medical checks etc?

While there are many sad cases of dogs from abroad anyone considering adopting one really needs to do their  homework first, checking out the rescue. There are good, responsible ones but there are also less responsible ones. 
I read one advertising dogs that were living feral in their own country from birth. Only knew humans who chased or hurt them. They would trap the dog and transport it over to UK when an adopter came forward. and paid the costs.
The adopter would collect this terrified beast which has never been in a house, has never had a lead on, straight off the transport van,

I hope you will still consider  giving a rescue dog a second chance but research the rescue , try to find reviews from other adopters, find out what back up they will give. A responsible rescue will offer back up for the life of the dog. Will want the dog to go back to them if you can no longer look after it in the future. 
Do they assess the dog as suitable for your home or do they rehome on a first come basis?

The rescue I support never rehome direct. All the dogs are placed in experienced foster homes where they live with the family. They are assessed and only rehomed when assessed as ready. Any medical conditions are dealt with and ,if ongoing , the rescue will cover these for life.
The rescue have a waiting list of potential adopters and rehome to a suitable home, not the first on the list.
They provide back up for the life of the dog.

carefullycautious

Have you spoken to a solicitor to see if you have a case. Small claims court if you have. The importing of these dogs should be banned. Always go to reputable rescues like Dogs Trust or RSPCA.