Alert! For anyone thinking of adopting a pet from a rescue organization...

[truth2power]

I am cross-posting this from the Pets group because I think it needs to be distributed more widely...

Beware of the contract you are asked to sign!

I was going to adopt a dog this past weekend, but the deal fell through because I was impertinent enough to dispute some of the terms of agreement. I actually had an anxiety attack today when I realized what I might have gotten myself into. Here are the terms I disputed:

1. "Do you agree that the animal will not be allowed outdoors without proper supervision?" I was told that I could not even allow my dog to be in my fenced-in back yard unless I was, at all times, in the immediate vicinity to provide supervision.

2. I was told that my dog was to be "kept indoors except for periods of exercise in a fenced-in area or on a leash." Periods of exercise? Note: the dog I was considering adopting was a shepherd/lab mix, a large dog that needs to have more than "periods" of exercise outdoors.

But that's not the worst of it! Beware of this phrase, "...the adopter hereby accepts possession, legal guardianship and responsibility for the animal referenced in this contract..."

My research disclosed that there is legislation that has been or is being pushed to change the term 'pet owner' with the term 'guardian'.

If you are the guardian you are not the owner of the pet. You are only the caretaker. In the contract I have noted above, the rescue organization has a claim on your pet, as long as the animal lives. They can prevent you from freely choosing what you feel is the most appropriate medication, treatment or lifestyle for your pet.


Please see this link for more on the subject:

https://www.avma.org/Advocacy/StateAndLocal/Pages/owner-guardian-ahi.aspx

Please....pay attention to what you are signing.






0

[Hoyt]

1. Kudos for going to shelter, but I really think you are over-analyzing the contract.

If you are taking care of the pet, the SWAT team is not going to swarm your house and take the animal, fine you, force you to do things you don't want to, etc.

I'd go back and get the pet.

[femmocrat]

3. I agree.

They just want to make sure the new "owners" are going to be responsible for the animal's care and welfare. I wouldn't let it deter me if I found a pet I wanted to adopt.

A lawyer probably wrote the contract.

[FSogol]

24. Agreed. Examples of rescue groups reclaiming animals?

[YarnAddict]

36. I'm a volunteer at our local no-kill shelter

There have been very rare occasions when we have reclaimed an animal. I remember one time we took back a dog who had been healthy, and returned with a permanent limp. The new owner had been seen kicking him.

I feel a responsibility to any animal in our shelter, to ensure that they will be loved and cared for for the rest of their ives. We do follow-ups, and our contract does state that we have the right to do home visits, just to make sure the animal isn't being neglected or abused.

[FSogol]

40. Thanks. I suspected that the clause was for cases of abuse/neglect. n/t

[Warpy]

26. The "supervised in yard" allows them to retrieve neglected dogs who are left out 24/7

because the owners work and the dog tears up the house during the day and barks at night. Well, duh, people, dogs get intensely lonely and bored without companionship. No, they won't come after you if you let the dog out for a few hours of bird and squirrel chasing, wipe his muddy feet, and then let him curl up next to the fire.

The "guardianship" means that if the dog gets sick or injured, you'll be responsible for getting him to the vet and paying the bills. Yes, you own the dog.

Go back and get the dog. These things are for dimwits who love the idea of having a dog but find themselves incapable of dealing with the reality.

[joeybee12]

38. I agree...and I think that GC for this organization is over-reacting...

I think it's a good change, and while there might be abuse, there's plenty of abuse right now with animals considered property...and I don't think all 50 states give pets the special status of property like this GC alleges...it certainly doesn't pertain to cats.

[PDJane]

2. It would be nice if homeless children received such concern. eom

[LiberalElite]

8. What's your point? nt

[LeftyMom]

9. Oh yeah, adopting a kid is a breeze compared to going to the animal shelter.

WTF are you on about?

[PDJane]

12. Gevalt. I would like homeless children be given a home, comfort, concern,

housing, food, and an education. WTF? I am getting seriously fed up with people jumping down my throat over innocent comments.

[LeftyMom]

16. You're hijacking a thread that has nothing to do with that issue.

BTW, how many homeless kids have you helped out? Because I've done animal rescue and worked with foster children.The two concerns aren't mutually exclusive, if anything the same people dealing with one need are often dealing with the other. The first animal welfare organization and child services organization in the country were started by the same person and had overlapping boards, because investigating one problem often found the other.

[ProfessorGAC]

29. Now, Speaking of Threadjacking . . .

Just sayin'! Lefty you've kind of gone around the bend with that response.

[Trajan]

28. An innocent statement, blown out of proportion

Welcome to DU ... The meanest place on earth ...

[snooper2]

44. the meanest place on earth? ROFLMAO

You haven't see the comments section of a Justin Bieber YouTube video I guess.

[grntuscarora]

4. Disagree.

The shelter where I volunteer recently released a sweet dog for adoption, only to have it returned to us less than a week later. The "owners" did not see fit to supervise their pet, and it was hit by a car, suffering severe injuries. Since they didn't want to pay the vet bills, they returned the injured animal to our shelter, and left our non-profit to shoulder the medical costs. We gladly accepted the dog back, knowing full well the animal would not have received the medical attention it needed from its "owners". I'm sorry, but the terms of adoption agreements are meant to protect the animals, and to protect the fund-strapped shelters that care for them.
I prefer the "caretaking" term when it comes to animal care. It seems to foster a more responsible attitude. Imo, "ownership" implies that the pet is an easily replaced commodity.
I've seen too many horror stories working at the shelter to feel otherwise.

[UTUSN]

5. Awww, the baby needs you n/t

[uppityperson]

6. Different places have different wording, standards and indeed the most restrictive do assume they

can take any pet back at any time. They do not often do that, but can.

[jillan]

7. I'm sorry - I am happy to be my rescued fur baby's guardian, caretaker and owner. I don't care

what they call me. I have no problem with having her on a leash when we walk every day. I don't understand the concern.

My rescue rescued me.

[RiverLover]

14. +1 ~nt

[LeftyMom]

10. Municipalities and advocacy groups increasingly avoid "owner" because an animal is not a thing.

This is not a conspiracy.

[ProfessorGAC]

50. That Being Said . . .

. . .i doubt my beasties care if i call myself their owner. They're happy anyway.

[Blue_Tires]

57. +1000...When you bring "owner" into the conversation

too many less-sophisticated people interpret that to mean "Fuck you, this dog is MY property and I can do whatever I want with it!" (this is a common justification in the minds of dogfighters, too)....

It's the same reason why some cultures are still trying to erase the concept of men "owning" their wives, because we've seen where that leads...

[Egnever]

11. And if you sign it and don't do those things...then what?

Do you get put on the short list for euthanasia?

Seriously what do you imagine they will do?

Screw that save the pet and pretend you are going to follow the silly rules they want you to agree to.

[Laffy Kat]

13. I adopted two deaf dogs.

Different times, different organizations. The last one had someone come to my house to check it out before agreeing to release. She had some concerns about my fence and didn't think it was high enough. It was. The dog is not a jumper or climber. Any who, I just took it in stride. They want to do what they think is right by the dog. Returning a dog that doesn't work out is upsetting to everyone and traumatic for the dog.

[jillan]

15. You are awesome!!

[Laffy Kat]

23. Aww shucks; but, no.

I am the lucky one, seriously. Can't imagine my life without "my girls."

[elias49]

17. Don't worry about the fine print. It's just regulations.

Bring your pooch home.
I hope you don't read the fine print/details every time you load a piece of software! Yikes!
Or update Windows!

[lamp_shade]

18. NKS (no kill shelter) worker here. The dogs are "chipped" before adoption and contain our ID.

We keep detailed data on both the pet and the adopter. Sad that so many end up back at the shelter. Some because of adopter death or disability. Some because the adopters couldn't handle the pet. Some are sick or abused and are usually returned to us by the police. But most are returned after being found wandering the streets and in many cases we're told to "just keep him". The agreement you've been asked to sign is there for a very good reason.

[LostInAnomie]

19. Some shelters have some pretty scum bag agreements.

I used to volunteer at a local shelter and got fed up with it after a couple of years. They had contracts that let them seize a pet up to three years after adoption. If it was going to be your first pet it was basically impossible to adopt (because you wouldn't have an established veterinary record). Outdoor pets were not allowed. Houses without completely fenced in yards were not allowed to adopt. After you adopted a pet you were forced to allow inspections of your house (three scheduled and two random). And on and on and on...

They even had a clause that allowed the shelter to seize the animal for signs of stress. These signs included things like digging in the yard, chewing of furniture, defecating in the home, shyness around strangers, and "excessive" barking. Basically, normal pet behaviors were grounds for taking your pet away.

Guess what happened if they took your pet? They kept all the money you had spent throughout the whole process.

I love animals and support animal shelters, but something really needs to be done about a lot of them.

[PasadenaTrudy]

48. What about apartment dwellers?

I guess they wouldn't be able to adopt there w/no fenced in yard. I had my dog 8 years in an upstairs one bdrm apt, no yard and on a busy street. We were fine!

[LostInAnomie]

61. They were ok.

I probably didn't phrase it well enough. The fenced in yard was a necessity if you owned a house. They suspected that if you didn't have a fenced in yard you were just going to let your dog run wild whenever you let them out to potty or play. The person in charge didn't believe that anyone actually walks or watches their dog for some reason.

[sendero]

20. Many years ago...

.... we were going to adopt a cat. It wasn't a written agreement, but a skeptical volunteer that somehow didn't see us as good cat owners that gave us the third degree until we were totally turned off by the idea.

I'm sure this person thought she was doing the right thing, I'm sure she wasn't.

We went to Operation Kindness and adopted a cat, which we had for many years until we packed up to move and she freaked out and vanished.

[Betty88]

33. We went through the same thing

We had 3 cats, lost one to old age so we decided to adopt another a few months later. We found a cat on a website that needed a home. Filled out all the papers, they required a letter from our vet. He wrote a beautiful letter praising us. We were rejected. The reason, we thought that because of our totally indoor, second story no way to get out of apartment, we did not need to take our cats to the vet every year for shots they did not need. Instead if they were sick we took them, sometimes to the tune of $1000 or more. The shelter lady went off on us for being irresponsible terrible people who did not care for our cats, we were denied. So a few weeks later we found another cat that is now sitting by the radiator licking her paws.

[yourpicturehere]

21. told ya so

The OP is totally right...

The problem with the word "guardian" is the legalese that it represents. If you "own" an animal, it is yours. If you are an animal's guardian, he/she is like your children, any offense can get it taken away, like being outside "unsupervised". My dogs are outside playing most of the day. They have a 6' fence around a 1/4 acre. Yes, I go out and play with them (and pick up the doo). I check for holes (they love to dig) around the fence, and look for anything they may have gotten into that they shouldn't (like destroying their water bucket). I would be a bad "guardian" because I am not out there all the time. Remember the people that had their children taken away because they were allowed to go to the park on their own?

My dogs have required a lot of time, a lot of money (get chemo on a dog and see if it's cheap), and a lot of resources that required a lot of sacrifices. I WOULDN'T CHANGE A THING! I love my dogs and my life with them, but I would be a bad "guardian"...ten grand to try to save a dog's life wouldn't matter. Loving my dogs wouldn't matter.

Yes, there are bad people that adopt. They think that animals are disposable or toys for the kids and when things don't work out, back to the shelter. I do rescue for my breed and the really heart-breaking ones are the old dogs that "are too much trouble". I have kept several of those for the rest of their lives. They get treated just like the show dogs...lots of attention, lots of toys, lots of pats and raw, fresh meat. I had one who had no idea what toys were. I was in the process of picking up the toys and getting them out of the way so we could blow the leaves and this dog found himself in the middle of a pile of toys and he went "EEEEHAAA!" and pounced and toys went everywhere. It was GREAT! BUT, I would be a bad guardian.

Some people that have all the right answers are still bad owners. The funny part is that, if I decide to place a puppy and ask all these questions and have contracts and turn someone down, I am an elitist. Every puppy born here (and there haven't been that many, and yes, I knew and know where they are, how they are kept and how well taken care of they are) is MY puppy forever, whether they live here or not and I am RESPONSIBLE for them for the rest of their lives. That is MY contract with my breed.

Gotta go now and can't reply, so have fun! But also watch who you defend and who you support because if if this goes on we will all be playing with pet rocks.

[moriah]

43. A pet *should* be like a child and not be "owned". It is a living being, not a piece of furniture.

As for kids going to the park unsupervised, I hope DU learned the tragedy involved in those cases when the neighbor kid murdered an unsupervised child in his trailer park this summer. You're risking your kid's life leaving them unsupervised, and there are laws against it for a reason.

There's no law against letting a dog be unsupervised in the back yard (except for obvious neglect cases where the dog is left without food and water), but if the dog gets out, you're responsible for what happens to it and any damages it does to others. I don't know how I'd feel signing a contract that said a large dog had to be supervised inside it's fenced-in back yard, and I'd probably ask for clarification on the issue, explaining for example that I had to work and would prefer my dogs to be able to get exercise while I worked rather than be cooped up inside, bored and stressed, all day.

How would you be a "bad guardian" by letting a dog play with toys?

And you should understand, that whole possessiveness (my puppy forever) of being responsible for them for the rest of their lives is how animal shelters feel about the animals they adopt out. They want their dogs and cats to have "forever homes". Why do you deny shelters the same rights you claim for dogs you breed?

[truth2power]

49. Thank you, thank you. You come closest to getting it. n/t

[KamaAina]

60. Woof woof!

Canine for 'Welcome to DU!"

[brooklynite]

25. We've always ignored the "agreement" to not let our cats into the back yard...

My wife's a lawyer and she know if there was a problem.

[liberal N proud]

27. Our rescue dog will not let us even stand at the door while she goes outside

If you follow her out there to do her business, she will just stand there until you go back in then she follows only to need to go back out later.

[gwheezie]

30. I wouldn't agree to it

I don't mind a trial period and references also a follow up visit would be fine but at some point the dog is mine.
I had 2 dogs that lived with my goats. They guarded them. They liked their job. Once or twice a day they'd come up to the house and when they got old they spent most of their days in the house.
My best dog was an Aussie. He loved the goats. He worried about the goats. He was a serious dog. He protected every damn critter he thought was his. He once came and got me running and barking back and forth to the pool. I went over to see what he was upset with and it was a drowning squirrel. He also would bring me wounded birds. But if a coyote or bobcat bothered the goats he was fearless.
After years of tending his goats he slowed down and I kept him in the house more and more. But I'd have to bring him out when I went to feed. His old cloudy eyes would brighten and he'd bark and take charge. I'd tell him good job. He knew it. It got too hard for him and he got cancer. But he would still tend his goats. I called out the vet one day and me and Buddy took a long slow walk to the pasture. He had to stop a few times and finally got out to his goats and laid in the sun and wiggled his butt and was happy his goats were safe and we ended the suffering for him His long time friend the old nanny Leeann was with him. I told him good job buddy. I wound up burying Leeann next to him when she died.
I got buddy from Aussie rescue. He had been in 4 homes in 4 weeks because he could not be a house dog. He was too smart and knew he had a job to do. He wound up on my farm. He never did one thing wrong in the 14 years I had him. He did a good job. My buddy boy

[truth2power]

46. In this case, the dog would NEVER be yours. THAT is the crux. I've tried to explain...

Last edited Tue Nov 18, 2014, 03:32 PM - Edit history (1)

ETA: that was a beautiful story of Buddy and the goats. thanks.

[bhikkhu]

31. They want to make sure the dog is treated well, and doesn't wind up back in the shelter

If you can't agree to the terms you're probably not fit to care for the dog and shouldn't adopt. I agree with the shelter.

We have a shelter dog that was a stray, found starving and missing big patches of her coat, and painfully fearful of everybody. The shelter did a great job getting her back to health. Its been wonderful watching her slowly get used to kind treatment, and slowly opening up and becoming the happy, bounding, tail-wagging dog she never had the chance to be. She's been a beautiful dog for my daughter.

[Recursion]

32. Sorry, but shelters go way overboard here

No, dogs do not need constant supervision while outdoors. It's fine for a single person who works to have a dog. Dogs can be outside most of the time (they're dogs, for God's sake). I find it particularly galling that shelters somehow think that staying in a shelter (and possibly being euthanized) is somehow better for an animal than a home that they in any way consider sub-optimal.

[truth2power]

47. Thank you. n/t

[Blue_Tires]

58. I just think the shelter is trying to idiot-proof their adoption paperwork

After the hundredth time an adopted dog was neglected, ran away, and ended up right back at the same shelter after being on the street...


The dog I adopted is a small clingy lapdog type who refuses to venture farther than 20 feet away from her humans, and since we have a few busy streets and enemy critters in the neighborhood, she is never, ever outside unsupervised...

[Bluenorthwest]

34. I think all contracts should be arranged to protect the party with the least power in the deal

That is to say the animal in this case.

[grntuscarora]

35. +1

n/t

[YarnAddict]

37. Don't worry about the contract

Take the dog, love him for the rest of his life, and know that he is coming from a shelter that cares enough about his welfare to do their best to ensure he is going to a great home.

[Blue_Tires]

53. +1

Thank you...

The "contract" is a bit heavy-handed in its wording, but only because shelters get so many morons and beefwits who end up giving companion animals a MUCH worse life than they had in the shelter...

[Jokerman]

39. I've signed that contract several times.

I think the shelter should have the right to revoke pet guardianship if the animal isn't treated properly.

For cat's I agree completely with keeping them indoors but for a dog, particularly a big dog, that part seems a little over the top.

[Arugula Latte]

41. Is there any enforcement for this?

Are people from the shelter going to periodically drop by your house unannounced to make sure your dog isn't spending too much time outside? ... Doubtful.

[truth2power]

42. Drop by? yes. I would have no problem with that. But for 10-15 years?..

Even Child Protective Services closes their cases at some point.

I am going to try, later today, to post some clarification of this issue. I doubt that it will make any difference, but I'll try. I'm not talking about you, specifically, but I don't think the crux of the issue is being understood.

[hamsterjill]

45. I hope this doesn't stop you from choosing a rescued pet.

There are rescues that do not require a contract, or may require a much less restrictive one.

While I certainly understand the need and the desire to have these contracts in place since I've been doing cat rescue for decades, I also understand that these contracts can be a "put off" to some prospective adoptors.

But I implore anyone thinking of adopting a shelter or a rescue animal not to refuse to adopt those because of human contracts. Please simply find a shelter or rescue that has agreeable terms for you.

There are too many dying because there are not enough homes.

[Hari Seldon]

51. The last time I adopted at a shelter

I was given a rather tense interview from an unpleasant person.

After the interviewer was satisfied that I was a responsible person and would be a good adopter the demeanor of the unpleasant person changed instantly - she become friendly and forthcoming and very glad for me as a new pet owner.

I respect the fact that I was forced to prove myself before the shelter and its conscientious worker would surrender an animal to me.

[Sunlei]

52. I don't think dogs should be left outdoors when the owner is not home.

The contract is for the dogs protection. When you're home, your dog will prefer to be with you. They may go outside alone and run around for a little while, but they soon want to come in and be with company. Real exercise is running, playing, swimming, a trip to the dog park and that includes the human. sign the contract, a shep/lab is a wonderful mix.

[HockeyMom]

54. Had to sign more or less same for adopting cats

when my 16 and 22 year old cats passed/put down within six month of each other. My shelter cats have chips in them. So when we move back up North, will they be tracking them a thousand miles away? No, we cannot MOVE AWAY with them?

Inside only. In Florida, what does that mean? We have screened in lanais. Is that outdoors too? They cannot get out and wildlife (other than bugs or gekos) cannot get inside. Certainly, I would never leave them in the lanai all alone when I leave the house. Actually, most of the time when they are outside, so am I.

Vet checks. Again, what does that mean? They were spayed and neutered and given shots before adoption. However, they have not gotten "boosters" or "Wellness" exams. I don't do that for myself because I don't believe in it. I must do that for pets but not ME?

Yes, the shelfter asked all kinds of questions and I had to sign that form too. I also kept telling them that my 16 and 22 year old cats had recently died. Hello? 22 years old?????? Try to tell me that I am somehow a bad cat Mom with that.

[LordGlenconner]

55. Sounds like it is your first time with this

This is actually pretty standard language in these types of contracts by rescue groups.

In reality, none of what you fear is ever going to happen.

Sorry your fear prevented you from giving a needy animal a home.

[dilby]

56. Sounds like the agency is trying to weed out bad owners.

The ones who get pitbulls then leave them chained in their back yards or roam the streets. I look at my dogs like my children, they need to be supervised when outside so they don't get into trouble.

[truth2power]

62. there are laws against animal cruelty.

[dilby]

63. Some of these dogs have already been abused.

Maybe the shelter just wants to make sure that they are never abused twice.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

68. Exactly.

I started visiting Facebook rescue sites (mainly of pit bulls) and dear God, the abuse is horrifying.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

67. Here, spend time at The Patrick Miracle and tell us again...

about all those laws against animal cruelty. Warning folks, there are many disturbing images at this link, but many uplifting stories of survival as well.

And speaking of Patrick the Pit Bull, laws didn't stop that POS Newark woman from starving him and throwing him down a trash chute. Thankfully, he looks like this now, because he hit the jackpot with his rescue family:



(Evidently he's still very attached to one of the blankies he received early in his rescue... what a sweetie.)

[H. Cromwell]

59. Sign away...

Over the past 3 years, between myself and 'rescuing' a cat for my daughter, I've been to the shelter numerous times. The first time, my wife and I were interviewed by the cat shelter manager, Becky. No issues, Becky questioned us about our work schedules, previous pet ownership/caregiving and did explain we'd have to sign a contract. We had just buried our 12 year old black cat Shadow. We helped him over the bridge because of incurable cancer.
We left the shelter that day with a 1yr old female, long haired, spayed Calico.(Callie) A few weeks later we again visited the no kill shelter and ended up with a 3yr old short haired spayed male. (Slider) Again signing the contract and paying the posted fee. A few months later we rescued a orphaned street cat. A female that we got spayed thru a low cost program the shelter runs. Princess is our 3rd fur child. Becky transports the cats to and from the Vet facility.

Last Christmas I was shopping and saw that the shelter had a table/stand fundraiser set up in the mall. I checked it out and saw they had a young cat in a crate on display/up for adoption. I played with "Mindy" thru the crate bars and took her picture with my cell phone. I sent the picture to my wife with the caption "Kitty #3". My request was quickly turned down. When my daughter saw the picture of Mindy we went to the shelter the next day and adopted her. My daughter had recently lost her Maine coon cat to old age. Mindy had Maine coon in her. After dealing with the shelter many times, I did still need to sign the contract.
Every time I signed that contract I never really read it carefully.
We all are kitty full and I am not allowed to visit the shelter... I feel having an EVEN number of cats is the way to live. My wife disagrees.

[truth2power]

64. I’m going to try to clarify some things.

First of all: some context.

The deal breaker in the adoption application was that I questioned and expressed my disagreement with the requirement that I would have to supervise the dog, at all times, while he was in my own fenced-in back yard. It was made clear to me that it was unacceptable for me to go across the street to my neighbor’s or even, mon Dieu!, run up to the grocery while my dog was outside. I cannot abide someone micro-managing mine, or my dog’s life.

Background:

I live in a modest, 3 bedroom home, in a neighborhood, in a low-crime community. My home is clean. I have no carpeting, white or otherwise, anywhere in the house. My floors are wood-grain laminate, throughout, except in the kitchen where I have tile. I have no basement, regrettably. I have lived in this same home longer than God.

I have an attached garage with a back door that opens onto a fairly large fenced back yard. There are trees in my back yard (too many, actually; there is not enough sunlight to grow flowers successfully).

I have always had pets (cats and dogs) my entire adult life. I had to have my dog, (Shepherd/Chow) euthanized this past summer. He would have been 15 years old this month. He had hip dysplasia and arthritis. With the help of medication and a fantastic vet, I was able to keep him mobile for about a year and a half after he was diagnosed, but he eventually couldn’t get around at all. I miss him terribly.

His best buddy, who passed on in 2011, at age 10, was my Cane Corso mix, 120 pounds, whom I inherited in my son’s divorce. He loved being in the back yard and he never tried to jump the fence. He died of bloat, which is quite common in very large dogs with deep chests. It was a tragedy, the circumstances of which I don’t care to go into at this time and place. There will never be another dog like him.

I currently have a Siamese cat who showed up in my back yard about 9 years ago. He is spoiled and thinks he owns the place. I can trim his claws with no complaint from him. He sleeps with me.

Well…….so much for my unsuitability as a pet owner, as some in this thread have implied, or stated outright. Thank you for leaping to conclusions.

* * * * * *

So, to get to why I started this thread in the first place….

After my encounter with the adoption coordinator, I came home. It wasn’t until the following day that I took another look at the contract. At that time I felt compelled to do some further research and I found the link which I included in my OP. I’d be willing to bet that almost no one in this thread even looked at the document in that link, which explains the issue better than I ever could.

Here’s the paragraph, in its entirety, from the contract:

“That the adopter hereby accepts possession, legal guardianship and responsibility for the animal referenced in this contract and discharges XX rescue forever from liability for any injury or damage to any person or property caused in the future by said animal, and from any causes of action, claims, suits, or demands whatsoever that may arise as a result of such injury or damages.”

Comment: Guardianship has a specific legal definition. According to my understanding, if you are the guardian you are not the owner. And yet the rescue organization that will still own the dog absolves themselves, “forever” from any liability for the animal. I guess this is legal. Are there any lawyers here who would like to weigh in? In any case, it seems like the adopter is getting the short end of the stick.

At one point in my conversation with the adoption coordinator she stated that we don’t want “our” dog to get lost. At the time I thought that was odd. Once the dog is adopted it’s no longer “their” dog. But I was wrong.

So, you say you don’t care what you are called, and all these conditions are simply trivialities. Well, how about this:

“The adopter agrees that XX rescue shall have the right of immediate possession of the animal if, in the judgment of XX rescue the animal is receiving inadequate care, is being improperly housed or handled or.. < balance refers to spay/neuter>.

Or this: “The adopter agrees to pay XX rescue the sum of $300.00 as liquidated damages in the event that the terms of the contract are breached…” The rest of the paragraph refers to the adopter being responsible for atty. fees and court costs in the event of legal action.

Lastly – Anyone who binds him or herself to a contract, thinking that certain terms of said contract are irrelevant or will never be imposed etc. is fooling themselves. In My Humble Opinion.

[moriah]

65. Pets are living beings, not furniture.

Just like kids, you don't "own" them. You are their guardian.

I think you're still a little wrong on that one.

[truth2power]

66. First of all, thank you, moriah, for a reasonable, polite response...

Here is an answer to your concern. From the link I posted in my OP, which, strangely enough, I don't think anyone on this thread has taken the time to read:

"Because there are a number of kinds of property, however, pets enjoy a special legal status. The law recognizes, for example, that pets are not the same kind of property as desks or cars. Rather, each state in the U.S. has laws requiring humane care of pets and criminalizing cruelty to animals. Other laws set standards for the care and handling of companion animals involved in commerce. So while pets do not have the same legal status as people, they are treated as a special type of property, a kind of property that requires humane treatment by pet owners and protects pets from irresponsible neglect and other forms of abuse by pet owners.

In contrast, under U.S. law, guardians are not owners; they are merely caretakers. Guardian status could reduce the petcare choices available to the caretakers. Legally, for example, human guardians must always act in the best interest of the "ward." What is "best" is determined by anyone with a self-proclaimed interest or expertise and who is willing to use the court system to force a caretaker to make the "best" decision."

[Curmudgeoness]

69. It seems that a lot of people here are missing the point.

The problem here is that there is a contract that is to be signed that is too restrictive. We all know that there are people who should not adopt animals, and that bad things can happen, but this contract goes too far.

When I adopt an animal, I am willing to abide by some terms that rescues require, but to say that the pet will not really be mine FOREVER and that they could take it back is not acceptable. To say that I would not be fit to adopt for the simple reason that I have a problem with that contract is insulting, to say the least.

I am beginning to know why I can never find a rescue group who ever has the ability to rescue any animal that I have called them about being abandoned. They are always full, and we have at least 10 rescue groups in my area. All of them are always full. So what happens? I have to find anyone who is willing or able to take in the dog or cat that has been dumped in my neighborhood.

There has to be a way to protect the animals without some contract that treats the adopter as if they are a criminal.