question about dog shelter and sick dogs?
Posted on March 27th, 2010 by admin
i got a puppy from the shelter a week ago and it turns out she has pnuemonia and 3 different types of worms. weve spent over 400 dollars on vet bills. but im fine with paying the bills cuz i kinda knew there would be, but i was curious if the shelter offers to pay for anything since they give people sick dogs.
Usually shelters won’t adopt out dogs/pups knowing they are sick. When they do adopt out a pet that has been suffering from illness, they usually have it treated and then send the new owner home with any medication the dog is currently taking. It would be understandable if the pup has parasites that are not covered by the general dewormer (general dewormers cover the most common types of worms) they are given (coccidia, giardia and whip worms are not usually covered by general dewormers). However, they should have been aware that the pup had pneumonia, pneumonia usually puts out noticeable symptoms. I would bring this to the shelters attention, but wouldn’t expect any payment from them.
March 27th, 2010 at 3:57 pm
No, most shelters will not pay anything. They are just trying to find the pet a home.
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March 27th, 2010 at 4:26 pm
The shelter I volunteer at sends all cats and dogs home with a free 30 day ’shelter insurance’. They get a good deal on it and they don’t have have to actually pay the bill, their insurance covers it. Look threw your paperwork and it will say something about that. It probably had a disclaimer that said they are not responsible for anything after it leaves the shelter, regardless of if it got it there or not.
My shelter is a very good shelter though, and vets all the pets anyways so there usually are no problems, but their insurance thing will cover minor illness’s like that under 500 dollars or something.
You can give ‘em a call and ask. They will probably say too bad though.
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March 27th, 2010 at 5:02 pm
Usually shelters won’t adopt out dogs/pups knowing they are sick. When they do adopt out a pet that has been suffering from illness, they usually have it treated and then send the new owner home with any medication the dog is currently taking. It would be understandable if the pup has parasites that are not covered by the general dewormer (general dewormers cover the most common types of worms) they are given (coccidia, giardia and whip worms are not usually covered by general dewormers). However, they should have been aware that the pup had pneumonia, pneumonia usually puts out noticeable symptoms. I would bring this to the shelters attention, but wouldn’t expect any payment from them.
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Vet Tech
March 27th, 2010 at 5:52 pm
No. That’s why shelter dogs end up costing so much compared to just buying from a small breeder. It doesn’t bother me if it is a reasonable shelter, but some of the private "rescues" try to charge hundreds of dollars for dogs that still cost several hundred more in vet bills. It is often a profit industry.
I know a wonderful rescue that only deals with older dogs. They charge exactly what they pay in vet fees for the dogs. And they save lives. But not all rescues are wonderful. Most of them around here tend to pick off the young healthy dogs and puppies at the shelters then sell at a profit while they beg for free or reduced cost vet care. They never "rescue" the older or big dogs that really need help.
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