Posting this is the LAST thing I want to do…but this story has to be told.
This should not even be taking up your time.
Apologies in advance.
On January 29, 2019 at 8:05pm, I answered a Facebook group post about 2 “bonded” huskies for “adoption” in North Carolina. It was a beautiful picture with a story. I was looking into the ice blue eyes of two beautiful pups. One was a male, black/grey/white named “Jack”, the female was a red/brownish red/white named “Rose”. I needed to know their story. When I showed my husband, he immediately said “Let’s get them both”.
A short while later, I am begin talking to this stranger about the possibility of us adopting them.
The entire “transaction” was documented via Facebook messenger and I will note it as such through this post with red text and approximate time stamp will be in [].
She informs me of an ‘adoption application’ where we answer questions and meet a few requirements “…the application is me asking you questions to ensure you would be a good fit for them. It may be a bit lengthy and tedious, but it allows me to find the perfect home for them. Everything I do and have done is completely for their well-being and future well-being!” [Jan 29 9:13pm]
I responded with “I get that. I do. We have opened our hearts after our devastating loss a few years ago and every time we decide we are ready, we find a pup and either A) it’s sooooo expensive – people ask too much anymore or B) it is gone before we can blink.” NOTE: She advertised them for $200.
She volunteers that “Yes, a lot of people ask for an adoption fee that covers at least half of the money invested to rehabilitate/care for the animal. I’ve spent over $2,000 on these two getting them UTD on shots, dewormers, flea preventative, food, spay/neuter etc. At this point the adoption fee will end up going towards the care of the next rehabilitation case. If you are interested, then we can get started and see if you would be a good fit for them and vice versa!” [Jan 29 9:13pm]
——————- I thought we had already started ——————–
She demanded that since we didn’t have a fenced in yard (I was required to send her pics of our home inside and out), we keep them on a leash at all times. She said “if they are off leash, they will run, far. They do not have recall and will not come when called if loose”. [Jan 29 9:13pm]
She drilled me about our plans to exercise them, as she insisted they “require 2 hours a day”, “Right now they are my full time job, regardless of the weather they go on at least an hour walk twice each day. If it’s nice out, we go hiking or to a park to walk. So long as they have at least two hours a day of some sort of exercise they are happy. The rest of the time they like to laze around and nap, hang out and cuddle, etc”. [Jan 29 9:13pm]
She asked “Do you have experience with dual coated breeds?” [Jan 29 9:13pm]
I responded with a list of dogs we have had but my most experience is with Shih-Tzu’s. She proceeds to educate me. Explaining that they “shed constantly but blow their coat twice a year. Brushing has to be done carefully as the wrong brush can ruin their guard hairs that lay on top which is detrimental to their natural heating/cooling system. I recommend avoiding the Furminator brand of brushes as that rips their guard hairs out as well!”. [Jan 29 9:13pm]
Now, folks…I have google and I can learn. She really came across as condescending and a know it all. But I moved on past that.
Next, we entered into their diet; “They are currently on Merrick Salmon and Sweet Potato Grain Free food. They do well on this and the nutrient levels work out well for what they need. It is about $56 per 30lb bag which they go through in a little under a month. The male gets four cups and the female gets three cups split into two feedings per day. She is getting a little chubby though so I may bump her down to two cups per day”. [Jan 29 9:15pm]
Next, she asked about any other pets in the home. I mention only a turtle. She warns us to “never leave them along with the turtle even if it is in the tank”. She goes on to say “I’ve found this breed is smart, too smart for their own good. Hence why they are hard to train”. [Jan 29 9:15pm]
Then, asks us about crating them. I mention the ad said that she crates them for fear of them getting into something to harm them..and I wouldn’t want them to get into something either. It would be a learning process but we always have someone at home or we are all out together. She goes on to require a vet name and contact info and two personal references that she can contact. I explain that we do not have a vet, as we have not had an animal for a few years BUT we have one we have gone to before. She insisted that we find one that is “experienced” with this breed. I told her I cannot give her names yet until I make sure these people are okay with a stranger calling them. She is okay with that and goes on to explain a bit more about the dogs and her mindset, “I would like at least 2-3. Once you have decided on a vet, please let me know. Since these guys were abandoned and not cared for until I got them, regular consistent vet care after rehabilitation is extremely important even after I’ve done all the heavy lifting to get them healthy again. It ensures that they are still in good health and everything is okay, or catches something if they are unwell. This is the only reason I am such a stickler for having a potential home find and set up with a vet.” [Jan 29 9:20pm]
She then goes on to explain a bit more of their story. She said, “they were abandoned on a military base early last year. I was reached out to to take them in as I am known as the husky expert”. [Jan 29 9:21pm]
Husky expert …. guess this explains all the strong recommendations!
She sends me pictures (same ones from the ad). She continues with “they have been through some tough times for sure, but they are healthy and happy now.” She adds to this saying, “I’m assuming Rose got out three years ago, and they were able to get her back. At this point my belief is the same people abandoned both in the end. Neither of them were fixed so I believe they were trying to breed them. Both are fixed now. Not cheap but well worth it.” [Jan 29 9:21pm]
We have friendly banter back and forth about my experience with little dogs and how I am excited but nervous about having big dogs. She volunteers, “Neither have behavioral issues other than with other dogs (which is why it is a requirement that they are the only dog(s)). No food aggression, crate well, walk perfectly on leashes, know sit/down/shake (they also have “okay” as a release command, if they are laying down they stay until you say “okay”). [Jan 29 9:25pm]
More friendly conversation. She focuses on the leash requirement and insists that “they cannot go to dog parks or pay with other dogs. If you end up being their forever home I would suggest marking them with something that states they do not do well with other dogs, that way if there is a loose dog and anything were to happen you would not necessarily be liable for any damages done. I don’t mind when dogs are brought to places if they are well mannered, that’s why we had ours professionally trained!” [Jan 29 9:25pm]
I answered back with my thoughts, “I just don’t like the risk for MY pet to be exposed to a potential animal that decides to snap maybe one day..do they like care rides? As I said, we like to go off roading…and [would like] to go camping”. She responded that they do not mind car rides, though lengthier rides are uncomfortable.
After a few hours that led to a few days, several calls to my references, she notified me on February 1, 2019 at 10am that she had selected us to be the best home for “Jack and Rose”. We just had to work out transport logistics and sign adoption contract.
It was later determined to be better if we met her half way. I had a planned ‘girls’ trip to TN coming up and we could arrange time/date after that.
On February 3, 2019 at 7:24pm, she sends me a pet contract link on petfinder.com. By 10:31pm on February 3, 2019, we had settled on meeting in Mt. Airy, NC on Saturday, February 16 at 1pm. For clarification, I asked about what we would be traveling with so we could pack accordingly. She answered, “They do have a crate however if you leave them in it they may break out. It’s a great crate, at $250 it should be, however they have learned to unlatch it. We’ve had to get crafty in terms of using clips to prevent them from opening it. So if you would like I can bring that, or you can buy two separate crates if you want them to have their own space separate from each other”. [Feb 3 10:27pm]
Then she decides to offer up some more expert advice. “Planning on picking up these collars so you have them. I know them well enough to stop them from slipping out of normal collars, and while they are fantastic for me they may test you so a martingale collar would be safest for you starting out.” She then sends a link. [Feb 3 11:18pm]
I inform her that we had already gotten started in shopping for things and that my husband had already purchased a collar similar to that along with leashes and food. We did get the food she recommended. She went on to insist that we focus on separate food bowls as well because “Rose would eat all of Jack’s food if she could”.
On February 6, around 11:28am she sends pics of them after a bath. It was nearly 60 degrees and she wanted to help them blow out their coats. A video followed.
On February 11, she checked in to make sure we were still on track to meet. I informed her we were, leashes and collars arrived and we were planning the trip. I inquired about the crate again. She explained that the crate was an XL and broke down so we should have plenty of cargo room.
On February 12, at 8:07pm I contacted her. Just planning lunch and some sight seeing on this journey and wanted to make sure we had our meeting time in sync. Around 9:03pm she answered, “Well I figured we could decide that together! I did want to discuss something the vet found today though. Both dogs are in good health, however, there was a lump on Rose. The vet recommended that it be biopsied and then dealt with accordingly. I’m not sure if this will change your decision, but I wanted to share the details with you so you may both be informed”. [Feb 12 9:03pm]
This was indeed information we had to discuss. In the end it didn’t change our minds. I told her “…great to know and we will CERTAINLY be taking them to the vet as soon as possible. Just need your vet info so that we can let them consult if needed.”
“Okay, that is good. The vet just informed me of this, however they do not typically handle these types of procedures and issues. It would certainly be an asap type of thing. I would like them to be under constant supervision when first in your care so they may get to know you both! Great, what vet are you going to use?” [Feb 12 9:03pm]
Then for some reason she offered up another bit of “expert advice”, “..I would highly suggest keeping them in separate crates when creating them as well. I have been keeping them separate (which is best in general), and they are much more comfortable! They are still recovering from their spay/neuter procedures so for now low key activity will be best, which will also give you all plenty of time to get to know each other in close quarters!” [Feb 12 9:03pm]
WAIT A MINUTE FOLKS!!!
“…KEEPING THEM IN SEPARATE CRATES…” “…STILL RECOVERING FROM THEIR SPAY/NEUTER PROCEDURES…”
YES – we picked up on the inconsistencies of this “expert”. DID YOU!?!? She had previously told me in the days leading to this that they were both in an XL crate that cost her $250. NOW, she HIGHLY SUGGEST keeping them in separate crates!!!! The best though was the bomb she dropped into the conversation – she JUST had them spayed/neutered YET she told me on Jan 29 that they were already spayed/neutered. I did NOT let it go.
I told her that “we had already had plans to obtain a second crate. She had advertised one was coming with them (the $250 one). I emphasized that our current lifestyle didn’t dictate them being in a crate much anyway as there was always someone home. I also asked when the procedure was done? I thought this had already been done prior to them going up for adoption…though it may be my misunderstanding”.
“They had them (the procedure) this week, they were scheduled for this fall, however the hurricane came through and the office closed until recently. The earliest appointment was this week unfortunately. If that is an issue certainly let me know”. [Feb 3 9:05pm]
I responded that it “..was not an issue. Good to know. We would have been glad to have scheduled that here to save you money”.
She must not have liked that gesture because she kinda went on a rant of sorts, “It was never an option to not have them done while with us! While we do not work with a rescue and do everything out of our own pocket, we believe it is important for any dog unaltered that comes to us is fixed prior to leaving to prevent any accidents. We are extremely experienced in handling unaltered dogs whether it’s males, males/female, or female, and take the responsibility upon ourselves (smiley face)”. [Feb 3 9:08pm]
After that, our conversations were around meeting. We used Facebook messenger all the way up until she pulled into the parking lot beside us and announced her arrival on February 16 at 1pm.
It was a strange meeting to say the least. We had taken along a dedicated travel bag with travel bowls, extra water, food and treats. We had new “bungie” leashes that were made for dogs that pull and the martingale collars. The strange part was, she got them out of the car, Jack was in a crate. It was CERTAINLY not an XL crate worth $250. The leashes they were on and collars were just some simple cheap nylon webbing type. One leash was about to tear apart. One tug and I bet we would have a dog on the run. She insisted on following us everywhere. The little vineyard we met at had a small area fenced for dogs. No other dogs were there so we took them inside. They were wild and crazy. A hand full even for this ‘expert’. We did the collar switch and noticed that Rose was a bit reluctant to have a collar on her. It was a bit of a struggle to hold her head still. The leashes and collars had her attention. She had never seen these. She liked them. We tore the tag off and gave it to her. Of course, I thought to myself, “what kind of ‘expert’ are you to have never seen these rather common training items?”
It was time to leave. We had spent an hour on the grounds. We put the pups in the car and let them get use to it. Taking pictures of course. She then asked if we wanted the crate. Of course we did….so as I am going to help her she explained that it wasn’t the right crate because she had to use a different car and this was the only crate that would fit. She also walked out and forgot their food (that was promised as part of the adoption).
I didn’t really care at this point, we had food. We were ready to go!
As she was preparing to say good-bye. I noticed she didn’t seem to be too heartbroken. She did say something kinda silly, that again stuck out to me. She said, “they love to go for a ride but they are really attached to me. A friend took them one time without me and she said they howled the entire time.” Then she went on to say, “if they get out they may just hike their way back to me”.
HOLD UP!! She previously WARNED me against letting them off leash — remember back —– “if they are off leash, they will run, far. They do not have recall and will not come when called if loose”. [Jan 29 9:13pm] If they don’t have recall do you REALLY think they will go from Kentucky to North Carolina looking for her!?!?!?
We pulled away. Jack was in the crate and Rose was laying in the seat. The further we went we braced for the howling. Not one peep!!!
On the long drive home, I returned to messenger to send her travel updates. We understood we had these pups for 30 days on a trial. Either of us could, for any reason, decide to back out of the agreement. We had given her gas money and the adoption fee, in exchange for these two beautiful ‘healthy’ pups, a rusty crate and signed papers with this understanding.
NOW FOLKS – this is where we will stop! You have the “gotcha” story. Little did we know “GOTCHA” would mean so much more. —
CLIMB ABOARD MY SOAPBOX 