Two pet owners asking shelter to pay for medical costs
Posted Oct 11, 2019 8:39 am.
Last Updated Oct 11, 2019 3:30 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
CALGARY (660 NEWS) – Two dog owners say they’re facing thousands in medical bills after purchasing dogs from an Alberta shelter.
Lexie recently adopted Celery from the CARES K9 Adoption Option but soon found the dog needed a $6,000 surgery for a knee replacement.
She said she approached the shelter to help pay for the bill.
“They said they would do the surgery. They told me it was my choice so if I thought I should go ahead with the surgery that I could do the surgery and their vet had priced it to a cheaper amount.”
The shelter said Celery was brought to its facility in Leduc from Calgary where its vets determined the dog didn’t need surgery.
However, Lexie said when the dog came home, Celery lost 10 pounds in 15 days.
Celery wasn’t the only dog reportedly brought back from the shelter in poor health.
Evan Dunn adopted Bruno who was all smiles when he first met him, but when he was brought home he had difficulty breathing. Dunn took Bruno to an animal hospital where the vet had two options: emergency surgery or have Bruno put down.
“My vet said there’s absolutely no way, having this dog in their care for a month, month-and-a-half, two months, that you wouldn’t notice this. She said this was noticeable within 24 hours of me having him.”
Dunn said CARES told him it would cover the cost of the surgery but after weeks of talking, they said they couldn’t help.
Both Lexie and Dunn were eventually sent an email from CARES saying they were breaching their contracts.
CityNews spoke with CARES who said Celery had trouble eating because of depression. They add Bruno was in good health when he was at the shelter, and they only agreed to take care of the dog’s second surgery with vets that work closely with CARES.
As for the allegations, CARES would only say it is taking court action.
The Alberta SPCA said no charges have been laid against CARES and once a pet is adopted, it becomes a civil issue. Any owner who adopts a pet with health issues they feel were ignored by a shelter, should call the SPCA Animal Protection Line.
While Lexie and Dunn admit they were impulsive when adopting their dogs, they said they knew about the health issues and the shelter they wouldn’t have gone through with the adoption.
“They seem to be more of a dog store that calls themselves a rescue,” said Dunn. “just to play on the emotions of people.”
