It’s great when someone decides to adopt a pet from a shelter, but it’s a decision that should not be made lightly. When you adopt it should be a lifelong commitment—no one wants to see a dog returned to a shelter after a week because its new owners suddenly changed their minds.
There are some understandable reasons why you’d need to surrender your new pet, like unexpected allergies or financial issues, but sadly many people return pets for harmless, trivial reasons and send them back without much thought. It’s confusing for the dog and forces the shelter to find them a home all over again.
But one surrender story is really baffling: new adopters surrendered their dog because he was “too good.”
In October 2018, Arizona Animal Welfare League & SPCA announced that a dog named Binx was in need of a home. He had just been adopted by a new family, only to be sent back 48 hours later.
Why? Because he was “too good of a dog” and the family needed “more of a challenge.”
It’s true, Binx’s description checks all the boxes of what most people are looking for: he’s potty trained, good with kids and other dogs, and likes to play. Seeing such a good dog returned to the shelter must’ve taken everyone by surprise, not least of all Binx.
Of course we do need people willing to take in “challenging” dogs, whose behavioral issues make it harder to find homes for, but this family should’ve been more up front about that from the beginning instead of having to go through this whole ordeal.
“It boggles my mind how people take pet adoption so flippantly!” one comment on the post reads. “A pet is a living breathing thing, not a disposable item.”
Luckily, everything worked out for Binx: he found a family that appreciated him for the good boy he was.
A couple heard about Binx on TV. They had just lost their own dog of 14 years a year ago and were looking for someone new to “fill his shoes”.”
It seems like the perfect new home. The couple lives next to a mountain preserve and Binx is excited to go hiking with them.
It’s great to adopt pets out of shelters, just make sure your new dog or cat is really the right one for you! After all, you’re their “forever home!”
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