Q: Is it worth suing a dog rescue if they won't refund my adoption fee after not divulging all the information on the dog?
I adopted a dog on Friday. I was told that she was given up by her original owner because she was herding the cattle. She is an Aussie mix so we thought that was silly because that's what her breed does. However, after we adopted her we were given her folder and they showed us the contents but everything was about her shots and vet records or so we thought. I went on Monday to register her microchip and noticed that in her folder was a form from the shelter she was rescued from. The form said she was actually given up because she was becoming aggressive with the livestock, killed chickens, and attempted to kill 2 goats. We were never told any of this. We are now giving her back to the rescue but asked that they refund our adoption fee since the info wasn't told to us ahead of time. We wouldn't have adopted her had we known. We have small animals and can't have a dog with a prey drive. The adoption agreement states the adoption fee is non-refundable.
A: It would most likely not be worth it to sue for your adoption fee back because, I imagine, your adoption fee was relatively small. You would likely spend more money on filing fees alone to sue the shelter in small claims court, not to mention attorney's fees. If the dog was previously found to be a "dangerous dog" by the courts, the shelter was legally required to advise you of such a finding. I'm not sure if that applies in your case; being an "aggressive dog" without a legal finding does not carry the same level of responsibility - however, had something happened to one of your animals, the shelter would have been liable.
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