The most common reason that dogs are left at shelters is that the family no longer wants them anymore for some reason, with approximately 3.3 million dogs entering U.S. animal shelters nationwide every year. While there are good samaritans looking out for these pups and selflessly willing to take them in, like Reddit user u/DreamsAndChains – she found out the hard way that the people giving away these animals in need don’t always have the best intentions.In a candid post on the subreddit r/ChoosingBeggars, she shared text messages between her and a “desperate” dog owner searching for a home for her dog so that it didn’t end up in a shelter. However, things took a manipulative twist in the end and this user found out this particular choosy beggar was after more than just someone to rescue her canine.
Key Points
A Reddit user recently shared a horrible interaction she had with a choosy beggar desperate to find a home for her dog
Image credits: Robyn Jay (not the actual photo)The screenshots begin with the user responding back to a message from the dog owner offering to take in the pup so that she is not sent to a shelter. According to the post the woman she calls an “acquaintance” had left a tearful message, begging her to take in the animal who the poster found out was both “sickly” and untrained.
“Acquaintance left message tearfully *begging* me to take in her sickly untrained dog that she’s about to drop off at the shelter. When I reluctantly agree to help take the dog in, she then demands $450 from me”
The dog, Luna, is a 7-year-old pitbull mutt and was being let go because her owner was moving and couldn’t bring her along. Not only did the woman want the OP to pick up the dog (she didn’t have a car) but there was some more fine print to this agreement.
Luna’s owner demanded that the good Samaritan offering to take her in pay an “adoption fee” of $350 and added a “courtesy offer” of giving her the crate, toys, and doghouse for an extra $100 – adding up to $450. Understandably, the OP was outraged as she had not been looking to buy a new dog and had only reluctantly agreed to take Luna to prevent her from ending up in a shelter.
Unsatisfied with the free offer, the woman tried to guilt her into paying the $450 sum by saying Luna was sure to be “gassed” since she was older and has health problems, adding that the OP’s other dogs probably cost way more. To which the OP responded, once again, with her initial offer of taking in the dog for free.
To add to the inconveniences the OP discovered that she didn’t even live in the same state as her and would have to drive from New Jersey to Pennsylvania. Luckily she had a cousin in the area who loves pit bulls and has experience with rescuing and working with them.
In an update, the OP wrote that eventually, the difficult woman accepted their offer, ” My cousin & I each put in $50 and told CB the absolute most we would pay her is the $100 she’s asking for the supplies. She eventually accepted our offer. Obviously, I didn’t want to give this awful human $100 for her bullshit but if that’s the price for going to sleep tonight knowing the dog is safe & away from her, I’m ok with it.”
Luna was rescued, but unfortunately, the OP was not rid of the dog’s previous owner
After the new owner picked up Luna they found out signs of animal abuse and neglect: “The crate she wanted to charge us for was filthy and rusty, as if the dog had been locked in it for long periods of time and was just peeing all over. She must have been a really shitty owner because it looks like the dog hasn’t been bathed in ages and also has nails so long they’re curling under her feet.” The OP’s cousin brought her to the vet to get a full workup and treatment, but when they asked her previous owner for her past medical records things went south.
The fed-up OP wrote after the encounter: “We will be reporting CB for animal neglect and abuse. Cousin already took photos of the disgusting crate, her nails, her wounds, etc. I hope CB is punished or at least has her home searched in case she has any other animals,” but added that all in all, “It’s a happy ending. Luna gets medical care and an owner that loves her. Cousin got a new best friend. I can sleep better tonight knowing the pup’s away from this awful human. ”
