About four weeks ago my sister and I, along with her daughter (age 12) went to pick up an 8 yr old chocolate lab that we were informed was utd on shots, no health issues etc. I considered this dog for a friend for my Jade, but after one night I knew it wasn't going to work. My sister spent that night with me and took Biko home.

We contacted the lady as we both forgot to get the medical records from the prev. owner. The reasons for giving the dog away, we were told, (eh hem) was due to allergies. The lady told me three weeks ago that she would call the vet to release the information to us. After three weeks we attempted to contact this lady again because my sis didn't feel the need to spend all the money to get all the shots again. The lady responded saying my sis was being rude, that they had "bigger issues" with the "passing of her father."

I sent her a VERY SYMPATHETIC email, apologizing for the passing of her father etc, it was very nicely written. But explained that we needed her to call the vet, would only take a moment, to release the information. Her response was that I was being rude and "selfish"...

This dog is WAY over weight, and a few moments into a walk it plops down. My sister gave him a bath this weekend because he plopped in a mud puddle and noticed the nails haven't been clipped in a VERY long time... so long they are curling under (in complete circles)...

My sis and her family LOVE this dog. But I can't get this lady to release the information. I called the vets around where she said she took him, none had him on file accept one, who wouldn't release anything. After some prodding, telling her we need to register him, she did inform me they've NEVER given him any shots whatsoever! NONE of the other area vets have this dog on record at all.

Lesson learned, any other dog my sis and I adopt WILL be a PUPPY, no older than 15 weeks! AND will have all paper work.

Try to do a dog and a family a favor, and they become ugly!

Why are people like this?

Maybe the lady never really took the dog to the vet?

I've adopted 4 animals total and none of them came with any vet information other than they were given simple checkups by the vet and had no known health issues. Shelters/rescues are very good about informing you if there are any.

Even if you adopt a puppy, you never know if it has an undiagnosed issue even if it has vet papers because very often vet visits are very cursory unless there is a reason not to be.

I'd just say don't give up on the idea of adopting an adult dog. I much rather have an adult than a puppy myself.

here's a suggestion...jsut get the vaxs done. It won't hurt the dog if they were actually done...and then the dog is protected. Also, a few things i keyed in on in your conversation...it sounds like this dog needs to see a vet regardless. You say its way over weight and gets exhausted easily and that the previous owner says it had skin issues (aka allergies). You may want to test this dog for a thyroid issue. A dog that is overwt, always tired and has skin issues...screams thyroid.. Either way...since you don't know this dog's med history...how about just going to get him a check up. Its important to that dog's health.

It does suck that the other people can't be nice about things....but a lot of time (from my experience) most people will say what you want to hear to get want they want.

i actually always adopt adult animals..mainly because of issues puppies can have...ive seen so many puppies adopted and told they have vax etc...and then the dog isn't vaccinated and then the puppy comes down with parvo.

I'd worry that along with thyroid there might be diabetes as well as possible heart condition for the pooch what with him flopping down and not being able to move far. I'd say get him in, get a thorough check up and just pretend you found him wandering the streets alone and go from there.

Keep your heart open to the older dogs still please! The best dog I've ever owned we got from an abusive relationship when he was 9 months (still a puppy, but he was already an old man at heart because of his life up till then...never did get over being scared of men holding sticks). The PERFECT dog for kids that we owned for 10 years, we got as a 7 year old from the pound. He would sit on our patio while my sister and I would hide in the grass of the backyard...my dad let it grow really long so we could do this...we'd count to 10 and then he'd come find us. He's a dog, he could have walked right to us but he'd take his time and let us sit there giggling. He would let us dress him up in frilly dresses, stick him on his back in a pram and wheel him around the neighborhood...even didn't fight us on the fru-fru hats. He'd never much been around kids having lived with an old lady who was alone, but he went above and beyond the patience level of the vast majority of dogs out there and seemed to thrive on it. The dog we own now that everyone wants we got when she was 5,she's now 12 and has lived longer than the norm for most Gordon Setters. Please don't give up on saving the older dogs. If you can adopt older dogs that is the way to go. For one thing, they are usually potty trained already, have gotten over the chewing stage, all sorts of lovely things. Plus, they generally aren't going to get adopted by the majority of the public so they need anyone willing to help them!

Listen to Gatorgirl--she knows what she's talking about (she's a vet). Take him to the vet, ask the vet his/her advice. Have them trim his nails (and then keep them trimmed yourself). As for the overweight issue, I have two labs and the only way I can keep them trim is to reduce their dry food and add a carrot at each meal. The carrot fills them up without many calories (and they love them!). Of course, it makes for some really colorful poops as they don't really digest raw carrots.

colorful poops if fun alinnelli LOL...but then again..since i'm a vet, i always am monitoring my dog's feces....sad huh LOL

Another benefit of adult dogs is you can get to know their temperament because adults won't change too much after you adopt them. Puppies (and kittens) can be one way as a baby but totally different as an adult.

The reason I say they won't change too much is because I've seen positive changes in all 4 adult animals that I adopted. A bit of training and TLC can do wonders for an adopted animal

Talk about colorful--my older lab has a cast iron stomach. Once he ate 8 full packages of Bubble Yum bubble gum (how many pieces--wrapped--would that be? over 40 I'm sure!). Pink everywhere! And another time he ate a whole 12 ounce package of Hershey's kisses (it was a wrapped Christmas present and I had no idea that there was chocolate in the box--he managed to unwrap it, pry open the metal tin, and then open the sealed bag and then eat the candy--some nose!). There was foil in his poops for days!

alinell - that is funny! I swear both my dogs have iron stomachs. One of them lived on the streets for a while so god knows what she ate out there but whenever I walk her, she is busy trying to grab various things. My newer pup LOVES acorns.

My new dog loves Acacia seed pods. I understand that coyotes get about 80% of their diet from mesquite seed pods, so I guess it's not unusual. What is unusual is that he eats only the pods--he spits out the actual seeds! Anyway, he knows where there are 3 trees in our neighborhood and his ears always perk up on walks when we are nearing those trees!

We adopted Abbey from a rescue. She came with all her AKC paperwork and shot and vet records. Still, there were other issues with her that were glossed over. She wasn't potty trained (at four) because she was never allowed inside at her previous owners. She was abused, crated for such long periods of time she was terrified. We were told she was 5-10 pounds overweight but she 40.

I could only wish that it was just shots she needed. She has needed vet care, weight loss food, medication, grooming, training, etc. However, she will be a great dog!

Only adopting puppies and requiring paperwork, won't solve the problem of irreputable pet sellers. Some will provide bogus paperwork (sometimes carefully worded to absolve the seller of all responsibilities of any health issues discovered after the sale). Many that guarantee the health of the puppy or adult dog will not pay for any actual treatment for the dog, and instead will require you to give back the animal to get your money back. And if you try to give the dog back, the previous owner will euthanize the animal or threaten to - so in essense if you've grown attached to the dog at all, it is a form of blackmail (if you want to keep the dog you're on your own, and if you're willing to return the dog you're signing the dog's death warrant).

Whether you're adopting an adult or a baby animal, you need to remember that some people lie to get what they want, and those that are good at it are going to seem like someone who would never lie, you can't trust your instincts (unless they're bad - if something tells you the story is fishy - believe it is). You need to assume the person isn't going to be honest with you, so you need to get what you want before money changes hands, because afterward there's unfortunately no incentive for the seller to provide it.