A former director of an animal rescue center opened up and revealed how one of their contacts returned the dog they had adopted because it didn’t match their furniture.
58-year-old Claire Horton is an animal lover who headed the Battersea Dogs and Cats Home prior to her retirement from the center’s position as the CEO.
Speaking to Desert Island Discs, Horton told Lauren Laverne that as much as 10 percent of people returned their pets shortly after adopting them.
While they mostly had justifiable reasons for doing so, bizarre reasons were provided to the staff in other cases.
“Usually it will be a very genuine change in circumstances. So it could be an illness, someone might die. Then we’ll get people who will bring them back because they hadn’t thought it was going to wee on the carpet or chew the bottom of the door,” Horton said.
As the former rescue center chief added, they once had to deal with an owner who returned the dog they had adopted simply because “it didn’t match the sofa” they had bought for their home.
“I know, I know, what can you say? We took the animal back because we never judge. We rehomed it to somebody who really cared,” she added.
Staying true to her love for rescue animals, Horton, who took several dogs from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home into her own home, said a dog’s breed and color should not matter when it comes to rescuing its life through adoption.
While she welcomed the news that more dogs in need have found new homes during the lockdown, Horton used the opportunity to warn people against buying pets from puppy farms and suspicious internet sellers who might be importing the animals from other countries or keeping them in bad conditions.
What are your thoughts on this matter? Let us know in the comments and don’t forget to SHARE this post with your family and friends. For more news and stories, follow us on Facebook!
Replaced!