Have you ever noticed this at pet adoptions?

There are two kinds of people that rescue - the common-sense ones and the crazies.

The common-sense ones understand that human life comes first, that instabilities can be genetic, and that euthanasia is preferable to warehousing.

The crazies believe that every dog is a good dog if you give it enough cookies/enough time, that all problems can be fixed through training, that any problems are solely the fault of former owner(s), and that killing any "healthy" dog is never an option.

Unfortunately, more of the second type are ending up running rescues these days.

I recall getting a rescue dog and being flat-out told that he wasn't housetrained and would kill cats (the former was true, the latter would be if our cats weren't extremely dog-savvy and with careful introductions).

Unfortunately, unless the dog has an actual legal record of a dog bite (police report, etc) then there is no way to PROVE that the rescue KNEW that the dog was aggressive before placement - and, even then, many dogs with aggression or dominance make great pets and working dogs in the hands of someone capable of handling and channeling those drives into acceptable sport and work behaviors. My dog would be dangerously "aggressive" in most hands - he is a high-energy, naturally domineering dog whose default behaviors when he is excited include body-slamming, "clacking", mouthing, and gripping. My dog is NOT dangerous or aggressive since he gets sufficient exercise and training to channel those drives - he is an ideal sport dog for me and wouldn't be without those drives - but in a normal pet home he would be long gone.

Honesty from everyone - shelter workings/rescue volunteers, surrendering owners, AND potential new owners would allow for proper placement. But, unfortunately, all three groups lie through their teeth to achieve their own ends - i.e. getting more dogs placed, wanting to believe that their dog can be magically cured, wanting a dog that is not suitable to their needs, etc.

Obviously the shelter did know the dog was dog aggressive since the employee reminded the other person. Just because a dog is dog aggressive doesn't mean they should be automatically euthanized - which is the *only* other option for most shelters. Can you imagine the press a shelter would get? I've known dog aggressive dogs that were adopted in full disclosure and went to live a life with a family as a single companion. Without knowing the story behind that particular dog I don't think I can comment on whether or not he's too aggressive to be up for adoption but maybe a public forum with other dogs milling around on leashes wasn't the best idea. And if that particular shelter is adopting out dogs without disclosing the dog's temperament then they will probably be sued one day if they haven't been already.

One reason some shelters will identify a pit/lab mix as a lab mix is because almost every dog in their shelter is a pit mix. They do it to try and appear as though they have a variety of dogs as not all people can understand why every dog in a shelter is a pit, even a pit mix. Not saying it's right, but they're just trying to get the dogs adopted.

The dog that was returned twice probably had other issues.

I haven't noticed that-Why they might do that is because they want the dog to have a chance at being adopted, don't think it's the right thing to do. It is irresponsible if they do that.

The shelters where I live say the dogs are APBT/mixes and will also mark whether they are good with other dogs/cats.

The rescue I help with has only had one APBT in the past seven months I've been working with them and he wasn't available for adoption until his issues had been worked with to where they felt he would be good enough to be re-homed(he was kicked out of a car on a free way so had some human issues). They were very picky with who they adopted him too also-Making sure they understood the breed/could handle it.

There's not a law that I'm aware of, but my shelter will usually put down the extremely aggressive dogs. My shelter also has a rule that you must bring in your other pets and children to socialize with the dog before adoption (to rule out any potential issues). They don't label the dogs as a pitbull, because technically that isn't an official breed. Terrier is the correct label, such as the Staffordshire bull terrier. The name pitbull came about in the 1800s, when the bull terrier dogs were thrown into pits full of rats as sport. Terrier mixes make some of the best pets though, it just depends on how they were treated and raised :)

Only a poorly run shelter would do that. A good one will have all dogs evaluated before placing them for adoption. That shelter needs new management.