What would you do if you rescued a dog and it turned out he was sick?

I would write letters to tell your story to the news papers, peta, facebook , etc until they do something .. and even if they don't they will have to at the very least step up there game when it comes to medical testing on the animals they are adopting out.

The rescue should be financially responsible from an ethical standpoint, but unless your contract stated that they would be fiscally responsible after adoption for any pre-existing health conditions and provided you with a certificate of health from a licensed veterinarian, they are not obligated to provide you or the dog with anything.

Heartworm is typically detected by testing for reproductive hormones secreted by the female heartworm parasite, and can take up to six months to detect after infection. Depending on when your dog was tested for heartworm, the organization may have been unaware of the condition when they adopted him out. The fact that he is already presenting clinical signs of heartworm and potentially congestive heart failure due to the heartworm suggests to me that this infection is more than six months old to a year old (heartworm testing is most commonly done at the same time as an annual exam and vaccines), but the progression of the disease is different from case to case.

Urinary tract infections can be difficult to detect in a kennel situation, because even normally housebroken and well behaved animals will urinate/defecate in their cage on a regular basis, so it's likely they didn't notice that there was a problem there.

What would getting an apology accomplish? You've said that this dog is now part of your family, so at this point, what does it matter if they apologize or not except for catharsis to you? I suggest just be grateful that you found a great dog and learn to let this go. Learn from this experience and next time you adopt a dog, be sure it's with an organization that can present you with a health certificate and a guarantee that if there are pre-existing health conditions detected in a certain amount of time after adoption they will be responsible.

Best of luck to you and Reilly during his treatment. Know that heartworm is pretty successfully treated these days, even in more advanced stages.

Unfortunately, you will likely never get an apology or an admission of fault

if for no other reason than it would leave them wide-open for a lawsuit

Isn't it sad that so many things must be done with legal ramifications in mind?

if your end-goal is to get them to change their practices, then you would have to sue & it would have to cost them enough to make it more cost-effective to properly vet the dog than it is to face another lawsuit

I am glad you are able to take such good care of him.

The thing that is most concerning from my point of view... with him having such a serious heartworm infestation, it would have been very easy to detect... simply listening to the chest through a stethoscope should have been enough to confirm a serious problem

point being.. there is no way that any 1/2 qualified vet tech would not have caught his heartworm infestation

most rescues will spend the money to get a simple blood test done, even if they don't do anything else

I can see how a UTI could be missed... I am diligent about having my dogs properly vetted.... my semi-retired SD went in for his annual physical & because he is 10, I had a full "senior" visit done. Bloodwork looked fantastic (as expected)..... but I was shocked to find out my boy had a UTI... there were no signs of any problem... if I had opted for bloodwork only without the urine testing, I would not have known until it got much worse

Sadly this happens more common then what people want to believe. A friend of mine took a little dog from rescue. When she brought it into us, we did a heartworm test. Yep is was positive. We ran it a second time with another type of test, positive again. She is not going to give the dog back. I recommended that she get a copy of the medical record, the lab results, bills etc. and send them to the organization. If the organization is local, then making a presence at a board or general meeting might be in order.

This frustrates me that rescues and shelters get away with this stuff. If a breeder were to do this, they would be crucified.

This is a very difficult one.

I would like to know how they had checked for heartworms and put out as heartworm free and this I would expect them to apologise for.

The UTI is another matter, and being with a rescue, if there were no signs of a UTI when with them then it would of been impossible to know. Even if he was starting one, it is difficult if the dogs are in kennels to monitor each to that degree.

Vet checks are usually done, but again it is impossible to have a full scale medical with bloods / urine / x-rays etc as it would eat way too much into the money that they get.

I do feel however that they could work with you on this and be a little more sympathetic.

the bladder infection could be overlooked.. its not something routinely tested for. Most people dont test for it unless they have a reason to suspect something.

the heartworms on the other hand.. the rescue should have tested for that, and either had the dog on a preventative if tested negative, or had the dog treated if tested positive. A HW+ dog should not be adopted out by a rescue until it is heartworm free. the fact that your paperwork claims the dog is heartworm free shows that they are not holding up to what they claim to do.

If they refuse to accept that they were in the wrong.. I'd be reporting them to the local media. they are not really "saving" dogs, if they are not providing the poper care! Not all "rescues" are good.

The only thing you could possibly pin them for is the heartworms - if you have something from them saying he was heartworm free. If you have an attorney, send then a bill demanding repayment. If you get no answer, take then to small claims court.

I adopted two dogs that got sick. I was told my only option was to bring them back and get another dog. Both I kept. I paid for the Vet bills. I wouldn't trade them for the world.

Besides having a contract and that it stated that he was free from any and all ailments, the rescue obviously screwed up, Maybe some sort of mediation can help

Take it to an animal shelter or a vet.