rescuers is this really common?

Yes, this is common. Not to say that EVERY person who claims a dog bites a child or person is lying, but it is possible. Also, some people are just idiots. They will over-dramatize a bite and claim that the dog is "vicious" and "bad with kids", when the dog bit out of fear or frustration (such as a child pulling on tail, ears, jumping on dog, etc.) It's very unfortunate when people label a dog like this, because it can make adopting the dog out more challenging. Another reason is that some people don't want to be judged for surrendering a dog, so they say that the dog bites to make it sound like they have a valid reason to relinquish the dog.

When involved with rescue, you have to learn to deal with all kinds of people. Over time it gets a bit easier to weed out who is lying and who is telling the truth once you've had to deal with hundreds of "this dog bites" stories.

Oh, and by the way, good on you for fostering and giving that dog a chance! Fostering is so rewarding. (:

Its sadly not unknown, the person can have a psychological problem where they secretly hate dogs and need to 'destroy' them. They can't do it physically as it would bring criticism to them. So they very publicly 'rescue' and its 'our rescue dog this' and 'our rescue dog that'.

Nest thing you know they're all sad and with a tale of having been let down by the dog, so sad, not his fault etc. You can generally spot them on the street because they can't wait to tell you.

They think if they tell the rescue 'he bit a child!' it means an automatic death sentence. But good rescues assess the dog with kids before sending them to a home with kids, and you kind of start to pick up on stuff anyway.

Theres another version of this game where they get a dog every 18 months or so and it ends up at the vet with a 'brain tumour' or something, usually some mental unsoundness.

Yes it happens for sure.

The only thing I would say is that if we have say a couple of dogs that have been indicated as biters then we will not take any more as we obviously need to work with those two.. and need a few more reliable dogs to keep the flow going.

Therefore people can come unstuck if they say this when the dog hasn't as they might not secure a rescue place for the dog.

Also you have to remember that a dog can be a right problem with one home and go straight into another and be perfect because of the handler. The reverse can also be true.

Well done for taking him in

As a rescue you also get dogs surrendered to you and they tell you the dog is great with kids and so you test the dog only to find out just the opposite so any responsible rescue NEVER takes the persons word and always makes sure of the dogs temperment before placing it in a new home.Rescue work is rewarding but you learn to weed out the idiots quick! Im glad you took the dog in and he gets a second chance!