the adoption contract
For a rescue that claims that they are “always” there for their dogs “no matter what” and they are their “family”, once you view their Adoption Contract and how poorly they treat their adopters, you will realize quickly that this is simply not the case.
Referred to as a “Transfer/Adoption Agreement” – this is what adopters must sign and it is intended to indemnify Rosa and Anthony Fond and their rescue Humans and Animals United from literally anything and everything, even if it’s the result of the rescue’s wrong doing. Once this rescue has received donations, collected all pledges and has a signed Agreement, they wash their hands of the dog and that’s where their involvement with the dog ends. So much for treating their dogs “like family”.
There is NO rehoming clause, NO requirement that the dog can not be given away, NO requirement that the dog can not be euthanized and NO follow up with the adopter once the ink is dry AND here’s the kicker – the adopter must pay for the cost of transportation IF this rescue agrees to take him/her back.
It is believed that HAAU transports dogs from their base in Florida to as far away as possible for the sole purpose of being able to empose a hefty fee to the adopter to transfer the dog back if things don’t work out. This works as an effective deterrent to adopters who may not be able to keep the dog. Keep in mind that this rescue uses their own volunteers to privately transport dogs across state lines so they are not under the USDA’s perview and can charge whatever fee to the adopter they want.
This “adoption contract” was created to protect the rescue ONLY, NOT the dog. In fact, there isn’t a single mention of the dog in the entire contract – no mention of treating the dog humanely and providing a basic level of on-going care. Humans and Animals United completely absolves themselves from any and all liability. This rescue does not seem to care about the long term wellbeing of their dogs and their contract if proof of this.
Bullying an adopter needing to return a dog
You’ve just seen how Rosa Fond will bully adopters that need to return a dog with threats of costly legal action and transportation fees. If this adopter received no assitance or concern for her sitution, it’s safe to assume the same applies to ALL adopters. What happened to this dog? What happened to all the other dogs that people couldn’t keep? Rosa Fond and company repeatedly claim they “Do rescue right” and they “stand by their dogs”. While this may be true for *some* of the more luckier dogs, it certainly is not the case for many.
Here is Human’s and Animals United’s Adoption Contract – it’s not only what this contract contains that is disturbing, it’s what this contract DOES NOT contain that is chilling.
This “Adoption Contract” has absolutely nothing in it that protects the dog – nothing. What rescue operates this way? Any decent rescue whose mission it is to save lives has clauses and provisions that help to ensure the dog’s safety and prohibits the adopter from rehoming or euthanizing a dog and to return the dog back to the rescue in the event they are no longer able to care for the dog.
These clauses are very standard and here’s why:
They reinforce the rescue’s commitment to their dogs for life and that they will provide ongoing support as needed
They allow legal recourse to reclaim the dog should it become necessary to remove the dog from the home
They prevent the adopter from euthanizing a dog prematurely or unnecessarily
They allow for rehoming options – there is NO REHOMING option in HAAU’s Adoption Contract
If this doesn’t show how little this rescue cares about the dogs they routinely make in upwards of $10K each on, nothing will.
If this doesn’t show how little this rescue cares about the dogs they routinely make in upwards of $10K each on, nothing will.
Does this look like an”Adoption Contract” that a rescue who truly cared about their dog’s future welfare would have ever created? This makes us all profoundly concerned about what truly happens to their dogs beyond the point of having been dropped off at the vet or landing in a new home, which is all most will ever see as an “update” on the newly rescued dog.
There is simply no spin this rescue can put on this to justify it, but we know they’ll try.