ComplaintsforHalifax Humane Society

• Initial Complaint

  07/29/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I recently adopted a dog through Halifax Humane Society, somebody I work with found the dog abandoned in a home and brought her into my job, as i work for an animal hospital. Animal control picked the dog up and brought her to Halifax Humane Society, and animal control said she was spayed. It took a little bit over a week to adopt her because Halifax did not know what they were doing which made my experience HORRIBLE. My boyfriend and I drove up there 3 times, and I live in Deltona... So it's an hour there and an hour back. The first time we drove up there, it was to pick up the dog. They informed me that the dog was not spayed, and after fighting with them, telling them that animal control told me she was, we went home and they would call me when she was ready. They said they would schedule her for a spay, and a few days before the spay, I received a call saying they "double checked" and found out she actually was spayed. However, my dog that I adopted from Halifax is currently in heat.

  Business response

  08/31/2021

  Business Response /* (1000, 6, 2021/08/20) */ Complaint: I recently adopted a dog through Halifax Humane Society, somebody I work with found the dog abandoned in a home and brought her into my job, as i work for an animal hospital. Animal control picked the dog up and brought her to Halifax Humane Society, and animal control said she was spayed. It took a little bit over a week to adopt her because Halifax did not know what they were doing which made my experience HORRIBLE. Response: Sweat Pea (dog) was brought into Halifax Humane Society (HHS) as a stray on 5/18/2021 from animal control. The dog has a microchip and thus the person registered to the microchip was contacted. On 5/20 the owner on the microchip releases ownership of the dog to HHS and now the dog can be adopted legally. The complaintive placed a hold on the dog on 5/22/2021 and took the dog home on 5/24. Two days from the time of the hold and four days from the time the owner legally released the dog, not a little over a week. Complaint: My boyfriend and I drove up there 3 times, and I live in Deltona ... So it's an hour there and an hour back. The first time we drove up there, it was to pick up the dog. They informed me that the dog was not spayed, and after fighting with them, telling them that animal control told me she was, we went home and they would call me when she was ready. Response: The dog has a ventral scar, typical of a spay procedure, so Animal Control may have concluded the dog was spayed because of this scar. All incoming animals at HHS are listed as unaltered upon intake until a veterinarian examines the animal. This may have been where the initial confusion stemmed. Complaint: They said they would schedule her for a spay, and a few days before the spay, I received a call saying they "double checked" and found out she actually was spayed. Response: On 5/24, a veterinarian examined the dog and saw the ventral scar and suspected the scar to be from a spay procedure. Telling whether a female animal is altered is much more difficult than observing a male animal. Complaint: However, my dog that I adopted from Halifax is currently in heat. Response: The complaintive contacted the HHS Redinger Spay/Neuter Clinic on 7/29/2021. This same day she filed her complaint with BBB. The clinic scheduled surgery for 8/13. The dog was spayed at the clinic on 8/13 for no cost to the complaintive. Additionally, the dog had severe ventral pyoderma (skin infection from a diaper the dog was wearing) and was provided antibiotics and an e-collar at no cost to the complaintive. Consumer's Desired Resolution: Finish the job; I want the doctors on staff reevaluated, to make sure each and every doctor/technician knows what their doing. Response: The complaintive was contacted by our Veterinary Services Manager to follow up after the dog's procedure. She said everything was fine and we did provide the services required to resolve the situation, but she would not remove her BBB complaint. HHS staff provides services to over 25,000 animals each year since 1937. We are not perfect and occasionally, a ventral scar maybe be mistaken for a spay scar. The complaintive, who isa veterinary professional, also stated and fought to convince us that the dog was spayed based on the observations of animal control and herself. Obviously, the dog was not spayed even though three separate parties who deal with this type of observation on a regular basis believed this to be the case. This is a learning opportunity for our staff. We would never intentionally put any animal in harms way or perform an unnecessary surgery. We apologize for the confusion. We have provided every service requested and at this time the complaintive says she is satisfied that we have resolved the situation. Consumer Response /* (3000, 9, 2021/08/20) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) "it's harder to examine a female dog for spay marks" is not acceptable. There's machinery you can use, such as ultrasound or X-rays. If you're unsure if the dog (animal) is spayed, animal should not be released, as Lisa told me (and i quote) "we can get in serious trouble if we release an animal unaltered". Second of all. Yes, you're right. I did file a complaint with the BBB because after a few phone calls and emails to the Redinger clinic, a week later for a reply is difficult to work around. On that note, yes. The Redinger clinic DID spay my dog. HOWEVER. The diaper you speak of was only on for the car ride. 45 minutes. That's the ONLY time any diaper has been on my dog. Bacteria cannot make THAT much of an impact to show up within an hour, and 2... i was not sent home with any antibiotics for anything. I was not even sent home with pain killers. Couldn't even go to a vet to get pain killers prescribed because they'd need to examine her and I'm not paying $65 PLUS meds. I do not think it's right that my dog had to sit in pain for a week because she wasn't sent home with medicine to help the pain. Noted, when i got home to make sure the incision site was fine, there was no marking or rashes on her stomach, or pelvis area that inditacted "severe ventral pyoderma". Lastly, i did not mention i was a veterinary "professional". I said i was a kennel assistant at a veterinary hospital. I did not say "i know for a fact she's spayed based on my visual examination". I was arguing with Halifax over animal control saying she was spayed but you guys saying she wasn't spayed. While i understand mistakes are made, and can be resolved, overall this has been the most difficult situation I've ever had adopting dogs, this being my first one myself, but throughout my life time, with my family adopting dogs as well. Consumer Response /* (2000, 13, 2021/08/20) */ No more response needed, nor wanted. Nothing more i have to say and nothing more i want to hear.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩