Dog Returned Like Mail-Order Sweater

After buying a dog over the Internet sight unseen for a staggering $7,500, a Long Island man added insult to injury by sending the dog on a terrifying 3,000-mile journey back to the breeder in Washington state less than a week later. The dog, who was likely confused and disoriented after the initial cross-country flight, had failed to adjust immediately to her strange new environment, so the man essentially returned her like a sweater he’d ordered from L.L.Bean, despite the fact that the breeder refused to take the dog back and reportedly said that he would not pick her up at the airport. (The breeder did eventually claim the dog but only after she’d been forced to spend the night at an airport boarding facility.)

The dog buyer could have saved himself a lot of trouble—and the dog a lot of trauma—if he had just taken his family to the local animal shelter, where they could have chosen from among a plethora of great dogs. But considering that he was dumb enough to hand over an exorbitant amount of money to a breeding operation that exacerbates the animal homelessness crisis, allowed the dog only six days to settle into her new home, and was inconsiderate enough to ship her off to an unknown fate in an airplane’s dangerous cargo hold after tiring of her, any responsible shelter worker would now lock the doors to this man.

But for those of us who don’t view animals as disposable accessories, animal shelters are the perfect place to make a permanent love connection.

Written by Michelle Sherrow