Outrage Over Adopted Dog Listed On Craigslist Just 1 Hour After Leaving Shelter With New Owner


Outrage over an adopted dog being placed on Craigslist just one hour after leaving the animal shelter with her new owner is getting a lot of attention. Sally Mae is a 10-year-old Jack Russell terrier that was sheltered at the Hawaiian Humane Center then placed on the popular sales site an hour later.

The humane society made a video of the dog and put it on YouTube. They also posted a picture of the terrier on the organization’s Facebook page, and Sallie Mae was adopted soon after that.

Community relations director at Hawaiian Humane Society, Jacque Vaughn, tells ABC News this:

“We got notices from our fans on Facebook only an hour or two after the adoption, saying that a woman has posted a Craigslist ad, wearing the same cloth as the woman in our Facebook post.”

According to the sales ad titled “Jack Russell” on Craigslist, it claimed that the dog was 5-years-old, even though she’s 10.

The reason given in the ad read:

“… My boyfriend& I is [sic] too caught up with work since we have 2 jobs each and she needs a family that’ll give her that attention. Please.”

Daily Mail reports that the dog was on Craigslist at a price of $200, but was adopted for $85 on Wednesday

Vaughn confirms that timing of the ad was only an hour or two after the animal’s adoption. The ad no longer exists, but a lot of Facebook fans of the humane society in Hawaii snapped screenshots and posted it on Reddit. A red flag was raised, Craigslist took down the ad, and the dog was returned to the humane society the same day.

It’s a controversial move, but Vaughn says re-homing a pet isn’t illegal, ABC News reports. Although people adopting animals from the humane society must sign contracts, it doesn’t stop them from selling the critters they adopt.

Fortunately, Sally Mae was adopted by a new family who visited the Hawaiian Humane Society.

Vaughn tells the news source that she’s heard of just two or three cases like this in the past 10 years.

She says:

“There are 900,000 people on Oahu Island. It sounds like a lot but actually it is a pretty small community.”

Facebook fans of the organization are definitely observant. They were able to put two and two together when they saw the adopted dog put on Craigslist. Vaughn is happy that the woman who originally adopted the 10-year-old canine was willing to bring her back.

She shares:

“We are just happy that the woman was willing to cooperate with us and bring the dog back.”

Adoption procedures vary from state-to-state. Some humane societies have stricter contracts. Sandra DeFeo, executive director at the Humane Society of New York, reveals the process of their organization:

“We never do same-day adoptions. Our process is very rigorous. We check references and sometimes even go to homes to see if the environment is a good fit for the animal. The last thing that we always tell adopters is that if you can’t take care of the animal anymore, bring it back to us.”

Vaughn says having stricter contracts — or doing home visits — isn’t always the best way to go. In fact, it can be a barrier, she says. DeFeo notes that if anything warranted bringing an animal back to their shelter facility in New York, they would take legal action to get it.

Luckily, the adopted dog that wound up on Craigslist finally found a good home.

[Image via Hawaii Human Society Facebook Page]

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