Woman rehomes her dog with a co-worker. Then she gets accused of animal abuse: ‘She just wasn’t getting along with my cats’

Having a pet isn't for the faint of heart. While it's easy (and understandable) to love the idea of having an adorable, affectionate ball of fur, that's still a whole life that relies on other people to survive.

As a result, thousands of pets are returned to shelters annually after being adopted. Some returns are because of behavioral concerns, while others are simply because new pet owners can't handle keeping a creature alive. One woman is going viral after rehoming her dog with a former colleague, which ended up being a huge mistake.

The story

In a video posted on April 13 that has more than 54,000 views, Bekah Rose (@bekahh_w on TikTok) shared a harrowing story. The content creator entrusted one of her pets to an ex-coworker, who neglected the animal before returning it.

“In November, I rehomed my dog,” Rose said in her video while visibly upset. “She just wasn't getting along with my cats anymore, and we were just having some issues, and we were moving, and I just wanted her to be happy.”

Rose decided to entrust her dog to someone she thought she knew.

“And so I rehomed her to someone I had worked with for six months, but no longer worked with,” Rose explained. “I took her there, and I dropped her off… She regularly checked in, and, like, she told me everything was fine.”

A neglectful situation

At one point, Rose's former co-worker let her know she was moving, and she could no longer keep the dog. She assured Rose that her mom would assume responsibility for it. They continued to give Rose positive updates about the pet's well-being for months.

When April came around, Rose got an alarming text asking her to come pick up the dog. The ex-worker said she was “at court” and sent Rose an address to retrieve her pet.

“I go and get the dog, and this dog is covered in piss and [feces],” Rose said. “Like, I mean, my car was covered in it, and it smells so bad… I called my mom… I was like, ‘What the [expletive]?' So I'm literally gonna take her, go give her a bath.”

Rose called a friend who worked with animal control for help. The dog had no leash or collar, and Rose didn't own anything to wash its fur. She figured her friend could help find her a new home, so she drove to animal control to meet her.

Animal control steps in

Everything went haywire when Rose arrived at animal control. At first, her friend provided some advice. But, one of her friend's co-workers came out with her, assessed the situation, and told her that the dog needed an immediate veterinary appointment. If Rose didn't provide one, he was going to take the dog into custody and charge her with animal abuse.

 ”Well, I don't really have money for the vet. Like, do I need to take her to the vet? ‘Cause as far as I can see, she's just dirty,” Rose said.

The man responded, saying, “Well, if you don't have money for the vet, you don't have money for this dog, so you need to put her into our custody, or I'm charging you.”

He pressed Rose to make a decision, so Rose temporarily surrendered her pet. Confused, she drove to the police station to ask for advice on how to move forward.

After a lengthy back-and-forth with animal control and law enforcement that spanned several days, Rose finally ended up getting the dog back and has adjusted her living situation to better suit everyone involved—humans and animals alike.

Many viewers offered advice in Rose's comment section for how to prevent something like this from ever happening again. In the words of one commenter, “This is why you can't rehome any animal unless you know them very very very well!”

“I'm sorry this happened,” the commenter continued. “Plz remember animals are a lifetime commitment. If you have to rehome, go through professionals always.”

How to properly surrender a dog

While it's not illegal to rehome a dog without going through formal channels, it is much riskier. According to legal website LawInfo, legally protected rehoming is defined as simply “giving your animal up for adoption directly to its new family.” LawInfo strongly advises against giving up an animal to strangers. Even with people who are familiar, it's best to “ask them questions about their experience with pets, and be honest about your surrendered pet's habits and personality to improve the odds of a good fit.”

Experts ranging from lawyers to animal rights activists maintain that it's generally wiser to go through a shelter or animal rescue service when trying to rehome an animal. Going through a formalized route is more legally protected.

Finally, if a pet owner originally adopted from their local branch of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), they may be able to return their pet if needed.

“If you adopted your pet from Houston SPCA, the answer is pretty simple,” the Houston branch of the SPCA writes on its website. “Call us at 713-869-7722 to make an appointment to drop your pet off at our Rehoming Center. We take back any pet adopted from us, no questions asked.”

Buzz News has reached out to Rose via email. We'll update the post if she responds.

@bekahh_w i'm so upset #animalcontrol #fyp #jesuslovesyou #dog #rescuedog ♬ original sound – bea

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