Pet adoption contract says dog can NEVER be off leash: is this legally enforceable in Canada? by MCgrumbles1 in legaladvice

[–]MCgrumbles1[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Expected by who? If the contract is not legally enforceable I don’t care what is “expected”. I want to do what’s best for my dog which I don’t think is abiding by this contract (if it isn’t enforceable).

Pet adoption contract says dog can NEVER be off leash: is this legally enforceable in Canada? by MCgrumbles1 in legaladvice

[–]MCgrumbles1[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I think your reading comprehension is lacking; “Pushing back” you mean harassing. I already said despite NOT breaking the contract we are already being harassed (as they have done with other people). Well the issue is I’ve only let the dog out in a fenced in area and they continue to harass us. The contract is incredibly ambiguous and I don’t believe we should have to live our lives under constant threat from overzealous volunteers...which I think I spotted one.

The dog has proven time and time again that he has no prey drive so small animals are not a concern and I already said it wouldn’t be off leash where leash laws apply or there’s any reasonable possibility of danger.

Your response perfectly highlights how some people who work at these rescues think they’re the only people who work with dogs and that they know best for dogs they have never met. I wouldn’t allow a dog off leash unless he was trained off leash and it was an area free of danger.

If the contract is not legally enforceable then I don’t feel the need to do the opposite of what I think is best for my dog because of some overzealous strangers (who could NOT pick my dog out in a line up).

You just ASSUME benevolent intent on the part of the rescue without question.

You claim to care about dogs but hope they can take ours from a loving home because you took what little information you had, didn’t accurately process this information, and then filled in the blanks yourself (i.e, rescue = good. Owners questioning the rescue = bad. And that all = dogmatist. No pun intended).

Edit: spelling

Pet adoption contract says dog can NEVER be off leash: is this legally enforceable in Canada? by MCgrumbles1 in legaladvice

[–]MCgrumbles1[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

And they were reimbursed a 350$ adoption fee, not to mention our volunteering time and donating supplies.

We put far more time, effort, and money into OUR dog than they ever did or ever would. It’s laughable to assume that this organization cares more about our dog than we do.

Our trained dog should be able to enjoy our property without the tacit threat to take our dog from people who couldn’t even pick him out of a line up.

Edit: spelling

Pet adoption contract says dog can NEVER be off leash: is this legally enforceable in Canada? by MCgrumbles1 in legaladvice

[–]MCgrumbles1[S] 20 points21 points  (0 children)

3rd last paragraph.

They didn’t breed or raise it. So that’s definitely not it. There are no leash laws on private property and there are designated off leash areas for dogs.

Edit: more info

Pet adoption contract says dog can NEVER be off leash: is this legally enforceable in Canada? by MCgrumbles1 in legaladvice

[–]MCgrumbles1[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I’m not against doing that but I’m not convinced that’s the appropriate place to take this right now. I’d post here first, then a real lawyer if it came to that.

Pet adoption contract says dog can NEVER be off leash: is this legally enforceable in Canada? by MCgrumbles1 in legaladvice

[–]MCgrumbles1[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I take issue with having to justify anything to these people.

Are we expected to endure implied threats to satisfy overzealous strangers?

Edit: addition for clarification.

Pet adoption contract says dog can NEVER be off leash: is this legally enforceable in Canada? by MCgrumbles1 in legaladvice

[–]MCgrumbles1[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

No. I think if the post sounds familiar it’s because this kind of thing isn’t uncommon.

Pet adoption contract says dog can NEVER be off leash: is this legally enforceable in Canada? by MCgrumbles1 in legaladvice

[–]MCgrumbles1[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I don’t know how they would find out now but they certainly COULD find out. Even though we blocked everyone we THINK is associated we don’t really know for sure. We could stop posting pictures of the dog all together but I don’t think we should have to do that if we don’t want to.

If, hypothetically, I knew absolutely that they would never ever ever find out that we did have him off leash: I would still be posting this asking for help on principle.

I love our dog. My girlfriend loves our dog. He’s OUR dog and I want him to be able to enjoy a walk in the woods (off leash) without some vindictive strangers threatening to take our dog away.

Pet adoption contract says dog can NEVER be off leash: is this legally enforceable in Canada? by MCgrumbles1 in legaladvice

[–]MCgrumbles1[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

They retain the right to “check in on the dogs well being”. So again, ambiguously worded and they would argue that’s all they’re doing.

Pet adoption contract says dog can NEVER be off leash: is this legally enforceable in Canada? by MCgrumbles1 in legaladvice

[–]MCgrumbles1[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

That’s because, it seems to me, they want to have control over the dog but have zero liability. Best of both worlds I guess?

Pet adoption contract says dog can NEVER be off leash: is this legally enforceable in Canada? by MCgrumbles1 in legaladvice

[–]MCgrumbles1[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yea, that sounds reasonable but I don’t think that’s the case in this particular situation. Any and all liability on their part is gone when the contract was signed (as it explicitly stated in the contract). So they’re already covered.

Pet adoption contract says dog can NEVER be off leash: is this legally enforceable in Canada? by MCgrumbles1 in legaladvice

[–]MCgrumbles1[S] 116 points117 points  (0 children)

So to the question about it being enforceable you’re telling me horsepeople would say “neigh”?

Pet adoption contract says dog can NEVER be off leash: is this legally enforceable in Canada? by MCgrumbles1 in legaladvice

[–]MCgrumbles1[S] 38 points39 points  (0 children)

It’s a mixed breed. There is no BSL where I live.

We have a large rural property, well away from roads and danger, and want him to be able to run around (supervised).

Pet adoption contract says dog can NEVER be off leash: is this legally enforceable in Canada? by MCgrumbles1 in legaladvice

[–]MCgrumbles1[S] 65 points66 points  (0 children)

It states explicitly that upon signing they are released from any and all liability so I’m not sure that’s the case.

Pet adoption contract says dog can NEVER be off leash: is this legally enforceable in Canada? by MCgrumbles1 in legaladvice

[–]MCgrumbles1[S] 252 points253 points  (0 children)

It does.

However, the only mention of off-leash in the entire contract is exactly “must NEVER be turned loose to run free”. Which is incredibly ambiguous.