County of Riverside Animal Shelter DEPARTMENT OF ANIMAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION, PUPPY ADOPTED TO ME ON HIS DEATHBED WITH PARVO AND THE COUNTY WON'T TAKE RESPONSIBILITY, Internet

I adopted a 3 month old austrailian shepherd from Riverside Animal Shelter 6851 Van Buren Riverside, CA  on 8/5/10  and when I chose him I told them he seems to have a bad cold his nose is full of snot and he is sneezing. They told me he probably has kennel cough but they will check him over fully and return him to me in 3-5 days.   They then had me sign paperwork and pay for the dog.  I received a call the very next day he is ready come get him.  I told them I cannot get him as it was 4pm Friday afternoon and with traffic I could not make it by 5 and I would be there promptly at 9am to pick him up.  When I got there they told me I cannot pick up the dog until 11.  I told them I was told I could pick him up at 9 and they sent me to the lost dog counter to get him. 

The girl behind the counter came back with my puppy in a paper pillow case type thing covered from head to toe in dog crap and told me not to wash him for 10 days as he was just nutered. She did not ask me to sign any more paperwork. I took him immediately to my vet and he had a fever of 104.8 and was on his deathbed from parvo!!!  If I would not have taken him directly to the vet and admitted him he would have died and I have the letter from the vet stating the horrible condition the dog was received in only one hour after picking him up from the pound. Not only was he almost dead but he was covered in ticks too!  It took 6 days on IV at the vet and it was touch and go and I almost lost him during the first 48 hours. The bill came out to $1,870. 

Now the County of Riverside has told me that they are not responsible for the vet bill as I signed a paper on 8/5/10 stating the dog will be my responsibility even tho I didnt pick him up till the 7^th and they promised me he would be completely checked over for kennel cough before being returned to me.  They not only did not check him for kennel cough but they had to know this dog was very sick.  I spoke with Allan Adrusys the vet for the County of Riverside who did the nuter on my half dead sick puppy and he told me to send the bill and he would get it taken care of.  I emailed & faxed all info to him and he promptly stopped calling me or returning any of my calls.   

I then went to the Board of Supervisors for the County of Riverside and Veronica Diaz, secretary to Mr. Robert Miller, Director of the shelter and had me send her the bills and paperwork and we opened a claim.  The risk department came back and said that they wont pay because I signed the form on the 5^th  stating the dogs health is my responsibility which does not apply here because they promised me they would give the dog a health check before returning him to me and I never signed anything when I picked up the dog.  I now will have to sue the County of Riverside and they will loose!  I would love an article in your paper about this nightmare!!    Attached is a photo of my puppy who thankfully is ok now!! 

I am seriously thinking about going to the shelter and picketing with signs that say RIVERSIDE SHELTER ADOPTS HALF DEAD PARVO PUPPIES AND WONT TAKE RESPONSIBILITY!!q