WATCH: An unlikely dispute has broken out on Vancouver Island — over Boston Terrier puppies. Kylie Stanton explains.
A heartwarming story of Boston Terriers up for adoption on Vancouver Island is leaving a bitter taste in some people’s mouth.
“We feel for everyone in this situation. We feel for the breeder…we feel for these people…it’s just a sad situation all around,” says Lorie Chortyk, the B.C. SPCA’s community relations manager.
A family donated 27 Boston Terriers to the Cowichan SPCA this week – 11 adults and 16 four-week-old puppies – after the main caretaker for the dogs became ill battling cancer.
Virtually all of them were completely healthy, and the SPCA said they were inundated with adoption requests to adopt after they took custody of the animals.
“Their family situation had changed because of illness, and they just weren’t able to care for the animals anymore,” confirmed Chortyk.
WATCH: See the Boston Terrier puppies as they settle in at the Cowichan SPCA
But after announcing on Facebook that they would accept applications to adopt the animals, multiple families claimed they had already put down deposits with the family prior to them being given to the SPCA.
Chortyk says that some of the 68 adoption applications they’ve received make such a claim. However, she says their hands are tied unless the transfer of ownership is in writing.
“They were the legal owners of the animals, and they signed them over to us,” she said.
“If there are any people at tall that have actually paid in full…stating that they are the legal owner of the dogs, come forward and we’ll definitely be working with them. But if people just left a deposit or had a verbal promise, it’s a sad situation, but unfortunately it’s a civil matter.”
They said they’ll make a note on the application files of anyone who says they’ve had interaction with the breeder in the past.
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