Legal Question in Consumer Law in Illinois

We adopted a dog through a rescue. The adoption contract does not have any wording about the adoption fee being refundable or non-refundable. The dog should not have been placed in our home because we have small children and the dog became aggressive with our 3 year old son. The dog had not been temperament tested prior to his placement. Now they refuse to refund our $300 adoption fee. Can they keep our money? This is the second home the dog had to be removed from due to an issue with a child.


Asked on 10/08/11, 4:19 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Stephen Messutta

Wow. That's terrible. Unfortunately I think you've left out some important information, like whether you made it clear you had a 3-year-old and would only accept a dog that did not have a history that included aggressive behavior. So it depends. Then again, pet adoption agencies are usually charitable organizations and the "fee" may be deductible. If you did give them the particulars, however, and they lied, then you may have a case, especially since you did discover the dog does have a history.

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Answered on 10/09/11, 8:58 pm


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