MOLINE, Illinois-- “You don't get to know if they have 12 other cats or 12 other dogs it just creates a huge mess in the end,” said Samantha DeYoung, Shelter Director.
At QCPAWS and the Rock Island County Animal Control Center, adoptions and the safety of their animals is taken very seriously.
“We try to find the best homes we can for them, we like to ask lots of questions when it pertains to adopting one of our animals,” said DeYoung.
DeYoung noticed something while scrolling through Facebook, animals the shelter found homes for were back up for adoption, online.
For the workers, it’s frustrating when they find an animal a home, just to see them pop up for sale a few days later, an ongoing problem here in the Quad Cities.
“If you don't want the animal you adopted from us please bring it back to us, I know all shelters feel that way, every shelter in the Quad City area feels that way,” said DeYoung.
Animals popping up on swap sites, Craigslist and people caught 'dog flipping' are quickly put on a 'do not adopt list.’
“We use Facebook, we use Craigslist to our advantage if somebody comes in and they want to adopt a cat from us and we know we've adopted to them we will ask 'where's this cat?',” said DeYoung.
The shelter wants to get rid of the stigma around returning an animal that isn't a good fit for your or your family.
“I don't know why people think bringing them back to us is a bad idea, it's a great idea it's like the best place on earth for an animal,” said DeYoung.
When an animal is returned they get a second chance at finding a ‘fur’ever home.
“We want you to walk away happy we don't want you to be upset so we're going to say well bring us back that cat let's try to find a cat that fits your needs, let's try to find a dog that fits your needs,” said DeYoung.
Everyone is just hoping to look out for the best interest for the animal, and the owner too.