Shelter employee lies to family looking to adopt a small puppy, tricking them into adopting a large breed dog; a few months later they have a massive 115 lb. doggo with hip dysplasia

Author image for Blake Seidel
Blake Seidel • Managing Editor & Brand Manager
Oct 11, 2025 9:00 AM EDT

You never know what you're going to get when you adopt a shelter dog, especially if they are a mutt. That's the beauty and the curse of adopting - it's like opening a surprise gift that comes with blessings and many unexpected surprises. 

When you adopt a bred dog, like a gold retriever or a corgi, you know more or less what you're going to get. A golden retriever is going to be friendly with everyone and everything, but they will chew up any shoe you leave out. A corgi is going to be cute and friendly, but also incredibly stubborn. Most times, shelters have very little past information about the dogs or puppies that come to them, so your guess is as good as theirs.

However, sometimes they do know more than they let on in order to help the dogs get adopted. It's never okay to lie, and it should be in the shelter's best interests to pawsitively set up the family and the doggo for success by being 100% honest, but that's not the world we live in. Below, you'll find an unfortunately common story of a family adopting what they thought was a small dog, but turned into a 115 lb. monster doggo that gave them quite the unexpected journey in his teenage phase. Plus, this prompted other people to come forward with their stories of bamboozlement at the animal shelter, and some of their stories are just pure insanity. Read through them below!

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  • 01

    Anyone else feel like a shelter (etc.) lied to you to make a pet more adoptable?

    Black dog at adoption day including 'Lying to make the adoption happen was a rotten thing to do'
    via Helena Lopes from Pexels

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02
    So when I was a kid, we adopted our second dog from a big, reputable shelter.
    via Exilicauda
  • 03
    She was ~40 lbs and we were told she was 10 months old and done growing (her paws are enormous, are you sure?).
    via Exilicauda
  • 04
    She had an odd gait we were told was because she was hit by a car before they got her while living on the street (still?
    via Exilicauda
  • 05
    I thought you said she's been here 3 weeks and been spayed and healed in the time since?).
    via Exilicauda
  • 06
    So we adopt her, take her to the vet 2 days later and the vet immediately suspects nothing we said was correct, just from looking at her.
    via Exilicauda
  • 07
    Puppy sleeping
    via Lucas Andrade from Pexels

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 08
    They do an exam, take xrays. No, turns out she was actually 5 or 6 months old and very much not done growing.
    via Exilicauda

  • Around the 6 month period, the puppy goes into its teenager phase… for about another year and a half. That period is challenging to say the least. And that's not even taking into account adjusting to a new home, with new people, new routine, etc. They must have really gone through it.

  • 09
    Her odd gait? Vet immediately pegged it as hip dysplasia just from watching her walk from one end of the hall to the other.
    via Exilicauda
  • 10
    Confirmed that with an xray. Was not able to confirm the vehicle collision but who really cares at this point.
    via Exilicauda
  • 11
    So cut to a year and many chewed shoes and toys later (because we didn't know we were getting a puppy), we have a 115 lb dog, carefully weight controlled, that's on joint supplements and will ultimately spend more than 2/3 her life receiving pain medication.
    via Exilicauda
  • 12
    No regrets on the dog, she was wholly loved, but it is not a secret that we were not looking for a puppy, or a dog that would get that big, or a dog that would be that medically complex from the get!
    via Exilicauda
  • 13
    Young boy with big dog
    via fotokate

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 14
    And there is 0 doubt in any of our minds that the shelter knew that just about nobody would be and so sold us a story we would buy.
    via Exilicauda
  • 15
    Anyone else have a story of being sold a picture that wasn't quite accurate to get you to adopt?
    via Exilicauda
  • 16
    Not looking to name and shame btw, just commiserate because every once in a while I think back on how irresponsible that was of them to do and I'm sure we're not the only ones they did it to, nor are they the only ones doing it
    via Exilicauda

  • It's not about shaming, but it is irresponsible of them to do something like that, if it's actually true. The dog needs to be paired with a family that has the time, energy, and space to deal with it. A puppy already comes with a lot of surprises, so adding more to that mix just sounds pawsitively stressful.

  • 17
    YesterdaySimilar2069 · 1d ago • I worked at a shelter, we had the privilege of not being overrun with pets frequently and did everything we could to ensure every single pet was well vetted, healthy, ready for a home and matched with people that understood their needs and personalities.
    via YesterdaySimilar2069
  • 18
    We definitely did make some mistakes. I can't see a situation where that dog was misidentified in age and its physical ability though.
    via YesterdaySimilar2069
  • 19
    Puppies have very identifiable teeth structure compared to a 10 month old, and they absolutely would have been able to identify a limp vs dysplasia.
    via YesterdaySimilar2069
  • 20
    I'm sorry they did that. It was cruel to both the dog and to you to not set all of you up for success. I'm happy you have chosen to give her a good life.
    via YesterdaySimilar2069
  • 21
    ilikekittens · 1d ago I don't think the shelter lied to us, but the former owners certainly did. My first cat was given to the shelter due to "allergies". Yeah home girl peed everywhere and had biting issues.
    via ilikekittens
  • 22
    Edit: fyi we kept that little pee goblin for 15 years until she passed. She was my best friend, even if she was occasionally a terrible cat.
    via ilikekittens
  • 23
    TemporaryNothingz 1d ago I think the biggest lies are past aggresiveness and breed. "Lab mixes" almost always look like pits, undeniably! But they'd rarely be adopted if they were labeled as such.
    via TemporaryNothingz
  • 24
    Also I've heard of shelters having dogs returned due to new owners having incidents with biting/aggression, then the shelter will move the dog to another town, give it a new name, and bam, adopted out again.
    via TemporaryNothingz
  • 25
    ThyHolyZen · 1d ago • We adopted our second dog from a shelter pop up event at Petsmart, the ones where they take a bunch of shelter dogs/puppies to a store to help them get adopted. There was one dog, Patty, who my mom
    via ThyHolyZen
  • 26
    had seen on social media and became obsessed with. She was a 5 year old rat terrier mix and had already been surrendered once. We meet Patty and the event organizers tell us she's pretty hands off, not very needy, not a licker, etc. We renamed her Gracie and took her home that same day.
    via ThyHolyZen
  • 27
    ...Only for us to get home and realize she was none of the things the organizer said! She was an attention hog who would throw tantrums whenever we would pay attention to our other dog. She would lick herself soggy and
    via ThyHolyZen
  • 28
    would lick her toys nonstop. She would swing her little raptor claws at you if you stopped petting her before she was satisfied. She absolutely had to be in everyone's business no matter what. She was a devil, but a sweet thing. I miss that dog.
    via ThyHolyZen
  • 29
    SecureProfessional34 · 1d ago . Was told one of my dogs was healthy and had come from a stable foster. Turned out the dog had been very a sed to the point of scared biting over certain types of touching, sounds, etc. We couldn't even
    via SecureProfessional34
  • 30
    give her toys with pure panic. Worse than that, she had metal shards in her intestines. They offered to take her back but I wasn't about to give her back to them. After a long journey, she's so bonded with us. She's my ride or di lol. Super loyal. I don't regret her one bit, but I'm mad they lied about her. I'd have still adopted her regardless. She's happily sleeping at my feet right now.
    via SecureProfessional34
  • 31
    Spiritual_Being5845 · 1d ago My sister had a dog before she had kids, so they were young when he d d. When she was ready to adopt again she wanted a young adult dog. Not a puppy since puppy stages are horrible to deal with, but not an
    via Spiritual_Being5845
  • 32
    older dog because she didn't want the kids to get super attached and then go through the heartbreak of losing another dog to old age that quickly. They showed her a dog that they said was barely one year old. Good natured dog, so
    via Spiritual_Being5845
  • 33
    my sister adopted her. She takes her to our vet and he says the dog is about 6-8 years old. My sister says maybe the vet at the shelter got confused or didn't know how to age a dog and our vet say "You adopted this dog from Animal Shelter. I'm their vet. I told them that this dog was at least 6-8 years old when I did her intake exam."
    via Spiritual_Being5845
  • 34
    My sister was p ed, but really liked the dog so she did end up keeping her. But lying to make the adoption happen was a rotten thing to do
    via Spiritual_Being5845
  • 35
    AuntieFara · 1d ago • We adopted a brother and sister (cats) from a shelter, and were told they had to go together because they were a bonded pair. I don't know what they were bonded to, but it's been four years and they still loathed each other each other!
    via AuntieFara
  • 36
    Scruffersdad. 1d ago I foster-failed my second dog. They told me she was house trained. More like trained to go in the house! we've since reached arrangements, and have an armistice.
    via Scruffersdad
  • 37
    FoxTrollolol · 1d ago Ohh I yeah, many many years ago I adopted a dog "2 years old, healthy blah blah" and I mean, he was healthy, EXCEPT FOR THE FACT HE WAS COMPLETELY DEAF. No one told us he was deaf and it kinda feels like one of those things you'd give people a heads up about.
    via FoxTrollolol
  • 38
    Anyway, he was in fact around 2, he's an old boy now enjoying his retirement.
    via FoxTrollolol
  • 39
    goddessofolympia · 1d ago My cat was an owner surrender and came with all of his vet records. The form filled out by the former owner said, "2 years, 9 months". Well, based on the vet records, he was at least 4-1/2.
    via goddessofolympia
  • 40
    I consider myself lucky, because I was looking for a cat under 3, and as a result, I got the best cat ever.
    via goddessofolympia
  • 41
    likethemovie · 1d ago . My husband rescued a chocolate lab who was given up because she "chased the family cat and the cat was there first."
    via likethemovie
  • 42
    The dog is fine, a little mentally slow, but fine. Until one morning she wakes up growling and disoriented. We finally get her outside where she continues to freak out for a bit before coming in and sleeping pretty much the rest of the day. We take her to our vet who
    via likethemovie
  • 43
    says she's fine, but to keep an eye on her. A couple of months later we find out that she actually loves cats when my daughter gets a kitten. And then the other shoe drops, doggo has a grand mal seizure.
    via likethemovie
  • 44
    The emergency vet we brought her to takes her history and is pretty confident that she has had small issues that culminated in the big seizure. Vet thinks the rescue or her original owners must have
    via likethemovie
  • 45
    known there was something wrong. She's now on meds for life and we're pretty sure the next seizure will be her last so we're doing everything we can to prevent that from happening.
    via likethemovie

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big dogs aww wholesome dogs adorable adoption heartwarming puppy kindhearted animal rescue cute animals cute doggo animal shelter animals rescue
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