DNA

Some old grizzled guy comes in with his daughter, only she turns out not to be his daughter but his girlfriend, so the creepo alarms go off. They're looking for a dog. You ask them both some questions but the girl won't talk, mumbles something about not knowing stuff so talk to the guy. What king of dog, you ask. The kind of dog that's in the adoption room, he says. The guy says he knows dogs. Gave one away last month as a matter of fact. It just didn't work out. Girl remains silent. More alarm bells. You explain that the dog in adoption has health problems and that it'll need medical attention. This sets the guy off. He screams at you, "Don't you fuckin' judge me. I've got money. I can take care of a dog." He leaves, pulling girlfriend in tow. She remains silent.

You can't put a Do Not Adopt next to the guy's name because according to the rules, he hasn't broken any of them. So, he and his girlfriend come back in every few days for the next few weeks, asking if you're in and if you are in, he says, "Well, I guess I'm not getting a dog today," and leaves again, but if you're not in, he stays and looks at the dogs available. One day, you're not in and he finds a dog he wants and it's adopted to him. Even if you were in, what could you have done? You can't discriminate based on personal feelings. You can't put "Do Not Adopt because I think this guy is an asshole".

After the adoption, the guy and his girlfriend continue to come in. There are medical questions, food questions, training questions. It's as if he's decided to start hanging out to chat with the staff. His girlfriend, of course, remains silent, although occasionally he tells her to take one of the other dogs in adoption out for test walks. He never talks much about the dog he's already adopted and you're afraid he might be looking for another one. You still can't put Do Not Adopt beside his name. He hasn't broken any rules.

Two weeks later, he sees you and tells you he's going to file a complaint against you and another staffer for the way he's been treated and oh by the way, he's returning the adopted dog. You take the dog back. A rule has been broken. You put Do Not Adopt beside his name.

A few days later you hear he's looking for a cat.

Now in quarantine. Returned after an alleged bite.