AAS was told for many years of dogs that the SPCA sold to people who abused them cruelly by chaining them or keeping them in dark garages, covered in their own feces, cowering in fear of their owners. We investigated several of these cases and in every case the neighbour who reported the cruelty to the SPCA that had sold the dog, was told that it couldn't do anything and couldn't take the dog back even though the its sales agreement stipulated that the dog must be treated humanely or the SPCA would take the dog back. The complainants were told that the contracts were not legally enforceable. In AAS's 15 years of dog rescue we have not heard that the SPCA tested the legality of its sales agreement by seizing a suffering dog it had sold and taking the owner to court, though we can't know the SPCA is not now using the threat of legal action on abusive customers and are being given abused dogs back. I would be more than happy to be told by the SPCA that it is now demanding abused dogs back, telling the owner he or she will be sued if they don't return the dog.