Many dogs do fine in some homes, and not in others. It is up to the SPCA to be as incredibly careful as possible to make sure that the right dog goes with the right owner. For example, if a dog has any resource or food guarding issues, it should never be left in a home with children.
I realize the SPCA is in a tough situation; no one wants the harder to place dogs. But to offload that responsibility to the public is just not right.
Hence, why I often speak out for the need to have a breeding by-law in place so that less dogs with genetic flaws and behaviour problems are being bred. It is a lot easier to deal with problem dogs if there were no problem in the first place.
Second is to be very careful about which dogs goes where. I am sure there are going to be mistakes made which is why when a dog is returned it is so important to have dog behaviourists and volunteers to do what they can to rehabilitate the dog. It is also important to make sure the facilities the dog is staying in is conducive to being able to rehabilitate the dogs.
I lament over how obvious it is to solve some of these problems and wonder why the SPCA has not figured it out?
To tell some poor person who is devastated their dream dog did not work out to turn around and kill the dog is appalling.