I think that the dogs vet bills were probably the reason it was taken to the shelter. vets don’t treat animals for free and if you don’t have the money to care for the animal the best thing you can do is take them to a shelter. at least the guy did not take the dog out into a rural area and abandon it. where I live that is common. both my dogs are rescues and that word rescue does not mean free dog.I have a teacup Pomeranian that was abandoned the vet bills was 1500 dollars to get her all healthy,fat and sassy.
My daughter adopted a one year old gorgeous shepherd mix earlier this year and he had heartworm. She’s a vet tech, so that helped keep costs down, but it was still very expensive. You are right — care costs can really add up.