Experience with Midwest Dachshund Rescue – lack of medical transparency

Sharing my experience in case it helps others navigating adoption.

I had a really positive experience with the foster and the dog herself, who was incredibly sweet and seemed like a great match. She warmed up to me quickly and interacted really well with my dog.

I spent time traveling to meet her and approached the process in good faith, but ran into concerns with Midwest Dachshund Rescue’s communication and transparency around medical history. I learned from the foster that a prior mammary mass removal and dental work had not been clearly disclosed upfront. I had been told that all information in the medical history would be verbally disclosed, which was not the case.

When I asked for clarification and documentation so I could understand potential future care and costs, the rescue stepped in and I was abruptly and dismissively told I was not a fit for the dog and that I did not understand how the rescue works.

During that call with Lori, despite communicating clearly and respectfully, the tone felt condescending and confusing, including being lectured about senior dog care, dental history, and coverage considerations, rather than having the process calmly explained. I was disrespectfully hung up on, and the post for the dog went back up.

For context, I have a senior dog myself who I adopted with dental disease, and all procedures and medical history were clearly disclosed upfront, so this felt like a reasonable and responsible request. I couldn’t possibly be the first person to request this information in the 17 years this rescue has been around.

My goal was to make sure I could provide the right home and be financially prepared for any ongoing care, but that decision was made for me because they were unwilling to disclose the information and instead blamed me for asking for what I believe is routine and necessary information.

This approach does not feel aligned with transparency or with setting both the dog and adopter up for a successful, well-informed placement.

I respect that rescues have processes, but I believe prospective adopters should be able to ask reasonable questions about documented medical history, especially for senior dogs, before making a commitment.