I suggest you contact the Attorney General’s office in Florida and Massachusetts. In New York, for example, Attorney General Cuomo recently announced that his office obtained at least $35,000 in restitution for consumers who were deceived by a pet store into purchasing sick animals. Additionally, the NY Attorney General just last month commenced a lawsuit against other persons representing themselves as breeders for making numerous misrepresentations as to the health, breeding and pedigree of the dogs offered for sale and for selling sick animals. The animals were offered for sale on various websites. The lawsuit, among other things, asks the court to award restitution to consumers. If yours is not an isolated incident, it is possible that the Attorney General would consider such a lawsuit. I suggest you also make a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and departments of agriculture in both states. Additionally, I suggest you contact humane organizations and the animal control officer in the area of Florida where the breeder is located to ask that they investigate the breeder’s facility. You can also sue. Although you may be too late to use the provisions of Florida’s pet sale law which provides remedies to consumers if within 14 days an animal is certified by a veterinarian as unfit for sale (a year if the animal has a congenital disorder), the Uniform Commercial Code which applies to the sale of goods (including animals) and which provides remedies to consumers who purchase goods not fit for sale, may be applicable. You will probably find it easier to enforce any judgment in your favor against the breeder if you sue in Florida. I suggest you consult with an attorney in your area or in Florida to discuss your options. 

You should check your adoption agreement. Sometimes these agreements specify the rights of the organization and adopter when an animal gets sick after adoption. If the adoption agency has a veterinary hospital, often the provision relating to free or low-cost veterinary care is limited to the adoption agency’s veterinary hospital. The Florida pet sale law which provides certain remedies to consumers who purchase dogs and cats from pet dealers, does not apply to county-operated or city-operated animal control agencies and registered nonprofit humane organizations. Sometimes animals who appear healthy at the time of sale or adoption are incubating a disease which does not become evident until later. It is unlikely that the humane organization that you adopted from intentionally deceived you about the health of the animal. If you believe that they intentionally adopted a sick animal to you, you may want to contact the Florida Attorney General’s office. If you want to pursue this matter, I suggest you consult with an attorney in your area who can advise you about possible next steps.