At the same time, Hunter appointed Dore as his own personal secretary. That appointment was not to last, as Hunter removed Dore on 23 January 1799. Dore unfortunately had taken the liberty of changing one of Hunter's dispatches to England to Dore's advantage. Dore had added a paragraph in which Hunter "announced" the appointment of Dore as Hunter's secretary on the recommendation of the William Henry Bentinck, 4th Duke of Portland. The problem with this change was that Portland had not made such a recommendation. Dore was replaced by Captain Neil Mckellar who held the position until April 1801.