Rescue & the economy

[Emoore]

Originally Posted By: Pascha
I recently saw on the board a working line GSD for adoption at $200. Let's see....that is a free dog, and maybe $75 for vaccines and deworming. I still say someone somewhere is making some $$.

Usually LOL is just a phrase. . .but I literally laughed out loud at the idea that "someone somewhere is making money" on rescue. AS a foster, food, bedding, toys, and the crate come out of my own pocket. As a transporter, I pay my own gas to transport them, sometimes hundreds of miles. We do have to pay the $50-$75 adoption fee at shelters. The large majority of dogs that come through our rescue are heartworm positive and un-spayed/neutered. Many of them are sick or injured. The rescue also pays monthly heartworm prevention, flea/tick prevention, as well as vaccines and worming. Frequently, we come up short at the end of the month and the volunteers end up paying vet bills out of our own pocket. Trust me, nobody in my rescue group is making anything-- we're all spending it. And we love every minute of it.

[Timber1]

Unless, as someone said, they pay for all costs as a foster, it is impossible for the rescue groups to make money aside from donations.

We took in a dog that was ripped open from his tail to his throat, because the owner decided to put up a barbed wire fence. It took months for the dog to recover, and he was flwon from our group in the Midwest to Maine. If anyone wants to see pics send me a personal E Mail, they are horrible.

The typical rescue, and most of ours come from other states. Transport expnese, neutering or spaying, blood and stool checks, food, foster expenses, including home visits and sometimes denials, toys crates, etc. And if the dog is aggressive, perhaps a session or so with a good trainer.

[pupresq]

Sometimes euthanasia can indeed be the kindest thing to do, but there are many situations that arise in rescue where the problems are fixable - it just takes funds. We have a great vet clinic who gives us a good deal on our vetting. We order our own dewormer, vaccines, and Ivermectin all at cost. I think we are pretty much as cost effective as we could possibly be. I'm going to pick up my new foster boy this afternoon, and I'll report back what his vetting costs. It's around $115 for a dog his size. So... if we don't have him long and we adopt him out for $250, yes, we'll make a little money on him. You know, unless he's got heartworms, or an orthopedic problem, or digestive issues, or or or....

But let's say we make a little - that money will disappear as soon as it arrives to care for the endless rounds of antibiotics that all our shelter kittens seem to require to cure their URIs, or the next dog with heartworms, or perhaps we'll get in a litter of parvo puppies - saving them will easily run $300 a piece, and that's with a discount and doing our own home care. Why not just euthanize them and save on the bottom line? Well, we're rescue. We're not here to make money, we're here to save lives.

[pupresq]

And there you go. Just went to pick him up - heartworm positive.

So that'll be about $300 to treat, on top of the $115 I just mentioned. Oh, and he's got a fever and is on antibiotics, so by the time all that's said and done, that'll be another $30 or so. And while he's here being treated for heartworms, he'll need preventative, and flea and tick stuff - and food, although that comes out of my pocket, not the rescue's dime. So by the time he leaves he'll easily have cost the group and me in excess of $600. If we're lucky.

We'll get an adoption for les than half of that. And that my friends, is what rescue is like.

[bdanise1]

Well well said Pupresq and Myamom.

I just foster I 'm not even a rescue.

I have pulled a few on my own well Danni and I pulled two girls.
Plus a few other.
I have HW+ girl now.. Lets see with boarding and vet care and pull fee that was 400.00 Plus vet care when she arrived, more worm meds. Dox for 30 days. Good food .. Lets see HW treatment 350 and thats a pretty good price.. She she was a mess and I could have said well she may not even make it through HW treatment, so why bother.

Its what we do, save a life for a better life than they have ever knew before. I pulled this girl and I would not turn my back on her I had to give her the best treatment and chance at life.
She was savable.
Yes there may be time where the kindness thing is to PTS.
Other times you have to give all you have.
Is there any money made not that I have ever seen.