[Emoore]

Mixed breed or pure breed, I don't think it's necessary to charge upwards of $350 for most rescue dogs around here. I say most because a lot of the dogs are just owner surrenders, who have already been altered and vetted, and the "rescue" turns around and makes $300 on them. I totally understand a higher adoption fee for pets who needed any other expensive veterinary care or altering, but for an already vetted dog, that seems ridiculous to me.

Our rescue charges the same price for each dog, no matter how much they cost us. We've had dogs with extensive medical needs costing thousands of dollars, and dogs come in already vetted that literally cost us nothing. Is it fair to the dog who came in sick and injured to charge somebody a thousand dollars to adopt him, just so the dog who was already vetted can have a low adoption fee or no fee? No. If we charged fees based on how much the dog cost us, some dogs would never get adopted because we'd have to charge too much for them. The money "makers" take care of the money "drains." And believe me it takes a LOT of money "makers" to take care of a few money "drains."

 

[GatorDog]

Do you not see that the "healthy 8 week old pups" fee is paying for the mother pit bull riddled with mange?? Do you think her measly $50 fee is paying for her own vetting, extended stay and meds?? It all evens out in the long run.

Try doing it yourself and see how far that $50 fee will take you when you're talking about a dog with extensive medical bills.

Yes we ask more for healthy little desirable puppies so we can continue to rescue seniors, who sometimes are with us only a week or two before their journey ends in our arms, and there's no adoption fees at all coming in for them.
Or even seniors who do get adopted out for $100, and their bills totaled over $200-300. Where does the money come when we're in the red on those dogs?

I have rescued and fostered dogs since I was 15 years old, so I don't know why you are speaking to me in such a condescending text..I have paid out of pocket at 15 years old for the eye medication for my first foster GSD. It's why I had to get a job when I was 14 - because I was told that if you can't afford the dog, then you can't have it.

My only problem is that rescues are turning people away who are uncomfortable paying their $300 adoption fee. When someone is willing to offer a dog a perfectly good home, but is only willing to pay half the fee, they are turned away. I realize that in the long run, regardless of which dog is healthy or unhealthy, the medical costs will outweigh the money taken in. But I have seen an amazing potential adopter turned away because they couldn't pay the initial fee, and a horrible, crappy adopter was chosen instead just because they had the money. And a year later, that same dog was returned because the owner "didn't have time for him." Then we had to pay our own money yet again to fix the behavioral problems that he developed due to lack of care he received from that home.

That's my only problem. And maybe it's just a bad experience that I had with one rescue, but when I got involved in rescue, I was told that most of the expenses were paid out of pocket because of lack of funds. I would much rather take a two hundred dollar hit and have the dog go to an amazing home than wait until I find someone willing to pay the money, when they're not really a good fit.

 

[gsdraven]

But I have seen an amazing potential adopter turned away because they couldn't pay the initial fee, and a horrible, crappy adopter was chosen instead just because they had the money. And a year later, that same dog was returned because the owner "didn't have time for him."

This has nothing to do with the fee... this was a poor match made. The right thing to do in that situation would have been to wait for the right adopter who saw the value in paying the full fee.

I would much rather take a two hundred dollar hit and have the dog go to an amazing home than wait until I find someone willing to pay the money, when they're not really a good fit.

If you did this, you'd be out of "business" in the first month. Where do you think the funds come from? Most rescues don't have $2,000 in the bank to be able to take that kind of hit.

 

[msvette2u]

My only problem is that rescues are turning people away who are uncomfortable paying their $300 adoption fee. When someone is willing to offer a dog a perfectly good home, but is only willing to pay half the fee, they are turned away.

What we tell people when they come in like this, "Then look at Bonez over here, his fee is $150". If they don't like our fees, they can go to the shelter or another rescue. Why bug us about a dog who is $300 when there's dogs for much less? Why not look at the dogs in your price range??

I liken it to this - say you want a gallon of milk. You go to one store, and it's $4.00/gallon there. You know the store across the street charges $2.00/gallon. Do you go to the store manager and complain that he has $4.00/gallon milk and "you know it's only worth $2.00/gallon because store B has it for that much!" or do you leave the store and go to the one across the street??

 

[Holmeshx2]

there are non reputable rescues same as with breeders etc.. and it can leave a bad taste in your mouth. I was with a rescue in MI and they were "less than reputable" They would guilt fosters into taking more dogs then they could would call and say "I know you have 5 fosters right now but if you don't take this entire litter they will die tomorrow because of you" There was an owner surrender of an AKC registered yellow lab and they hiked the adoption fee up quite a bit because she had papers and they flat out said they were charging extra for her papers to come with her. I agree puppies go quicker and since they are more adoptable charging a bit more however I believe it should be a bit more even we all know $50 covers nothing however if they had a flat fee say 250 for adults and 300 or 350 for puppies then thats fine in my book so long as its consistent however undercharging for an adult then over charging for a puppy might equal out over time but just not what I prefer. They do however have the bad rescues that will take in all the healthy pups then flip them consistently and making a profit from it because they never take in any sick dogs and don't do anything to keep up the dogs.

 

[msvette2u]

I'm tired of charging flat fees for puppy litters and having all the dogs with color (as opposed to plain black) go flying out while the black litter mates sit here for weeks longer, or the females fly out faster than the males (that never ceases to amaze me).
We have ended up asking $50 more for females or colored puppies when the black siblings will not go as quickly. We still have to feed them all!

I was griped at last night because of a $200 fee! "Way too high" is what I was told.
You cannot make everyone happy and to begin to try to do so is the end of your mission.

I'm curious what people think, we're going to give them a free dog, or as others said, take a hit on every dog that someone feels they cannot pay over x-amount for (that's a different cost for every person apparently) and then go broke and have to close the rescue doors?

They do however have the bad rescues that will take in all the healthy pups then flip them consistently and making a profit from it because they never take in any sick dogs and don't do anything to keep up the dogs.

Last year we took in a Cocker that another rescue refused to take, told the finder, take it to the Humane Society (who'd have euth'ed upon arrival) "He's too old to come to rescue". So yes, they exist all over the place. This particular dog cost us way more than it should have on dental (we've since found a place who costs less for those) and he had a thyroid problem. Went out to live for another 8 mos. before he passed away suddenly in his new home. But he had a terrific 8mos., and you cannot really put a price tag on that, and another rescue telling the finder he couldn't come into rescue because of his age...I simply have no words for that

 

[gsdraven]

What a double standard. We've argued and argued on this forum over whether or not a breeder should make a profit but rescue (which is a full time job) must absolutely operate at a loss.

They do however have the bad rescues that will take in all the healthy pups then flip them consistently and making a profit from it because they never take in any sick dogs and don't do anything to keep up the dogs.

http://www.germanshepherds.com/foru...doption-information-general/85919-how-distinguish-reputable-rescues-others.html

This would be a good time to remind everyone to check into a rescue that they are considering volunteering with, donating to or adopting from. Ask for 501c3 paperwork, check out previous years 990 forms. If they don't have a 501c3, ask if it is in process. Ask where the money is going. Ask for references. Do your homework.

There are people trying to scam others in so many different aspects of life. It is the consumer's responsibility to do their research and make informed choices and to realize that just because group A is less than honest does not mean that groups B,C, D....Z are.

 

[GatorDog]

What we tell people when they come in like this, "Then look at Bonez over here, his fee is $150". If they don't like our fees, they can go to the shelter or another rescue. Why bug us about a dog who is $300 when there's dogs for much less? Why not look at the dogs in your price range??

I liken it to this - say you want a gallon of milk. You go to one store, and it's $4.00/gallon there. You know the store across the street charges $2.00/gallon. Do you go to the store manager and complain that he has $4.00/gallon milk and "you know it's only worth $2.00/gallon because store B has it for that much!" or do you leave the store and go to the one across the street??

Maybe I just worked with a neednewwords rescue. They just seemed much more focused on getting dogs out and making money than finding the "right" home. My last foster through them was a corgi mix who had to have maybe 20 teeth pulled. He had some bad DA and marking behaviors, and they adopted him to a home that fed him kibble and kept him tied outside all day. He lost almost half his body weight because he couldn't eat the kibble, he got heartworm, and was just in generally horrible shape when the adopters finally returned him to us. It was the last straw for me and it broke my heart. And I always tried to say to them that if it wasn't the right home, the dog would end up coming back in the long run. Being so young, no one listened to me, so I had no choice but to leave.

I know not all rescues are like that, but this one proved that they do exist. So I just have to caution those who are looking to rescue to make sure it is reputable.

The daycare that I work at is riddled with pits and pit mixes because the owners "don't know why the dog is so crazy." They adopted the dog at 8 weeks from a rescue and were told it was a lab mix puppy, when it was clearly a pit bull mix and the potential adopters didn't know any better. The rescue just knows that lab mix puppies are more easily adopted than pit mix puppies. Just another excuse to get money faster.

Maybe I just live in a crappy area for rescue. I'm learning not to like New York so much.

 

[Freestep]

I don't mean that it only happens for mixed breed dogs. I think that charging that much for most any rescue dog is ridiculous if they have already been vetted. If the dog did require extra medical attention, then I absolutely understand a higher adoption fee. In my area, the rescues mostly operate with owner-surrender cases where the dogs have already been vetted or altered, and then the "rescue" turns around and makes $300 on them. Especially the puppies. They know they're going to go faster, so they hike the price up a couple hundred bucks.

The humane society here does it all the time and it makes me wild. Someone could drop of a mother pit bull from off the streets riddled with mange and kennel cough and charge a $50 adoption fee, but the perfectly healthy 8 week old puppies will be $300, and they will be adopted out in two days. So it's not like they can say they're charging that much to cover the cost of housing/feeding the puppies because they hardly spent any time there.

Clearly you have never run any kind of business, let alone a rescue.

Rescuing, caring for, and vetting animals takes money. Where do you think that money comes from? Thin air? They may spend $600 nursing four sick old dogs back to health, and only get a $65 adoption fee for each dog. Do the math. When a litter of healthy puppies comes in and they are adopted out for $300 each, THAT money is used to pay for the sick dog's vet bills.

It would be nice if you could ask a $600 adoption fee for one of those sick old dogs to reclaim your costs, but that is unrealistic--no one will pay that fee, especially if you give healthy puppies away for next to nothing because they cost the rescue next to nothing.

This has been your Economics 101 lecture for the day.

 

[msvette2u]

kept him tied outside all day.

We have an extensive screening process that weeds out people like this. If they lie, we have the right to repossess the dog.
We don't adopt to people who keep dogs outside all day except in certain circumstances like if they work and the dog is a quieter one, and they have a dog door (for instance).
If people do not want a house-dog they probably won't get one of ours - not because we "believe in house dogs only", but because most our rescues had exposure to and/or lived in houses and to ban them from houses would be devastating to them.

 

[GatorDog]

Clearly you have never run any kind of business, let alone a rescue.

Rescuing, caring for, and vetting animals takes money. Where do you think that money comes from? Thin air? They may spend $600 nursing four sick old dogs back to health, and only get a $65 adoption fee for each dog. Do the math. When a litter of healthy puppies comes in and they are adopted out for $300 each, THAT money is used to pay for the sick dog's vet bills.

It would be nice if you could ask a $600 adoption fee for one of those sick old dogs to reclaim your costs, but that is unrealistic--no one will pay that fee, especially if you give healthy puppies away for next to nothing because they cost the rescue next to nothing.

This has been your Economics 101 lecture for the day.

Interesting...DID I EVER SAY I HAVE RUN A BUSINESS OR RESCUE? You honestly don't need to be so condescending.

I'd like to be educated on the way one works by someone who has done it. Feel free. But I was simply sharing the experiences that I have had with rescues in my area. They flip dogs for money and don't care what happens to them once the dogs are out of their hands. To ME (and I'm saying ME because it is what I think is important) the overall well being of a dog is more important than the money spent.

There are sh***y breeders out there and sh***y rescues to. They DO exist. That's all I'm trying to say.

I absolutely wish that all rescues could at least make back the money that they put in to the dogs that they have saved. I never once said that they shouldn't.

 

[GatorDog]

We have an extensive screening process that weeds out people like this. If they lie, we have the right to repossess the dog.
We don't adopt to people who keep dogs outside all day except in certain circumstances like if they work and the dog is a quieter one, and they have a dog door (for instance).
If people do not want a house-dog they probably won't get one of ours - not because we "believe in house dogs only", but because most our rescues had exposure to and/or lived in houses and to ban them from houses would be devastating to them.

All I'm saying is that if OP was indeed interested in adopting, they need to find rescues like yours. Not like the one I worked with. They gave dogs away to anyone as long as they could pay the adoption fee, and that's obviously not the most important part of rescuing an animal.

 

[Holmeshx2]

What a double standard. We've argued and argued on this forum over whether or not a breeder should make a profit but rescue (which is a full time job) must absolutely operate at a loss.



http://www.germanshepherds.com/foru...doption-information-general/85919-how-distinguish-reputable-rescues-others.html

This would be a good time to remind everyone to check into a rescue that they are considering volunteering with, donating to or adopting from. Ask for 501c3 paperwork, check out previous years 990 forms. If they don't have a 501c3, ask if it is in process. Ask where the money is going. Ask for references. Do your homework.

There are people trying to scam others in so many different aspects of life. It is the consumer's responsibility to do their research and make informed choices and to realize that just because group A is less than honest does not mean that groups B,C, D....Z are.

Hold on a second let me defend what I was saying because it obviously did not come across properly. I'm not talking about a rescue making a profit in general I'm talking about the "rescues" who actually do it to MAKE money the ones that take the free dogs from CL saying they are a rescue then turning around and selling the pup for a profit never doing anything besides give them some crappy kibble for 2 days while the dog is with them. The "rescues" that do not work or do anything besides take healthy desirable dogs or puppies in and do nothing, don't vaccinate, don't get vet checked, don't fix them, don't do anything just up the price and send them out.

A good rescue I have no problem making a profit however I also know it's near impossible for a good rescue to do. They pay for vetting, take on hard cases that take tons of money to treat, get the dogs fixed, pay for food etc.. and the only way to break even or even make some sort of a profit is to charge a higher fee and then most of society will not pay the higher fee because its a rescue or a "throw away" and they shouldn't have to pay that fee for a dog no one wanted.

To me it's the same as a breeder you are paying for their breeding practice not so much the dog I have no problem paying the prices a rescue charges including giving extra as a "donation" for all they do and to help them continue but in today's society most people unfortunately don't think that way. IMO it doesn't matter if it's a breeder or a rescue it takes money to do it right but even with breeders people don't want to spend extra money for an older dog from a breeder because they view it as "damaged" if its been returned to the breeder they don't think the breeder deserves the asking price for it even though the breeder has to do training on it (after all no one wants an ill behaved older dog) they have to feed it make sure its UTD on everything fix any issues the previous owner may have caused etc..

 

[selzer]

I know that many people pay less for a dog and cherish it. However, if they cannot come up with the fee to adopt it, how in the world are they going to come up with an unexpected veterinary expense.

One time, I took snow plowing for my home and my parents in trade for a puppy. The owner was good about doing the plowing. However, the recently called me and told me that since they moved the dog has started itching, and is now losing its hair. They think it has mange. I told them to take the dog to the vet. They will not have the money to do so until after their income taxes come back.

I really do not care where you get your dog from, the fact is that sooner or later your dog will need veterinary care that is not the well-dog exam and vaccinations. And there is more, when people value what you do for the dog, and expect to compensate/reimburse something for dog, it says something about their accepting responsibility.

Giving dogs away for less or nothing because the great home is too good to lose, is really not always in the dog's best interest. Some people want something for nothing, some people value a dog less if it is free or cheap. Not everyone, but some people do. Our pound gives them away for $25 -- small dogs and puppies are a little more. People like my brother take these dogs and let them run free on their property and get smooshed in the road. They do not learn after Dog 1 gets smooshed. They just go back to the pound and shell out another $25. They let Dog 1 exist for YEARS with a dislocated hip from the accident because they cannot afford to pay for a vet to deal with the problem. And Dog 2 dies when it gets smooshed in the road.

But they are better than me, because the rescue ALL their dogs from the pound.

 

[JeanKBBMMMAAN]

Yes, poorly run, unethical and truly awful rescues do exist. Like GSDRaven said, you need to really look at things before you go to adopt or go to volunteer. Just like with purchasing a dog from a breeder. We are doing a better job of educating people in these areas but it's a process.

As for the vetting, I absolutely hate to say it but I have seen/heard what Rebel is referring to. In a few ways:
1. Vets who have worked with rescues who do a poor job overall - adopting dogs out with parvo and seeing it on the adopter end when the adopter brings an unhealthy dog in - so think that all rescues do not vet their animals.
2. Vets who think you treat a rescue dog as less - because "you can't save them all" and wants to PTS a dog that has an issue that, in your own dog, you would treat. Not something like cancer, I'm talking pneumonia.
3. Vets who say they need to prioritize treatment, appointments and meds for pets of "paying customers" even when the rescue brings in far more complicated and expensive cases and pays more than a typical pet owner (unless that typical pet owner has 50 new dogs a year that need some kind of care).
4. Vets who will say well, yeah, it's a rescue, about a foster when talking about care planning, with that meaning, yeah, you don't want the same level of care for the basics as you would your own dog.
5. Don't get me started on emergency vets. The triage...I will not say this is the case for all...but I believe is skewed against non-owned dogs, and it makes sense if you think about it. It's not right, but if you think about being responsive to a client...

Many of you may not have seen this because you are not taking multiple dogs, that are not your own (meaning foster dogs) to multiple vets. In a rescue with fosters spread out, you can see this more clearly. Some of it is individual vet personality and some of it is systemic.

On the other hand, I have not seen it at Cornell University nor have I seen it systemically in my own vet office. My own vet office loves fosters and rescues and wants to be a part of all the dogs we bring in. The new vets are learning expectations and I hope that we are educating them that while these dogs may not have one owner right now, they are our dogs when they are in our care, and will be treated as such.

 

[Freestep]

Interesting...DID I EVER SAY I HAVE RUN A BUSINESS OR RESCUE? You honestly don't need to be so condescending.

I'd like to be educated on the way one works by someone who has done it. Feel free.

You seem to have an issue about others being "condescending" when we are simply trying to educate you--when you are disparaging rescues who ask $350 adoption fees, it shows a lack of understanding.

Yes, of course there are bad rescues out there, no one is arguing that there isn't. But asking higher adoption fees for more desireable animals does not make a rescue "bad". It makes them money, which they desperately need.

 

[selzer]

If a rescue accepts donations as a not for profit business, then they should not make a profit. I think it would be next to impossible to make a profit as a rescue if you are doing it halfway decent. There are scoundrels doing just about everything though, so I am sure there are people who are making money rescuing, but they are such a minority, they are really not worth mentioning, save to understand that they exist, just so that inadvertantly you do not support them, or send dogs to them.

Profiting off of an individual dog, charging $200 or $300 for a dog that ended up costing a total of $110, I see no problem at all with that. That money will get sucked up in helping another dog, and the alternative would be putting dogs to sleep that could be reasonably cared for because they do not have a prayer at finding an adopter willing to pay the accumulated total of their vet care, etc. If Dog A and Dog B both go to their respective new owners, vetted and altered, than why should it matter that dog A costed the rescue 110 and dog B costed the rescue 590, and each costed their owners $350. Only we all know that it is not as clean as that.

For every dog that is fully vetted for $100 or less, there are probably a score or more that cost way more.

People who run rescues put their heart and their money into it. I would not be surprised if helping dogs has bankrupted some of them. And others become totally overwhelmed and end up over their head with just the number of dogs they care for. And people grumble about $200 or $350. Kind of sad really.

 

[msvette2u]

3. Vets who say they need to prioritize treatment, appointments and meds for pets of "paying customers" even when the rescue brings in far more complicated and expensive cases and pays more than a typical pet owner (unless that typical pet owner has 50 new dogs a year that need some kind of care).

We recently had this problem. We've since changed vets

 

[GatorDog]

You seem to have an issue about others being "condescending" when we are simply trying to educate you--when you are disparaging rescues who ask $350 adoption fees, it shows a lack of understanding.

Yes, of course there are bad rescues out there, no one is arguing that there isn't. But asking higher adoption fees for more desireable animals does not make a rescue "bad". It makes them money, which they desperately need.

If you are trying to educate then you should consider wording your responses differently, and not putting words in my mouth. I never said I ran a rescue or business, so why would you even put that in your response?

I am saying that rescues focused on money alone are bad news. A $350 adoption fee means nothing if you're adopting the dog out to a home that isn't qualified to care for that dog.

 

[Josie/Zeus]

I can't remember what I paid for my rescue, I think it was 300, then I spent over 1000 just for the Vet in the 4 months she was in my home.

Do I feel guilty buying my dog? Nope.