Hi everyone. I am new to this site. I just wanted to ask everyones opinion on something that just happend to me recently.

My Akita had passed away before 2 years, and now I finally feel comfortable adopting a new friend. My fiance and I went a few days ago to a well known local animal shelter, looking for a puppy. Right when we walked in we found a beautiful American Eskimo. Outside her cage was a sign that posted her name, and why she was brought here (her owners didnt want her anymore) Right away we fell in love with her. We then asked one of the workers any background info they knew about her, and all they could say was how shy she was, and not people friendly yet, and not trained at all. We looked at each other and said we wanted to see this for ourselves. A few more people them came into the room passing by her and she didnt move off of her bed, but whenever we went close to the kennel she jumped right off of her bed and wagged her tail and came over to us. We gave her treats that they had for her etc. There were a few signs on the walls in the room that said "everything included with dog is $200" Even though $200 was a lot for "Donation" we still didnt mind because we both knew that it would save this beautiful dogs life. We asked if we could take her out for a walk around the place and they let us.

Not only was she trained to go the bathroom, but she understood commands as well. She understood to "come here", right when we took her out she went to the bathroom and had a bowel movement. She knew how to fetch and everything. Not shy at all, very friendly towards us. Both my fiance and I agreed that we would set up an interview because that was what was necessary and that we would adopt her. When we went inside and asked again how much the puppy was they said well it's $200, but then you must pay another $150 for obedience school, and another $200 for "play and learn". The total cost for me to adopt a HOMELESS dog was going to be $550. As we both walked away from the dog because we had to leave she was crying really loud, because there was a definate bond between us.

The point is, WHY is it so expensive to adopt a homeless dog, whereas if i were to buy a newborn from a breeder (where i knew exactly where it came from..parents etc) it is half the price? Our purpose in buying a dog from a shelter was to save its life and not be locked up in a cage. Both my fiance and I grew up having dogs all of our lives and know exactly how to train them. I think it should be the owners choice to have to make it go to 'puppy school' and 'play n learn obedience class' not the owners of the shelter. Are they there just to make extra money? It's not fair, especially now where the economy is so bad.

I would just like to hear everyones opinion on this. I hope that I can talk the shelter down and end up getting her for $200, like I said it's not the MONEY its the point that the dog is homeless and it's from a SHELTER, not a breeder.

If you can find a pure bred dog for 100, then it is from a back yard breeder. The money is just going into the pockets of the selfish pet owners who are breeding for the fun of it. A good quality, well bred dog would cost around 1,000, if not more. It also depends on the breed.

200 might seem like a lot, but the thing is, that 200 is going to help out not only the dog you are getting, but other dogs. Shetlers run on adoptions and donations. 200 can go a LONG way in the shelter system. That money not only takes care of expenses that your future pet has incurred, but also helps pay the bills of the shelter.

Yes it seems like a lot, but your getting more then a dog out of that money.

Also, a lot of shelter dogs and cats are not healthy and need expensive operations. Shelters arnt out "to make a profit".

I understand your frustration. It isn't as cheap as going to the animal control and paying $25 for a dog and SOMETIMES it's not as cheap as buying a dog from a "breeder". But, along with the satisfaction of knowing that you have not contributed to the overbreeding problem in this country, you also should have the assurance that the dog is clear of certain diseases which you would not have from animal control. For example, our local animal control does not test for heartworm disease so getting a dog from them is a gamble and for this area it's a dangerous gamble (heartworm treatment can run easily $900 or more depending on the size of the dog). So, the screening is valuable to you.

Another reason it costs so much from a rescue group: you are helping to finance the medical needs of other animals they've taken in. Often they have to have dogs treated for heartworm, distemper, or any number of other medical conditions before they can be adopted. Not to mention the feeding and care of the animals until they get adopted and if it's a no-kill facility, some of those animals will spend the rest of their lives there because they are unadoptable. That costs money.

There is also the usually unspoken fact: they want to be sure you are going to take care of the dog. For some reason, people who spend more $$$ on an animal will take better care of it. It's less disposable. Also, by making you commit to obedience training or getting a fence or whatever the requirement is, they are stressing the importance of these things and easing their worries about the dog coming back to them as a "problem animal". Remember, they have seen and heard it all and that does taint their view of humans to some extent. Not everyone who goes to adopt a dog has the dog's best interest at heart. Not everyone is willing to commit time, money, and energy to the dog. The rescue group wants to be as sure as they can be that each dog goes to a home that is willing to make that commitment.

Frankly, whether you get the puppy from the rescue group or a breeder, you should be planning on obedience classes so that's money you are going to spend anyway.

Oh a good point to add about your adoption fee helping other dogs is that its much easier to have an adoption fee set for all the dogs as opposed to adopting out your healthy dog for say, 100. But that would mean that the unhealthy dog would need to be adopted out for 500 or more. Most likely, that unhealthy dog would end up being put down because no one would pay 500 for an unhealthy dog.

I hope that makes sense.

I dont think $200 is too much, we paid $100 for our dog when we adopted her, and get $50 back when we get her spayed. The rest though, with the total being $550 seems WAY too much to adopt a homeless dog, or any dog for that matter. I would want to investigate more as to why the dog has to go through the other "training" programs, bc in my opinion you should be able to choose your own, in the first place......and where the money goes to. That just seems like so much to me... also "obedience school" at least here where I live even for a private trainer it's usually around $100....so the $150 for that seems OK, but what is "play and learn" and why is it so much more? That would bea nother question I would be asking the shelter.

They should be able to tell you where the money is going etc.....

It just doesn't make sense, and if they are worried that you might get rid of it later bc you dont pay as much..in my opinion people who go to adopt dogs in teh first place are more likely to return one to a shelter than just abandon it, in my opinion...

Originally Posted by Bonster

It just doesn't make sense, and if they are worried that you might get rid of it later bc you dont pay as much..in my opinion people who go to adopt dogs in teh first place are more likely to return one to a shelter than just abandon it, in my opinion...

And every time the dog is returned to the shelter, it's behaviors get worse and it becomes less and less adoptable. The rescue groups have reason to want to avoid that. Requiring training -- puppy socialization classes and obedience classes -- make perfect sense for any puppy but especially for one that is coming from a rescue.

Frankly, if I were a breeder, I'd be requiring similar contractual agreements for anyone purchasing my dogs. But, breeders (especially BYB) are only concerned about $$$$ and not the well being of the dogs.

The rescue group is trying to prevent the puppy coming back to the shelter. If you aren't willing to do training...then perhaps you need to reconsider whether you are ready to have a dog right now.

Originally Posted by Frecs

And every time the dog is returned to the shelter, it's behaviors get worse and it becomes less and less adoptable. The rescue groups have reason to want to avoid that. Requiring training -- puppy socialization classes and obedience classes -- make perfect sense for any puppy but especially for one that is coming from a rescue.

Frankly, if I were a breeder, I'd be requiring similar contractual agreements for anyone purchasing my dogs. But, breeders (especially BYB) are only concerned about $$$$ and not the well being of the dogs.

The rescue group is trying to prevent the puppy coming back to the shelter. If you aren't willing to do training...then perhaps you need to reconsider whether you are ready to have a dog right now.

I understand all of that and I agree completely for dogs to have obedience training, I guess to me that I feel like they should at least be able to choose where to get it done etc.. I like your idea of having a contract. It just seems liek so much money to me, that I would want to know where it was all going..

Originally Posted by Bonster

I understand all of that and I agree completely for dogs to have obedience training, I guess to me that I feel like they should at least be able to choose where to get it done etc.. I like your idea of having a contract. It just seems liek so much money to me, that I would want to know where it was all going..

I agree with that...it would be nice to have an option of trainers/training facility. That should be a negotiation point.

Originally Posted by shibakita

Hi everyone. I am new to this site. I just wanted to ask everyones opinion on something that just happend to me recently.

My Akita had passed away before 2 years, and now I finally feel comfortable adopting a new friend. My fiance and I went a few days ago to a well known local animal shelter, looking for a puppy. Right when we walked in we found a beautiful American Eskimo. Outside her cage was a sign that posted her name, and why she was brought here (her owners didnt want her anymore) Right away we fell in love with her. We then asked one of the workers any background info they knew about her, and all they could say was how shy she was, and not people friendly yet, and not trained at all. We looked at each other and said we wanted to see this for ourselves. A few more people them came into the room passing by her and she didnt move off of her bed, but whenever we went close to the kennel she jumped right off of her bed and wagged her tail and came over to us. We gave her treats that they had for her etc. There were a few signs on the walls in the room that said "everything included with dog is $200" Even though $200 was a lot for "Donation" we still didnt mind because we both knew that it would save this beautiful dogs life. We asked if we could take her out for a walk around the place and they let us.

Not only was she trained to go the bathroom, but she understood commands as well. She understood to "come here", right when we took her out she went to the bathroom and had a bowel movement. She knew how to fetch and everything. Not shy at all, very friendly towards us. Both my fiance and I agreed that we would set up an interview because that was what was necessary and that we would adopt her. When we went inside and asked again how much the puppy was they said well it's $200, but then you must pay another $150 for obedience school, and another $200 for "play and learn". The total cost for me to adopt a HOMELESS dog was going to be $550. As we both walked away from the dog because we had to leave she was crying really loud, because there was a definate bond between us.

The point is, WHY is it so expensive to adopt a homeless dog, whereas if i were to buy a newborn from a breeder (where i knew exactly where it came from..parents etc) it is half the price? Our purpose in buying a dog from a shelter was to save its life and not be locked up in a cage. Both my fiance and I grew up having dogs all of our lives and know exactly how to train them. I think it should be the owners choice to have to make it go to 'puppy school' and 'play n learn obedience class' not the owners of the shelter. Are they there just to make extra money? It's not fair, especially now where the economy is so bad.

I would just like to hear everyones opinion on this. I hope that I can talk the shelter down and end up getting her for $200, like I said it's not the MONEY its the point that the dog is homeless and it's from a SHELTER, not a breeder.

Although I understand all people said here and they are smart people, I think $200 is alot but to add another $200 is really alot.

im tryin to help as many unwated pets as posible plz help https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/websc...ton_id=3901863

I think that if you want the dog that bad...that you should get her. Yeah she might be a little bit expensive...but she sounds like a really good dog..and she sounds like a dog that would make a great companian!!!

Yes shelters can be expensive..but you have to think about all the other dogs that are in there that you will be helping. Although some shelters take money and dont do what they should with it. Since the shelter said that the dog wasnt very socialized...they obviously didnt know that much about her...since you guys took her outside and she knew some commands and you guys bonded with her. Some shelters just dont have the right kind of people working for them. My suggestion would be to talk to some people in your home town and see what they think of that certain shelter. If they have had good experience with that shelter and they have not heard anything bad about them....then i would spend that little bit of money and get the dog. Im sure that theres something that you could go without for a couple of weeks so you can afford the dog. Like for instance...i told my fiance that if i could get this dog that i have been looking at to adopt..that i would quit smoking...so i could afford the dog and its food and different things like that. I

Good Luck in your search...Jessica


PS: I have found good quality dogs in my hometown on petfinder.com. All you have to do is put dog, breed, age,gender and your zipcode. It even shows shelters around you that might have a dog for you. GOOD LUCK!!