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Toddlers: 12 - 24 Months
Can someone explain pet adoption "donations"?
I like to go on petfinder and look at dogs in the shelters in our area. I am hoping to adopt our next dog and like reading up on their personalities and such. Well, they had a dachshund puppy on there and they say they adoption "donation" for him is $400. UM, WHAT?! Do they not want people to adopt their dogs? We paid less than that for our pure breed dachshund with AKC papers!
ETA: I do understand there will be fees, but I was thinking $75-$100.
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Re: Can someone explain pet adoption "donations"?
You can also look at Rescue Organizations too. We have adopted pure bred GSD's for less than half that cost.
When I wanted to adopt a kitty, I looked at petfinder and was astounded by the price! I ended up going to Craigslist for two kittens. They were only $5 each.
I know in our case, the adoption fee covered the health care they needed when they came in, food, shelter and fixing. I think the subsidize the more expensive cases (surgeries etc) with donations from healthier animals. Most people wouldn't pay $3000 for a rescue, but their healthcare may have cost that much.
I also think that they want someone who is serious about being a lifetime home. Cost increases that seriousness.
I believe the thinking is that if someone is serious about adopting a pet, they'll pay the $$. For example, if you go to a shelter, there's an adoption fee. You're making an 'investment' and a financial commitment where as something that is free isn't as much of an 'investment' and some people wouldn't take it seriously. (I probably did a terrible job explaining that)
Also, for the shelters, that money goes to help pay their bills. I don't know about perfinder though. I do think $400 is very high
We paid $250 for our 3yo rescued golden. It went towards vet bills and foster care/boarding. It basically reimbursed them for what they had spent caring for him. I think it's pretty typical for a lot of nonprofits.
Maybe you can find one on there from a humane society. Their adoption fees are typically a lot less.
I would guess that the dachshund had back surgery or some other type of surgery. And it is probably a pure bred with papers. (Hopefully)
I would consider contacting the Dachshund Rescue Club of America. They usually try to get all the dachshunds out of shelters and, with the adoption price of that dog, it doesn't sound like he will be adopted any time soon.
"Life isn't about waiting for the storm to be over, it's about learning how to dance in the rain." -Unknown
Married 3-1-08 | Nathan 11-24-08 | Kaelyn 11-30-10 | Alicia 8-17-13
Many times the adoption fee has to cover all expenses such as shots, vet visits, travel (many animals are housed elsewhere), day-to-day care.
If you're looking for a lower fee, you should check out your local animal shelter.
Petfinder is a good site, but you should also check out the aspca site.
Yeah, some of the fees I've seen on Petfinder are really high, imo. I mean I know they need money to do what they do, but yikes. A friend of mine suggested that I might have a hard time with one of those places because I have a toddler, too.
I've also looked on my county's animal control website, and on the humane society's website, and that was more like $60 to $125.
My silly Lily is almost 4.
Ditto Southern. $400 is quite high (my rescue charges $250), but IMO, the rescue is 1--either deeply in debt from vet bills or 2--only looking for serious adopters.
One litter of puppies that get parvo can put you back several grand easily--and they may not all make it either. Rescuing dogs is very expensive for groups and not all vets give a discount for rescue's either.
Ditto Southern, as well.
Our rescue fee was $350. Because my friend was her foster mom, I know that part of this went toward her spay & shots, part toward her Demodex meds, and part toward her care ... and didn't even come close to touching how much she had cost the rescue up until the point of adoption. Most rescues are broke as a joke.
I have a few breeder friends also and most of their prices run above $1k. You'd be surprised at how quickly genetic/health testing, certifications, and show fees add up. The "good" breeders I know are also pretty much the poorest I know, financially. lol