Shelter Pets Aren't Free

There is nothing wrong with pet adoption fees. Non-profits must pay for animal supplies and maintain a clean and healthy environment for present and future services. Plus paying pet adoption fees gives a good indication the adopter can afford to adopt a pet.

The screening process for pet adoption is equally important in assuring each pet is suited for their new forever family.
 

The local rescue in my county recently had a sale for adoptions. Free for July to empty the shelters which was sponsored by Bissell. Fees for cats are usually $100. and dogs $150. It is a good deal really because it includes all the shots, worming and neutering and spading. Also if the animal had a health issue when brought it.

As much as people hate the screening process, I think it is important too......for the pet.
 
Nathan said:
Those people should consider "something else" other than a live animal. Those fees look entirely reasonable. Too bad spay & neuter aren't included, vitally important to reduce the vicious cycle of pet abandonment & shelter.
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I volunteer at a county shelter near where I live. They spay/neuter every animal in the shelter before it’s offered for adoption. I
Understand that the same policy is in effect in all shelters here in Tennessee.
 

It costs a fortune to run a shelter, to house all the animals, to upkeep the property, to deal with whatever medical conditions they have. Heartworm treatment alone is thousands of dollars. The water bill is astronomical because of the constant cleaning of the kennels and the daily loads of wash.

Keeping the shelter buildings reasonably warm in the winter and cool in the summer produces high utility bills. Vet costs and medications have to be paid for even though the shelter uses vets who reduce their fees for shelters.

In spite of a highly successful volunteer program there are the core staff who need to be paid—the animal control officers, shelter directors, a couple of kennel techs. They are overworked and underpaid but their love of animals and their dedication keep them there more than the money.

Shelters in general are underfunded and overcrowded yet they keep going in an effort to save as many animals as they can from euthanasia. Their adoption costs are one way then can make some money. Don’t begrudge them this, they deserve every penny they charge plus a whole lot more!
 
MarciKS said:
because without those fees they don't get a lot of donations and it's hard to run a no kill shelter with no money to take care of the animals with.
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Los Angeles City shelters are no-kill but rescue organizations STILL scoop up the best dogs and charge far more than the shelters. It's getting to the point were backyard breeder prices are increasingly competitive with non-profit rescues.

Public shelters are supported by taxes. Like libraries, they gladly accept donations for extras and welcome volunteer hours, but their costs are covered.
jujube said:
It's basic nature to place a higher value on something that you paid for than something you got for free.
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I've never found that to be true with animals I've brought into my home. Some were free, some we paid adoption fees for.

The one purebred we bought - the highest we ever paid for a pet, by far- we gave away because her temperament turned out to be so ill-suited for a home with small children.
 
RobinWren said:
Needless to say there are lots of rescues that I have met from Mexico, Alabama, California and Korea.
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Yes, people pay way more than $400 for those. A DIL has one from California. Her ex-husband wanted it; it’s a bit of a status symbol.
 
StarSong said:
Los Angeles City shelters are no-kill but rescue organizations STILL scoop up the best dogs and charge far more than the shelters. It's getting to the point were backyard breeder prices are increasingly competitive with non-profit rescues.

Public shelters are supported by taxes. Like libraries, they gladly accept donations for extras and welcome volunteer hours, but their costs are covered.

I've never found that to be true with animals I've brought into my home. Some were free, some we paid adoption fees for.

The one purebred we bought - the highest we ever paid for a pet, by far- we gave away because her temperament turned out to be so ill-suited for a home with small children.
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if their costs are covered why do they demand a 20 lb bag of dog food and money when people wanna put their pet up for adoption and then charge so much to buy the animal from them?
 
My monthly social security check is something like $860. Thank God I don't have to live on it. Some people do.

A woman I know who works for the county humane society told me they estimate 3000 stray cats in this county.

So if some poor and lonely person wanted one of those cats, some of you're saying she shouldn't have one (and it shouldn't have her) just because she couldn't afford to pay $100 dollars for it. Apparently, because she's poor she wouldn't appreciate it enough, the humane society wouldn't make enough money off the transaction, and she might have too much clutter in the kitchen to pass the home inspection. So we should just leave those 3000 cats to freeze and starve next winter. I don't agree.
 
MarciKS said:
if their costs are covered why do they demand a 20 lb bag of dog food and money when people wanna put their pet up for adoption and then charge so much to buy the animal from them?
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I can't comment on animal shelter funding or practices in any jurisdiction but my own. In Los Angeles, fees run approximately as Deb quoted for her area. Not free, but hardly eye-popping.

IMHO, people can and should bear some of the costs of readying animals for adoption, including vet costs and vaccinations. If a family can't/won't pay $100 to adopt a pet, chances are high that they can't/won't pay for vet care when the need arises. And it will arise.
 
Sure them little critters cost a bit of dough! What do you expect? Years ago, them guys just ran around the farm. Doggies outside in their own doghouse while them kitty kats ran and ruled the barn. These days it's big bucks for the Urbanites. You gotta feed 'em, groom them, walk them, get baby sitters if you are away for a while and when they get sick, it's off to the vet. who does not work for free! You want to have dogs for some sort of emotional support system or cats to pet, you have to pay.

I live in a "pet free" apartment but I do like to pet the little guys whenever I see them on the street. Well, the nice ones that are "people friendly." The other ones you can keep! They say that dog's personality is a reflection of it's owner and I really believe that to be true!
 

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My county No Kill shelter has comparable costs to the OP. However, the Vets donate their spay/neuter services, so that is a savings to the adopter. Also, the shelter has a notice that people who aren't adopting, can Sponsor a pet for adoption, in other words, pay the fee upfront for a potential adopter.

My first dog was adopted from a neighborhood shelter. The fee back then was about $30.00, back in 1992.

My most recent dog was listed on Craigslist. I felt sorry for her as her owner was going to have her killed if she wasn't adopted soon. I won't go into details about adopting her.

Regarding thinking pets should be free to adopt or for a very low cost, many may think that as was stated, but many believe a lot of nonsense.

My county No Kill shelter runs many fundraisers, has volunteers at the shelter and fostering at home. Raisihg money locally gets the word out about their work and helps the animals, too.

Shelters have limited capacity, being on a system where their costs never go down unless they get some HUGE financial donation, and that's unlikely. One is adopted, one is taken in, two are adopted, three are taken in...

My county has a second, government run animal rescue, I won't call it a shelter. The No Kill shelter will take as many from the rescue that they are able. The rescue has high turnover of in for a week, if can't find a home or another shelter, then death it is.

As long as there is no fraud in the financials, I think the No Kill shelters deserve every dollar they receive. I give money and goods (cleaning supplies, collars, leashes, and more according to their Wish List.)

I do not feel sorry for those who can't scrape up the adoption fee. If they can't afford that, how will they feed, groom, and keep the pet medically healthy. Love and/or companionship won't feed an empty stomach or buy heartworm medicine.

I only wish all shelters were NO KILL Shelters.


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StarSong said:
I've never found that to be true with animals I've brought into my home. Some were free, some we paid adoption fees for.

The one purebred we bought - the highest we ever paid for a pet, by far- we gave away because her temperament turned out to be so ill-suited for a home with small children.
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I agree, the cost to acquire an animal has never made a difference in my feelings about it, cats that showed up in the barn were just as loved as the ones we paid an adoption fee for.

Della said:
Apparently, because she's poor she wouldn't appreciate it enough, the humane society wouldn't make enough money off the transaction, and she might have too much clutter in the kitchen to pass the home inspection. So we should just leave those 3000 cats to freeze and starve next winter. I don't agree.
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I'm completely with you on this. For one thing, the people who adopt pets are not the ones who caused the problem of excessive pet populations and the adopters should not be financially penalized, the whole population of taxpayers need to be paying to handle the problem (assuming we can't financially penalize the people who were irresponsible about allowing unfixed animals to procreate).
So many cats are put to sleep and so many are dumped in the countryside and suffer/die/get eaten/kill birdies, that I think anyone with a lap to share should be able to adopt one, and if they can't afford food then I think there are some programs where people donate so pet food can be supplied to poor pet owners, and also there are some free vet services.
 
Nathan said:
Those people should consider "something else" other than a live animal. Those fees look entirely reasonable. Too bad spay & neuter aren't included, vitally important to reduce the vicious cycle of pet abandonment & shelter.
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That surprises me. I'm pretty sure you can't adopt a dog or cat in Calif unless it's spayed or neutered. Adoption costs here for shelter pets is around $80, including the spay/neuter. They'll chip the animal for another $45 (last I checked).
 
Della said:
My monthly social security check is something like $860. Thank God I don't have to live on it. Some people do.

A woman I know who works for the county humane society told me they estimate 3000 stray cats in this county.

So if some poor and lonely person wanted one of those cats, some of you're saying she shouldn't have one (and it shouldn't have her) just because she couldn't afford to pay $100 dollars for it. Apparently, because she's poor she wouldn't appreciate it enough, the humane society wouldn't make enough money off the transaction, and she might have too much clutter in the kitchen to pass the home inspection. So we should just leave those 3000 cats to freeze and starve next winter. I don't agree.
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I agree.

Some states (including mine....and probly all the ones that are overrun with homeless dogs and cats) do have special no-fee adoptions. In Calif, you can adopt a shelter or sanctuary pet for free if you live on a low income or have a disability, and some people qualify for reduced costs....like almost free. Plus the eligibility screening is a lot looser for low-income people...you just have to have a home, really. In fact, you can get free pet food, supplies and vet services if you can't afford the costs. Heck, they even have free dog-walkers. You just have to know what programs offer which services.
 
One of our dogs is a rescue which we adopted from a friend who runs a small dog rescue. We paid $275 which covered all needed shots, neutering, and chipped. She doesn't make anything that could be construed as 'profit', as medical costs eat deeply into her funds. Aside from money expenditures, she invests a lot of time and effort into 'socializing' the dogs to be suitable pets.
 
Our dog Addy was a rescue dog we got from the local shelter some years back. If I remember right, out the door it was around $40-$50.00. They gave us a nice rebate when we came back with the rabies certificate. They also threw in a bag of dog food. Sadly, Addy has passed on and I continue to miss her. Any money we spent on her adoption, vet, or anything else means nothing compared to the companionship we had with her through the years.
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In my rural area, cats and kittens are freely available with listings filling the local classified ads. Farmers have “barn cats” that breed indiscriminately, and every so often advertise their availability. Irresponsible people have been known to fail to spay their cats, and cast unwanted kittens outdoors. One such kitten self-adopted me, coming to my doorstep with a bleeding tail amputation suffered in the wild. It cost me $300 at the vet to get his medical issues settled, but I’d already bonded with him, and I’ve never had a better cat than “Lucky…” 🐈
 
Ronni said:
Here’s another rescue photo, this of Dixie, Paige’s emotional support dog

***TRIGGER WARNING.***
These photos are hard to look at.






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Dixie was 28 pounds when she was brought in to the shelter. She’s at a healthy weight of 60 pounds now.
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My dog's before pic was like Dixie. Love and a warm bed, food on his plate, goes a long way. Dixie landed on his feet, he is blessed, he looks like a wonderful companion. Don't you just want to give them a big cuddle.
 

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