rehoming fees - when does adopting become buying?

[Anonymous]

DH is military, so it's impossible for us to adopt from a rescue and even though through a shelter (we're not in the DMV anymore). Because of that, most of our cats have come to us as strays, and while I'm not opposed to socializing another one of those who shows up, I'm still devastated over our most recent loss and don't have the heart for it. So, I've been looking online (Facebook, etc) to adopt from an individual. I've noticed a lot of "moving, can't take my cat posts" or "purebred kittens need homes" posts have really high rehoming fees - up to $500 in some cases. I totally get the concept of a rehoming fee, and money isn't an issue for us, but this seems high, no? Ethically, it's difficult for me to go from rescuing strays to buying a backyard-bred kitten, which is what I'd be doing here, right? I'm willing to get corrected, though, if there's another reason for this.

[Anonymous]

Yes, it seems high. I don't know where the line is, exactly, but at the point that someone is asking for as much money as a rescue would, it doesn't seem as though it's just "to ensure good intentions," but is actually a moneymaker. Rescues have ongoing operating costs. These people just need to find a place for their pet.

[Anonymous]

I thought counties would let you adopt if your lease allowed pets.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I thought counties would let you adopt if your lease allowed pets.

We own! But our current location has an adoption application that rivals most rescues - and yes, they specifically ask about military.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, it seems high. I don't know where the line is, exactly, but at the point that someone is asking for as much money as a rescue would, it doesn't seem as though it's just "to ensure good intentions," but is actually a moneymaker. Rescues have ongoing operating costs. These people just need to find a place for their pet.

This was my feeling. I know some claim it's to cover vet bills, but those are a sunk cost, right?

[Anonymous]

We paid $500 for a rescue 10 yrs ago, and then still had to have the dog spayed. I think a lot of these rescues are a bit of a racket, frankly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We paid $500 for a rescue 10 yrs ago, and then still had to have the dog spayed. I think a lot of these rescues are a bit of a racket, frankly.

For sure. But like a PP said, rescues at least have overhead costs. Surprised they let her go without being spayed, though! I've never heard of a rescue doing that.

[Anonymous]

The shelter that I adopted my dog from gave an itemized list of what was covered by the adoption fee. The spay, hw test, vaccines, county license etc were listed. There wasn't a cost for the dog, only the services associated with her. $95 was quite a bargain for all that.

[Anonymous]

When I needed to rehome my cats due to a move, I posted on Craigslist. We didn't need a rehoming fee so I didn't post one at first.

I got like 4 emails in 5 minutes chastising me for listing FREE CATS because apparently that results in people buying cats to torture.

It seemed really sad to me that that was the reason, but that's what I was told it was.

[Anonymous]

That high from an individual is a red flag.
It’s not from a rescue to the person who said it’s a racket. Rescues have transportation fees and generally have a few train wreck cases that have high vet bills.

[Anonymous]

The rescue I work for has a fee of more than $400 for a puppy!

So while you're definitely looking at disguised puppy mills, OP, please don't think adoptions are low-cost in high COL areas.

[Anonymous]

We didn't do a rescue as we wanted a specific dog but I was shocked at some of the "rescue" feeds and it felt like they were just selling the dogs as some were as $800. The purebred should be licensed. We went though a back yard breeder but she had a few litters and clearly knew what she was doing. I wouldn't do a situation like you are describing. Just go to a regular breeder.

[Anonymous]

OP, does your military base have a vet clinic. Reach out to them to see if another family needs to rehome their pet. Last time my spouse was in our military vet clinic someone was talking about it.

[Anonymous]

At $500 you are buying a dog.

We wanted a rescue dog but gave up and still don't have a dog, dealing with rescues in this area is a nightmare. We are going to move soon and will look into rescues in our new state.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DH is military, so it's impossible for us to adopt from a rescue and even though through a shelter (we're not in the DMV anymore). Because of that, most of our cats have come to us as strays, and while I'm not opposed to socializing another one of those who shows up, I'm still devastated over our most recent loss and don't have the heart for it. So, I've been looking online (Facebook, etc) to adopt from an individual. I've noticed a lot of "moving, can't take my cat posts" or "purebred kittens need homes" posts have really high rehoming fees - up to $500 in some cases. I totally get the concept of a rehoming fee, and money isn't an issue for us, but this seems high, no? Ethically, it's difficult for me to go from rescuing strays to buying a backyard-bred kitten, which is what I'd be doing here, right? I'm willing to get corrected, though, if there's another reason for this.

Our local shelter charges $495 to adopt a puppy/young dog and $350 for a kitten. Cats are $250. And this is a shelter associated with the SPCA