Why aren't rescue dogs free?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dogs don’t come to shelters clean, groomed, spayed/neutered, free of worms, up to date on vaccinations. Shelters don’t give adopters dogs who are dirty, matted, flea and tick ridden, unspayed/neutered. How do you think these dogs get transformed? Where do you think the money comes from to provide their care? The cost to neuter my dog was greater than $400.

Adoption fees not only keep shelters solvent, but they discourage people from adopting on a whim, weed out people who couldn’t possibly afford veterinary care, and prevent shady people from adopting dogs to be used in dog fighting.

Except that some do. I adopted an 18 wk old Rottweiler that was surrendered by the previous owner becaues they were afraid of her (first time dog owners should NOT get Rottweilers, and definitely not buy them from Amish puppy mills). The dog had all of her shots, was well fed, everything but spayed as she was too young. The rescue agency contacted me as I've owned previous Rotties and it was on my application. They still charged me $500 for the dog, which I then still had to spay. We only ended up taking her because I was pretty sure she'd have ended up somewhere where she'd get passed around.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Rescues are a total scam. A bunch of bored people who want you to fund their hobby of fostering dogs.

I went to the south, walked into a shelter, paid a $50 fee, walked out with a dog — the fee covered the neuter too.

In DC, they wanted me to pay $500 for the privilege of an unannounced home visit and someone to judge my lifestyle and tell me my house isn’t good enough for a rescue dog. Then they didn’t even have as many dogs as cute as the pup I got from the shelter.

Do a road trip down south.

Totally agree. My mother lives in TN. Walked into the shelter, played with a few dogs, walked out a beautiful border collie puppy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rescues are a total scam. A bunch of bored people who want you to fund their hobby of fostering dogs.

I went to the south, walked into a shelter, paid a $50 fee, walked out with a dog — the fee covered the neuter too.

In DC, they wanted me to pay $500 for the privilege of an unannounced home visit and someone to judge my lifestyle and tell me my house isn’t good enough for a rescue dog. Then they didn’t even have as many dogs as cute as the pup I got from the shelter.

Do a road trip down south.

Totally agree. My mother lives in TN. Walked into the shelter, played with a few dogs, walked out a beautiful border collie puppy.

Ok, oops. Walked out WITH a beautiful border collie puppy, neither of us turned into one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So many people complain that there are too many dogs in shelters and people shouldn't buy purebreds when there are perfectly good dogs who may be euthanized.

But then it costs $400 and a home visit to make sure you have a fence to be allowed to adopt.

Wouldn't those shelters be less filled if it's actually easier to adopt?

I don't get it.

Why aren't rescue dogs free??

Because rescue is an industry, not a mission.

+1 a fair number of them are not actually benevolent, altruistic organizations

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rescues are a total scam. A bunch of bored people who want you to fund their hobby of fostering dogs.

I went to the south, walked into a shelter, paid a $50 fee, walked out with a dog — the fee covered the neuter too.

In DC, they wanted me to pay $500 for the privilege of an unannounced home visit and someone to judge my lifestyle and tell me my house isn’t good enough for a rescue dog. Then they didn’t even have as many dogs as cute as the pup I got from the shelter.

Do a road trip down south.

Imagine a guy walked into that shelter an hour before you did and paid $50 for your cute pup and then used it as a bait dog.

This does not happen. I keep reading about bait dogs, but it is not a widespread thing. How many dogfighting rings could there possibly be that they’re getting bait dogs from shelters?

It’s one of those things that has gotten blown up to the point where people think it’s happening on every block. It’s not a thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rescues are a total scam. A bunch of bored people who want you to fund their hobby of fostering dogs.

I went to the south, walked into a shelter, paid a $50 fee, walked out with a dog — the fee covered the neuter too.

In DC, they wanted me to pay $500 for the privilege of an unannounced home visit and someone to judge my lifestyle and tell me my house isn’t good enough for a rescue dog. Then they didn’t even have as many dogs as cute as the pup I got from the shelter.

Do a road trip down south.

Totally agree. My mother lives in TN. Walked into the shelter, played with a few dogs, walked out a beautiful border collie puppy.

Ok, oops. Walked out WITH a beautiful border collie puppy, neither of us turned into one.

Though that would not have been a bad thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:8:56 and 8:57 - poor folks are not all bad and even people not as wealthy as you, have the right to save poor dogs.

Nobody thinks a person is bad for being poor, but 1) no one has an automatic right to a dog, no matter how much money they have and 2) veterinary care is very expensive and if you can’t provide it, you’re not necessarily able to “save” a dog.

oh man, that sounds awfully judgmental.

Living beings are more important than gasp, being judged.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a lot of money in animal rescue. You can look up the financial records of a lot of non-profits that are in the NOVA area and see how much money....

It is a business don't forget.

Are you saying the people who run rescues are making a nice living from it? (I just need to know how divorced from reality you are)

Just gonna leave this right here: https://www.lostdogrescue.org/about/finance/

This shows that the amount they "made" on adoptions was about the same as the amount they spent on direct animal care (a little more in '22, less in '21) not counting other expenses like insurance.

That is, they did not make a profit on adoption fees.

Is there something in the financial statement that you find objectionable? Just the fact they have assets (from donations) they are not using to make dogs free to adopt?

They pay their head $88K. I run a non-profit and don't get paid.

I assume that's the person's full time job, and $88k is not a high salary in this area. Being a non profit means you aren't making profit driven decisions: it doesn't mean you don't pay your staff.

This is an organization with real estate (kennels), vehicles, volunteers who need to be screened, and live animals that require care indefinitely and could bite. You expect someone to run all that for free on their evenings? Imagine the outcry if a person or animal was hurt from lack of oversight.

Look at their financials. That should not be a nonprofit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They are reselling the dogs.

This. You can get your purebred at a slight discount. If you want a real rescue, just go to the pound. Pound dogs are cheap and sometimes free.

That was what we found and got a purebred. Only slightly more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a lot of money in animal rescue. You can look up the financial records of a lot of non-profits that are in the NOVA area and see how much money....

It is a business don't forget.

Are you saying the people who run rescues are making a nice living from it? (I just need to know how divorced from reality you are)

Just gonna leave this right here: https://www.lostdogrescue.org/about/finance/

This shows that the amount they "made" on adoptions was about the same as the amount they spent on direct animal care (a little more in '22, less in '21) not counting other expenses like insurance.

That is, they did not make a profit on adoption fees.

Is there something in the financial statement that you find objectionable? Just the fact they have assets (from donations) they are not using to make dogs free to adopt?

They pay their head $88K. I run a non-profit and don't get paid.

I assume that's the person's full time job, and $88k is not a high salary in this area. Being a non profit means you aren't making profit driven decisions: it doesn't mean you don't pay your staff.

This is an organization with real estate (kennels), vehicles, volunteers who need to be screened, and live animals that require care indefinitely and could bite. You expect someone to run all that for free on their evenings? Imagine the outcry if a person or animal was hurt from lack of oversight.

Look at their financials. That should not be a nonprofit.

I did, I'm the person who wrote about the adoption fees not exceeding the direct costs of care. What specifically bothers you about their finances?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Rescues are a total scam. A bunch of bored people who want you to fund their hobby of fostering dogs.

I went to the south, walked into a shelter, paid a $50 fee, walked out with a dog — the fee covered the neuter too.

In DC, they wanted me to pay $500 for the privilege of an unannounced home visit and someone to judge my lifestyle and tell me my house isn’t good enough for a rescue dog. Then they didn’t even have as many dogs as cute as the pup I got from the shelter.

Do a road trip down south.

It would cost me at least $400 to drive "down south" with just gas, meals out, and one night in a motel. And I'd get a dog that may or may not have done a trial run with volunteers or a foster home.

If we call the adoption fee a convenience fee for people who can't or don't want to do what you did, does that make everybody feel better about the dog not being free?

[Anonymous]

My neighbor walked into the PG county shelter and picked out a dog. He asked the adoption fee and the person said “ehh, gimme 5 bucks. Its scheduled to put down tomorrow anyway.” She is a gorgeous, gentle dog and a neighborhood favorite.

[Anonymous]

Walk into any West Virginia shelter and walk out with a dog.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rescues are a total scam. A bunch of bored people who want you to fund their hobby of fostering dogs.

I went to the south, walked into a shelter, paid a $50 fee, walked out with a dog — the fee covered the neuter too.

In DC, they wanted me to pay $500 for the privilege of an unannounced home visit and someone to judge my lifestyle and tell me my house isn’t good enough for a rescue dog. Then they didn’t even have as many dogs as cute as the pup I got from the shelter.

Do a road trip down south.

Imagine a guy walked into that shelter an hour before you did and paid $50 for your cute pup and then used it as a bait dog.

This does not happen. I keep reading about bait dogs, but it is not a widespread thing. How many dogfighting rings could there possibly be that they’re getting bait dogs from shelters?

It’s one of those things that has gotten blown up to the point where people think it’s happening on every block. It’s not a thing.

Here you go:
https://worldanimalfoundation.org/advocate/dog-fighting-statistics/#:~:text=Dog%20fighting%20Statistics-,Almost%2040%2C000%20Americans%20Participate%20in%20Dog%20Fighting,(The%20Humane%20Society)

16,000 dogs die annually in the US due to dog fighting

40,000 Americans participate in the dog fighting industry annually

50% of police officers have encountered dog fighting at least once in their careers

Yet 57% of Americans think dog fighting doesn’t happen in their community

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rescues are a total scam. A bunch of bored people who want you to fund their hobby of fostering dogs.

I went to the south, walked into a shelter, paid a $50 fee, walked out with a dog — the fee covered the neuter too.

In DC, they wanted me to pay $500 for the privilege of an unannounced home visit and someone to judge my lifestyle and tell me my house isn’t good enough for a rescue dog. Then they didn’t even have as many dogs as cute as the pup I got from the shelter.

Do a road trip down south.

Imagine a guy walked into that shelter an hour before you did and paid $50 for your cute pup and then used it as a bait dog.

This does not happen. I keep reading about bait dogs, but it is not a widespread thing. How many dogfighting rings could there possibly be that they’re getting bait dogs from shelters?

It’s one of those things that has gotten blown up to the point where people think it’s happening on every block. It’s not a thing.

Here you go:
https://worldanimalfoundation.org/advocate/dog-fighting-statistics/#:~:text=Dog%20fighting%20Statistics-,Almost%2040%2C000%20Americans%20Participate%20in%20Dog%20Fighting,(The%20Humane%20Society)

16,000 dogs die annually in the US due to dog fighting

40,000 Americans participate in the dog fighting industry annually

50% of police officers have encountered dog fighting at least once in their careers

Yet 57% of Americans think dog fighting doesn’t happen in their community

Because it doesn't. Per your stats above, only .01% of the population participates in dogfighting. So no, dog fighting does not happen in most of our communities and Americans are correct in their assumptions.