Are Lower Adoption Fees a Good Solution? ?
Posted by The Pets One in Pets AdoptionAug 26th, 2009 | 19 responsesBYB’s R Mini Puppy Mills asked:
The HSUS says that 3-4 million animals are killed in shelters each year. Another study says that 2 million of these are dogs.
I’ve seen people on here complaining about how the adoption fees at shelters are too high. That a ‘loving home’ should be enough to get a dog from a shelter. My question – should it be?
1. Say the dog gets sick in 2 years and the new ‘loving home’ can’t afford vet care. Is 2 years of happiness better than having been euthanized?
2. Should a shelter lower the adoption fee if someone can prove annual pet insurance on the dog? How would it be enforced?
3. Would lowering the adoption fee actually get more dogs out of the shelters? Or would it be the same because the second the dog gets sick, it will be back in the shelter?
19 Responses to “Are Lower Adoption Fees a Good Solution? ?”
Leave a Reply
About Me
I think that they should lower the adoption fees, and they shouldn’t have to fill out so many papers.
They “say” that they charge that much to neuter, shots, ect… for the dogs, but then they never get the money back anyways if they euthanize them?
It doesn’t make sense to me either.
Even if they go to “not such a good home” for a few years, that better than being killed.
Adoption fees at most places are already pretty low. Most shelters are $50-200 – way below what you’d pay a breeder. If you can’t afford that, you can’t afford all that goes with dog ownership – and not just vet care, but proper nutrition and care and a stable home environment. Paying an adoption fee shows commitment to the animal you are adopting. Adoption fees do prevent some people who are not suitable from adopting and good adopters rarely blink at the fee.
By and large, the dogs that don’t get adopted are dogs with health or behavioral problems, and older dogs. We can’t keep healthy dogs, puppies or young dogs in our shelter – they get adopted relatively easily. So lower fees won’t solve those problems. More spaying and neutering and better breeding practices combined with more responsible ownership will.
EDIT – A lot of people are relinquishing or abandoning dogs due to the economy and mortgage crisis. Better to have a slightly higher fee and someone who is financially stable than someone who is financially at risk.
I do support providing pet food in food banks and other techniques to help keep dogs in their homes once they are adopted. But fees and careful matching and screening are important.
The adoption fee covers the cost of the spay/neuter surgery and the cost of vetting the dog before it is adopted. The shelters don’t receive these services for free, they have to pay a vet. I don’t think asking a family for $100-$200 is going to break the bank. If the dog needs serious health care in the future, that $100-200 isn’t going to make a dent in a huge vet bill.
Lowering the adoption fee isn’t going to move dogs out of shelters faster than they are going in. People need to stop breeding their pet dogs and the numbers will be reduced so drastically.
lowering fees will not do anything but make the shelters scramble for money even more and more people who are unable to care for a dog will be getting a dog and than we will see even more questions like hmm i can’t afford vet care
1. In my opinion, yes. This is the case for many dogs. And most owners would rather have those two years then not have that dog at all.
2. No, shelter fees are good as they are. Shelter fees are low. I paid $90 for my shelter dog. If you can’t pay that small amount, then that person can’t have a dog, they don’t have the money.
3. It may, but not for the better. The adoption fee helps pay for the animal shelter. It pays for the spay/neuter fee, micro-chipping, shots, and food. Lower the price, and the shelter won’t be able to take in as many animals. And of course, any Joe off the street could go and get a dog and when he/she can’t pay for vet bills, the dog will be abandoned all over again.
No, they need the money to be able to take in more animals. a lower fee won’t pay for that vet care later on- anyone willing to adopt an animal should be more than happy to make a donation to support the wonderful service that saved the dog they are welcoming into their home.
1) If it was happy, yes, BUT if the person knows they are shaky financially, they should not get a dog because it just isn’t fair. Obviously people hit rocky times, but it isn’t right to support throw away pets even if it gives them an extra year. Pets are for life!
2) No- insurance does not guarantee proper care and some people provide for their animals just fine without it. An emergency fund and paying cash can be cheaper than paying for insurance.
3) Perhaps, but they would also be able to support less dogs or keep them as long so I think it would do more harm than good. Like I said, anyone willing to spend the adoption fee wouldn’t be swayed by any reasonable drop that is realistic.
Some places do have unrealistic ideas about pet care, loosening up some of the regulations so that they can be evaluated on a case by case basis – like allowing an elderly dog with mobility issues into a house without a fenced yard or into an apartment.
This is an interesting question. Personally, my dogs are an investment, and I have paid a lot of money for them and on them. If a dog is *free* or cheap, I think that is how they will be treated, and easily disposed of. If people skimp on the purchase price, what else are they skimping on?
“free to good home” dogs never really find a permanent home. They are just shuffled around their whole lives.
Just my opinion.
I believe that people respect what they have to pay for. If you can not afford $200.00 – $300.00 adoption fee, then you really should reconsider adopting. The cost of one medical trip to a vet could be double that. Why not consider fostering for a rescue. You can receive and give love to a dog in need. Also you are helping make the dog more adoptable. It is very expensive to own a dog. Once you take on the responsibility of ownership it is for life. Sacrifices will have to be made to insure the welfare of the dog.
I don’t think any shelter should lower the fee. People pay several hundreds of dollars for one dog that they can sometimes find in a shelter. I fell in love with a yellow labrador, and she’s now mine forever. She got sick a bit and costed a whole lot of money so far, but she exceeds the worth of the cost. I think people just want certain breeds, and it doesn’t have much to do with costs.
I’d rather have a dog for two years, instead of it being euthanized UNLESS it is suffering. They really are humane and decent when putting down animals. People can love animals and be selfish enough to take one in, and can’t really afford it, but it is the love for animals, and I don’t think anyone should really be looked down upon as long as their dogs have shelter and food. In fact, too many people do that, but it does keep the dogs off of the streets…and from just being “thrown away” in a shelter. Some people can’t afford insurance or a doctor visit for themselves, but that doesn’t mean no one loves them, or that they shouldn’t stick and stay as a family.
1. Yes it defianetly is. Would you rather die today or have 2 more years of happiness?
2. Defianetly…I’m not sure what your asking by how it would be enforced.
3. It will defianetly be a lot better. Like i said in question one…would you rather die today of soon in a jail….or get out of jail?
Very good questions!!!!
The shelter I work at has recently raised prices for adoptions and S/N. We had no choice. Costs for everything have gone up so much, we are drowning in bills and animals. In order to be able to help more animals, we have to get money in. Donations are down, so the money has to come from somewhere.
And people have always complained about having to pay an adoption fee AL ALL. They think that if we really want to get homes for them, they should be FREE.
If someone cannot afford the relatively low fee of most shelters they should not be getting a dog. Dogs are a luxury not a necessity. Anyone concerned about the difference in price of a few hundred $ should be looking at putting money into their savings account and not at getting a dog.
By lowering the fees and removing the paperwork/checks they do now, more irresponsible people will go to shelters to adopt. The fees they have now pay for that individual dogs care, and the paperwork and background/home checks ensure that the person can properly care for the dog.
It wouldn’t do the dog, or any other dogs, any good if the person that adopts them is a puppy miller, dog fighter, etc now does it? If people aren’t willing to pay an ADOPTION fee then they should not get a dog – the price of that dog is nothing compared to the price of it’s initial supplies/vet care as well as it’s monthly care fees.
Nothing in life is free – for anyone. And nothing is ever “cheap.” Get over it. Sheesh.
No, a lower adoption fee is not the answer. Shelters need funds to be able to operate their facilities. Most shelters are definitely not making money. The money they earn on adoption fees goes back into the considerable cost of maintaining facilities, including the care and feeding of animals, veterinary bills, and staff salaries.
I adopted a dog from the shelter just last week and paid only $110.00. This included a fee for spaying the dog as well as a microchip, and I think it was a deal. If you cannot afford the adoption fee, you should think twice about adopting a dog because they can be expensive once you add in food, veterinary care, toys, licenses, etc.
The only thing that will decrease the amount of animals in shelters is education: more people need to spay and neuter their pets, because it is ignorant pet owners, allowing their pets to have unwanted litters, that are causing this problem.
1. Definitely better. Most people who adopt from shelters are nice and willing to do anything for their dog like looking into organizations to help sponsor and pay for the dogs medical need. But it could be worse if they end up in a shelter because then they would be like home shelter home shelter etc and they will start getting clingy to owners.
2. Yes. Checking back on the owners every 6 months.
3. Probably not. Most people would just rather breed dogs but possibly.
I think shelter prices should be based on how long the dog is there and how much care they need. Say a dog that was there for 2 months would need 2 months of food and then say they had a disease that needed to be cured that would also cost money. versus a dog who was there for a day who just needed a check up. (confuzzling sorry)
I think lowering the prices will help a lot, I went to quite a lot of pounds and adoption centers when I was getting another dog, they were all over $200 and It was just too expensive , so in the end I bought my Jack Russel from an add in the paper, I would have really like to have rescued a dog but I unfortunetely did not have that sort of money (I am 14).
I think that the government should be doing something and put money in for the dogs to be vaccinated/wormed/fed.
Yes and no…
Yes because more people can afford them. Less dogs will have to be put down and more and enjoy happiness.
No well because… It may sound weird but i actually kno people who think this way. Some people who dont exactly care for dogs that much. They get dogs for pretty cheap at shelters and arent exactly careful or very loving. What their thinking is ”Oh well, if this dogs dies then we can just get another one just as good from the shelter”. Cruel i kno but some people are actually this way.
As a rescuer, we just recently raised our rates. Even in a place where foster homes cover the cost of food, water, and general every day needs, we were not even breaking even. Our fees were $200, it is now $215. If you consider a dog that comes in and has no medical “issues”, we were coming out ahead by $20, but that didn’t include the mileagee during transport, which most of us just use as a tax deduction.
Now, as far as lowering the fees for adopters, I don’t think that’s really a great idea. Usually these humane societies are pretty reasonable. Around here you can adopt a dog for about $75 from the humane society and around 200 for a rescue group. I understand that most vets volunteer their time for HS, but they are paying to feed and house these animals, as well as pay caretakers. If anything, I feel they need to raise their fees.
What people are realizing is that you have daily, weekly, monthly, and annual “fees” associated with that pet. They eat, need heart-worm preventative, flea preventative, and regularvaccinationss. This doesn’t include the altering and other up front costs, i.e. brushes, bowls, leashes, collars.
If we’re adopting out to people who are unable to purchase the dog for a reasonable fee, then the standard of care iscompromisedd. Am I saying that because I get my dogvaccinatedd, brush them daily, and feed them a quality diet that they are “happier”? No. But the opportunity for more serious problems are less likely because we are more dilligent with their care. So, two years down the road, we have a dog that has been compromised in their care, who may or may not have more things wrong with it. But more than likely we have a dog that is eatting a lower quality dog food and hasn’t been to the vet. Uht ohh, he comes back to the shelter, because he spewed on the carpet several times and his owner cannot afford to go to the vet. Now the dog is unadoptable because he has a minor stomach condition and the puppies in the kennel next to him are Soooooooo cute. Did we do the dog any justice? He had two years of “happiness”. I don’t know. It just seems like we did something wrong it letting the dog leave the shelter with that particular family.
One of the solutions that we have around here is a “scholarship”/grant tupe thing. I think this is a better option. These programs provide vet care and food, etc for an animal for a period of time. It appears to be successful around here.
I’ve rambled on long enough.
I know for myself- the big fee of buying the dog is an issue. The things that I know I can consistently afford is food, toys, obedience until graduated, vet care. But the main adoption fee-$300 is hard. Bc its pulling it out of the budget you have made. Its hard to use $300 @ once. That’s why I like payment plans. You can pay a little at a time.
Im not sure how else to explain it.