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is this common for rescues?

October 8th, 2005, 06:13 PM
I have been doing a lot of searching and browsing the dogs up for adoption in my general area and I have seen several instances where a particular rescue/shelter will have an adoption fee of 100 dollars for a mixed breed dog and then 550 dollars, in one case, for a purebred puppy. I have seen that the adoption fee tends to be larger for puppies in general, but are price jumps that large common? It seems to fall in line a little with the whole "free = worthless" theory. To say one dog is only worth 100 while another is worth 5 times as much seems like the wrong approach, even if that is 400 extra dollars to help the shelter/rescue group (which is, i assume, why they do get whatever they think they can out of the adopter). Is this common in rescue?

October 8th, 2005, 06:27 PM
Some shelters include the cost of spay/neuter into their cost and for most pups it will be needed. It is also harder to place older or senior dogs so the price for them is much lower to give incentive for placement. The jump is usually not that much between them. Practical, an older dog isn't going to be around as long as a puppy.
There are many people here that are involved in rescues. They may have better answers for your questions.

Lucky Rescue
October 8th, 2005, 07:38 PM
I have no idea why any rescue would ask 550$ as an adoption fee, unless they are rescuing St.Bernards and that fee includes the cost of spaying a dog that size.

Rescues should not charge more for purebreds, since someone could get a dog from a backyard breeder for much less than that, unless the dog is a rare breed.

October 9th, 2005, 12:01 AM
If you are talking about one particular rescue who has, say 2 dogs of similar size, and one is a purebred and one is a mutt, there should be no difference in the adoption fee, unless the 'rescue' is trying to make a quick buck.

However, as quoted above, if one is a Great Dane or St-Bernard, I can see the cost being quite a bit higher for sterilization (particuarly for a female) as the vets charge based on the size of the dog.

Before adopting from a rescue, check out their credentials.

Better yet, visit your local human society ..... the adoption fees are pretty much the same for all dogs.

:thumbs up

October 10th, 2005, 01:47 PM
$100 for a mixed breed and $550 for a purebred puppy? Slight variance in adoption fee maybe, but that is brokering, point blank.

October 10th, 2005, 01:51 PM
I would have to agree. Is this a somewhat private rescue or a well known one that has ties to other organizations.

October 10th, 2005, 04:04 PM
There can be a range of adoption fees with rescue for the reasons already mentioned. The rescue group I am with charges fees by age. Older dogs are harder to place and pups will have cost the rescue more for innoculations, neutering etc.

There may be legitimate reasons for the fee spread. Yes, perhaps a bit mercenary, charging more for a more 'desirable' dog, but rescues can run up some pretty big vet bills if they get in a dog that is in poor shape.

One dog cost us $600 and it turned out he was so sick that he had to be pts. That is $600 out and no adoption fee in. Granted not every dog costs us the $250 adoption fee that we charge, but 9 times out of 10 we are balancing our cheque book with red ink.

I am not defending this rescue and there are many who masquarade as rescue, but there can be reasons for a spread in adoption fees. But $550 is over the top, especially as that is in US dollars.

As your local SPCA about this rescue. Ask the rescue what vet they use and call that vet for a reference.

Thank you for wanting to adopt a rescue

October 10th, 2005, 04:11 PM
I dont have a problem with it,some rescues have taken in dogs needing major surgery and will raise the adoption amounts on certain dogs to help cover the costs of the other dogs in the rescue.Nothing wrong with that in my opinion.If they have adopters who will donate those amounts to help the rescue I think it is great.

October 11th, 2005, 12:10 AM
We ask for the same adoption fee for ALL cats/kittens unless the adoptor is a senior or someone on a fixed income who is adopting an older cat for companionship.

October 11th, 2005, 10:46 AM
Speaking strictly in theory, the price will go as high as what the consumer is willing to pay. That doesn't mean its ethical, or right, but its basic economics.

I'm sure there's more to it, like health issues that were fixed, or behavioral issues that were addressed. If you ask, they should be able to explain, if you don't like the explanation, walk away.

October 11th, 2005, 11:29 AM
Well the place is not a major shelter, so I guess it's more of a private rescue. The expensive listing was for a purebred puppy and I emailed them and asked about the health of the puppy. They said she was not sick, nor did she require any extensive medical care. I definitely think it's more of a "how much can i get" type of thing, which i don't necessarily have a problem with. I was just wondering if it was common, as I saw a couple of simillar situations with other rescues. I'm not looking at adopting the puppy or anything, just saw her while browsing. Thanks for the replies!