Dog shelter question?

[PinkFlamingoFrm]

We have only had shelter dogs throughout the years. I noticed the same thing 2 years ago when our grandson asked for a
dog. We went looking at the possibility of adding another member to our family. I was shocked when the person told me that a small mixed dog (can't remember the age)
was $250.00. It had been about 10 years since we got our last pound puppy. Well, we chose to add chickens instead of a dog and couldn't be happier with our choice.
(3 chickens and their home made coop cost less than $250)

Our pound puppy is now 13 years old, has arthritis, one eye (due to surgery required for glaucoma) and we have been told she has a cancerous tumor. We are thankful for
each day we have with her. She seemed to get a second wind when the chickens showed up. She likes to go into their coop and eat their feed. Silly dog. If she had cost
$250.00 when we got her, we all would have missed out on the most amazing experience.

Your WGSD is beautiful. That is the breed my husband and I were interested in. Some of the shelter/rescue dogs I was researching were $400 and more depending
on their individual situations. Out of my budget.

aww I'm sorry to hear about your dog Hopefully she gets better! In april, I took Kiara to the vet because she seemed to have a UTI. They said she had lymes disease (they believe from before I even adopted her) and it moved to her kidneys, caused a condition called Lymes Nephritis. They told me I needed to put her down because she wouldnt make it through the weekend, when she did they insisted that she wouldnt live a week, and that I needed to do the "right thing" and put her down. Well the "right thing" in my eyes was not to put my dog, that looked perfectly healthy down. So 2 vets later, they said she has kidney failure, but shes got some years left if on the right diet and subcutaneous fluids daily, and tons of medication. I quit giving the subcutaneous fluids after a week because I didnt feel it was fair to be poking her with a needle daily & she hated the prescription diet, so we are just seeing how things go. Its been 2 months and she still isnt showing one sign of being sick. My grandfather had a dog, with glaucoma and arthritis and he lived 4 or 5 years past when he got cancer. So you may have alot of quality time left to spend with her Thats funny that she eats the chicken feed, Kiara has a thing for fish food. I have to hide it or she will eat the whole can! gross! lol

 

[UnlabeledMama]

Wow. That's a lot of money! Our local shelter is $65 and that includes shots and spaying.

 

[punk-a-doodle]

I support local shelters who use funds wisely, are open about their practices, do not implement overly invasive questions or demands (Home inspections come to mind...yeah, no), do not have strong ties to AR groups or methods, and who do not engage in practices such as adopting out knowingly aggressive animals. Many shelters and rescues still make that cut, but an increasing number do not. While many shelter workers are passionate about animals, many shelters operate like any other business. Plenty engage in practices such as shipping in animals to meet demand, such as a demand for small dogs. Some are open about this, some are not. "No Kill" can have its own host of issues. I have no issues with breeders who take care of their animals and who keep good records personally. There are costs and benefits with both shelters and breeders.

Shop around though, and chances are there will be a shelter not too far away from you that meets your wants and needs.

 

[PinkFlamingoFrm]

I support local shelters who use funds wisely, are open about their practices, do not implement overly invasive questions or demands (Home inspections come to mind...yeah, no), do not have strong ties to AR groups or methods, and who do not engage in practices such as adopting out knowingly aggressive animals. Many shelters and rescues still make that cut, but an increasing number do not. While many shelter workers are passionate about animals, many shelters operate like any other business. Plenty engage in practices such as shipping in animals to meet demand, such as a demand for small dogs. Some are open about this, some are not. "No Kill" can have its own host of issues. I have no issues with breeders who take care of their animals and who keep good records personally. There are costs and benefits with both shelters and breeders.

Shop around though, and chances are there will be a shelter not too far away from you that meets your wants and needs.

thank, I support them too, I just hate that there are more dogs going to be stuck there because people cant afford their "adoption fee". I think what I will do is watch craigslist for animals that need homes. I have checked all rescues close to here and if they arent overpriced, they require a home visit. which I too feel is too invasive. I have had dogs all of my life and I dont need someone from a shelter to come and tell me if my home is appropriate for a dog. My dog is healthy (well as healthy as she can be with kidney failure), they can see from vet records that I dont cut corners whatsoever when it comes to my dogs health. I dont have an issue with the aggressive part though, depending on the dogs background, my dog had failed almost all of the "aggression tests" I think they should be given a chance. Had I not given a dog that was labeled aggressive a chance I wouldnt have my princess. I wouldnt do it if I had small children around, which I couldnt take a known aggressive dog now, living so close to my niece and nephew. But back then, I was living by myself, and had the time to put into working with her.

 

[ChickensRDinos]

I paid $140 from the LA SPCA about 2 years ago and about a year ago paid $250 from a rescue group -- both dogs were mixes. I have never seen a pure breed dog from a breeder priced at $300 -- pure breed dogs are at least double if not a lot more depending on the breed where I am. No kill shelters have much higher overhead costs than kill shelters. Are there any in your area that are not no kill? Their prices may be lower. You could also look at private rescue groups. www.petfinder.com is a great resource for rescue organizations.

 

[PinkFlamingoFrm]

I paid $140 from the LA SPCA about 2 years ago and about a year ago paid $250 from a rescue group -- both dogs were mixes. I have never seen a pure breed dog from a breeder priced at $300 -- pure breed dogs are at least double if not a lot more depending on the breed where I am. No kill shelters have much higher overhead costs than kill shelters. Are there any in your area that are not no kill? Their prices may be lower. You could also look at private rescue groups. www.petfinder.com is a great resource for rescue organizations.

ive looked for a kill shelter, because I wanted to save a dog that was on its way out(thats always been my reasoning behind getting shelter dogs), but nothing. Here you can find almost any pure bred dog for $300 or less. I dont know if its because its very rural here or what, but very rarely do people ever charge over $300 for a dog. My aunt bred boxers for the longest time & sold the puppies (with AKC papers) for $300. Ive gone on pet finder, and havent had much luck finding other shelters other than the ones I already know of. I mean I dont need a dog right now, so if the right one comes along, I would get it, until then, or I find a kill shelter, I will just wait .

 

[bugglesmommy]

Here most backyard breeder quality pups are around 300-400. Pit bulls are bred excessively down here and sell for 100 normally, often less. Generally, you get what you pay for with puppies. Cheaper puppies often end up with more expensive health problems down the road, not to mention the additional costs of vaccinations and spaying/neutering.

 

[dainerra]

you can't get a well-bred purebred dog for $300. It just isn't possible. You can't even do enough health-testing to know if a dog might grow up to be a breeding candidate and charge $300 for puppies. I'll use my breed for example (GSD). My boy might one day be used for stud. To prove that he is healthy and has the qualities a GSD should have, I have already invested close to $1000, and that doesn't even include his actual purchase price. And, still he could be washed out of the breeding program if something comes up.

The same is true for why the price of shelter dogs is going up. 1) they know longer keep the dogs 4-5 days and then euthanize them. The dog will stay there (food, water, shelter and medical treatments) until the RIGHT family comes along. 2) for every dog that just needs a microchip and spay/neuter, there are 2 or 3 dogs that will rack up medical bills far in excess of $300. 3) no kill shelters and rescues often pull dogs from kill shelters in other areas so they pay an adoption fee to the original shelter to save this dog's life

There are still a LOT of kill shelters in the US. It depends on the area

 

[PinkFlamingoFrm]

you can't get a well-bred purebred dog for $300. It just isn't possible. You can't even do enough health-testing to know if a dog might grow up to be a breeding candidate and charge $300 for puppies. I'll use my breed for example (GSD). My boy might one day be used for stud. To prove that he is healthy and has the qualities a GSD should have, I have already invested close to $1000, and that doesn't even include his actual purchase price. And, still he could be washed out of the breeding program if something comes up.

The same is true for why the price of shelter dogs is going up. 1) they know longer keep the dogs 4-5 days and then euthanize them. The dog will stay there (food, water, shelter and medical treatments) until the RIGHT family comes along. 2) for every dog that just needs a microchip and spay/neuter, there are 2 or 3 dogs that will rack up medical bills far in excess of $300. 3) no kill shelters and rescues often pull dogs from kill shelters in other areas so they pay an adoption fee to the original shelter to save this dog's life

There are still a LOT of kill shelters in the US. It depends on the area

i cant find any local kill shelters. Its pretty rural here. that could be why. Im not talking about a "well purebred dog" because they really dont exist around here, in my opinion (and dont take this the wrong way, Im not being rude, just not sure how else to word it), i dont see why it would be worth it for me to drive 5+ hours and pay probably triple for a dog that someone claims to be "better". anything can happen with any puppy.. you just never know. For instance, my dog just cost me $2500 in vet bills over the last 3 months, from lymes disease that she contracted, before I got her 6 years ago. I dont buy my dogs to be show dogs, or breeders. I buy them as pets. and honestly, i prefer mutts, as they tend to have less health problems and are cuter (Atleast in my own opinion) atleast 60% of puppies around here are offered by amish. there are no local pet stores that sell puppies and really the only other dogs you can find are from backyard breeders and spcas. My aunts breeds her boxers, she gets $300 a puppy and they have akc papers. they dont have all this fancy testing done, but she has produced more than one show dog. The dogs have always been healthy and shes never had a problem in the 5 different dogs that she has bred. I just dont understand all this testing and stuff. if someone has a dog with AKC papers, or a dog with all this testing done, its all the same in my eyes. But, my favorite dog is a pit, and if I could pick any dog I wanted to get, I would choose a pit/boxer mix. I understand that shelters are increasing their prices due to the dogs costing them more, but all I am saying is that there arent going to be as many people adopting, and I feel bad for those dogs stuck in cages. My theory is, if I can make a difference in one dogs life, thats what matters. My dog was a few days away from her "date" when I adopted her, I felt better knowing that I saved her life. I dont want an overpriced fancy perfect dog, I want a best friend.

 

[StephieSky]

Unfortunately, they are charging a lot. The shelter I volunteered with had to put down 4 surrendered or stray dogs in bad health for every adoptable dog. So no I wouldn't say they are all "no kill' shelters. On the flip side of that - they IMPORT small breed shelter dogs from california to oregon and charge premium adoption fees for them. Its a very weird business. It has a lot to do with the number of animals that come in seriously ill, unaltered or stray though. They can't assume anything. The dogs must be quarantined, tested, given exams, shots, health care and have behavior observations. And then too the shelter was rampant with kennel cough and highly contagious diseases still! It costs serious money to house stray and sick animals in the hopes you can find them a home. Plus administrative fees - most of the people in the office weren't volunteers and we had at least 7.

Most people who actually care about their animals take them to the shelter as a last resort. Most of the ones at our shelter that got put down were stray pitbull mixes and dogs people turned out or dumped in advanced states of starvation or with health issues.

Try craigslist Its one place people give away their dogs in the hopes they won't end up at a shelter.