I've noticed at times here and on places like Craigslist and elsewhere that there may be persons who feel the need to rehome their pet for one reason or another. Most often, these persons truly love the animal but just can't provide for its basic needs. They simply want to find a loving home for the pet.
But, I frequently see that people charge a 'rehoming fee' which often runs into the hundreds of dollars. We've adopted our dogs from rescue groups which charge similar costs....but those costs reflect the veterinary bills typically associated with bringing the animal up to date on healthcare before it can be legally adopted out.
I've been very curious about pet owners charging a 'rehoming fee' to someone willing to adopt a pet that they can no longer care for. Doesn't it seem that the two concepts are at odds? Is there a purpose for charging a 'rehoming fee'?? Is its purpose to weed out the 'dog-killer' types of people? Here in our area, there is a notorious and well concealed group that comes into our rural area once a month or so and steals dogs from people's yards. Our assumption is that the dogs are stolen for the purpose of medical science testing or some other insidious reason.
So, I can understand shelters and owners charging a high fee for adoptions/rehoming in order to keep those nasty people away.
I just wondered if there are people out there who would love to provide a caring home for a pet that needs a home but are reluctant to pay 'rehoming fees' seeing as how they'll be the ones taking on the costs of that pet and need to put their money toward providing for its needs in the future. If I couldn't care for Milli (for whatever reason) I would be focused on finding a loving home for her as opposed to trying to recoup any veterinary costs I'd put into her.... so the idea of a 'rehoming fee' just doesn't make sense. Can anyone shed any light on the concept? Am I missing something?