Ugh Really?!
 

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Okay so today ( and every other day ) I went to look at the adoptable yorkies in a rescue near me.
I am astonished by how much there adoption fees are!!!
They range from 550-850!
It might just be me but I thought adoption fees should and be less for a dog you are adopting?
Ugh. It just makes me mad sometimes because some people dont have the money to buy a yorkie from a breeder who wantes close to a 1000+ for a yorkie, so they go and look at shelters and see that some are asking almost just as much as it is to get them from a breeder.

To me this is just....wrong almost.
I know that yorkies are a VERY common breed and everyone wants one of these little cutties but adopting a dog for $850? I got my Jack Russell ( also a pretty good breed I think ;) ) and he is purebreed with papers
for an adoption fee of $80!

Okay. Sorry everyone. Just needed to rant:rolleyes:

I think you already know this, but these organisations or shelters need funds to care for the doggies. Most of the time, these dogs are vaccinated and spayed/neutered. These things cost money and the rescue group needs to make this money back.

I also think that dogs cost a lot of money in their lifetime and when someone has trouble paying that much money to acquire the puppy, they should perhaps look at what the dog is going to cost them in the long run. How will they afford emergency vet bills if they can't pay for the puppy. I think that the adoption fee is a way for the shelter to see who is serious about the dogs.

For me, dogs are very valuable and I would reconsider getting a dog if I couldn't afford the adoption fee.

I agree.
I've seen some Yorkies for adoption for ridiculous prices on petfinder.com.
EVERY shelter in my area has dogs available for adoption and they all under $350.

It is very easy to take care of shots, neutering/spaying, etc at a cheap price, especially if you are a shelter or rescue organization. The spay clinic where Jackson got neutered was $65 for dogs under 45 pounds and they give even bigger discounts to the rescues. The rabies vaccine was only $7 there.

I understand they need to make their money back and then a little bit more... but you should know getting into rescuing that you may very well LOSE money and you shouldn't be in it for the money, but for finding these animals homes.

It's not that people are not capable of paying $850-$1000 for a dog... but when you're RESCUING and adopting a dog, you shouldn't have to pay that much. You're getting a dog that you don't know it's history most of the time, could have a lot of behavioral issues, need a lot of house breaking and socialization, etc. Not all the time, but a lot of times rescue dogs are like that. I'm capable of buying a dog for $1500 but why do that if I can get a dog exactly the same and healthy for $400? Just because I don't want to pay that much for the dog itself does not mean that I can't afford to care for a dog and it's emergencies.

Now, I don't like when people ask for "free" or "cheap" dogs on Craigslist, etc, because then yes... if you can't afford that, then you probably can't afford a dog, and it could be being placed in a terrible home because the person just wanted a dog for free, etc. But with a rescue, they usually thoroughly look into the adoptive homes and make sure they are a right fit... so a cheap fee is acceptable.

Also, most rescues are 501(c)3 foundations, which means they are tax deductible, and can hold fundraisers, take donations, to make money for the animals.

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Do you have a website for this rescue? I would like to see it and the organization.

Thanks.

I see both sides of this. The goal of a rescue is really not to find cheap dogs for people who cannot afford the prices a breeder charges. They are to find a good home for a dog in need. Some of the dogs cost thousands in medical care before they are ready to be adopted out. I know some of the prices seem high, but if it is a REAL rescue, they are not making money. Now, there are some unscrupulous sellers out there calling themselves a rescue just so they can sell unpapered dogs for a top dollar. Beware of that! But when a rescue puts a price on a dog, it is with the entire operation in mind. Yes, they want to find a good home for the dog, but they are not necessarily trying to give out "good deals." When a person adopts a rescue, it should not be with the idea they are getting a bargain. It should be that they want to provide a home for a dog in need. JMO.

I guess our local shelter is now asking 100 dollars for cats. I adopted from them a few times in the past but the most I paid was 50 dollars. That was about 15 years ago. Plus I had to take them to the vet to be fixed and the vet had to show proof to the shelter via paperwork that it was done. I don't know how they do it now. But if you still have to have everything done it's kind of pricey for a cat. I can understand if everything is done already.

Keep looking around at dfferent shelters . There are probably several in your area and rescue groups. Each having their own different prices. Rehoming fees are going to vary. It's getting the dog into a perfect home. I am unsure if it is relaly about the specific breed .However, Yorkies are the #1 most popular breed in the U.S. A 2-5 yr old Yorkie from a shelter or rescue group needing a good home, that you get approved for may be ideal for your and your family. Remember that price should not be the biggest concern when bringing home any dog .

I agree with you and I can't see paying that much to a rescue when you can put some money to it and get one from a good breeder.

You should do what I did and that is buy an older Yorkie. They don't cost a lot like the puppies do because everyone wants a puppy. The one I am picking up is 2 yrs old and she comes with a sweet personality already built in so I know what I am getting and she is housetrained on pee pads. One less thing I have to concentrate on. All I need to do is concentrate on loving her and taking real good care of her.

Many breeders are looking for great homes for their retired dogs and that is great because they are already trained and probably spayed or neutrered already.

Hope this helps.

I agree that it is ridiculous that some rescues charge so much for there dogs. Yes they may have to have a lot of medical attention but again they are non profit and get donations and things like that. There is no reason to charge so much.

Whether or not you can afford the cost up front to me does not say to me good or bad owner. It does not make a difference because circumstances could change and the richest person monetarily today could be broke tomorrow. If you love and take care of your puppies then that is all they need. If you take care of there medical needs as they come up then that is all that is necessary. Maybe if we didn't have to put so much out upfront we wouldn't be so strapped when it came to the medical end.

All the posters have really great points. Thinking about it, our shelters have raised their prices as well. It is now between R350 and R450 that you have to pay for a rescue dog. Problem for me is, they don't have purebred dogs. Not even one. And no yorkies. I have never seen a yorkie in a shelter - I think they are so popular that if they get lost, you will have to fight with the 'new owner' to get your dog back. That is why I microchip mine.

Anyway, I agree that a rescue dog shouldn't cost as much as a purebred puppy, but I also understand the rescue shelter's standpoint. I used to volunteer and foster, so I am partial to shelters.

In the case of SA, I think they are raising the prices to instill a sense of value in the pet. We have a lot of people who neglect and abandon their animals, so trying to get the public to see that these animals have value may change a few things.

Hehe, incidentally, R350 translates to about $44. I think that makes my opinion invalid:p

Los Angeles County Animal Control Shelter occasionally has yorkies. They do not have papers, but you can tell they are pure bred. Does New Jersey have shelters that are run by the county? It is a hit or miss thing here, and it is hard to actually get one. I tried for over a year to rescue a yorkie at the shelter. They spay or neuter the dogs, update all shots and charge 78.00 for any dog. With the economy here in California there are many pure bred dogs people are giving up. Our local shelter does not let rescues take dogs unless no one expresses interest in them. The shelter also gives you a voucher for a free visit to a local vet to check the dogs health more closely.

It is a nice way for people to get a dog without spending thousands. The gamble is there for unseen health or behavior issues. They will let you return the dog within 30 days if things don't work out and you have 90 days to find a replacement.

I adopted and the adoption fee for my little Bella would probably have been one the OP thought was outrageous. But here is my reasoning- the rescue organization is doing wonderful work, they take on dogs with complex expensive medical conditions and often end up fostering those dogs for the rest of their lives. The rescue charged more in adoption fees for healthy yorkshire terriers because they know that yorkies are so desirable and they need to offset the costs of the more medically demanding fosters and the fosters that become permanent. My decision to adopt rather than buy from a breeder was not a financial one. I know that the healthy cute puppies from reputable breeders will all find good homes. I wanted the opportunity to give a wonderful life to a yorkie that maybe didn't have it good for the first part of his/her life. And through the fee, I feel like I was making a donation to all those other dogs and to the rescue being able to save more furbabies from bad situations and high kill-shelters. I continue to donate to this rescue when I can. Bella has brought me so much joy and I am thankful for her everyday. And though I don't have a lot of experience, I somehow think these little adopted babies are even more special and loving- it's like they really appreciate the lives they have now and love you even more for it. I would have paid three times as much for her :) In fact- I don't think there is a price I could put on what she means to me.

All I can say is that I have no regrets about what I paid for adopting Bella, but I know that what's right for me is not necessarily right for everone else. I wish you luck in finding the perfect doggie for you.

thanks you said everything i was thinking
there are alot of breeds that dont cost 800.00 and people are able to properly care for them their entire life span. so i dont think that was a fair remark. to say if you cant afford 800.00 then you cant afford to care for it. because its just not true.

i think the yorkie rescues are great but i also think they might take adavange of people asking that high of a price because they are yorkies. yes it cost to run the rescue, unless its a extremely ill dog or senior dog it shouldnt cost them more then 200.00 to ready them for adoption...rescue's get great deals on spay/neutre...you are looking at 40.00 tops, vaccinations 5.00 (they do them their selves alot of times, and i have worked for rescues so i know they do that. dewormers 5-10.00......exam was probably free or at low cost because they use their vet so frequently...now if they had a major medical condition that the rescue cared for and paid for i can understand a 500.00 adopt fee to try and recoup the money but they should also make execptions on that fee if a GREAT home comes available and the person is short say 100.00 bucks

I agree and think over $500 it is getting a little high for a rescue dog.

I have to agree with you on this. I have been looking at local shelters myself and they are running about $300 - $800 to adopt a Yorkie. I refuse to pay that much at a shelter. I thought their whole point was to find these dogs good homes. I understand that they have to make money to keep the shelter running but they are not charging this for other breeds. They are also asking for donations on some of the medical costs. I don't agree with the others that are saying that if you can't afford to pay the adoption fee you can't afford to take care of the dog. I just don't want to pay this much in fees and don't think I should have to but it doesn't mean that I am not going to give the dog the best care possible.

I totally agree with every person who posted here. And yes they are non profit organizations so I totally understand that they dont have as much money as they probably need.

I looked on the site today and I saw some adoption fees for older yorkies; the yorkies were around 14 years old, and there fees were $200.

And on some others the youngest yorkie ( that is not a mix ) was $350 for a yorkie that is 3 years and 6 months.

That to me is much better than some of the others.

Here is the site.
Our Dogs

Everyone is allowed their own opinion. So if you dont like mine that is perfectly okay with me!

:)

One more thing...Rescues say they are non profit but what they are not telling you is some of them pay their employees top dollar to run it so that is one reason they charge so high which to me is not fair because they should be doing this free for the love of the dogs.

So to me, when they charge ridiculous prices, they are technically making a profit so they can pay high salaries.

Just my opinion.

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:thumbup::animal36

I agree that sometimes the adoption fee is alittle much. But I wanted to share a story that may make you feel a little better.

My cousin dropped a rottweiler puppy off at my house almost 14 months ago. He had gotten it for his uncle as a gift, the uncle had just lost his dog to cancer and they thought that it would make him feel better. Well, he wasn't ready for the dog and so asked my cousin to take it back. My cousin lived in an appt and had no where to take the dog so he brought her to me.

She was about 6 weeks old and very sweet but covered with fleas and had not ever seen a vet or been wormed or vaccinated. I took care of her and contacted a rescue, I wanted to her to be with a family that would take wonderful care of her and have her spayed, and had exp training a large breed. Within a week the perfect home was found for her. I brought her to meet the family and did a full home visit. The family couldn't have been a better match for her and they still email me pictures and tell me how glad they are to be owned by her.

The rescue charged them 600 dollars for the puppy, this included her spay, check ups, and vaccined. I recieved an email about 2 weeks after she was adopted by the rescue group telling me that the money made off of this puppy had saved another dogs life. A very small maltese had been surrendered by owner because they could not afford the surgery she needed to save her life. She said it was the adoption fee along with a few donations, and a wonderful vet who did the surgery for cost, that made it possible for the rescue to be able to save this baby. I would be ok spending more on a rescue puppy if I knew it just might save the next one that comes along.

seems like some places charge more for the smaller dogs they know people would really want to adopt maybe to recoup whats invested in others they have spent money on to have taken in and had spayed neutered shots then had to hold and nobody really wants sad but it happens way to often!

Shhhhh!...Don't let the secret get out! (This is my preferred approach too.)

I completely agree that some rescues take advantage of people. It is horrible.

I saw this in another thread someone got it off puppyfind....

"We are often asked, "Why would you charge "so much" for a rescue pet? Why not just place it in a good home?" The answer is because we need adopters who are willing to support all rescue pets, not just the dog they adopt. A young, healthy dog might cost us $150-400 in (discounted) vet care, and many people will want to adopt it. An older one with health issues can easily cost $500-1500 in veterinary expenses, and it may require months of foster care for rehabilitation; yet we can only ask a minimal adoption fee, and it may be a long time until anyone comes forward to adopt it. Fees from the younger, more adoptable dogs help offset the cost of caring for the others. Most of our dogs have a sad story to tell, and some have suffered through years of neglect or abuse. We hope that you too are willing to give an opportunity for a better life to ALL of our dogs by supporting them through adoption fees. Without these funds, our rescue efforts would not be possible."

Mutts4rescue "

I thought it said what I was talking about earlier in this thread maybe better than I had and it is directly from one of the rescues. I know that there are always people in life that try to get over on others, but I also believe most involved in rescue are doing it for the love of animals. Many spend their own money time after time to help care for the rescue pups, very often without reimbursement. They are also the same ones providing much of the "donation" money you see reported. Most of the rescues are started with money right out of the pockets of the ones organizing the efforts. If you believe a rescue is cheating anyone, just ask them for some documentation. Ask for their percentage of administrative costs. Every non-profit must report the percentage of money taken in that goes to administrative costs and how much of it goes to the actual non-profit activity. So if you think someone is taking out too much in salary, all you have to do is ask. I think you will find most don't get a salary at all. They volunteer their time, space within their homes, and lots of money and supplies. I am not affiliated with any of the rescues but I do admire the extensive time and efforts put in by those that are. I hate to see all of the negative statements stand unanswered.

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...lol...

I agree that it is ridiculous that some rescues charge so much for there dogs. it keeps them from ever finding a home.