Why are mixed rescue dogs MORE EXPENSIVE than pure bred from a breeder dogs?
 

I do not understand why rescue dogs cost 200-400 for a mixed up breed of dog from a BYB or puppy mill when the BYB and puppy mills themselves charge a lot less.

I mean i know it's because of all the shots, spay/neuter and better quaility vet care and the living and care taking expenses that go into each rescue dog that wasn't probably given by the BYB or puppy mill, but do rescue groups expect people to be able to pay those prices? I mean what happened to FREE puppies to a good home when there was a mixed breed litter born?

I'm not trying to start a fight, i guess i just don't get it. i want to get a rescue dog very much, but I can't afford another 300 dog and sometimes the rescue dogs have worse health problems than the ones you get from a BYB. and the BYB is cheaper. so what's with this and how do they honestly expect to get these precious babies to a good home when asking such expensive "donations" to take one home.

Help me understand this better. i mean i guess i get it because of vet care and i do realize just how much vet care costs, but i thought that's why rescue groups are always doing fundraisers, so that they can vet a dog and then practically give it away to a good home not SELL it for quite a bit of money.

anyways i'm probably just misinformed or not quite understanding so feel free to chime in if you are a rescuer or foster and can help me to understand it better.

Thanks,

I think $300 is the highest a rescue should go, but I think that's VERY reasonable. The adoption fees are not just going into the dog you're adopting, but helping all the others. Rescues take in loads of dogs and often times spend into the $1000's when it comes to vet care. So the adoption fee just helps to cover a little bit of that. Shelter space also cost money... to have a building full of animals, you're gonna pay a monthly rent just like any other business. They have to cover things somehow. My complaint with rescues does not go the costs but more so how over 75% of the rescues I contacted never even bothered to e-mail or call me back, some require fences (which I think should not be a requirement if you're willing to give your dog lots of exercise), some require you to be 25+, etc. I understand they must be strict but at the same time, there is sooo many dogs without homes, I think they do need to lay off on the rules sometimes. But I don't want this to be a rescue bashing thread because I 100% am behind what they do and what they stand for. Oh, and they're definitely not more than purebred dogs. At least nicely well bred purebred dogs. Most Yorkies are $800 and above as well as any other good breeder of any other breed. Besides that, shelters are also filled with purebred dogs and they have rescues dedicated simply to one breed so you can find purebred dogs at shelters, not just mixes.

Part of the charge for adopting a rescue dog is as you mentioned, the vetting. But many of the dogs a rescue takes in, have serious, expensive to treat, health problems. The fees charged for an otherwise healthy dog do help to cover the vet charges for the unhealthier dogs.

To me, the idea of adopting a rescue dog is a matter of the heart and not your wallet. When adopting a rescue, it shouldn't be about getting a "cheap" dog, but about opening your heart (and wallet) to help a neglected, abandoned or unwanted pet.

If the fees for rescue adoption pets are too high for you, then consider your local animal shelter. Their fees are usually much less than a rescue organization.

Yeah, they aren't all $300. We just paid $300 for our rescue but then again, it was from a yorkie rescue. We've adopted from our local shelter and it was $85 but the animals were sick and had worms. :rolleyes: We ended up paying MORE at the vet getting them better.

even those are pretty expensive around here. it's just hard because i do have the heart for adopting a dog for a playmate for Sadie, but they are all costing way more than i can possibly afford and it's starting to feel like i might never find one i can afford to bring home.

and Brister...

i fell in love with a pug/pekinese mix and because i couldn't take BOTH him and his brother i think they wouldn't even consider me and are having someone in Michigan take them both. that's great that they are both adopted and together, but Michigan has their own pets to adopt why are the rescues in MO going there.

Rachel, please read this great explanation of adoption fees on the YHR website. Then look through some of the available pups and see the number of them that have needed a lot of expensive medical care.

Yorkie Haven Rescue Adoption Fees

Have you looked at www.okyorkierescue.org for one that might interest you? You might be close enough to get one from them (I'm not sure if they adopt out of state or not).

:thumbup::thumbup:

I adopted Lady when her previous owner tied her to a tree and moved away. Thank heavens my neighbor found her.

In the first six weeks I spent about $600 in vet bills and bare in mind this was ten years ago. It would probably be twice that now. She was already spayed, but needed a dental, had to have cherry eye surgery, needed all her vaccinations updated and complete bloodwork. She was basically a healthy dog when I adopted her. I know people who have spent thousands in vet bills on adult dogs they did not adopt through a rescue. The small adoption fee a rescue requires is minimal compared to what it can cost if you adopt an adult directly from Craigslist, a newspaper ad, etc.

To be perfectly honest, another reason rescues have adoption fees is to weed out people who really can't afford a dog. If someone can't afford an adoption fee of a few hundred dollars, they really cannot afford to properly care for a dog. Health problems and emergencies are part of dog ownership.For example, an innocent piece of ham can cause many Yorkies to get pancreatitis which can be thousands of dollars to treat. Eyes get scratched and can ulcerate, toy breeds jump off the furniture and injure their knees, the list goes on. Emergency vets require payment upfront. If you can't pay, they will turn you away.

The initial cost of a puppy, whether it is from a show breeder or rescue group, is a very small part of what you will spend on a dog over it's lifetime.

But a lot of rescues get their pups from animal shelters (after they have been treated by the shelter vet) and then turn around and place a high adoption fee. Also a lot of them also use vets from the Humane Society, Animal Trustees or other orgs., so they get vet work done for cheap. I have come to believe that some of them even know each other and have formed cliques. I think rescuing is very noble but I also have met some rescuers that have hoarding problems by keeping most of the animals they get...seriously I have. I'm not saying this for ALL RESCUERS so don't get offended if you don't have these habits. I am talking about here in the Lone Star State which has some darn good rescue orgs, but and some questionable ones too.

Am I the only one that thinks bybs and mills charge MORE than rescues? At least that's how it is in CA. They easily sell at petshops for over $2000. My foster boy from last year was $2500 from a shop in Santa Monica. I was shocked and appalled when I'd seen his papers/receipt.

Quite frankly, for a dog, a living creature that you must take care of for the rest of its life, $200-400 is nothing, a drop in the bucket. What about all future expenses for the remainder of its life? For example, LP surgery is $1200 at least, probably more like $2500 around my area. If you can't afford the adoption fees, how do you think you can afford the dog?

Since I have been reading the posts at YorkieTalk, I have come to realize that I bought both of my babies from a broker...for a lot of money! Not to mention the money I have spent on vet bills and the upcoming vet bills since they both have LP. But that's ok with me as I could not buy all the joy they have brought to me.

One of co-works fosters Yorkies. One of the Yorkies she fostered was taught by his former female owner to bite the woman's husband! That dog had serious issues. It takes a lot of time and money to get those dogs ready for a forever home. I take her kibble that my dogs won't eat and I know she would take donations for the vet bills. The vet bills are very high and the vets never know if or when they will be paid.

If all they want is $300 for a rescue dog, especially a Yorkie, that sounds like a bargain to me. I don't know what they sell for in my area. Since I have two already, I haven't been real interested in taking on a third one....yet!

Yes, rescues do sometimes get dogs from animal shelters but most shelters do not provide medical care for their animals. A shelter is not going to spend money on a dog, that will be euthanized, if not adopted. Rescues often do get discounted rates from vets but there is never enough money to help all of the dogs in need.

You're right about some of the rescues knowing and working with each other. Associating/networking with other rescues has many benefits. I've transported dogs for cavalier rescue, cairn terrier rescue, an all breed rescue and other rescues have transported for yorkie rescue. I know one Pom rescue person that anytime she comes across a breeder surrender yorkie will call me.

I can't agree with you more the Lone Star State has some of the very best rescues, very hardworking, dedicated people!

:thumbup: I just wanted to add too that I live in NJ and I know that are rescue does pull dogs from shelters, but it is usually the dogs that are very sick and or unadoptable. The shelter does not have the $$ to vet to the extent that the dogs need and that is why rescue will pull them.

:thumbup: Exactly. Purebred rescue groups usually have contacted local shelters to let them know when their particular breed is dropped off and in danger of bring euthanized or have medical needs that the shelter can't deal with.

Most rescues groups don't have enough foster homes for all the dogs needing homes so they don't pull a dog that is in a safe no kill shelter. They only pull dogs and cats in a high risk situation.

As others have pointed out, most rescues lose money. Trust me, they are not in cahoots with local vets to pull pets from shelters to make money.

I didnt read through all the posts so Im sorry if this has been said but for one a good reputable breeder will be selling for much more than $300 and second I wouldnt pay one penny to support a byb or puppy mill breeder, third when you adopt from a rescue you are supported them and most likely they wont profit but if they do you just donated to save the next little yorkie that may need help (usually tax deductable) and finally if you do buy a puppy for 300-500 you will still pay way more after shots, microchip, and spay or neuter and thats if your lucky and it has no other health problems.

:eek:Marjorie! I had no idea this was how Lady came into your life...poor baby! Thank God for you.

I also agree with what you said about weeding people out. Anyone can take a free dog without really thinking about it. However, paying a price requires them to think about it from the investment angle.:thumbup:

Also if all puppies were free they would become "bait" for those fighting dogs! I'm sure those horrible people look for free animals all the time. :mad::thumbdown

And you and I both know how expensive eye problems alone can be!

Lady is the most expensive "free" pet I have ever owned!

Everyone has pretty much already answered your question but I wanted to add that when we wanted to get Franklin neutered, we were quoted over $300 for his neuter alone. That isn't including the vaccinations, heartworm check, and (if necessary) teeth cleaning (which also costs upwards of $150) that rescues do. I'm not trying to start a fight but if someone can't afford a simple $300 adoption fee, how can they afford to own a dog? When Franklin got parvo we spent $1600 to keep him at the "hospital" for 2 weeks. We spend less on food now that we feed raw but when we fed kibble it was $60-$70 a month on food. Not to mention $40/month for Frontline and $30 every 3 months for Interceptor. Then there's the yearly check-up every year which costs around $150 per dog.

Having a dog is an extremely expensive commitment and if you aren't financially prepared it can really catch you off guard. We had NO idea when we first got our dogs.

I only wish rescues adopted yorkies out for 300$ around here! That is nothing for a yorkie. If I could find them for that price, I'd probably have at least two new ones already :D a spay alone here costs around 300$ so to get a dog that has shots, spay/neuter and is healthy for 300$ is wonderful I wish thats my dream lol

I dont think thats a bad price for a rescue especially when you figure they had .shots and a neuter. What I dont like about rescues is they wont let you adopt if you have kids or you dont have a fenced yard or if you work.

if you work, wouldn't they want you to work so you can afford the dog :confused: Thats a little weird!

I know lots of people who have adopted rescues who work. I think they are just careful with dogs who have separation anxiety to make sure they are placed in a home where someone is home most of the time.

I also know people who work in rescue who say the fenced in yard isn't a hard and fast rule, that each applicant is evaluated on a case by case basis. One member on another forum fosters and lives in a condo with no fenced in yard.

The no young children rule I certainly understand. There are just too many sad cases of toy breed dogs being accidentally injured by a small child. Also, children becoming allergic is one of the top reasons dogs are turned into rescue so why would they take a chance?

If you check out web sites for rescues, you'll find far too many babies with severe health problems. When at the site, also read up on the little ones, they explaine the health issues, give you updates and also give you the oppertunity to give a donation for that particular baby in need. I have often seen the actual price that is needed for the treatments. Because those donations do not even begin to cover the special needs these babies have, it's heartbreaking. I have been pretty blessed with the health of my babies and only once did I have to tell my vet, I don't care what it's costs, save her!! My boss at the time ended up paying the entire vet bill, giving my vet total freedom and the instructions "No matter what, do not let this dog die no matter the cost, I need her to be able to work and not worry," what a blessing!
You never know, it was a freak accident my baby was hurt, it was thousands of dollars!

:thumbup::thumbup:

I came here to learn about yorkies while looking for my first. Everyone was pushing adopting. Which I looked into before even finding this site. I would love to adopt, "unfortunately" I have two kids under 10, so I can't adopt.:rolleyes:

I know I have replied to this already, but I have a co-worker that fosters rescued Yorkies. Go to this link, it is a YouTube video of what this precious puppy looked like when he was rescued and what he looks like now. I would gladly pay $300 for him. My co-worker used to rescue Boxers and I have seen pictures of some of them when they are first rescued. I cannot believe a person can treat any of these precious animals this way. :cry::cry: After seeing something like this, I go home and treat spoil mine a little bit more.