Good Idea?? -v- Bad Idea??

Tonight I have ready some fairly heated exchanges - particularly in relation to the "credentials" of breeders and the pros and cons of bringing more pups into an already overcrowded canine world as is evidenced by the number of "pets" and unwanted litters that are dumped at shelters.

As I see it, licensed breeders should be focussing on reproducing the finest fault-free specimens of specific breeds so that these magnificent creatures can be preserved - like all our global wildlife so that extinction is never a consideration. The almighty dollar should not be a driving force.

Which leads me to my question.
Many people decide they want a pet. First reaction, "what about one of those beautiful ......." Reality sets in - the cost is prohibitive, so this idea is abandoned. Natural reaction to follow is.... "we'll go to the shelter".

I'm not sure whether there is a fee charged by shelters in USA but in Australia, our shelters have steeped up the fees - just to make the prospective purchaser think twice (animals used to be all but free (apart from a small donation) but pups cost around AU$150+ now. All animals are de-sexed and must be registered with the City Council upon purchase.

Perhaps fly-by-night pet owners could be further deterred by hitting their pockets. I'm sure the impulsive shopper will think twice about forking out a bucket-load on a puppy or a kitten. As a result, this just might lead to a reduction in the number of dumped animals. The less animals out there to reproduce, the less unwanted animals crowding our shelters.

I love animals, in particular, dogs, but I cringe every time I think about all the wasted life as a result of insufficient controls.

Just my thoughts..... what do you think??

 

most licenced breeders do strive to producse the finest dogs. thats how they really get licenced here in the first place. they have to abide by the canine councils rules or they and their reputation are out. in wa it costs 200 dollars for a pup at the rspca, 95 for a kitten and 80 [i think] for a cat. i dont know what the dog/cat home charge bt id assume its around there. and i agree it does make people think twice. ive overheard people at some stage or another say 'why dont you get the dog from the rspca' 'oh but they still charge 200 bucks for it i dont want to pay that'. the high price works in a way. i feel sorry for the pets in the paper who are in the 'for free' section or are $50 etc.

 

Kyles, nice to meet a fellow Aussie - I'm in Brisbane. There will always be a back door for the unscrupulous and I know there are genuine situations where people need to pass their pets to good homes. But I really do think if the "easy" avenues to obtain pets started at least $500 then there might be a lot more prospective pet owners cooling their heels.
Thanks for your comments.

 

There are two shelters close to me, one charges $135 for dogs/puppies (if they are a mutt more for purebreed or what they think is purebreed) and around $95 for cats or kittens. The other one the animals are free. The second shelter has less animals in it but does that mean the ones that left went to a good home? I dont know. Just thought I would share what some of our shelters are like. I have mixed feelings about the prices at some of the shelters, I understand you are saving a life but for some of the charges to get an animal I would see someone just wanting a purebreed dog that they know the history on. When the first shelter starts charging a much higher amount for what they consider a prebreed dog, I think it gets a little outragous. They recently had a pom for $300, now I paid $300 for my pom from a breeder and I knew she was pure breed. And I knew who her parents were, got a health guarantee and all that. Instead of an unknown. I personally have only adopted a cat from a shelter, most of my dogs were given to me or we found.

 

Well, first, I hope this topic doesn't get closed. Administration apparently doesn't like topics that discuss opinions. Some people on this board can't deal with others having different opinions so they act like children and the topic gets closed for no good reason. (I would discuss this elsewhere but I can't get a reply so I'll put it here so at least it will be read and then it can be deleted).

*** Administrator note [-(
elizavixen, closing, editing or deleting posts is entirely our decision. It normally happens to posts with nothing beneficial to offer to our viewers (like some of your threads) except for rant and fights. If your not happy with the way we are screening posts then maybe you should not post here !


As far as your post, I feel differently about the costs. I have been thinking about getting another cat but I am certainly not going to pay $80+ for a cat when I can get one for free in the paper. I think there are a lot of nice homes out there who would take in animals and give them a wonderful place to stay but who do not have a lot of money and are not going to pay so much just to "rescue" the animal. I guess you could see it as deterring not so serious pet adopters but I hardly think that makes a difference when you can get puppies/kittens, etc. in the paper for free. I think for the most part, good people go to the shelters so them charging a lot for a good home is wasteful in my opinion. I think they should make it as attractive as possible for potential homes, esp. when they are putting so many animals to sleep.

 

Well, first, I hope this topic doesn't get closed. Administration apparently doesn't like topics that discuss opinions. Some people on this board can't deal with others having different opinions so they act like children and the topic gets closed for no good reason.

First off I don't agree with your comment above. I have been posting here for a few weeks and never had any of my post taken off or changed. I only think they would take a post off that is in bad taste, language,off topic or rude and believe me I have had a few post I am not sure I would have let posted.
NOW :
From state to state to county in the USA the price is different on retread dogs/cats. Here where I live you can get a pound dog/cat for around $20.00 it includes the shots and license. Rescue charges any where from $100.00 to $300.00 to recover there cost of shots and having the dog fixed,food ect. The problem with pound dogs here is with the low cost many people feel it is only $20.00 bucks so know real lose to give the dog back or just throw it out. With rescue they take the dog back and most well refund part or all the money, but they take care to check into who is taking there dogs.(number of people ,kids, type of yard,other pets.) Some rescue even take the time to start training and check the reactions of the dogs.The people in rescue never get enough credit for the hard work they due.They are fighting a battle, no a war to save and try to correct the mistakes many people and so called breeders make.

No I am not in rescue, but I have taken in pets over the years and do my best to place dogs/cats in good homes.

2pyrs

 

gailau, i think jody is actually from brisbane as well. everything well said 2pyrs lol. as much as people would like pets not to have a price tag placed upon them, they really need to. for example the 20 dollars from the pound sounds like its not even close to what the cost spent on the pet would be. a shot and licence here would be 70 dollars. 50 dollars is a big gap to make up for. to a heartless so and so 20 dollars would make the dog seem worthless, disposable and treated more like a jacket on sale. its like if i ever had to sell my dog [which id never do of course]. if i put an ad in the paper i would not be giving her away. id want something in return for all the effort and money i have put into raising her and keeping her happy and healthy. she isnt worthless. and i wouldnt want someone who thought she was a 'bargain' taking her.

 

I hope you are not referring to me. I only give my opinions and post replys to the questions etc that people ask. If people are going to be so touchy about what people say to them they shouldnt post asking for advice or making light of controversial things they do.


Ok with that said. Kyles I didnt get a chance to apologize for assuming you were male. LOL I am very sorry I assumed because your id was KYLES that you were a dude. lol Sorry about that....


Ok with this topic. Here locally dogs are near 100.00 or more sometimes upto 200.00 and cats are 100.00

I think the upping of shelter prices have advantages and disadvatnages.

For the advantages. This makes people that are inquiring about an animal think twice before becoming a pet owner. If they cannot afford to pay 100.00 for a pet then the dont need a pet probably to begin with because pets do require alot of money and attention.
Disadvantage is the shelters are FILLING up with more and more animals so therefore they are having to turn animals away because of lack of space. Also if their prices were alittle lower maybe people would look to the shelters instead of doing what they usually do here. Go to the local papers classifieds and free to good home ads. You can just about any breed here where I live in the paper free or under 100.00 each. These dogs are not spayed and neutered, usually not up to date on shots and sometimes are not in very good health or even full blooded. So in a way the steep fees of shelters are not a good thing. These people could have rescued an animal and have it spayed and neutered from the shelter if the shelters werent so high on their adoption fees. I am in the process right now if trying to adopt a deaf Pit Bull. Her adoption fee is 150.00. This specific shelters adoption fee is 100 for NON Pit Bull breeds and 150.00 for Pit Bulls. There is good and bad with every decision and opinion. There is really no wrong or right on this topic. It can be debated both ways. The shelters are trying to HELP these dogs get a better home but in the mean time they may be keeping them from one as well. I just hope shelters arent upping the fees to make a few $$ ya know what I mean. It would really suck if these dogs are suffering and not having a home for a few $$.



Thats my opinion on the matter. No offense to anyone etc. Seems as though people think that my post sound offensive and have a mean tone. lol Think of that telling a tone through the typing of words.


Kim
"If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem"

 

lol, kyles is a very aussie nickname i guess!

 

Shady_Babygurl/Ok with that said. Kyles I didnt get a chance to apologize for assuming you were male.
The way we use words can be taken in many contexts, such as the comment above. I take it as a joke :lol:

gailau/The almighty dollar should not be a driving force.

I could not agree more but yet there are many basement/garage breeders in it for the money only. I do feel that real breeders do have the right to make a profit on there work/ there business. There love of the animals they breed.

Store/ real: My wife wanted a Dane, Went in there home circle cage on carpet floor in living room, smelled bad, poo everywhere wanted to walk out but wife took pup anyways. Next day vet,blood in stool (Parvo )$400.00 later saved dog. Dog died 3 years later bad health and many dollars spent. Pyr bought from breeder low cost ($350.00) below market price, died at four years old kidney disease. This breeder breed small dogs and wanted to start breeding Pyrs. My female Pyr bad hips bone disease, still with us but I have to help her up and meds to help with pain.She is 9 and don't know from day to day when my heart well be broke.I sit some nights and hold her in my lap and in my arms and wipe the tears from my face and hers. I have cried more tears for the lose of my family then there is waters in the river near me.
There is know answer to all of this, only hope that it well change some day

2pyrs

 

Shady, I agree with you, its like being caught the phrase "caught between a rock and a hard place" dont ask me to explain it :roll:
I dont think there is a right answer because both scenarios make sense. on the one hand you want to make it affordable, but yet, saying hey this is a liftime commitment if you cant afford $100, then you cant afford to then can you really afford a pet. I cant belive some shelters only charge $20 though, doesnt sound like they would even break even.

I have easily spent $2000 and probably more on Jake my pure bred lab over the years with all of his problems. On the other hand - Wylie my mutt is as healthy as an ox, has never been sick.

2pyr - hugs to your doggie

honeybear

 

gailau -- i'm not sure i completely agree with what you say motivates people to look in the shelters for dogs/cats (i.e. the price of purebreds), but i do agree with the general idea of the post. we charge $95 for dogs at the shelter i work at -- the dogs leave us UTD on all shots, dewormed, heartworm negative, spayed/neutered (no certificates for a spay/neuter the new owner will "supposedly" get done!), and they are on heartworm preventative. it's not too often, but we do get complaints from people that we charge too much -- or that we even charge anything at all. some people seem to think there are already too many unwanted dogs and cats in shelters and that they'd be doing us a favor by taking them off our hands (similar to what elizavixen is posting...if i am reading her correctly). you know what? there are too many unwanted dogs and cats in shelters. but that is not my fault, nor is it the fault of anyone else who works in a responsible shelter. it is the fault of people who decide they don't have interest in their pet anymore; it is the fault of people who decide they don't want to spay/neuter their animal; and it is the fault of people who think breeding an animal is a quick way to make a buck or two.

i strongly believe that people who do look to the papers for the free or low-cost kittens or puppies are only perpetuating the problem. the people who place these ads get rid of their animals quickly, no doubt, but what message does that send them about future litters?? in my opinion, it just proves to them that it doesn't really matter how many litters their animal has because there will always be people willing to just come take them off their hands. to counteract this thinking, we will not take in an unwanted litter until the owner has their animal spayed. and, yes, these measures have worked. many times.

 

We have several shelters in this area, the prices range from $8 to $350(breed rescue)....the problem with the eight dollar shelter is that pitbull fighters find that a cheap price to pay for a bait dog. That doesnt include any shots and you dont have to sign a spay neuter contract or anything to get a dog out. It is a dog only shelter. I think they should have to bring those prices up, and include a contract, just to deter the pitt fighters. Also, when they get a pet in, with ID tags or something, it costs $50 to get it out....

 

I am not sure off the cost today but I believe it is only around $25.00 here. There are price differences from county to county. The dogs only get basic shot and tag. You sign off saying you well follow up and get your new dog altered and any other shots and meds needed.( What a joke) We have had a few shelters close over the last few years some because of money and some for being in bad shape. One closed for distemper can you believe it a shelter a place you would have thought was safe to get a dog from. Even the big one in Cleveland has had it's share of problems over the years.

2pyrs

 

Wow moose *5$ for all that is great. People have posted here just to get a dog spayed/neutered at the vet is more than $100. Sounds like you have a pretty good shelter.

honeybear

 

honeybears -- it really is an awesome deal when you consider all the vet care our animals leave with (cats are UTD, spayed/neutered, tested neg for feline aids and leukemia, dewormed for $85). however, i do want to note that all that is only possible because of the *amazing* vet who works with us -- it really does prove that once a community can start to come together and actually work with one another that we can start making a dent in pet overpopulation.