# Rescue & the economy



## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

Just curious - is anyone adjusting their adoption fees due to the economy?

I know there has been an influx of pets being given up - both to shelters and on places like Craigslist. Has you seen this in your rescue?

What other ways has the ecomony affected your rescue efforts?


----------



## pupresq (Dec 2, 2005)

We are seeing a lot more dogs being given up and a decrease in what is getting adopted/accepted to rescue. Including dogs that would have been snapped up just a few years ago. We have not reduced our adoption fees though because our costs haven't gone down any - if anything they've increased, as more and more people are competing for every donation dollar. Our adoption fees cover our vet work, so we can't really charge any less than we do.


----------



## Jazy's mom (Jan 5, 2004)

I am not doing as many transports as I use to. Last year I was doing 2-3 a month during the summer and usually at least one a month the rest of the year. This year I can count on my hands the number of transports I have done.


----------



## Pascha (Sep 28, 2008)

This might seem like a silly question, but doesn't your cost of keeping the rescued dogs _increase_ the longer you have them?

E.g., if you keep a dog six weeks, the cost is only X amount of dollars, versus if you keep a dog six months?

So if you let a dog go for _less than _X amount, and actually find a home for it, might you be better off than if you kept the dog indefinitely?

I recently saw on the board a working line GSD for adoption at $200. Let's see....that is a free dog, and _maybe_ $75 for vaccines and deworming. I still say someone somewhere is making some $$.


----------



## ninhar (Mar 22, 2003)

> Quote:I recently saw on the board a working line GSD for adoption at $200. Let's see....that is a free dog, and maybe $75 for vaccines and deworming. I still say someone somewhere is making some $$.


Trust me, rescue is NOT about making money. As a rule, rescues generally lose money on every dog. Even with discounts that SOME veterinarians give to rescues, which is usually about 20%, it costs a **** of a lot more than $75 to spay/neuter and vaccinate a dog. I suggest you volunteer with a rescue for awhile to see the reality of how rescue works.


----------



## Myamom (Oct 10, 2005)

No....there is spay/neuter which has to be done on almost EVERY dog we take into rescue (a dog already spayed/neutered is a pleasant surprise). In my area that runs $150-$300. In addition there is a vet appt. (in my area $45) PLUS cost of shots, microchipping.....FOR A HEALTHY DOG. Of course...MANY also come with other health issues...parasites, kennel cough. And those are the easy cases. Considering our adoption fee is $225...you do the math. And that is for a HEALTHY dog. 

Of course...you get your more difficult cases. Let's see...we have a dog right now that has severe hip dysplasia and ununited elbows. Just to start both elbows will need surgery at over $2000 PER elbow. Take a look at some of the cases in "where they are now" and "follow up".........Apollo.....Phoenix.....Samantha....just to name a few...........

(oh...and there are many times pull fees, boarding fees, transport fees)

I can't believe anyone would think rescues make money...it's a struggle to keep your head above water.......thus our NEED to get out there and DONATE our time TO FUNDRAISE so we can SAVE LIVES.


----------



## Prinzsalpha (Jul 6, 2005)

LOL I am in agreement Mary Ann. Transports are definately harder. It has slowed down in terms of adoption but we do have at least 6 applications on dogs right now. It is normal to slow down closer to the holidays and we do not adopt at that period also, very selective, we do not want our dogs as presents, some unwanted.


----------



## Myamom (Oct 10, 2005)

geez...forgot HW test......HW Preventative and Frontline/Advantix provided to all our fosters...FOOD.........CRATES....

whew...I'm getting rather flushed here...lololol.......


----------



## Jazy's mom (Jan 5, 2004)

On top of the vetting, you still have to pay for food, flea preventative and heartworm preventative. Here in the south that is year round. So after all the vetting is done, you are paying around $50 a month just for basic care. I foster mostly seniors and they typically take longer to find homes for. I had one of my fosters for over a year (that means two rounds of shots). There is no way rescues make a profit. You may make money on one dog, but then you loose money on another.


----------



## Borrelli21 (Oct 16, 2007)

geez...forgot HW test......HW Preventative and Frontline/Advantix provided to all our fosters...FOOD.........CRATES....

whew...I'm getting rather flushed here...lololol....... 
_________________________

LOL!


----------



## Pascha (Sep 28, 2008)

geez, I guess I am just more economy minded. The local speuter clinic is much less expensive than the vet..avg $70.

I give all vaccines (besides rabies) and dewormings. Since a GSD is not a collie type dog and can handle ivermectin, I just buy the tube of stuff at the store for about $8 which treats umpteen dogs.

Sure, I can understand the de-flea....and I know that's expensive.

Microchipping? Surgery? I think I would have to draw the line somewhere before that.


----------



## JeanKBBMMMAAN (May 11, 2005)

Speuter clinics are great if you have them in your area. We strangely do not.









MDR1 mutation: http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/depts-vcpl/ 

Microchipping gets the dog back to the rescue or owner for safety. It's a common thing to do now-breeders are doing it as well, I believe. 

Rescue has to vet by the book in order to adopt a dog out. Are you going to trust someone who says they did it and charges you or do you want to see a vet record? I would want to see it. 

Surgery-we save the dogs for real and for life. A reputable rescue doesn't turn their back on a dog. They get it, it needs something, they take care of it as if it were their own. 

Costs vary by region as well, which is difficult! 

Plus depending on the foster, there are food costs, training if they take the dog to a class, etc. 

PS-dog currently in my avatar and signature was lucky enough to raise funds to have open heart surgery that saved her life


----------



## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

*Re: Rescue & the economy*

Make money?







Any foster dogs I've had I've paid out of pocket for their food, toys, etc. I've also never charged for the cost of gas driving to do meet and greets, home checks, etc. (and I often drove more than an hour each way). Even with that, the dogs ended up costing well over the adoption fee with speuter, microchip, heartworm test and meds, vaccs and vet checks. 

A speuter clinic has finally opened up here. Previously rescues had to work with a vet who would give them a discount and sometimes had to wait 2 months for an appt!!!!!! Even with the speuter clinic it can take more than a month to get an appt. 

As for the original question, I haven't seen any discount prices around here but all breed rescues are only charging $175 to $200 anyway so they are already really low. 

And I agree with Jean, a reputable rescue commits for whatever health care the dog needs.


----------



## Myamom (Oct 10, 2005)

There are no speuter clinics in my area...great for you if you have one....you can save some money. But it really doesn't matter because there are still so many other expenses. Rescues are still faced with parvo, Heartworm, nasty kennel cough, thyroid issues, heart conditions, mange, ....etc etc etc....

What should we do? When it's a medically treatable condition? 

a. adopt them out with untreated health problems?
b. euthanize them? 

No...we committ to them...and treat them as our own...and all their medical needs that come with that.


----------



## Pascha (Sep 28, 2008)

well, it sounds as if you rescues are very committed to doing it, and I think it is wonderful.

By the way, have I told you about my rescued racehorse?


----------



## JeanKBBMMMAAN (May 11, 2005)

Do tell! Now talk about expensive-horse rescue. 

I wonder how they are doing?


----------



## Pascha (Sep 28, 2008)

ah, what a baby. I'll post a pic tomorrow. 

Sixteen hands, absolutely ******* beautiful, 4 yrs old.

Had him euthanized.


----------



## Myamom (Oct 10, 2005)

That's too bad...why is that?


----------



## Pascha (Sep 28, 2008)

Deputy was injured during a race. The owners kept him in the barn for quite awhile, neglecting his necessary surgery. They tried to place him with a corrections facility where horses are used as 'prisoner therapy'. After no response there, I got him. He was significantly lame and had some 'bed sores'.

I arranged for transport to the vet for new xrays. The new xrays showed extreme arthritis, and the knee swelling was cutting off circulation to his hoof. I took him home and thought about it for about a month. His leg continued to bow more and more, his hoof was practically disintegrating on the inside. He didn't want to go outside anymore. There was soon coming a day when he would go down in the stable and never get up again.

I loved that horse. Sometimes it is the kindest thing to do.


----------



## mmackey (Mar 30, 2008)

> Originally Posted By: JeanKBBMMMAANSurgery-we save the dogs for real and for life. A reputable rescue doesn't turn their back on a dog.


Well said! 
A lot of people don't understand that while a dog may not be ours (rescues) for life, we are forever theirs. God forbid anything should happen and that rescue loses their adoptive home, there will always be room at the inn for any of "our" rescues.


----------



## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

> Originally Posted By: Pascha
> I recently saw on the board a working line GSD for adoption at $200. Let's see....that is a free dog, and _maybe_ $75 for vaccines and deworming. I still say someone somewhere is making some $$.


Usually LOL is just a phrase. . .but I literally laughed out loud at the idea that "someone somewhere is making money" on rescue. AS a foster, food, bedding, toys, and the crate come out of my own pocket. As a transporter, I pay my own gas to transport them, sometimes hundreds of miles. We do have to pay the $50-$75 adoption fee at shelters. The large majority of dogs that come through our rescue are heartworm positive and un-spayed/neutered. Many of them are sick or injured. The rescue also pays monthly heartworm prevention, flea/tick prevention, as well as vaccines and worming. Frequently, we come up short at the end of the month and the volunteers end up paying vet bills out of our own pocket. Trust me, nobody in my rescue group is making anything-- we're all spending it. And we love every minute of it.


----------



## Timber1 (May 19, 2007)

Unless, as someone said, they pay for all costs as a foster, it is impossible for the rescue groups to make money aside from donations.

We took in a dog that was ripped open from his tail to his throat, because the owner decided to put up a barbed wire fence. It took months for the dog to recover, and he was flwon from our group in the Midwest to Maine. If anyone wants to see pics send me a personal E Mail, they are horrible. 

The typical rescue, and most of ours come from other states. Transport expnese, neutering or spaying, blood and stool checks, food, foster expenses, including home visits and sometimes denials, toys crates, etc. And if the dog is aggressive, perhaps a session or so with a good trainer.


----------



## pupresq (Dec 2, 2005)

Sometimes euthanasia can indeed be the kindest thing to do, but there are many situations that arise in rescue where the problems are fixable - it just takes funds. We have a great vet clinic who gives us a good deal on our vetting. We order our own dewormer, vaccines, and Ivermectin all at cost. I think we are pretty much as cost effective as we could possibly be. I'm going to pick up my new foster boy this afternoon, and I'll report back what his vetting costs. It's around $115 for a dog his size. So... if we don't have him long and we adopt him out for $250, yes, we'll make a little money on him. You know, unless he's got heartworms, or an orthopedic problem, or digestive issues, or or or....

But let's say we make a little - that money will disappear as soon as it arrives to care for the endless rounds of antibiotics that all our shelter kittens seem to require to cure their URIs, or the next dog with heartworms, or perhaps we'll get in a litter of parvo puppies - saving them will easily run $300 a piece, and that's with a discount and doing our own home care. Why not just euthanize them and save on the bottom line? Well, we're rescue. We're not here to make money, we're here to save lives.


----------



## pupresq (Dec 2, 2005)

And there you go. Just went to pick him up - heartworm positive.























So that'll be about $300 to treat, on top of the $115 I just mentioned. Oh, and he's got a fever and is on antibiotics, so by the time all that's said and done, that'll be another $30 or so. And while he's here being treated for heartworms, he'll need preventative, and flea and tick stuff - and food, although that comes out of my pocket, not the rescue's dime. So by the time he leaves he'll easily have cost the group and me in excess of $600. If we're lucky. 

We'll get an adoption for les than half of that. And that my friends, is what rescue is like.


----------



## bdanise1 (Jan 25, 2008)

Well well said Pupresq and Myamom.

I just foster I 'm not even a rescue.

I have pulled a few on my own well Danni and I pulled two girls.
Plus a few other.
I have HW+ girl now.. Lets see with boarding and vet care and pull fee that was 400.00 Plus vet care when she arrived, more worm meds. Dox for 30 days. Good food .. Lets see HW treatment 350 and thats a pretty good price.. She she was a mess and I could have said well she may not even make it through HW treatment, so why bother.

Its what we do, save a life for a better life than they have ever knew before. I pulled this girl and I would not turn my back on her I had to give her the best treatment and chance at life.
She was savable.
Yes there may be time where the kindness thing is to PTS.
Other times you have to give all you have.
Is there any money made not that I have ever seen.


----------

