For years, we defended our adoption donation rates - we are not in the business of 'selling dogs or puppies' but in saving them... And saving a shelter dog is not cheap... A few months back, one of our volunteers 'shopped' the local vets to see if we could lower the cost of our spays and neuters... The lowest cost was $300 and the highest (for a 60 pound large breed) was $700... Currently we use Best Friends in Mission Hills and we pay the same rate that the general public does ($114)... It is hard to get an appointment and 'spay day' means you are up at 5:30AM, there by 6:30AM and don't leave until about an hour later... Then the process is repeated in the reverse in the afternoon, you'll hit the rush hour traffic coming home and if you live in Simi Valley, the pick-up process can easily take you two hours to complete....
Our adoption donations are pretty standard - $500 for any puppy under 6 months old and over 6 months old, it drops to $350... We no longer take checks because of the incidents with the general public who adopted from us, and then called the bank and stopped payment on their checks... Some people will do everything they can to get a free puppy or dog, so that is on them... We changed our policy now - credit card or cash only now....
Also, because we are No-Kill, WHENEVER possible we will take back one of our adopted dogs if the adopter can no longer keep them... And this happens more than anyone can imagine... We cannot always do this, but we jump through hurdles and obstacles to make sure that our dogs do not go back through the shelter systems... We are foster-based now, so we are ALWAYS in desperate need of foster homes - and the number of foster homes is in DIRECT relationship to the number of dogs and puppies we can save each year...
One of our small dogs was adopted out twice and returned twice... He recently got adopted and his new adoptive mom has emailed us, saying "He is the PERFECT dog. We have been looking for months to find just the right dog. I cannot believe (XXXXX) has been adopted twice and returned. He was meant to be MY dog - that is the only reason I can think of to explain his history!"...
So back to the topic - "How much is that doggie in the window?"...
In TLC, we do NOT believe in spay abortions... This goes against the grain and mindset of most of the humane organizations, shelters, etc... It is legal in our state (California) to euthanize any animal that cannot be adopted... Because unborn puppies cannot be spayed or neutered --- or must stay at the shelter or organization until they are at least 8 weeks old and two pounds --- pregnant moms are generally euthanized, and if cute and adoptable, space is at a premium and the shelter does not want to release the mom and pups to a rescue, the puppies are euthanized so the mom can be moved onto an adoptable situation after she is spayed...
But in TLC, we have found after MANY years of doing this, pregnant moms who get a spay abortion (especially when close to delivery) usually become incontinent later on in life... The only reason for this (we believe) is that when you disturb the natural progression of things, the hormone production is interrupted, the internal organs do not naturally go back into place, etc...
We also believe (and again, going against the grain of the humane community's mindset), if we always have spayed or neutered puppies available to be adopted, the general public just might adopt instead of buying an INTACT puppy from a back-yard breeder or off the Internet... Our puppies do not contribute to the epidemic of unwanted, homeless animals that flood our shelter systems in this country... And if you decide to buy and not adopt, take a few minutes to review your purchase agreement regarding your new puppy... Does the breeder take back their puppies until the natural old age time?... Does the back-yard breeder also participate heavily in rescue of their chosen breed they do for profit?... Just something to think about if you are determined to buy and not adopt...
So why the $500 adoption donation for puppies under 6 months old?...
Simply put? Supply and demand.
Recently we pulled a 10-year old TEENY Chihuahua out of the shelter system... Very sweet little pup about 3.5 pounds... Potty-trained, the foster mom reported she got along very well with her dogs, was no problem to foster and just a little cuddle-bunny who was a sweetheart... Older than 6 months, for us she would be a $350 adoption donation... Once Tuni went in to see our vet (who was VERY generous with what he charged us as a rescue), her dental bill was $335 and some change...
As a rescue committed to this dog until we find her a furever home, that does not leave us very much 'wiggle room' to keep this dog and keep her healthy... This is WHY our puppy adoption donations are $500 - to provide a few extra dollars to take care of the dogs that are not going to be adopted and out the door right away...
Regardless - all TLC dogs and puppies are going to be adopted to you with these items:
- Spayed or neutered
- Micro-chipped - lifetime activation with no additional charges for changes
- Be current on their vaccines (dependent upon the time they arrived in our hands and rescued) - puppies require three series of vaccines (bordetella, plus the core "5" - distemper, parvo, etc.). If they are born in our rescue, they generally have the time to get all three series prior to adoption - we start at 4 weeks old, do them every 2 weeks and by 8 weeks, they have had all three series.
- If they are over 4 months old, they generally also have their rabies vaccine
- Complimentary vet visit at our vet within 5 days of adoption
- 10% off coupon at Theresa's for all supplies bought within 5 days of adoption (with the exception of food)
- Large coupon booklet from Petco valued at over $650
- Even LARGER coupon booklet from PetSmart
- Complimentary groom from Indiana Bones' House of Groom
- Post adoption support from TLC
And your adoption donation is tax deductible to the extent of your IRS status... plus once you adopt from TLC, we go right back out and save a dog's or puppy's life... You are actually saving two dogs in reality - this one you are adopting and the next one we now have room for in our foster base.
So, how much is that doggie in the window?... You tell me - it all depends upon your perception of things... Recently I complimented someone on something they had, and their response was, "Oh, thank-you! It really was not that expensive... I only paid $150 for it at (XXXXX)"... I gulped internally, smiled and replied it was really nice, but in my head I am thinking to myself, "I have NEVER sent more than $20 in my lifetime for one of those. OMG!!"
Saving a dog or puppy's life in your lifetime? Priceless is my answer.
Saving a dog or puppy's life in your lifetime? Priceless is my answer.
With many doggie hugs,
Linda
TLC Director
P.S. If you would like to read more on this topic, here is another website to read through - it is from 2010 but the majority of it still applies today - "How Much is that Doggie in the Shelter?"
Linda
TLC Director
P.S. If you would like to read more on this topic, here is another website to read through - it is from 2010 but the majority of it still applies today - "How Much is that Doggie in the Shelter?"
