Dog Ownership has become elitist and there’s whining in here

[RootAnn]

Hearts United for Animals is a shelter/rescue in my regional area. A look at their website shows a variety of dogs. Adoption fees are $300 for dogs and they will fly them to you for an added cost. Their application is insane, IMO, but they really care about their dogs and if you are approved, they will try to match you with what you are looking for. They get some dogs flown in from the south and always seem to have a lot. They are an example of what I am used to around here.

[RootAnn]

6 minutes ago, stephanier.1765 said:

We take our pets to a low cost vet. A few months ago we got our mama cat spayed and it was $40. My son and his gf adopted our male kitten and when the gf inquired about neutering at their vet, she was quoted $450. That's insanity!

I think a spay costs about that around here. The pre-surgery testing & actual surgery monitoring is at human-level. There is low cost spay-neutering in the area, but there is a long waiting list. (You pretty much have to get on the list when your animal is born.)

[Granny_Weatherwax]

I've been thinking about this some more and Quill is correct. The opportunities to get pets has changed. Our first two dogs were both free mutts. Our first dog was a blue heeler/austrailian shepherd mix born in the county to a farmer.  DH heard about it through a friend at work.  Our second dog was a doberman/boxer mix. We got her one day while shopping at Walmart. A family had set up a plastic pool by the main entrance and was selling puppies for $10. DH said he wasn't paying for a dog but would take one for free. They let us have our pick of the remaining puppies. We chose a female and she was a wonderful, beautiful dog. I haven't seen anything like either of these situations in years.

Granted, neither of those dogs was actually free due to vet costs, training, etc. 

Edited July 12, 2020 by The Accidental Coach

[KungFuPanda]

31 minutes ago, Pawz4me said:

Again--find some local rescue groups and follow them on FB (if you're on there--IMO it's the only thing FB is good for). Our recent addition is a 15 pound cutie, probably poodle/schnauzer mix, but unless and until we do a DNA thing it's anybody's guess. She was picked up as a stray at a Red Roof Inn off the interstate. Nobody claimed her and she needed some vet work that the shelter couldn't provide--to be spayed, a dental and some extractions (I vehemently disagree that dental work is something dogs don't need!!!!), and to have a few lumps removed. So the rescue group I volunteer with pulled her. They posted on their FB page that they needed a foster and I said I'd take her, and then we "failed" 'cause she sucked up to DH big time. LOL But gist of that long ramble--don't rely on shelter websites or Petfinder listings if you're after a particular type of dog. Contact the rescue groups directly some way! Let them know what you're after and get on their list of potential adopters instead of waiting for a dog to appear. And our rescue is very reasonable to deal with--only basic info is asked and fees are very reasonable.

Most of the hounds make great family pets. I don't know why they're so often overlooked, except that most of them aren't as pretty and flashy as some other breeds. Which goes back to my pet peeve about picking a dog on looks instead of temperament/personality/exercise needs.

When we got the dog from the shelter we thought he was a border collie/lab mix. That’s what they told us, and he looked rather border collie-like. He was a Saluki greyhound mix. He didn’t LOOK like a greyhound until his legs kept getting longer and longer and his body didn’t “fill in.”  Looking back, we dodged a bullet work-wise with that dog. He enjoyed high-energy play, but he was fine just chilling all weekend. If it rained, he preferred to stay in as much as possible. That totally worked for us. 🤣

[RootAnn]

The thought process behind not giving away animals (anymore) is that if you aren't prepared to pay a bit to get them, you probably won't take good care of them. Being that it costs so much to spay/neuter here, you either have to get it from a rescue/shelter already fixed or be prepared to pay big $$. Or, deal with off-spring, I guess.

[Pawz4me]

Just now, RootAnn said:

The thought process behind not giving away animals (anymore) is that if you aren't prepared to pay a bit to get them, you probably won't take good care of them. Being that it costs so much to spay/neuter here, you either have to get it from a rescue/shelter already fixed or be prepared to pay big $$. Or, deal with off-spring, I guess.

It's also to keep them out of the hands of dog fighting rings where they will be used as bait. It's more of a problem in a lot of areas than many people realize or want to admit.

[hjffkj]

2 hours ago, Quill said:

I completely agree, but that’s part of the expectation I have found, which is why I say it seems to be elitist. I am sure some of that is regional, but I do think if you live in a HCOL area, the vets seem to think you have endless bankroll for your sick pets. 

Wrt my words of warning to my dd, I was trying to help her see that dogs and cats can be very problematic for her age group, although honestly, she sees this pretty vividly without my help. Her bf’s brother has to pay butt-loads of “Pet rent,” in addition to a pet deposit, in an already expensive place to live. Simply because he had the heart to adopt a 70lb. mutt and is not yet at the family-home-in-the-suburbs part of life. 

 

The bold is one of the main reasons I ended up not going to vet school.  I was all set for vet school immediately after undergrad and then I worked in a veterinary hospital.  I decided I didn't want to turn into one of the vets pushing ridiculous care because of my own student loans and need to make an profit on a business.

[Guest]

Re: hounds and hound mixes. I actually think I’m being a good future dog owner by knowing what I don’t want. I take dog ownership very seriously, only have ever had one dog at a time, and expect to keep a dog as long as it lives. I would re-home or return a dog only for an extraordinary reason. So, yeah, I am picky about everything with a new dog. I don’t think that’s a negative, though. 

[Pen]

 

Many Shelters mostly cleared out all adoptable dogs at start of CV19 Stay Home, according to news, and certainly true here.  

In my area there are currently 5 adoptable dogs shelter dogs that I can identify.   Surprisingly one is a poodle. Two are little like chihuahua or min pincher, one looks like a husky, one like a pit bull (though there may be more at a pit bull rescue I didn’t check).   Usually there would be more than that. 

And our vet who knew of 3 dogs needing homes when we got ours doesn’t know of any currently. 

 

[Carrie12345]

36 minutes ago, Æthelthryth the Texan said:

I guess my point is, the "how much I will pay and sacrifice for vet care for my pet" contest sort of becomes almost virtue signaling at a level when people are wielding it to control who can or cannot adopt a pet in some of these cases

It is a valid point.  My aunt thinks I’m a terrible pet owner. She IS more obsessive about her pets than I am about my human children.  I, personally, do still think there are minimum requirements when owning a living creature that’s at our mercy.

[cave canem]

19 hours ago, Quill said:

Idog ownership is turning into something you can’t expect to do unless you have a nice cushion of disposable income. 

>>>Basically, if you want a freakin Pit mix or a hound, you’re in great shape. But any desirable breed or mix, nevermind!

I am very sad to see this but also validated.  I am looking to be a first-time dog owner, and with plenty of money to throw at the project, willingness to go through any type training necessary, and several young adults who can't wait to take any pooch along on runs, it seems I can't get the attention of anyone placing rescue dogs.

Also, I am wondering what is wrong with hounds?  Seems I am not good enough to get one.

[Katy]

41 minutes ago, Quill said:

Re: hounds and hound mixes. I actually think I’m being a good future dog owner by knowing what I don’t want. I take dog ownership very seriously, only have ever had one dog at a time, and expect to keep a dog as long as it lives. I would re-home or return a dog only for an extraordinary reason. So, yeah, I am picky about everything with a new dog. I don’t think that’s a negative, though. 

 

There are plenty of valid reasons people don't like hound dogs as pets.  They are still bred to be hunting dogs in many places. They both have a terribly strong smell AND a terribly strong sense of smell that is ideal for hunting but terrible when it comes to pets getting into trouble.  They eat EVERYTHING and frequently pet hound dogs have trips to the vet to deal with potential blockages due to eating things they shouldn't. They are very loud vocal dogs.  Again that's ideal for hunting but not for families who live in a town.

[Pawz4me]

16 minutes ago, Arctic Mama said:

 

I’ve been annoyed at those who judge that I have children too, like that automatically means I’d be a bad adopter and couldn’t spend time on a dog. The bunny lady at our shelter said much the same, and that she only made an exception with my application because she could tell I cared and did my research. Just nixing potential families on that sort of criteria is so discriminatory and frustrating 😞

It is frustrating for those of us who have (or in my case had) young children who would be fabulous pet owners. But the rescues aren't wrong, either. The number of pets who get turned in to shelters and rescues because of issues with young children is pretty astronomical. The dog jumps on/scratches/mouths/nips at the kids' heels. Or the person says they're so busy with their kids they have no time for the pet. And on and on. The rescue groups are going by experience and percentages. From their perspective the odds of a successful placement in a home with multiple young kids aren't good at all. That's not the rescues' fault; it's the fault of the many people with kids who turn in animals. Nevertheless, I understand your frustration.

[Katy]

If you have any friends that are vets or you know any vets in your area call them.  They not only often have people drop off found animals, but they also frequently know of good pets whose owners can no longer keep them and are looking for a good home.  You might find a free dog whose owner suddenly had a stroke or whose owner is about to be evicted and can no longer keep him, but who is in good health.

[Selkie]

6 minutes ago, Katy said:

 

There are plenty of valid reasons people don't like hound dogs as pets.  They are still bred to be hunting dogs in many places. They both have a terribly strong smell AND a terribly strong sense of smell that is ideal for hunting but terrible when it comes to pets getting into trouble.  They eat EVERYTHING and frequently pet hound dogs have trips to the vet to deal with potential blockages due to eating things they shouldn't. They are very loud vocal dogs.  Again that's ideal for hunting but not for families who live in a town.

We've had several hounds and none of ours have smelled bad or been voracious eaters of things they shouldn't have eaten. Agree that they are loud, though!🙂 

[Lady Florida.]

3 hours ago, Matryoshka said:

I think it might be easier in the south, where apparently there are much laxer leash laws, so puppies just happen.

Here, you never, ever see a single stray dog.  Or an unleashed dog that's not in a yard with an electronic or actual fence.  Never.  So, no accidental puppies, not a lot of dogs for the shelter except... pit mixes.  And chihuahua mixes, lol.  It's funny how the pit mixes seem to be universal, but the secondary dog type seems to be local.  No hounds here.

 

I can't speak for all of Florida but there are strict leash laws in my county and in the cities within the county. And you don't see stray dogs around here either. The only time I've seen a dog running loose it's been one that got out of the house or jumped its fence. Much of the issue with dogs here is that an elderly owner dies and none of their family members want it. Our shelter used to have a lot of such dogs. I think rescue organizations have been taking them, but you also see a lot of cats at the shelter who had the same thing happen to them. When my mother died dss & ddil took her dog. BIL (dh's brother) ended up with an old dog when his wife's aunt died and no one else wanted to take it. They felt sorry for the dog and took her in. Sadly not everyone wants to or is even able to take in the pet of a deceased loved one.

[Pawz4me]

29 minutes ago, Katy said:

 

There are plenty of valid reasons people don't like hound dogs as pets.  They are still bred to be hunting dogs in many places. They both have a terribly strong smell AND a terribly strong sense of smell that is ideal for hunting but terrible when it comes to pets getting into trouble.  They eat EVERYTHING and frequently pet hound dogs have trips to the vet to deal with potential blockages due to eating things they shouldn't. They are very loud vocal dogs.  Again that's ideal for hunting but not for families who live in a town.

That's quite a lot of generalization, and of course not all of it is true, or at least not for every dog. And the hound group is quite large. Sight hounds don't have a lot in common with scent hounds. I spent a few years way back working in beagle rescue, and while some of them do have a distinctive odor it's far from all of them. The beagle we adopted was pretty much odor neutral. Many are couch potatoes who'll get up for their meals and walks but aren't motivated to go hunting trash can contents. Others can't be trusted around a trash can. They are loud when they bay (bark) but many don't tend to do it a lot. Our beagle was overall the quietest dog we've ever owned. She'd cut loose when she heard something, which was a good thing as far as I was concerned. She sounded MUCH bigger than she was.

[GoodGrief]

I just went to look at Petfinder for our local area. There was quite a variety of breeds up here, including a Great Pyranees, a Saint Bernard, and a Yorkshire Terrier. Also tons of husky mixes, which is common for our area. The listing included animals from various groups though, so not just the local shelter. Not sure about costs.

[Sneezyone]

3 hours ago, stephanier.1765 said:

Occasionally since the loss of our pup, I browse the local shelter to peek at the dogs and daydream. Mostly like the OP, it is filled with pits, pit mixes, hounds and hound mixes. Zero small dogs. Because of this thread, I decided to take a look and I'm shocked that they presently have mutts. Just your regular, run of the mill mutts and in various sizes too. I wish I could get DH to say yes to a dog because there were a couple I would love to see.

ETA: I checked adoption prices. Dogs under 30 lbs or under 6 months are $125. Those over 30 lbs or over 6 months are $50.

Those prices seem eminently reasonable to me.

[Sneezyone]

4 hours ago, hjffkj said:

 

I simply do not believe that.  Take dental work for example.  I would never pay for dental work for a dog unless they had an abscess or something was wrong.  I don't believe most dogs need regular cleanings. That does not make me a bad pet owner.  I actually think the degree to which some people go to keep their animals  alive is selfish, cruel and not good pet ownership. 

Meh. I dislike dog breath. I have a sensitive nose. I don’t like funky teens and I send them to correct their issues so when the dog smells, off she goes too! She’s kept both of my preteens snuggled and toasty through their puberty hibernations (when parental affection was no longer allowed) so it’s only fair that we make some effort to maintain her health too. We pay for biannual cleanings vs brushing along with other preventative care things (vax and such) but we would not pay for life extending care (vs. palliative care) in the event of a terminal disease. There is a middle ground.

Edited July 12, 2020 by Sneezyone

[ktgrok]

1 hour ago, The Accidental Coach said:

I've been thinking about this some more and Quill is correct. The opportunities to get pets has changed. Our first two dogs were both free mutts. Our first dog was a blue heeler/austrailian shepherd mix born in the county to a farmer.  DH heard about it through a friend at work.  Our second dog was a doberman/boxer mix. We got her one day while shopping at Walmart. A family had set up a plastic pool by the main entrance and was selling puppies for $10. DH said he wasn't paying for a dog but would take one for free. They let us have our pick of the remaining puppies. We chose a female and she was a wonderful, beautiful dog. I haven't seen anything like either of these situations in years.

Granted, neither of those dogs was actually free due to vet costs, training, etc. 

right, and to make a comparison to a rescue dog you need to add in the cost of wormings, vaccines, a fecal test, a heartworm test if it is an adult animal, and the spay/neuter cost. All that adds up, making a rescue that is $200-400 not much more than a free puppy that had none of that done. 

[katilac]

 

3 hours ago, OKBud said:

 On the justifying a pure bred thing... We ended up getting our dog for $900, six hours away, from a hobbiest breeder. He is perfect and the experience was perfect. We stayed at their home for over an hour, interacting with all the dogs and people in their house in addition to our puppy. But to hear some people, including the first vet we saw with him,  tell it you would think that I personally smacked a meat pie out of the hands of a street urchin and my investment portfolio consists solely of puppy mills.  The rescues we were looking at, again according to our need for specific traits in dogs, were all over $1000. 

😂 at the bolded. And yes, ironic that rescues feel justified in charging a premium for desirable dogs, but think it's awful for people to go to a hobbyist breeder because it will cost less than their rescue. 

3 hours ago, Æthelthryth the Texan said:

 A ton of rescues are super dishonest and bat shit crazy too. 

So, related to this and what Arctic Mama said about the bunny rescue: I'm not saying this is across the board by any means, but my experience is that several of the small animal 'rescues' in my area are run by people who are A-OK with having lots of small animals in their home, and they aren't actually that eager to adopt them out, lol. It's a lot easier to have 10 bunnies or 15 guinea pigs or 20 sugar gliders than the equivalent amount of cats or dogs. Lots of people start off looking at rescues for small animals, but are dubious about paying more, sometimes significantly more, for an adult of unknown age than they would for a young animal from a breeder. You might be paying a premium for an animal 7 years into an 8-12 year average lifespan. 

But some people are really dedicated to rescues and are willing to pay the premium, so they make the attempt and are met with a flood of requirements and objections. I'm fine with minimum requirements and making sure that they understand the care involved, but not fine with automatically nixing homes because they have children, or other animals, or because they won't agree with feeding the exact diet the rescue wants (the sugar glider Diet Wars are insane). 

When I see small animal rescues with this type of pricing and requirements, and I see very little actual adoption going on, I am suspicious. Very suspicious. 

 

1 hour ago, Æthelthryth the Texan said:

 I guess my point is, the "how much I will pay and sacrifice for vet care for my pet" contest sort of becomes almost virtue signaling at a level when people are wielding it to control who can or cannot adopt a pet in some of these cases. 

QFT 

 

Edited July 12, 2020 by katilac

[Lady Florida.]

4 hours ago, Katy said:

 

 One dog she had - that she kept until put down earlier this year, went through 5 advanced medical treatments I wouldn't choose to put a dog through.  I mean 3 rounds of different kinds of cancer and some bone breaks that required surgery because of side effects of chemo.  This is just cruel, IMO.  Let the animal live until their quality of life is gone and then put them down, but don't put a dog through that many rounds of chemo.  Not that I would ever tell my friend that.

I love my pets but they're pets.  They aren't children.  And working farm dogs are a whole different world.  I get that people who've never been to a farm don't understand the concept that a dog's purpose in life could be to defend a flock, even with coyotes, wolves, bears, and mountain lions around.  But that is what some of them were bred for.

I love my pets (cats and dogs) and they get treated as family members until the choice comes down to pet or actual family member. I had a calico cat I dearly loved who had kidney cancer when she was 14 years old. Ds was a baby then. I would have had to drive 2 hours to the nearest veterinary hospital that treated cat cancer at the time. I was also told I had to keep her away from the baby due to her radiation treatment. On top of that we were still adjusting to living on one income as I became a sahm after he was born. It broke my heart but I had to let her go without even trying treatment. It also would have been cruel to her to let her live and not get her treatment. 

1 hour ago, The Accidental Coach said:

I've been thinking about this some more and Quill is correct. The opportunities to get pets has changed. Our first two dogs were both free mutts. Our first dog was a blue heeler/austrailian shepherd mix born in the county to a farmer.  DH heard about it through a friend at work.  Our second dog was a doberman/boxer mix. We got her one day while shopping at Walmart. A family had set up a plastic pool by the main entrance and was selling puppies for $10. DH said he wasn't paying for a dog but would take one for free. They let us have our pick of the remaining puppies. We chose a female and she was a wonderful, beautiful dog. I haven't seen anything like either of these situations in years.

 

I agree with this. The first dog we ever had came from a K-9 cop friend of the family. One of their dogs had a liaison with a collie 😄 so our first dog was a shepherd/collie mix. After that every cat or dog my family had while I was growing up either came from someone giving away puppies/kittens or either my brother or me dragging a stray home (strays were common in those days before leash laws). Even my first dog after I left home was a stray hanging around the school where I had my first teaching job. Those kinds of happenings seem rare now. When I met dh he had a Keeshond which he bought from a breeder. Until then I never had a purebred dog of any kind. Our most recent dog that we got for ds' 7th birthday was a Sheltland Sheepdog. That was the first time I ever specifically sought out a breed. (He turned out to be the best dog I've ever had, and I've had 8 dogs over the course of my lifetime). 

35 minutes ago, Katy said:

If you have any friends that are vets or you know any vets in your area call them.  They not only often have people drop off found animals, but they also frequently know of good pets whose owners can no longer keep them and are looking for a good home.  You might find a free dog whose owner suddenly had a stroke or whose owner is about to be evicted and can no longer keep him, but who is in good health.

Yes, that was not an uncommon occurrence when I worked as a vet tech. We always tried to find a home for the dog/cat and were mostly successful. There was one dog that was boarded then abandoned. The vet kept telling us to send it to the shelter but at that time there weren't any no-kill shelters in the area. We kept moving him to different cages and sometimes one of us would take him home for a weekend. We weren't as sly as we thought because it turns out the vet knew all along what we were doing but he was a softie himself. Every now and then he'd threaten to take it to the shelter himself but he didn't have the heart. We finally found a great home for him though we were actually sad to see him go. 🙂 

[hjffkj]

9 minutes ago, Sneezyone said:

Meh. I dislike dog breath. I have a sensitive nose. I don’t like funky teens and I send them to correct their issues so when the dog smells, off she goes too! She’s kept both of my preteens snuggled and toasty through their puberty hibernations (when parental affection was no longer allowed) so it’s only fair that we make some effort to maintain her health too. We pay for biannual cleanings vs brushing along with other preventative care things (vax and such) but we would not pay for life extending care (vs. palliative care) in the event of a terminal disease. There is a middle ground.

 

And all your decisions don't make you a bad pet owner either.  I can certainly understand why many people do dental care but from my extensive knowledge of the subject it is sold as a necessity for all, which it is not.  The extent of my preventative care is giving raw bones for the dogs to chew on.  Neither of them had bad breath or build up on their teeth until this year.  As senior, ages 11 and 12, they can no longer chew enough to keep up with their own care.  I also don't do preventative care like vax, other than rabies.   

[ktgrok]

2 minutes ago, Dotwithaperiod said:

 Would you call this a hound? She lives over the hill from us, probably a mile or two if she goes straight over. But she runs away constantly, the owners don’t take very good care I think, because when I tried to find her home the first time, their neighbors told me to let her go or shoot her because she chases deer. She has the weirdest bark and wailing, she stares at you like she can see in to your soul, and she creeps my goofy dog out, the dog who would love to have a pal. I’ve come to dread hearing her howl because I worry she’ll get shot by the local nut-buckets. And I told her owners what people think, but she still runs wild. If I didn’t have a dog, though, I think she’d be really interesting, she seems highly intelligent.

German Shorthair Pointer. I adore them. High energy, but super smart and very sweet. Bred to hunt, point, retrieve. Similar to a weimaraner, or a viszla, but less neurotic and less protective (good thing for most people). Weims are standoffish around strangers but most GSPs like everyone. They are the most common dog used for certain types of bird hunting. 

[Pawz4me]

Agree with the others — that appears to be a GSP, or at least a strong mix. Very high energy dogs. 

[Terabith]

4 hours ago, OKBud said:

hahahaha they do! 

I think we all need to start from the place of understanding that having pets AT ALL is a very weird human thing that we do. 

If people realized how bizarre it is maybe they'd freaking chill. 

My youngest says repeatedly, "Humans will pack bond with ANYTHING."

[Guest]

32 minutes ago, Dotwithaperiod said:

 Would you call this a hound? She lives over the hill from us, probably a mile or two if she goes straight over. But she runs away constantly, the owners don’t take very good care I think, because when I tried to find her home the first time, their neighbors told me to let her go or shoot her because she chases deer. She has the weirdest bark and wailing, she stares at you like she can see in to your soul, and she creeps my goofy dog out, the dog who would love to have a pal. I’ve come to dread hearing her howl because I worry she’ll get shot by the local nut-buckets. And I told her owners what people think, but she still runs wild. If I didn’t have a dog, though, I think she’d be really interesting, she seems highly intelligent.

That looks like a German Shorthaired Pointer and I would not want one. I probably wouldn’t think, “Oh, a hound!” But a lot of the reasons I don’t want a hound would be reasons I dont want a GSP.  Too much energy, they could run for days and not be spent, two sniffy, too exuberant. 

Dh had two of them when he was young and he likes the breed, but this wouldn’t be “my” dog. If we got one it would morph into dh’s dog and I still wouldn’t have “my” dog. 

[Janeway]

4 hours ago, Tap said:

I am living this right now. I have been looking for a dog but they are sooooo expensive in our area. Like you, the rescues are $400+ from the shelter, and it is full of terrier and pits. I  need a curly coat dog and poodle breeds are $2000+.

I won't adopt a dog unless I have a substantial fund for it so it took me a while to save a couple thousand for that. I don't want to get into a situation where they need vet care and I am torn on saving the pup, or paying for the treatment. (I have seen too many people in this situation). Trying to save another $2000 for the dog itself, is going to take me a few years (I'm only working part time due to Covid). 

I almost got to adopt a rehomed dog recently, but the family changed their mind at the last minute. 😞  

As a side note, caring for a pet in our area is also more expensive.  A spay/neuter is $250. My daughter, who just a year later, now lives in Nevada, just paid $50 at a reputable vet to have the same dog neutered. That is is the going price in her area. Grooming, regular vet care and even pet supplies are way, way cheaper too.   This is why I want to have a substantial fund for care. It is very expensive to get care in our area, even at strip mall style vets. Vet care is pretty much the same price as human care here. 

When I arranged the first visit for our new puppy, we got told spaying is in the range of over $600. I did find out, since then, that there are community pet places so we will go to one of those now, but hearing it is so much less where you are....I feel a bit taken advantage of by the $600 fee.

[Liz CA]

What a huge range in vet bills for spay / neuter. We have a spay / neuter clinic where it's under $50 to encourage pet owners to have the procedure done.

We have exclusively adopted. We have had  many dogs but never a puppy. The dog in my avatar is a Neopolitan mastiff (eh...was 😞 ) and was the dog of friends of friends. They had toddlers and it was the wrong dog at the wrong time. She ended up being the perfect dog for us - got her completely free because the family was happy to have found a place for her. We exchanged pics, etc. and kept in touch so they could "see" her now and then.

Next dog came from SPCA in Sac where a beautiful Cane Corso was abanoned (tied to a light post). He was just under $100 (donation to SPCA) and they delivered him to us - at which point they could verify that we lived where we said we did and he was a wonderful dog for under $100 for the acquisition.

Next came Lilly (a boxer) who came from a no kill rescue place several hours from us. We drove almost 5 hours after having seen her pic on the website and having talked several times to the staff there. She is the dog we have now - less than $100.

I don't know if I should feel extraordinarily fortunate or if it's a regional thing.

Edited July 12, 2020 by Liz CA

[Guest]

8 hours ago, BlsdMama said:

We bought our GSD eleven years ago and he was $1200.  6 years ago we bought a czech line GSD with great breeding for $1500.  That was comparative.  But I'm curious what the breeder's going rate is now... To me, both of those were reasonable because hips of parents, grandparents, etc., had been x-rayed. They were carefully matches and producing beautiful dogs that wouldn't have to suffer displaysia.  But I really wonder what costs people have tied into so many of these crossbreeds, etc., where it seems as though they don't have AKC registration, they don't have a lot of medical data gathered on parents, etc.  It's crazy to charge $3k for a dog that you have no investment in? Sigh.  I've been looking at dogs and do not want a puppy.  Like you, I'm flabbergasted to see $500 rehome fees on an 8 year old GSD! 

I think it was you who took a rescue GSD that almost cut your other dog’s head off. Unless I’m remembering wrong. I can’t tell you how huge an impact your post (if it was you) on here had on my general thoughts about getting a rescue GSD. 

[Guest]

4 minutes ago, Liz CA said:

What a huge range in vet bills for spay / neuter. We have a spay / neuter clinic where it's under $50 to encourage pet owners to have the procedure done.

We have exclusively adopted. We have had  many dogs but never a puppy. The dog in my avatar is a Neopolitan mastiff (eh...was 😞 ) and was the dog of friends of friends. They had toddlers and it was the wrong dog at the wrong time. She ended up being the perfect dog for us - got her completely free because the family was happy to have found a place for her. We exchanged pics, etc. and kept in touch so they could "see" her now and then.

Next dog came from SPCA in Sac where a beautiful Cane Corso was abanoned (tied to a light post). He was just under $100 (donation to SPCA) and they delivered him to us - at which point they could verify that we lived and he was a wonderful dog for under $100 for the acquisition.

Next came Lilly (a boxer) who came from a no kill rescue place several hours from us. We drove almost 5 hours after having seen her pic on the website and having talked several times to the staff there. She is the dog we have now - less than $100.

I don't know if I should feel extraordinarily fortunate or if it's a regional thing.

I always thought your avatar dog was an Irish Wolfhound. 😁 (I mean it’s just hard to see it clearly. But in my head I always think Liz with the Irish Wolfhound.) 

A friend of mine has a Tibetan Mastiff and that dog has the hugest, most bushy head I have *ever* seen on a dog EVER. He legit looks like a lion-head. 

[Soror]

6 hours ago, Æthelthryth the Texan said:

This can be a dangerous path to go down though imo, as "necessary" can be very subject to interpretation and debate. At that point, if you should only in good conscience be allowed to own an animal if you have unlimited resources to spend until there are no options left to take, then only the wealthier will own pets, not to mention those who never draw a line of when to quit. If there's an option, they'll drag out the extension cord, so to speak to keep puppy or kitty alive. If you make less than $300k a year does that mean you shouldn't be able to own a dog because at some point it might need care? Or conversely, if you have a family making 50k a year, should they not be able to adopt a dog because they aren't willing to go into 10k worth of debt on vet treatments? 

Yes.

 I don't trust the rescue groups, at least not the ones around here. I think it is shady business when they take dogs as soon as they come in to the shelter without even giving people a chance to adopt them. So, instead of paying the $50 to the shelter you get to pay them $200 and jump through infinite number of hoops. We have 3 pets now(2 cats/1 dog), 2 were strays(cat and dog) we adopted, 1 cat from a friend that needed to rehome a pet that didn't get along with their family, we live in the country so still see strays now and again.

[Ausmumof3]

1 hour ago, Dotwithaperiod said:

 Would you call this a hound? She lives over the hill from us, probably a mile or two if she goes straight over. But she runs away constantly, the owners don’t take very good care I think, because when I tried to find her home the first time, their neighbors told me to let her go or shoot her because she chases deer. She has the weirdest bark and wailing, she stares at you like she can see in to your soul, and she creeps my goofy dog out, the dog who would love to have a pal. I’ve come to dread hearing her howl because I worry she’ll get shot by the local nut-buckets. And I told her owners what people think, but she still runs wild. If I didn’t have a dog, though, I think she’d be really interesting, she seems highly intelligent.

I certainly wouldn’t say so based on the looks but based on the description of behaviour I would swear there was beagle in there somewhere 😂. But it seems GSP must be the same of that’s what it is 

[Corraleno]

I donate to three different rescues and follow lots more, and none of them are pulling healthy, easily adopted dogs out of shelters. They are pulling dogs that are seniors, injured, pregnant, terrified, etc., and mostly from kill shelters. One of the rescues I support only takes seniors, most of them have medical issues, and they have a "seniors for seniors" program that places senior dogs with people over 65 and not only do they cover all expenses, they will provide rides to the vet as well as foster care if the owner is hospitalized or too ill to care for the dog. The two local rescues that I support mostly take in hard to place dogs and dogs with high expenses — abused, blind, hit by a car, seniors, dogs with medical needs their owners can't cover, etc. The women who run those two rescues post bleary-eyed videos from the emergency vet at 2 AM because someone brought in a stray that was hit by a car and the vet needs a rescue to take ownership of the dog and cover the bills, they post tearful videos of dogs in horrible condition they just pulled from a hoarder or puppy mill situation or from a kill shelter. One of the rescues just drove for hours and hours to pick up a dog with a broken back and newborn puppies. The idea that these people, who devote their lives to saving animals, are just in it to rip people off by stealing all the cute, cheap dogs from shelters is so upsetting to me. ☹️

[ktgrok]

Oh, that is another reason the private rescues charge more/have higher expenses - many do a senior program where dogs who are too old for anyone to want to adopt, can be permanently fostered with their medical expenses paid by the rescue. There are foster families who will do this, take in dogs that only have a year or two left, and medical issues, and care for them for that last year or whatnot. And then do it again. But they often couldn't afford to risk the medical care that comes with a senior pet, or the heartbreak, without that permanent foster senior program. So some of the adoption fees help to pay for that. 

In our area, the shelters with euthanize very very quickly, so by taking out the purebreds, it gives the mixes that are left a bit longer to try to be adopted. 

[Liz CA]

53 minutes ago, Quill said:

I always thought your avatar dog was an Irish Wolfhound. 😁 (I mean it’s just hard to see it clearly. But in my head I always think Liz with the Irish Wolfhound.) 

A friend of mine has a Tibetan Mastiff and that dog has the hugest, most bushy head I have *ever* seen on a dog EVER. He legit looks like a lion-head. 

 

LOL. I think I took the pic eons ago and the fact that I figured out how to upload it and make it my avatar borders on miraculous. And yes, it's rather fuzzy. I love mastiffs; getting a boxer felt like "downsizing." The Tibetans are looking like something out of this world. Don't know if I would dare getting one - I am sure they have the usual mastiff attributes I love but all that facial hair, oh my! Do they have to comb it and condition it to keep it from getting hopelessly matted? Maybe the Tibetans don't drool as much...

[Jean in Newcastle]

Random musings:

Our shelter completely waives the fees for hard to adopt dogs. Of course the reasons that they are hard to adopt make them not the best dogs for a lot of people. 
 

Our shelter gets a lot of dogs from rural areas as well as from other states like Texas. They told me that if I wanted a broader range of dogs to check the rural shelters first. 
 

Our shelter is fairly easy to adopt from but I did have to promise them that I would be doing animal care when my kids were little. Which seemed reasonable. 

[katilac]

1 hour ago, Corraleno said:

The idea that these people, who devote their lives to saving animals, are just in it to rip people off by stealing all the cute, cheap dogs from shelters is so upsetting to me. ☹️

Saying that some rescues are bad isn't saying that all rescues are bad.  

[Guest]

52 minutes ago, Liz CA said:

 

LOL. I think I took the pic eons ago and the fact that I figured out how to upload it and make it my avatar borders on miraculous. And yes, it's rather fuzzy. I love mastiffs; getting a boxer felt like "downsizing." The Tibetans are looking like something out of this world. Don't know if I would dare getting one - I am sure they have the usual mastiff attributes I love but all that facial hair, oh my! Do they have to comb it and condition it to keep it from getting hopelessly matted? Maybe the Tibetans don't drool as much...

Well, my friend s a hair dresser, so...🤷🏻‍♀️ Maybe she likes to play with his fur! 

[KungFuPanda]

5 hours ago, Selkie said:

We've had several hounds and none of ours have smelled bad or been voracious eaters of things they shouldn't have eaten. Agree that they are loud, though!🙂 

There is such a variety of hounds. My saluki mix was the least dog-smelling dog I ever owned AND he got WAY fewer baths than any other dog because he did NOT like them. His fur stayed puppy soft his whole life! He also ate so very little to the point that he wasn’t even motivated by food. Like I said. He was weird; almost cat-like. I miss him. 😔

[Pawz4me]

2 hours ago, soror said:

Yes.

 I don't trust the rescue groups, at least not the ones around here. I think it is shady business when they take dogs as soon as they come in to the shelter without even giving people a chance to adopt them. So, instead of paying the $50 to the shelter you get to pay them $200 and jump through infinite number of hoops. We have 3 pets now(2 cats/1 dog), 2 were strays(cat and dog) we adopted, 1 cat from a friend that needed to rehome a pet that didn't get along with their family, we live in the country so still see strays now and again.

I'm not contradicting you; I trust that your experience is true. But just to show that not all rescues are like that -- The one I volunteer for, as I've already posted, pulls dogs from the shelter who are either so frightened they're hiding in the back of their kennel or who need extra vet care. Our recent foster fail needed spaying, a dental and extractions, a lipoma removal, four mammary tumors removed and two of them needed to be biopsied. The shelter adoption fee is $95. After all the vet work was done her adoption fee was $100. A whopping five bucks more than it would have been directly from the shelter. And she was in the shelter for a week (three days stray hold, four days on the adoption floor). People had time to adopt her, if anyone had wanted to.

 

1 hour ago, Corraleno said:

I donate to three different rescues and follow lots more, and none of them are pulling healthy, easily adopted dogs out of shelters. They are pulling dogs that are seniors, injured, pregnant, terrified, etc., and mostly from kill shelters. One of the rescues I support only takes seniors, most of them have medical issues, and they have a "seniors for seniors" program that places senior dogs with people over 65 and not only do they cover all expenses, they will provide rides to the vet as well as foster care if the owner is hospitalized or too ill to care for the dog. The two local rescues that I support mostly take in hard to place dogs and dogs with high expenses — abused, blind, hit by a car, seniors, dogs with medical needs their owners can't cover, etc. The women who run those two rescues post bleary-eyed videos from the emergency vet at 2 AM because someone brought in a stray that was hit by a car and the vet needs a rescue to take ownership of the dog and cover the bills, they post tearful videos of dogs in horrible condition they just pulled from a hoarder or puppy mill situation or from a kill shelter. One of the rescues just drove for hours and hours to pick up a dog with a broken back and newborn puppies. The idea that these people, who devote their lives to saving animals, are just in it to rip people off by stealing all the cute, cheap dogs from shelters is so upsetting to me. ☹️

Yes. There certainly are scammy rescues. There are hoarders posing as rescuers. But those are definitely in the minority, at least in my area. I get irritated by people who believe rescues are somehow trying to rip people off or make a fortune, but I really do think that attitude is mostly from ignorance. People don't really understand the nitty gritty of shelter and rescue work, so they assume the worst.

[KungFuPanda]

3 hours ago, Janeway said:

When I arranged the first visit for our new puppy, we got told spaying is in the range of over $600. I did find out, since then, that there are community pet places so we will go to one of those now, but hearing it is so much less where you are....I feel a bit taken advantage of by the $600 fee.

I’ve never heard of it costing that much and I’m in a HCOL area! Granted, I haven’t adopted a dog in over 11 years, but that seems really high. 

[KungFuPanda]

42 minutes ago, Pawz4me said:

I'm not contradicting you; I trust that your experience is true. But just to show that not all rescues are like that -- The one I volunteer for, as I've already posted, pulls dogs from the shelter who are either so frightened they're hiding in the back of their kennel or who need extra vet care. Our recent foster fail needed spaying, a dental and extractions, a lipoma removal, four mammary tumors removed and two of them needed to be biopsied. The shelter adoption fee is $95. After all the vet work was done her adoption fee was $100. A whopping five bucks more than it would have been directly from the shelter. And she was in the shelter for a week (three days stray hold, four days on the adoption floor). People had time to adopt her, if anyone had wanted to.

 

Yes. There certainly are scammy rescues. There are hoarders posing as rescuers. But those are definitely in the minority, at least in my area. I get irritated by people who believe rescues are somehow trying to rip people off or make a fortune, but I really do think that attitude is mostly from ignorance. People don't really understand the nitty gritty of shelter and rescue work, so they assume the worst.

Some of them ARE populated by Crazy insert animal here Ladies. A friend once sat through a 2 hour In person interview with a rescue for a stray cat. After a follow-up call and loads of wait time, the lady declined to place a cat with her because her youngest child was 5. She knew this before the first interview. My friend isn’t “off” in any way. The Cat Lady was just strange. 
 

It worked out.  She ended up with a pair of strays that bullied a relative into owning them. 🤣 The relative was relieved for my friend to take them. That 5-year old radiated high school this year and the cats are still living the good life. 

[ktgrok]

2 hours ago, KungFuPanda said:

There is such a variety of hounds. My saluki mix was the least dog-smelling dog I ever owned AND he got WAY fewer baths than any other dog because he did NOT like them. His fur stayed puppy soft his whole life! He also ate so very little to the point that he wasn’t even motivated by food. Like I said. He was weird; almost cat-like. I miss him. 😔

Yeah, sighthounds are very clean, not stinky. More cat like. I love Salukis! 

It's the scenthounds that smell houndy. 

[Soror]

11 hours ago, Pawz4me said:

I'm not contradicting you; I trust that your experience is true. But just to show that not all rescues are like that -- The one I volunteer for, as I've already posted, pulls dogs from the shelter who are either so frightened they're hiding in the back of their kennel or who need extra vet care. Our recent foster fail needed spaying, a dental and extractions, a lipoma removal, four mammary tumors removed and two of them needed to be biopsied. The shelter adoption fee is $95. After all the vet work was done her adoption fee was $100. A whopping five bucks more than it would have been directly from the shelter. And she was in the shelter for a week (three days stray hold, four days on the adoption floor). People had time to adopt her, if anyone had wanted to.

 

Yes. There certainly are scammy rescues. There are hoarders posing as rescuers. But those are definitely in the minority, at least in my area. I get irritated by people who believe rescues are somehow trying to rip people off or make a fortune, but I really do think that attitude is mostly from ignorance. People don't really understand the nitty gritty of shelter and rescue work, so they assume the worst.

 

13 hours ago, Corraleno said:

I donate to three different rescues and follow lots more, and none of them are pulling healthy, easily adopted dogs out of shelters. They are pulling dogs that are seniors, injured, pregnant, terrified, etc., and mostly from kill shelters. One of the rescues I support only takes seniors, most of them have medical issues, and they have a "seniors for seniors" program that places senior dogs with people over 65 and not only do they cover all expenses, they will provide rides to the vet as well as foster care if the owner is hospitalized or too ill to care for the dog. The two local rescues that I support mostly take in hard to place dogs and dogs with high expenses — abused, blind, hit by a car, seniors, dogs with medical needs their owners can't cover, etc. The women who run those two rescues post bleary-eyed videos from the emergency vet at 2 AM because someone brought in a stray that was hit by a car and the vet needs a rescue to take ownership of the dog and cover the bills, they post tearful videos of dogs in horrible condition they just pulled from a hoarder or puppy mill situation or from a kill shelter. One of the rescues just drove for hours and hours to pick up a dog with a broken back and newborn puppies. The idea that these people, who devote their lives to saving animals, are just in it to rip people off by stealing all the cute, cheap dogs from shelters is so upsetting to me. ☹️

I'm sure there are wonderful people that run some rescues. From what I've seen here and heard from other people close to me I don't trust the ones locally. I see the shelters post animals and literally as soon as they are posted they are calling for them, not just some but all of them. It is hard to catch dogs on there.

[Soror]

10 hours ago, Æthelthryth the Texan said:

When we needed some barn cats I was stunned by the fact that no rescue would adopt to us. The animal shelters all have the "no outside cats" rule here, but I figured some rescues surely had some feral and/or unadoptable cats. They flat out would not adopt to a home that would let the cat ousdie- even though we are very familiar with how to acclimate a cat to a barn.  It took forever to find a place and then when we did they couldn't wait to give us cats. They had so many- but it was so frustrating to get to the point and searching to find a place that would adopt out. Most places acted like I was asking for cats to feed to a pack of wild dogs. 

Then I had a horrible experience with a Pyrenees rescue. They flat out lied and misrepresented a very aggressive, ringworm ridden dog and then were less than helpful when called about all the problems when she was delivered to my door step- ready to attack our other dogs, us, and missing huge patches of hair. Absolutely horrible, and they are the state rescue org. 

I still work with a couple of local rescues, but in my experience more are crazy and bad than are sane and not borderline animal collectors around here. Perhaps we live around a lot of weird people, but I will probably never work with a dog rescue again. I'll stick to SPCA.

We actually got our youngest mutt off of a forum several years ago! Someone found him on the side of the freeway in Houston and couldn't' keep him because he was an offshore worker. He got him all fixed up though- puppy was only 5 weeks old, and covered in fleas....guy and just loved him and paid for all sorts of vet care, but you can't be gone 30 days at a time with a dog. So he posted him on dh's hunting forum for a good home and we scooped him up. 

We have an outside cat too, it is one we got from friends. She is quite temperamental and very independent, no way she'd work inside- she was a barn cat before.   I'm sure you were furious when they brought the dog to you. We have some that are animal collectors too. 

[vonfirmath]

18 hours ago, Æthelthryth the Texan said:

Yes- it was super annoying the way the media here covered it with the SPCA and BARC. They kept putting it up as a feel good story in March and April, bragging “the shelters have been emptied!” and made it sound like suddenly the stray animal issue had been magically solved, when all they did was exactly what you are saying. They quit taking in animals and they only intervened in the most horrifying situations from what the SPCA sent out.
 

There have been a few cases of extreme neglect and abuse coming out over the last couple of weeks- since the media decided to diversify what stories they are covering. It’s super sad. There’s no way kitten and puppy season came and there aren’t puppies and kittens everywhere. I think our vets office alone last year helped out local town pound adopt out over 50 kittens. We got one and the shelter admin tried to get us to take two for free. I don’t know why this year would be any different. We don’t have as many dogs as Houston here so at least we don’t have puppy problems, but Houston has insane stray animal issues. Houston has insane lots of issues though, lol. 

Right at the beginning of the lockdown here, my parents adopted two dogs they picked up from a foster parent. They are 4 year old poodle mixes of some sort.  They may have came from a situation in Houston though because one had heartworm issues and they took them to Houston to a vet the rescue was paying for to get the treatments. But they were told they came from a dog hoarding situation with over 100 dogs were picked up at once and farmed out to multiple rescues to take care of (And from there to fosters). They were originally interested in one dog, but the foster encouraged them to look at taking both because she hated to split them up -- they were part of the same litter and had been living together at the hoarder houses and were calmer in each other's presence. But the second dog was the one with heartworm issues. But they would give a break in cost to take both and the rescue would handle the medical costs for the heartworm at this particular vet. My parents are very glad they took both because the "extra" dog is actually the friendlier dog at this point. And the two really do keep each other company a lot.

[vonfirmath]

17 hours ago, Terabith said:

My youngest says repeatedly, "Humans will pack bond with ANYTHING."

Agreed! My kids in Honduras talk about their pet rabbits. (tyhough I'm sure those pet rabbits end up in the stew if necessary as well). Kids growing up made pets out of the sheep they raised even knowing those sheep would be slaughtered for a meal eventually. In The Hiding Place, Corrie Ten Boom made a pet out of an ant in her cell when she was in solitary confinement.