Cty Animal Shelter vs. Pvt. Rescue group (how much, vet, training) - Dogs - - City-Data Forum

NewHomeHappy · 10-13-2008, 06:59 AM

I'm in a dillemma here.
We have been looking for a young dog or a puppy for a few months now.
The County or Town animal shelters have many dogs. Just no puppys. Their fee is 50-$75 to adopt a dog. They have been check by vet & give medications & are up to date on shots, plus they spay or neuter.

Now there are other places, called "foster shelters" or "Pet Rescues" which are private not for profit organizations that have TONS of puppies. They are all over Petfinders. They do everything the County shelter does but they charge $250 - $300 and they DO NOT include the spay/neutering in the fee.

My question. Are they shady? Could these be Puppy mills in disguise? If this is all on the up & up then why are their fees so high? I really wanted to save a dog from a shelter. We wanted the dog to be young or a puppy. I would just not forgive myself if I paid that large amount of money to line someones pocket. How can I really be sure? These Pet Rescue people are very touchy & do not like to be questioned. You would not believe the application I had to fill out. I had an easier time getting my mortgage.

kelly3120 · 10-13-2008, 07:14 AM

it all depends on the individual rescue.
We started out going through a rescue and then the rescue actually asked us to save a pup in the pound they couldn't get their hands on, which we thought was wonderful of them(proves they love the dog and not the money!!!!!).
My heart goes out to the pound puppies stuck in concrete cages w/ three walks a day. What a rescue often does is get that dog back on track before you adopt it. Pounds can mess w/ a dogs brain, especially if they are high drive dogs! So a rescue swoops in, does the "puppy rehab"(so to speak) and then you get a somewhat well rounded dog. I think they should charge more for the "rehab" some of these dogs go through. They are "trying the dog out" for lack of better words.
We put out a ton of energy getting our dog stable after being in the pound.
I think both have the dog at heart BUT one is system run and the other is private.
It then depends on how much effort you want to put out.
hope that helps!

Consider your circumstances. Personally, If we go through the pound, I need a dog younger then 6 months(less chance of abuse and trauma) because I will never have the amount of time I had when we got our pound puppy! If we go through a rescue, I will go with a older dog 6 months or older that has been in a loving foster up until we take it.

=)

Keeper · 10-13-2008, 07:15 AM

Rescues don't get funding from the city or county, that is why the fee is higher. Many times they have to pay to have a dog boarded in order to save it, plus medical bills for injured dogs. A rescue may get puppies occasionally but I would be leary of a rescue who had lots of puppies especially pure bred dogs.

You do need to be careful though. I know of one so called rescue in your state that is run by a woman who was arrested here in AL for running a puppy mill. The dogs/puppies were living in terrible conditions. She received 3 yrs probation and was not allowed to own more than 3 dogs, so she moved out of state. She now has a website as a rescue but she also is selling purebred dogs.

I know puppies are cute and wonderful but consider a younger dog. They may already be potty trained, don't chew on everything with those sharp puppy teeth.

titaniummd · 10-13-2008, 09:29 AM

The rescue I used to get our dog had our dog checked out, he was already fixed, and microchipped.

I think it depends upon the different rescues out there.

In my opinion, unless you have the time to invest, you are better off with an older rescue than a puppy. Ours was a year old. He just had his 2nd birthday last month on the 26th.

dreamhunter65 · 10-13-2008, 10:55 AM

Either is good but research as some are puppy mills. They should do home check if a rescue!
PM me and will tell you where you can find some info on good rescues.

miu · 10-13-2008, 11:02 AM

I'm sort of in the same dilemma. Adopt a stray dog with an unknown history for $100 from a shelter or pay $200-300 for a dog from a rescue. However, with this particular rescue, they've also been fostering this dog in a private home for several months. And I know that this rescue dog would be a guaranteed good pet, housebroken and she likes cats. So depending on the rescue group, I believe that their fees are higher for a reason and very reasonable considering their time and effort in evaluating each dog and giving it the training it needs to be a good pet for someone else.

The other factor is that with the shelter dog, it's a six hour drive away. The rescue dog I'd have to drive farther than that to get her, another 200 miles. But I've driven 1100 miles each way to adopt dogs from TN. For the right dog it's well worth my time and some gas.

mikenbacismama · 10-13-2008, 11:14 AM

I adopted my dog from a nearby city shelter, and he was 6 wks old. Shelters/animal control centers do get puppies, sometimes even pure bred dogs.

I preferred adopting from a kill-shelter because I gained a family member while saving a life.

STT Resident · 10-13-2008, 11:23 AM

I would be a little leery of any pet rescue who charged that much and did NOT include spay/neuter either in that fee or else as a prerequisite for adoption. Our humane society here ensures that all adopted animals are spayed/neutered before they're handed over to the adopters as this is the only way to curb the population which has most of these animals ending up in the shelter in the first place. Our shelter almost always has puppies and kittens as well as older animals - often nice purebreds as well - and the adoption fee is $40 which includes spay/neuter.

Yes, they are subsidized by the local government - when they can actually get the money which sometimes takes years! - but the majority of funding comes from memberships and donations.

Cheers and good luck with whatever decision you make!

GypsySoul22 · 10-13-2008, 04:50 PM

We paid over $200 for our rescue dog (she was about 3 months old when we got her) plus she was NOT spayed (though it was a condition of our adoption that we would do it.

There are many dogs shipped up here from the South where spay and neuter laws are not strict or (some) people mistreat their animals.

It's hard to hook up a puppy online (sometimes) because by the time you look on Petfinder or whatever, these dogs may be gone. If you aren't overly picky, you can find a rescue and see what dogs they get in.

Our local pounds never had any puppies.
Whatever you do, it's great you want to save a life...

TeddieXRuxpin · 10-13-2008, 06:03 PM

It's kind of like here. Our adoption fee is $150 and that covers the micro chip, neuter, and they are up to date on shots. That $150 usually never covers the cost of each dog, but that is why we're a non profit. Lol

While the city pound charges $95, but they are not utd on shots, usually not neutered, and most of the time come sick. I'd much rather spend that $55 to get a healthy socialized dog.