the rescue i work at charge

£85.00 for dogs and puppies
all neut,fully vacced,microchipped,wormed/defleaed and undergone a 10 day assesment (pups go with a neut voucher to cover the entire cost of neut)
dogs over 10years are £50...but still receive all the above treatments

cats £45 again all neut,fully vacced,microchipped, wormed/defleaed (kitts have neut voucher) all FiV FeLV tested clear
cats over 10years are £20...but still receive all the above treatments


rabbits £20 all neutered and myxo vacced and microchipped

ferrets £20 all neutered and microchipped

small furries and birds are a donation

all are animals have home visits prior to homing.

we have 10 full time staff...Voulnteers can not be relied upon...we see them as a bonus when they do come in!

I do see where you are coming from and yes they probably could afford to feed and care for the dog but what about affording to have them neutered, flea treated, annual boosters, any medical costs due to illness it may come with? What about the next dog that comes into that rescue in dire need of medical help? Does the rescue then turn it away due to lack of funds? Do they send them out with assessing them for some time either in kennels or foster homes?

Poor rescues have enough to put their money into without people saying that they are charging too much, there is someone that I know who rescues ragdolls and if another cat comes into their rescue they try to find a breed rescue for that cat so that it will be rehomed quicker, when they gave a young healthy neutered 6 month old cat that they got in to another rescue the rescue was so pleased that they have a cat that they could actually get money (as opposed to shelling out for other things as this cat was ready to go straight into a new home once they kept it for a couple of weeks to make sure that it had no diseases and to see what its temperament was like) from instead of loosing money all the time.

Like I said, they have more money than most people think! This was taken from the balance sheet of Dog's Trust, so I rest my case!

Quote:

Trust
REPORT of the TRUSTEES
At the existing centres major expenditure is planned at Snetterton, while a site for a
combined Sanctuary and Dog Training Centre may be bought in 2006.
FINANCIAL REVIEW
Income and Expenditure
• Voluntary income from donations, legacies and membership fees increased by £3.165m to £33.869m in 2005 (2004: £30.704m). Income from legacies
increased by £1.370m and income from committed donors increased to
£11.300m. Unquote

I think they can afford to let those who can't afford it, to adopt a neutered, de-flead, castrated, whatever dog for a lot less money! That's MILLIONS we're talking there, not hundreds, not thousands, but MILLIONS!

However that is just one national rescue, what about all the small independant and breed rescues? They certainly do not have enough money in the bank to be giving dogs away. So what happends to them, do they just shut the doors to the ones that need extra money on them, send dogs out unneutered?

The DT is also spending a lot of money on new centres so they can take more rescues on, most already have a waiting list.

I think the charge should be comparable, i.e. the Dog's Trust who have loads of money can reduce their charges, whilst other less well off rescues can charge more. That way people will know which ones to go to. Hopefully, people that CAN afford to pay high charges, will choose the smaller rescue centres where they need the money. You seem to think I'm against rescues or something, when you must know that I am not? I just want these poor dogs given MORE of a chance to get a lovely warm home to snuggle into rather than be stuck in a cold, damp kennel that's all, and as I said, I KNOW lots of people who just couldn't afford to get their hands on a lump sum of money like £150 quid!

The centres near me (Kent) are very expensive. I'm torn in this because you are payinf for neutered, vaccinated and usually chipped animal and paying a certain price encourages responsible ownership. I think when you can pick up a puppy for next to nothing, it sends the wrong message.

I do think however, there should be exceptions - you have, for example, an OAP who retires and will give an animal a really good life, but who cannot afford the initial cost. You have the older animals - who would rehome an aged animal (with the potential of vets bills) as well as foot up £150??

I don't know what the answer is - I can see both sides and not sure where the happy medium is.

Wish we had that much money in the bank, we will be lucky to break even at the end of the year

Dogs trust do look after thousands of dogs a year, and are not like the RSPCA who put down dogs, they also have a bit for dogs who can't be rehomed.

How much do Dogs Trust charge? (Never had a dog from there - just small rescues)
Helena - why don`t rescues faced with, say, an OAP who can`t afford the lump sum, offer the dog as a Foster? I`m `fostering` one for GAR and have been for 5 years! He won`t be going anywhere and I pay all his bills, but strictly speaking he still belongs to them. In the case of an elderly person this might be a good solution in case of infirmity as well.