This weekend was an awesome weekend for us! We did a lot of adoptions which means we will be pulling a lot of cats and dogs next week, and what could feel better than saving more animals? I know, saving even MORE animals! But I digress.
I, personally, didn't think that this weekend was going to be as wonderful as it turned out. Winter is always our slow time as people don't want to start a new dog walking program with their newly adopted or to begin potty training in the snow. In addition to that, I personally have always felt that days have their own individual tones. The tone that morning, for me, was a very unbalanced one which I thought would leave everyone a little bit "off" of their game. Being the loyal girl I am, I always tend to take criticism a little personally until I remember that the only criticisms we ever really receive at Paws and Prayers are just the result of a vague misunderstanding. So, I wanted to take the time to type something up to hopefully help out those that may not understand what it is that we do here. So, here it goes...
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| Pocahontas- PDA (heart condition) $3,115 |
Saturday morning we had received an anonymous phone call from a woman that was upset with our adoption fees. She was interested in a puppy whose fee is currently $300 (the highest that any of our fees will ever go). The woman believed that we were a scam and "knew" that she could get an AKC puppy for the same price as one of our beloved mutts. She felt that if we were trying to find good homes for our dogs, then we should be "selling" them for much cheaper. Of course, a valid point if we were actually selling our dogs. But we don't sell dogs, we adopt them out.
The thing about rescue is that you are rescuing animals that not everyone wants. You are taking in animals that not everyone can invest the time, money and love into. You are saving animals that others had already deemed "unadoptable." If we were taking in adorable, medically sound, behaviorally stable, youthful dogs, we probably could afford to simply give some dogs away. But we're not that rescue.
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| Sky- Victim of double cherry eye and an over-sized cone $700 |
Our rescue is the rescue that takes in the seniors, the dogs that jump at the cage and bark at you while at the pound, the sick, the frightened, the deformed, the truly left behind. These dogs do not find homes quickly. In the meantime, they live not in a kennel but in a loving foster home where they are given special one-on-one attention. Our fosters are provided toys, crates, food, treats, collars, leashes, bedding and just about anything else a cat or dog may need to live comfortably in their foster home environment. Fosters are also provided needed items for training and behavioral issues. All of these cost money. All of our fosters have these as needed.
Of course, that just covers the basics. We also medically update our cats and dogs. This includes the spay/ nueter, feline leukemia test, FIV vaccines, dewormer, rabies vaccines and monthly flea preventatives for our cats. For our dogs it's spay/ nueter, DA2PPvL vaccines (distemper, adenovirus, parvo, etc), rabies vaccine, bordetella vaccine (kennel cough), heartworm test, dewormer and monthly heartworm and flea prevention. Again, all of these cost money. Again, every animal needs and receives this care as age and health allows.
Now that is our basic medical updating. This is not including the 60+ dogs that tested positive for heartworm with each costing hundreds of dollars to treat. We had one foster dog that was in such advanced stages of heartworm that she had to forgo the treatment twice. Add that to our dogs with cherry eye, with double cherry eye, with ACL tears and the ones unlucky enough to contract viruses like parvo and pneumonia. Add those to the cats from hoarding cases with mange and ringworm, upper respiratory infections and coccidia. Add those to our seniors, like Olaf, who end up with cancer or skin tags or need bad teeth removed. Add that to the rare, but still present, mystery cases that cost thousands of dollars in exploratory surgeries to find out they have something one in a million dogs don't even contract. Medical miracles, these guys.
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| Saps- born with a hernia, split open her abdominal wall $405 |
Take all of that debt already accrued and add that to this little factoid. Our average cat costs about $90 to update medically. After that $90 is spent, we can still only adopt the average cat out for $60. That is a loss of $30 per cat with every adoption, on average. There is a reason that so many cats are euthanized on a daily basis both locally and afar. There is a reason we are one of few groups that take in cats, and that's the reason. Last year we adopted out 626 cats. If those numbers held true for every cat (which this isn't including special cases requiring more money or taking into account the kittens we were able to adopt out for $100) we would be looking at roughly an $18,000 deficit from simply having a cat program.
We can't adopt every cat out for $90. We can't adopt out a dog that has been treated for heartworm for $379. We cannot adopt out a dog that had pneumonia for $1,212. So how do we stay afloat?
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| Khadija- Pneumonia $1,212 |
1. We are a very lucky group with a lot of amazing supporters. We are not government funded so do rely heavily on donations. Our supporters donate and donate and donate until they have nothing left to give, and once they are at that point, they nag their friends and families to give until their loved ones grow tired of it and smack them a few times. Luckily, it does nothing to their momentum.
2. We have AMAZING fosters and volunteers. Anytime that we are at a loss for something, they dig deep, do some research, pull together and bring about whatever is needed. This can range from getting the beds for our kennels used during intake to getting us grants that will assist us through the year. From garnishing us attention through the Dr. Marty Becker Giveaway from last year to simply setting an amazing example of responsible pet-ownership in their community.
3. Our adoption fees. A lot of times we find ourselves doing a whole lot of balancing: a $300 puppy must help balance out the deficit of a $50 senior ($50 doesn't even cover an office visit). A $200 youth that required little care may help balance the cost of a dog that sadly did not make it. A $250 purebred may offset a $75 mongrel that no one is giving the time of day. A whole litter of healthy puppies may offset the cost of a whole other litter of unhealthy puppies that contracted parvo in transport, as we saw this summer. You never know what you're getting into with the animals you take in so the balancing act is never perfect. We never break even here.
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| JackJack- several teeth extractions $248 |
Those are the top three ways that we have been able to make it over the years. There is no magical cure or fantasy fairy dust that we sprinkle on these guys to get them into homes so that we can pocket the difference. It takes strategy, a lot of checkbook balancing and a lot of heart to save the animals we save. In the end, no one is lining their pockets here. I don't see a cent for all that I do. Of course, puppy breath and dog snuggling is of much more value to me anyways. :P
The one thing that I think does need to be mentioned again, in more detail, is that we do not sell pets, we adopt them out. A lot of people don't understand the difference so I'm going to explain that now...
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| Spot- Parvo and kennel cough $2,179 |
When you adopt a dog or cat from us, you're not just adopting that animal but you're adopting an ideal. Your adoption fee is paying to end pet overpopulation, to end euthanasia of healthy castaway animals, to help establish responsible pet ownership, but ultimately, to give animals that would not otherwise have it a second chance. By adopting from any great rescue, you are adopting all of these things and more. I think a wiggly butt or the purring of a kitten more than pays for itself, especially after considering the lifetime of your pet.
So, for some people, maybe $300 is a little steep. But those aren't our people. Our people are those out there making a difference. Our people speak for the animals with no voice. They're responsible pet owners and don't fund irresponsible breeding. They know the true worth of a pet, not as a symbol of status, but as a real companion; a loyal and loving companion. Our people wouldn't bat an eye at an adoption fee knowing what is behind it. And, hopefully, in reading this, we have found some more of our people today.
I am going to leave you with one last thought... If you have a rescued animal in your home right now, please go snuggle them. Imagine, if you will, that people didn't have compassion for animals. Imagine that $300 was too steep so there were no rescues, there were no mission statements, there wasn't any relief from their suffering. Where would your rescue pet be right now?
14 comments:
Awesome Alecia!!! Very well said! I think I may steal the part about the difference between "selling" and "adopting" as I couldn't really explain it before. Again you're words leave me teared up but I don't mind. Being a fellow foster I've seen my share of happy and sad tails. I have 2 right now that are unfolding before me now and one is a great story of rescue and love and a 99% chance at a happy ending and the other is an "I've given you my all but nothing is helping to make you better" kind of story...
Again, another wonderfully written and very understandable explanation of why the cost on the dogs and cats that are adopted out. I think that anyone who sends a message anonymously is someone that truly doesn't believe deep down what she is spouting off. Why else wouldn't you stand behind your opinion and let someone know who you are. In my opinion, these are the people that do not make the greatest and best pet owners... the ones that don't understand that with a commitment to a pet comes a financial responsibility that not everyone is willing to realize, Being a dog or cat owner isn't all about the "wiggle butts and purring" that we all love. It's honestly like having a child, in a way.... we all love the smiling, got an A, loves a clean room kid, but we that have kids know that that isn't all there is to having a child either. There are dr. bills, temper tantrums, messy rooms and bad grades sometimes, but that doesn't mean that the love we give them is ever less. I do understand why you charge what you do and if anyone ever asks me (and I have had a couple of family members ask me), I tell them about the very large expenses that you have with these dogs and cats that are sick. Finnegan (AKA Alvin) was one of those cases that came to you with Parvo. We are so grateful that you didn't just discard him because he was sick, as so many would have. To me, this said it all when you said.... "Of course, puppy breath and dog snuggling is of much more value to me anyways. :P" I get that.... I really, really do.
Well said! As an addendum, I'm not sure what "responsible" breeder she's getting a $300 puppy from, but when I've gotten my dogs from truly responsible breeders, it was a whole heck of a lot more!!! Purebred rescue dogs from purebred rescue orgs are usually more than $300.
every responsible breeder, no matter what the breed, that I know of (and I know quite a few) support rescue efforts in some manner, way, shape or form!
Beautifully explained. Thank you!
Beautiful and well-said!!!!!
Very nicely put!
Thank you for the support, everyone! :)
Nicely put! We "adopted" two puppies from paws and prayers (1 year ago and six months ago). Most recently, we "adopted" a cat for the nursing home. I feel very strong about "adopting" vs "buying" animals. I believe in your organization...and will continue to encourage others to "adopt." Keep doing what your doing :)
I just had to say, what a beautifully written blog!!! We are considering adding to our family, as our first rescue ( a unknown aged senior year priorly abused min pin from a Missouri puppy mill) is getting close to the end of her time. As we face this hard decision, with 2 boys, the talk of a "family dog" (instead of "Moms tiny old girl who sleeps like, a lot", someone who catches Frisbees! as my 5 yea old puts it) I have gone right to rescue groups a second time, as I believe it is the ONLY way to find a new family member. I am so pleased to see a site that shows the in depth detail that you all work so hard to provide to animals in need. It is a shame someone felt that way, and its great you educate, so hopefully fewer people will have such poor outlooks on what cost really means to an animal rescue group. Keep up te GREAT work & maybe we will see you soon! :)
Claire,
I am so sad to hear your baby girl is close to her end. I'll be praying for you and your family that you can remain strong through it all. It's never easy but you'll see her again some day at the rainbow bridge! Once you are ready, I'm sure we'll have someone here that has been waiting for you. :)
Alecia, This was a very good explanation of the fees you charge for adoption. I adopted 2 kittens from Paws and Prayers in May and am so grateful for all of the work you do to keep these animals alive. I am so thankful these kittens were well taken care of in their foster home,too and I know they were truly loved. It was a small price to pay for the truly wonderful additions to our household. I will donate to your organization in the future and have told many people about how great you were for me and have suggested they look into your place when adopting a pet for themselves
I have nothing but respect for not only Paws and Prayers, but for all animal rescues. Thanks Alicia... for another job well written!!
I think my Leela was a bargain!!!!!!!Keep up the great work!
There is not a better rescue group in the world than P & P. I miss fostering for you guys, the work you do is wonderful and I know first-hand how much you care about the animals. I still want to hug Jen & Heather every time I think about my foster Iggy Stardust. You guys went more than the extra mile to try to save him. If he could have been saved, I'd have given P & P my last dime to adopt my abused foster with a heart of gold. Without P & P, he would not have been able to spend his final days with someone he knew loved him, in a home where he felt safe, and that makes up for so much of what he lived through before. Thank you for everything that you all do!
I do not think $300.00 is too much to pay for a dog. They are more worth the money than a $300.00 item. They give you years of loyalty, companionship, and love.
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