Buying a puppy at a service station

Spaniel Aid (for instance) charge as much for a pup as to buy one. BUT you are supporting the ones who they have rehabbed, had massive vets bills for, the oldies who they meet medical costs for after rehoming and so on.
I agree with windandrain that sometimes the people skills are rather lacking but I don't object to the cost.
 
Archangel said:
Wait! What? Are they asking the rescues to give them the price of the pup?
You couldn't make it up.
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This isn't anything new. Plenty of people ask for the cost of the pup when surrendering a dog, even when the dog is middle aged.

Regarding the cost of adopting a dog. If the rescue is a recognised charity, you can request to look at their accounts and I suggest you do that, if you're that interested. Just a small breed rescue can accrue monthly vet bills that run into thousands of pounds, that's before you start with kennel fees, insurance etc etc.

Most rescues rely on the support of volunteers and don't have 'staff' on the books to support them. Petrol costs are often offered but often not taken. Costs are phenomenal and the £180 - £250 normal adoption fees are based on an average cost for each dog. Some dogs bounce in and out of rescue and their feet don't touch the ground but others, with complex histories may require longer medical or behavioral treatment.

A lot of rescues also 'support' older dogs and their new owners with vet costs as they know it's very difficult to find older dogs new homes. All this racks up costs.
 
Archangel said:
Plus all the hundreds of hours put in by volunteers who support the rescue, drive the animals to the vet for neutering or treating, pick them up again, go round home checking, collecting and fostering these unwanted animals.

Re Sidney. That poor dog, I hope that piece of shit his former owner was prosecuted.
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Yup - just horrendous, I saw him when he first came in and I nearly cried. I don’t know how Cayla does it bless her! So very pleased that he made it ❤️
 
I agree, people wishing to re-home should of course pay a fee, to cover costs and also to show willing. I would never offer a dog free, far too risky and you may just be handing it over to a dog fighting gang unless you have scrupulous references or it’s someone you know. However, I think a sliding scale according to desirability is pretty poor. I’ve seen re-homing fees which are almost the same as buying a pup of the same breed (I don’t mean the current insane prices!)

Edit: sorry, multi-tasking so forgot my end bit!

My issue with very high fees (I was looking at over £400) is that I imagine some people will decide they’ll pay an extra couple of hundred to have a pup with no history and think that’ll be easier or better in some way, even with a fully behaviour tested youngster/mature dog.
 
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Wind and Rain,

Many of the rescues here are like that. Won't let you have a dog if you have an unaltered animal in your house, if you work full time, don't have a fenced yard, stuff like that.
 
Clodagh said:
Spaniel Aid (for instance) charge as much for a pup as to buy one. BUT you are supporting the ones who they have rehabbed, had massive vets bills for, the oldies who they meet medical costs for after rehoming and so on.
I agree with windandrain that sometimes the people skills are rather lacking but I don't object to the cost.
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Spaniel Aid's adoption fee for a younger dog is about £300 / £350, which is about a quarter the price of a spaniel puppy these days. I'll be honest, I'm not sure why they have a range of adoption fees but I guess it's to make the older dogs more attractive to adopt. Everyone wants a youngster and a bitch. No-one ever rings a rescue and says "I want an old dog" :(
 
GSD Woman said:
Wind and Rain,

Many of the rescues here are like that. Won't let you have a dog if you have an unaltered animal in your house, if you work full time, don't have a fenced yard, stuff like that.
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This is so true, my neighbour is a single man, mid forties, own house and own business, he is a scaffolder. He had a little rescued staffie bitch for years, adored her and she went everywhere with him in his lorry apart from when it was too hot, in which case she went to his Mum who lives in the next close and he picked her up in the evening.

He lost her a couple of years ago and was heart broken, not to mention lonely with no dog in the house and truck. I suggested he went to the Staffie rescue people, after all Staffies are the most abandoned dogs and the highest numbers in rescue. Surely his experience would put him in a good place to have another one ? Nope, not a chance, because he was single. It took letters of support from his vet and me plus a lot of meetings and home visits before the rescue centre finally said he could have a dog. He took a young dog that had been tortured, burnt with cigarettes, had a broken leg in a cast from being dropped off a wall and a skin problem. Today the dog is happy, healthy and called Hero because he survived such an appalling start in life.

The local TV channel did an article about how Hero had been rescued and the rescue centre were delighted to be in the limelight, no mention of how they treated Hero's adopter though.
 
I had four greyhounds/lurchers when I lived in a caravan and worked full time, 2 of them were rehomed to me by separate rescues while I lived there.

I’ve also had innumerable dogs rehomed to me whilst being single.

clearly I appear to have something that others haven’t when speaking to rescues ? as I never seem to encounter the numerous problems that come up on threads like this
 
My experience was silly and very upsetting I have had dogs all my life 66 years we have a 6ft fenced garden, miles of walks and and a covenant that says dogs cannot be kennelled. Couldnt reserve s dog to see if it was suitable, when we visited were offered quite frankly scary dogs old german shepherds, terriers and dogs that killed cats. We were specifically looking for a dog that would be able to be trusted with our small grandchildren even though they didnt live here and our cat. We were advised to check new arrivals at 3 in the afternoon and book a viewing at 8.30 in the morning. by 8.30 everything even remotely possible was supposedly reserved. Had a home check which turned us down as we have cream carpets (bought because we had a cream golden retriever) they said we couldn't have one of their dogs because we were too houseproud and not allow the dog in the house. Mostly they were just downright rude, unhelpful and frustrating. So much as I like the idea of a rehome it wont be happening here. Maybe a dog that just needs a home privately but never a rescue center as I am no longer prepared to go through the hassle. It is such a shame as some dogs spend years in kennels when they could have a home. I will not have an imported one either as there are too many dogs in this country already. So will start saving for a pup. Rescue fees are fair it wasn't the fee although the pup we bought was cheaper than the fee it was the bad mouthing and terrible people. I know my experience was probably not the norm but if it happened to me it has happened to others. It seems easier to adopt a human child than a dog
 
A rescue turned us down because we hadn’t got a 6’ fence round our ‘garden’. They decided our garden was all our land which is over 3 acres.
When I protested that it was unreasonable I was quoted the example of a recent rescuer who had at 6’ fenced their town back garden.
We bought a dog cheaply from a family who obviously could not cope. The juvenile lab x came with 2 crates, 2 boxes of toys and collars, lead etc, various beds and half a bag of food. They offered us the wooden Snoopy kennel in the garden, but it wouldn’t fit in the car.?
We have had this dog 9 years and he is a joy, well, most of the time.
 
All rescues turned me down with one already mentioned in this thread telling me my plans for the new dog were ideal but could I come back when I was retired or failing that was I able to cut down my hours so I could be be at home all day with the dog? I'm only 37 so retirement a fair way off and I dont think I could afford to live if I cut down to only 6 hours a day out the house when 2 of those hours are spent commuting!

Mrs Spaniel came from friends of friends and Miss Collie from a free to good home preloved advert...
Would have rather gone to a rescue for their back up and support, instead we've tackled our problems ourselves with trial and error and a lot of research!
 
Ditto above ^ the rgt rehoming Centre where I got my two from charged between £150-£200. Both of mine had neutering, teeth, vaccs and general MOT done before they came home. Would have probably cost me double that to take them to my own vets to do plus food/bedding while they were there too.

These puppies in Kent are a major issue. Had a neighbour buy a french bulldog... 6 months old PTS for neurological issues and extreme aggression. When complaining to breeder they offered her to buy a Frenchie x pug... And the mug did ?‍♀️ this puppy seems OK so far but the cross is a recipe for a disaster so I'm waiting for it...
 
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