WHAT WE DO: Not frequently, but more than once, Ive heard people saying that its too expensive to adopt from the shelter. At around $75 per adoption (sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less, depending on the age of the dog), its not exorbitant, but its not cheap either. Theres more than one reason for this. To begin with, we feed, vet, and house these dogs for as long as they need it. In some lucky cases, thats only a matter of a few weeks. But in others, its many, many months. Think about how much it would cost to board a dog for nine months. We dont pass that cost on. CAA raises most of the money to cover those costs and we pass a fraction on to adopters. Secondly, theres the fact that caring for a dog is NOT an inexpensive undertaking. Getting shots, having their teeth cleaned, heading to the vet when theyre throwing up for no reason you can put your finger on -- these all add up. If you think $75 is too much to pay for a dog, chances are youre not going to be all that happy about the cost of keeping a dog. And, finally, theres the sad truth that dogs (and cats) are treated as disposable in our culture. Easy come? Easy go! While I dont believe for one second that the County decided to charge a fee in order to discourage returns (after all, wed rather take a dog back if the placement is a poor match), the bottom line is some people really DO pay more attention to something they CHOSE and PAID FOR. To be clear: this is one writers opinion and NOT the official opinion of the shelter. So, if you have any quarrel with any of this, please feel free to take it up with us here on the page. Were always happy to engage in a respectful exchange of ideas.
Posted on: Mon, 27 Jan 2014 00:10:00 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015