About Our Adoption Fee
Our adoption fee is currently $250.00 for most dogs. Occasionally, in the case
of an elderly dog or one with special needs, we reduce that adoption fee in
order to place a needy dog into a good home.
We sometimes receive inquiries from people who believe our fee is too high and
questions are directed to us such as "I can buy a registered Doberman puppy
advertised in the newspaper for about that same price...so why should I
adopt a rescue dog?"
When viewed purely from a financial standpoint, this would seem to be a valid
question. However, many people fail to realize that, although they may be able
to buy that puppy for the same amount as they'd spend on a rescue dog, that
puppy is going to need a series of vaccinations over the first 8-12 weeks that
they own him. That series of vaccinations is probably going to cost another
$100-$150 minimum. Later, the spay or neuter of that puppy is going to run
another $150-$200. So, from a financial view, they're going to have quite a bit
more money invested in the puppy. All dogs placed by our rescue are
spayed/neutered and are up-to-date on their vaccinations.
Many people would rather have an older dog because they do not have the time,
energy or desire to go through housetraining, leash training, crate training,
etc. and would rather have a dog that is past the age of chewing and other
typical puppy behaviors. Because we have staff and volunteers who love Dobermans
and are quite knowledgeable about the breed, they are able to spend the time and
attention needed to accomplish basic training and are also able to evaluate the
rescue dogs to determine their temperaments and what types of adoptive homes
they are best suited for.
It is *extremely* rare that we take a dog into our rescue
program that does not need veterinary medical care. Almost all of them require
vaccinations, heartworm testing and de-worming, which typically runs, with the
initial exam, about $100-$150 (this is WITH a discount that our vets give to our
rescue group). Most also require spaying or neutering which is another $100-$150
(again, WITH our discount). A significant number of our dogs arrive heartworm
positive. The treatment for this can run into the hundreds. Dogs in our program
may also come in with a variety of other treatable problems such as demodectic
mange, kennel cough, etc. which add to the cost and require the purchase of
medications. There *are* some dogs whose cost to us is less than the adoption
fee that we charge. We rely on the fees from these dogs, along with small (but
important) individual public donations to our rescue, to help offset the cost of
those dogs whose medical bills are well over the adoption fees that we receive
for them once they've been cured and can be placed into their adoptive homes.
The costs outlined above do not even take into consideration the food that our
rescues eat, the long distance phone bills we incur while contacting shelters,
adopters, etc. across the state, nor the gasoline expended to do pickups, home
visits, etc. Most of these types of expenses are covered out of the pockets of
our own dedicated staff and volunteers.
We are a non-profit organization and we do not make a dime doing rescue. We
try desperately just to break even but we are rarely able to do even that. We do
this work because we love the breed and we strive every day to help those dogs
that we can. We cannot help them all and this is a constant source of heartbreak
to each and every one of us.
The people who adopt from us (for whom we are forever grateful) do so, not
because
they can acquire a less-expensive dog, but because they too love the breed and
want to give an abandoned Doberman a loving, caring home for the rest of his/her
life. Our adopters are angels and they are the biggest part of our being able to
save lives.
We do not make it extremely easy to just drop by and adopt a dog (we're sometimes
criticized for that too). We screen our applicants carefully, do veterinary reference
checks and also perform home visits to insure that the dog will be kept in a safe,
loving environment. We grow to love each and every dog that comes into our
program. Most have had sad lives and are in desperate need of what we call a
"forever" home...one in which they will have a permanent, happy life without
further
stress, abuse or neglect. We strive to make sure that the adopter and the dog
are a good match so that the adopter will be happy and the dog will not ever end
up,
once again, in rescue or a shelter or worse.
Adopting a rescue Doberman is certainly not the way to go for everyone...and may
not be the 'cheapest' way to acquire a dog but many of our adopters stay in
touch with us long after they've taken their rescue dogs home and often relate
to us how much it warms their hearts to have helped a homeless Doberman
become a happy, loving family member. That's what it's all about......
Page last revised:
04/22/2006 05:59:34 PM
