Dog adopton questions-updated post 57

[frannn]

We are considering adopting a lab, and found some puppies available on the intenet. There is an adoption fee of 250, and we'd have to take the dog to our vet to get neutered, for an additional 350-450. Is this the norm? All the pets we've adopted in the past were neutered before we picked them up, but this was several years ago. Should we be wary of adopting from a place we found on the internet?

 

[southcarolinagirl]

That doesn't sound right to me, whenever you adopt from a shelter they are spayed or neutered and have all their shots. I would check around if I were you.

 

[conachan14]

Where did your find the dog on the internet. Is it a breeder website or craigslist. I would be wary of craigslist. For that price I would expect it to come with papers. It has been a few years since I got my dog neutered but I have never heard of it costing that much. In many cities there is a low cost spay neuter program and it cost like $50-$100.

 

[HsvTeacher]

We found our two puppies through Petfinder. They were at our local animal shelter, and the adoption fee was $83 per dog. That fee included their rabies shot, a dewormer, and their neutering. While they were at the vet, we paid extra out of pocket for pain medicine and for the vet to give them a check-up and the rest of their puppy shots.

 

[Jockaroo]

You have to be careful with many of the online "adoption" places. A reputable rescue will not rehome an unaltered dog. Sounds like you are dealing with a backyard breeder who has left-over dogs/pups that aren't at the cute, marketable stage anymore. Shelters are even neutering pups at 8 weeks to guarantee they are fixed. I would question this place you've found.

Labs are very common to find at shelters and rescues. A reputable rescue may charge $400 or more for a dog, but the dog will be spayed/neutered and have all needed shots. Have you asked your vet's office about the cost for the neuter? This sounds quite expensive. Costs vary by weight due to anesthesia, so larger dogs cost more, but this sounds high. Know that many of the less expensive spay/neuter clinics quote the price for the surgery, but then you have additional charges for pain medications, fluids, etc. My adult dog's spay (more complicated and invasive surgery) was around $200 and this was with optional blood work. Neutering is typically less expensive.

Good luck finding your dog/pup, but make sure you check the place first. You want a healthy, good-tempered pooch!

 

[doggydoc]

I would be careful, this sounds exhorbitant and fishy. Many areas have begun putting restrictions on dog breeding and some breeders try to circumvent this by charging an "adoption fee." Right now most shelters are overflowing and desperate to find homes for dogs, in many cases waiving adoption fees and/or including shots and neutering. Is there not a local shelter in your town?

 

[edk35]

There is a website where you can pay a fee that gives you a certificate to get a spay or neuter for less than 90 bucks. We paid nothing extra. Just check around your area to make sure there is a vet that accepts them. We just did this in March for our new puppy. We did the same thing for our puppy 9 years ago.

http://www.friendsofanimals.org/sncert/instructions.html


The prices for our low-cost certificates are:
Female Cat $65.00
Male Cat $51.00
Female Dog $90.00
Male Dog $64.00

 

[fakereadhed]

In our area all of the reputable rescues make sure shots are up to date, but neuter is on your own.

 

[GOOFY4DONALD]

My local animal shelter charged me 50.00 for my dog and then transported her to the vet to be spayed where I picked her up and paid the bill. My cat cost me 200.00 to be adopted and then refunded me 150.00 when I had proof of her spay.

 

[Nohal]

DS got a dog that was rescued. He found him on petfinder. Since the dog was a puppy he was not neutered yet. They paid a few hundred for him and had to sign a paper that they would have him fixed when he was 6 months. Because he was a rescue dog they only paid a small fee to have him neutered. He was sent papers when the dog was 6 months old that had to be signed by the vet to prove he was neutered.

 

[crisi]

Are you looking for a purebred lab, or a "lab" - there is a big difference. If you are looking for a purebred dog, you need to find a reputable breeder - the internet might not be a bad place to start, but probably not a bad place to finish. Make sure the lab has had hip xrays - hip dysplasia is big in labs. And expect to pay at lot more than that for a dog.

If you are looking for a lab mix, find one through a rescue agency or shelter. The dog will very likely be fixed (or you'll likely sign paperwork saying you will do so) and your adoption fees will cover foster care, running of the rescue agency, and any shots received to date - our rescue puppy was still $300.

Anything in between may or may not be a puppy mill (and a lot of rescue dogs are from puppy mills). These dogs often have health issues. More importantly, rewarding puppy mill breeders for their practices by buying their dogs is not good. (Puppy mill practices include inbreeding, breeding dogs you know are going to pass on genetic defects, and overbreeding and then "dumping" the dogs once they get past the cute puppy stage).

 

[kmccain]

Our local shelter gets lots of labs!

Puppies are $125 and they cannot keep them in the place.

A dog over 6 months is $75 and comes with a spay/neuter voucher. Our 2 local vets take the voucher as full payment but not all vets do. They get wormed and a shot from the shelter but my vet gave them a booster when i took them for a check up. They also get a microchip that you can register your information on line and if they ever stray and are brought back to the shelter or the vet they scan for the microchip and they can be reunited with their owners.

Right now our local shelter is full of nice dogs that need a home.

 

[horseshowmom]

Please let me reinforce what others have already said.

If you check with local shelters (or shelters in neighboring towns), you shouldn't have any trouble finding a Lab. Sadly, they are often turned in when they get larger and leave the "cute puppy" stage.

Adoption fees will be nowhere near what you're being quoted. One of my daughter's friends recently adopted a Yorkie from a place that sounds like what you're looking at. She paid either $350 or $450 (can't remember which) and then had to have him neutered herself. He was 9 or 10 months old and plenty old enough to have been neutered. I told my daughter that something was fishy with that.

There are many, many, many shelter dogs who make great pets. I have a Lab who was abandoned near my house. We have a monthly flea market type place in a neighboring town, and I can almost guarantee that he was a "left over" at the end of the weekend, and the sellers didn't want to take him home (we had friends who were given a free Chihuahua there for that reason - the seller was ready to leave and had that one left - fortunately he went to a good home). As someone else said, they don't sell so well as they get older.

 

[meriface11]

adopting from a shelter shouldn't be that expensive, but a lot of time rescue organizations will have higher adoption fees in order to to operate. there are costs to transport the dogs and to provide food and supplies to the volunteers who foster the dogs until they are adopted. if it's not a purebred dog, i would doubt it's from a puppymill.

 

[ceecee]

See if there is a Lab Rescue near you. I got both of my "pure breed" labs from a rescue. The shelters actually call them to pick up the labs. They charge $250 ($200 if you adopt two) and they are up to date with shots, have been spayed or neutered and socialized. They can also tell you if they do well with kids, cats, dogs, if they are potty trained, etc. (They are fostered in homes so they know). I also fostered a few. If the dog doesn't fit in right, they take them back.
Remember Labs (especially pups and youngsters) are rascals! They love to chew and act crazy, the puppy stage can usually lasts up to 5 years. That said, they are wonderful pets, but do need lots of training so they don't get bored.

 

[cbg1027]

I would be wary of adopting from any "rescue" organization that doesn't give you the animal already fixed. The point of the rescue organizations is reduce overpopulation - which is achieved by making sure any animal adopted out is fixed.

I volunteer with my local humane society and our adoption fee for dogs is around $150-200 depending on the size and breed. This includes the animal being fixed, up to date on all shots, and a microchip.

Many people like to use the term adoption when advertising animals. But do not be fooled. Many of these 'adoptions' are just what backyard breeders and everyday people trying to make a quick buck. You are not doing anything good by buying their animals. It actually contributes to the overpopulation problem because giving these people buyers will ensure they continue breeding the dogs.

$250 is not an unreasonable adoption fee, especially for puppies. Each rescue organization sets their own fees and what the fees include. The humane society I work with keeps it's fees low in order to encourage adoption. The fees don't begin to cover what we spend on the animals, but we don't want cost to be a deterrent to someone giving an animal a forever home.

So do your homework and check out the organization. And enjoy your new dog when you get it!

 

[JoiseyMom]

Oh puleeese to all those saying if the dog isn't neutered or spay something is wrong with the rescue. That is a crock.

We adopted our lab mix 2008 December, she was under 4 months old and wasn't fixed yet, we had to do that on our own, and yes we had to sign that we would do that. Her adoption fee was over 400.00.

We just got another pup 1 month ago, he was 11 weeks old, and again, not yet fixed and not all his shots. He was chipped though. His fee was 350, and we get 100 back once we fix him.

Chrissy also didn't have all her shots when we first got her.

The vet we go to has great rates for rescue dogs being fixed.

Adoption fees vary on the rescue, and how much money they may have put into the dog, and where you are geographically.

Is the rescue a real non profit?? That is sometimes a clue if they aren't non-profit group, but not that they dog isn't fixed or had all their shots yet.

 

[brewcrew]

It seems to me that different areas of the country have different policies. At our shelter(s) they have to be spayed/neutered before they go home. Just please check that is a reputable shelter. I also agree that petfinder will list local shelters in your area.

 

[horseshowmom]

Oh puleeese to all those saying if the dog isn't neutered or spay something is wrong with the rescue. That is a crock.

We adopted our lab mix 2008 December, she was under 4 months old and wasn't fixed yet, we had to do that on our own, and yes we had to sign that we would do that. Her adoption fee was over 400.00.

We just got another pup 1 month ago, he was 11 weeks old, and again, not yet fixed and not all his shots. He was chipped though. His fee was 350, and we get 100 back once we fix him.

With all due respect, the pups you're talking about are very small. The dog I mentioned was plenty old enough to be neutered (9 or 10 months old) and shouldn't, IMHO, have been adopted out otherwise. The girl I mentioned had to sign something too and got $50 back when she had the Yorkie neutered.

I have to wonder how many people never do what they've signed that they will. Some people might think that the people wouldn't want to lose that money they're supposed to get back, but as many registered animals are abandoned after the new wears off (for which their owners paid a good price), it concerns me that many people won't follow through on their obligation.

I have an overabundance of abandoned animals, and I do think the rescues should have the animals altered before they are placed (with the exception of extremely young animals, of course). JMHO

 

[emeraldmom]

Most of the shelters and rescue organizations around here charge somewhere in the $75-200 range. This typically includes having the animal altered. I would expect any type of reputable shelter or rescue organization to either alter the animal, or make you sign a statement that you will have the animal altered.

As far as the vet fees, it varies. We use Banfield for all of our pets. They are affiliated with petsmart, and there is one in most (maybe all) Petsmarts. We have their wellness plan. It basically amounts to pet health insurance. There is a price range, there are usually 3 levels of coverage you can get. There is also a puppy plan, and that one includes having them altered. I think the puppy plan is about $25 or so a month for a year, after a year you switch over to one of the adult plans, which I think run $20-30 depending on what level you get. These plans cover all of their shots, heartowrm testing, routine deworming. They do some tests that most people probably wouldn't pay extra for, like eye pressure tests. If you need anything else, flea prevention, further tests, emergent care etc, you get a discount. A few months ago I had to have a small tumor removed from my dog, it was going to cost $1200. They let me upgrade to a higher plan, and it cost something like $150. We also really like the care they give our pets. We also like knowing that if something happened when we were traveling, there is usually a Petsmart around.

I hope you find a wonderful pet that fits your family!