$1000 for a rescue dog??

Zoom

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#1
My friend Scott was looking for a bulldog to adopt (before his cat found his way home tonight) and the rescue he called, which supposedly was the rescue listed with the AKC, was asking $1,000 for their dogs! I think it's a bit shady, but I wanted your opinions.
 

Zoom

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#4
And wierdly enough, there really are not that many English bulldogs in rescue to begin with...I just checked. Petfinder only has 163 listed and only three of them are anywhere within a reasonable distance from here.
 

ihartgonzo

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#5
They probably do it because they can... sadly. It's greed. D:

I understand that rescues do put a lot of money into the dogs, but seriously, $1000 is ridiculous. And, a lot of people will probably opt to buy a $1000 BYB Bulldog puppy, instead!

My ex-brother-in-law is really into Bulldogs, and I always thought it was crazy, because the Bulldog rescue he was involved with charged almost as much!
 

StaceyWebb

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#6
They may charge that high of an adoption fee because EBs have a multitude of health and skin issues, it probably costs them that much to get them adoptable in the first place. Plus, if you can't afford the $1000 fee, you probably can't afford the vet care the average EB needs.
 

Doberluv

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#7
Crazy! Even if it does cost a lot to take care of them, you'd think their first priority would be to get them into a home so they no longer would have to support them. Isn't that the point of shelters? Crazy!
 

StaceyWebb

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#8
Shelters, yes. Rescues, not always. Shelters euthanize for lack of space and often are not funded enough to get the dogs vetted. Rescues (the responsible ones) have the time and money to fully vet a dog and get it adoptable.

We adopt Boxers out at $275. That's our standard fee. But our average cost is much more than that - heck, just getting a Boxer UTD on shots and altered costs more than that, and we get dogs in who are HW positive, have broken legs, have colitis or parasites.... we've recently spent over $700 on an 8 month old pup who has Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency, getting her diagnosed... we'll never recoup that. Our money comes from donations and our 2 fundraisers. We could charge more, and probably should charge more, but we have a core of donators who are primarily former adopters, so we've been lucky. Not all rescues have that sort of luck, unfortunately.
 
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#9
I think the term "rescue" is getting attractive to BYB's as well.
What is to stop a really horrible BYB from claiming to be a rescue and breed their own "rescue dogs"? Ethics?? far too many people have none to begin with.
Seeing as though so many people are finally all about rescueing their pets, BYB's probably are slowly holding on to pups longer therefore caring for them longer.
Saying they are rescued from something, would probably move them faster.
Anyone can claim to be a rescue, especially if they are small scale.
 

Boemy

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#10
Isn't that Gentle Giants "rescue" basically like that? They are supposedly a "rescue" but really more of a BYB or puppy mill?

I would research a rescue carefully if they were charging that much for a dog to make sure they were legitimate. English bulldogs DO have a lot of problems, but . . . if the adopter spends $1000 on the adoption fee, that's $1000 less he'll have to spend on vet bills. :(
 
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#11
I have a friend who ocassionaly rescues English bulldogs (although not a lot need rescuing). She has one right now who is going to cost her well over $1000 in health problems, THAT is why they charge so much for them. They are prone to more health problems than other breeds.

I do not know how much she charges but I do think it would be fair for her to charge $1000 considering how much she spends on them.
 

Miakoda

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#12
I have a friend who ocassionaly rescues English bulldogs (although not a lot need rescuing). She has one right now who is going to cost her well over $1000 in health problems, THAT is why they charge so much for them. They are prone to more health problems than other breeds.

I do not know how much she charges but I do think it would be fair for her to charge $1000 considering how much she spends on them.

And sadly this is the reason why people are flocking to bybs for the "$1,200 special" because who wouldn't want to pay the extra $200 for a "new" puppy nonetheless than some sick old dog?

I don't have an easy solution for rescues, but charging people a mortgage payment for a dog isn't the way to go. IMO if it costs over $1,000 just to get a dog semi-healthy enough to adopt out, then maybe those funds would've been better used being split up to help 2 or more dogs while the sick dog in question was kindly put out of it's misery.
 

StaceyWebb

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#13
A lot of rescues have to make that decision, but there is not really any such thing as a healthy EB - at least, not the ones in shelters. That's why they get dumped, because they have issues that their idiot owner's weren't ready to pay for. :mad:

So Idiot A buys a BYB EB for $1200. Spaying/neutering is more, because of the breathing issues and the effects of anathesia on EBs. Idiot A cannot afford premium food (or refuses to buy it) and the EB gets skin issues. So Idiot A dumps the EB in the shelter, where a rescue has to undue all the effects of Idiot A's actions (or inactions). In order to stay afloat as a rescue, they have to charge more.

It's a vicious cycle. :Shrugs:
 

Zoom

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#15
I can see charging slightly more (Like 400 instead of 150) because of the associated health issues, but at the same time, there is a bulldog on Petfinder right now "Roly Poly Ollie" who has been battling horrendous mange and other various skin issues for well over a year now. I don't think even that dog is going for $1000.
 

showpug

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#16
It seems a little off to me, but most poorly bred Bulldogs that end up in rescue are dogs that truly need a lot of care and actual rescuing to save their life. This cost money! A lot of people get bulldogs not ready to take on the basic care requirements for the breed and in turn dump them when they realize how in over their head they are.
 
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#17
And sadly this is the reason why people are flocking to bybs for the "$1,200 special" because who wouldn't want to pay the extra $200 for a "new" puppy nonetheless than some sick old dog?

I don't have an easy solution for rescues, but charging people a mortgage payment for a dog isn't the way to go. IMO if it costs over $1,000 just to get a dog semi-healthy enough to adopt out, then maybe those funds would've been better used being split up to help 2 or more dogs while the sick dog in question was kindly put out of it's misery.
I know a couple people off of other forums who adopted EBs from rescue. If you want a $400 dog an EB is NOT the dog for you. They have tremendous health issues and it does take a lot of $ to care for them. I have never had one but talked extensively with people who have..

Firstly, EBs can NOT reproduce naturally. They have to be artifically inseminated, that cost a lot of $, so your typical BYB is not going to do that. That is also why they go for $1500+ from breeders.

They are known for lots of health problems. I talked to a girl at the vet who told me the dangers of anesthetizing (sp?) an EB compared to other breeds. So spay/neuter is going to cost a lot more.

THIS is why rescues charge $1000 for EBs http://search.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=8607923

Will this EB go for $1000? I know the lady and I highly doubt it. He will probably be adopted for $300 or less.

How much has this dog cost her? Probably well over $1000. How many donations does she have? Not nearly enough to cover his care. Yet, she does this because she loves the breed.

Rescues are in debt already (or the ones who actually do it for the dogs/cats), so they have to try to at least recoup some of their expenses. If
someone goes out and buys a $1200 EB from a poor quality breeder they better have a large bank account saved up for vet bills. If you go through a rescue, you know the dog has been taken care of (if it is a good rescue).

It is hard to understand all of this if you are not involved in rescue. I am new to it but am figuring this stuff out fairly quickly.

Mastiffs go for a lot in rescue as well.
 

verderben

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#18
If I was going to spend $1000 on a dog I would go to a good breeder and get a well bred pet quality dog. $ 1,000 adoption fee IMO is REDICULOUS and only screams " We are trying to profit off rescue dogs" I have NEVER charged more than $250 for a rescue dog regardless of breed. I too am seeing more and more rescues chargeing more for "rare" colored or "rare" breed dogs and I think it is NO different than a BYB or puppymill. There is one rescue here that has taken in rescued dogs and bred them, and another who had a "rare" merle Pomeranian for a $700 adopt fee. And it kept pushing in the petfinder listing how "rare" this color was. IMO "rescues" that do that type of crap need shut down. They arent helping anyone, all they are doing is lining thier pockets.
 

MafiaPrincess

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#19
I understand EBs are an expensive breed, but charging a grand for an adoption fee is going to likely even drive off people that understand, let alone people who aren't fully in the know.

While they are above average expensive to vet and fix up, If it's a grand to get a 'recycled' EB, and 1500 to get one from a decent breeder.. Lot of people would skip over the rescue. While no rescue short of maybe GG *cough* makes money, all the others generally are charging reasonable adoption fees, and they take in high cost dogs as well possibly in larger numbers as doing EBS alone is a much smaller number of dogs to get into a rescue.
 

showpug

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#20
I understand EBs are an expensive breed, but charging a grand for an adoption fee is going to likely even drive off people that understand, let alone people who aren't fully in the know.

While they are above average expensive to vet and fix up, If it's a grand to get a 'recycled' EB, and 1500 to get one from a decent breeder.. Lot of people would skip over the rescue. While no rescue short of maybe GG *cough* makes money, all the others generally are charging reasonable adoption fees, and they take in high cost dogs as well possibly in larger numbers as doing EBS alone is a much smaller number of dogs to get into a rescue.
Generally speaking, a quality bred EB ranges from $2000-$2500. That is across the board pet or show quality. Because EB's are so much more expensive than other breeds $1000 for a rescue is somewhat relative. With that said, I do feel that $1000 is still a little high for a rescue dog and it does feel a bit shady.

It would probably be best if the person looking contacts a few different rescues even if they aren't in his area and speak to them to get an idea of what is the "norm" for rescues. I think that is the only way to tell if this should be expected for this breed or not.
 

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