WHY WE CHARGE AN ADOPTION DONATI

We are a nonprofit organization and rely on our donations, adoptions donations and merchandise sales to keep us afloat. This is difficult to do with the sick and injured dogs we take into our rescue and the rising costs of veterinary care. A dog with heartworm disease will cost us between $300 and $700 to treat, depending on the severity of the disease. In 2007, we had 12 dogs treated for heartworm disease. We have also had many dogs come into rescue who were hit by cars and needed surgery. We've had surgery costs totaling thousands of dollars, when repairing these injured dogs. We are raising our adoptions donations beginning May 15, 2008 to help us continue with our rescue efforts.

What does one get for their dog Adoption Donation (typically between $200 to $300)? Here are a few items:

Spay/neuter - $175-200 and up value
Current vaccinations - $50.00 and up value
Heartworm testing - $40.00 value
Intestinal Parasite testing - $30.00 value
Worming medications - $25.00 value
Microchip (in most cases) - $35.00 value
Board and train - $350.00 value
Vet wellness visit - $30.00 value
Grooming - $30.00 value
Basic Training (housebreaking, crate training, obedience commands) ($90 per hour value)
Ongoing advice on how to maximize your dog's potential and prevent problem behaviors ($90 per hour value)
Advice and recommendation for local training (Agility, Flyball, Sheepherding, Obedience, Tricks, Search & Rescue, Tracking, etc)
Lifetime follow-up and support - priceless!
Upfront honest information about each dogs’ good AND bad points – priceless!
Safety net – a place where you can return your dog should he become displaced again for any reason
A wonderful smart dog who will offer years of devotion and affection

It is your donation that allows us to assist the dogs needing rescue, desperate for new homes. And we are very grateful for your support, thank you so much.

Keep in mind that the same adoption donation amount is requested for most all of our dogs even if one dog costs us a great deal more than another while in foster care. Should one dog cost us very little to care for, your donation helps offset the very expensive costs of another dog. The dog you adopted may have cost rescuers way more than a $250 donation fee. The amount of “veterinary expenses” each dog incurs (for example) does NOT affect the amount of donation we ask. Hopefully, when the time comes that we need to spend hundreds of dollars to save a dog’s life, then we have the funds to fall back on.

The bottom line is that even at $250 per dog, we are NEVER making money at this.