why do people buy dogs

[HiLost 32]

Richie makes some good points there about costs, rescues get microchips for a fraction of the price vets charge the public to have a pet dog chipped and they will also get vaccinations at reduced prices, in a similar way to large scale breeders they can sometimes get discounts too if having litters of puppies vaccd and chipped at the same time. so I dont think you can say vaccing and chipping dogs costs £100's allthough if they are sick and need treatment this is where the big bills will come in

[robo-christ 40]

Dog comes in: it's not neutered or microchipped. That's done. Can't tell if it's been vaccinated, so that's done. It'll be wormed and de-flea'ed. For that little lot, just the basics, is between £200 and £300. Then it has to be fed and housed until it's re-homed. And if it has illness or injury, as an increasing number of ex-workers do, you will be talking an awful lot more than that.

 

in parts of asia people skin alive and then eat dog's why not pts these ex-racer's and help those?

you could alleviate a hell of a lot more suffering with your 200-300 pounds if you did that.

[Fabapocalypse 35]

They bring in dogs from Ireland because rescues feed of the fact people think they are doing something good by 'rescuing' a dog. They then charge the new owners for the dogs. It's not a charity it's a business.

 

Why do we have so many dogs in the rescues? It's not the working dogs it's the pets. Working dogs are a very small percentage, the staffies were the 'in' breed now it's the mongrels that they give funny names to like a puggles and labradoodles.

You will see more and more of these dogs given up because of the economic downturn and the upcoming increase in VAT.

 

Rescue lurchers and greyhounds come in from Ireland because it's virtually impossible to rehome them there.

 

How often are we going to hear this myth about dog rescue being profitable, or at least a business?!

 

Dog comes in: it's not neutered or microchipped. That's done. Can't tell if it's been vaccinated, so that's done. It'll be wormed and de-flea'ed. For that little lot, just the basics, is between £200 and £300. Then it has to be fed and housed until it's re-homed. And if it has illness or injury, as an increasing number of ex-workers do, you will be talking an awful lot more than that. And the average adoption fee is about £150. So how can you run a business if it costs you at least twice as much - and often higher multiples than that - to produce your "product" as you can "sell" it for at point of sale?

 

I speak of course for genuine rescue organisations, not those who advertise dog rehoming "services" in the free ads.

 

I would agree that working dogs are a small percentage of the rescue dog population as a whole but amongst lurchers they are a much higher percentage.

 

It is well known that rescues get reduced costs from vets. Just look at what it costs to buy a worming tablet to the public when at cost it is pennies.

Not only is there a rehoming cost there are also donations, look at how much the RSPCA gets.

 

You cannot tell me that dog rescues run at a major loss each year, as we know that would not be sustainable.

 

Some of the large rescue organisations (Battersea and so forth) have their own vet clinics on site. Smaller organisations may get veterinary discounts purely because of the volume they put through - but there's no drastic cut in the costs, and vets are not obliged to help in any way; it's down to the rescue organisation to negotiate. The reason rescues (as a rule) don't (or shouldn't) run at a loss is because of the donations, which go straight in to work on the next dog coming in. Without those donations, it would not be sustainable. But donations are not guaranteed and fluctuate wildly. A Charity by definition is a not-for-profit organisation, regulated by the Charities Commission. What they do is a long way off being a business; it couldn't be run as a business.

 

Cheap microchipping is available to a rescue organisation once they pay to attend the microchipping course and then pay for the equipment, chips, scanner and registration fees. About £400 up front. Not that "cheap".

 

Vaccinating and chipping alone don't cost hundreds; probably an average of £50 total. But then there's neutering, and have you seen the price of Advocate these days? It really doesn't take long for the money to add up. Again I speak from my knowledge of small specialist organisations, not the big ones.

[Fabapocalypse 35]

Dog comes in: it's not neutered or microchipped. That's done. Can't tell if it's been vaccinated, so that's done. It'll be wormed and de-flea'ed. For that little lot, just the basics, is between £200 and £300. Then it has to be fed and housed until it's re-homed. And if it has illness or injury, as an increasing number of ex-workers do, you will be talking an awful lot more than that.

 

in parts of asia people skin alive and then eat dog's why not pts these ex-racer's and help those?

you could alleviate a hell of a lot more suffering with your 200-300 pounds if you did that.

 

Right-ho. On the way over we'll save the tiger, the panda and the orang-utans of Borneo, rebuild a few villages flattened by the tsunami and then go on to replant the burnt-out bush in Australia...

 

And with the change we'll pay the next vet bill for the dumped lurcher from Berkshire with the cruciate damage.

 

Not really the same thing.