Do you think this is a good idea or not?

Question

I'm conflicted, i don't know if this is a good idea or not. For the most part i don't think it is. 

The shelter i work for has an adoption sponsorship program. Which means people can come in and pay the adoption fee of any adult or senior animal. Then anyone who meets our criteria can take the animal home. 

It's meant to help the less Adoptable animals find homes quicker. The intention is good, i guess. 

The problem is we have people coming in looking specifically for "free" animals. And you can tell these people about proper vet care and heartworm prevention till your blue in the face. They don't care and if they do there's still the situation of not enough funds to give the vet care. 

If they can't afford the adoption fee how are they going to pay for annual vaccinations and heartworm prevention? 

But even if they can't afford vet care, as long as they can feed it and love it thats better than the animal staying in the shelter. 

So I'm really conflicted. Heartworm is a horrible and painful way for a dog to die. 

My shelter doesn't euthanize once an animal has made it to the adoption floor unless the animal becomes to ill or has a Change in temperament. All euthanasia for space reasons takes place before they make it to the adoption floor and we haven't been forced to euth for space for many many months now. 

And save any negativity about the euth thing. We have a horrible overpopulation of animals in the southeast because we have to many people who refuse to spay/neuter their animals. If you don't spay and neuter you're contributing to the problem. And we're doing the best we can. Noone wants to euth an animal unless they're a psychopath.

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

"If they can't afford the adoption fee how are they going to pay for annual vaccinations and heartworm prevention?"

That's it in a nutshell.  People who get things for free tend not to value them.  Not all people, of course.  Also you might get flippers, who take free or low cost dogs to sell them at a profit.

"But even if they can't afford vet care, as long as they can feed it and love it thats better than the animal staying in the shelter. "

Is it?  I thought part of loving a pet WAS to ensure it gets proper vet care.  If you hang around this forum for a few days, I guarantee you will CRINGE at some of the questions about a dog suffering but the Asker can't/won't pay for vet care.  Some are by trolls of course, but others sound real enough.  

One that comes to mind is a person who sat and watched her dog deteriorate over a matter of a couple of weeks until it died.  From the symptoms she described, it sounded like advanced diabetes, but the family refused to take the dog to the vet to either find out what was wrong, or at least end its misery.  And actually, they'd be the type that would be interested in one of your free dogs...except of course, they had a litter of puppies a few days later from their other dog and kept one.  If you happen to live in the same city, I bet you get to see some of the littermates in your shelter during the next year or two.

? · Answer

You have some very valid concerns. Have you discussed this with the shelter owners? Maybe they can start including FREE heartworm treatments = would make sure the dog gets its treatment. A lot of people do not think ahead and only think as far as the actual adoption. Emergencies happen and a lot of vets won't take payments - you have to have the total amount before they will see the dog. You sound like a very caring person and I think this is something you should pursue. I love the program, but like you very concerned about what happens once the person takes the dog away from the shelter.

Angela J. Shirley of "Shelter Dogs Family" facebook page!

tehabwa · Answer

??????

Uh, how do YOU know they don't take proper care of the animals?

Uh, a person can afford ONE cost, but not TWO costs. Why is that impossible for you to understand?

Why don't you raise your concerns with the others at the shelter?

Trending News

Do you think this is a good idea or not?

3 Answers