Staffy_luv Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 I have been following a certain rescue group for many years , donating here and there and sharing their Facebook Posts and dogs for adoption. Over the past couple of months , I am noticing that they seem to be posting more about fundraising then actually saving dogs. They posted on their Facebook page that they were given $8000.00 from a company over for Christmas . Yet they still continue to post more about their fundraising efforts then the dogs they had in their care ( mind you , this is a very small rescue, they do not normally have more then 6 dogs) . This has started to leave a bad taste in my mouth , then I see they currently have puppies up for adoption and are asking a $600.00 adoption fee. It makes me sad to think a rescue group would be profiting from puppies. I could be misguided in my opinions as I have not worked in rescue. What are your opinions on this ? and should I continue to support this group ? Many thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest crazydoglady99 Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 Trust. Your. Gut. Its your money, send it somewhere that makes you feel good :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Andrea Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 (edited) Fundraising is a necessary part of a viable rescue but it should not be the focus of any group. I don't begrudge any group if they "make" a bit from some animals as others can severely drain funds beyond belief, especially if you have a run of sick animals. But if you have hardly any animals and keep raising money and already are quite financial then one has to wonder........................ Its your money. Ask questions to the group directly. Every group should be honest and is accountable about where their donations go and if they aren't or your not happy with the answer take your hard earned money where it might be appreciated. :-) Edited February 18, 2015 by Just Andrea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mita Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 Its your money. Ask questions to the group directly. Every group should be honest and is accountable about where their donations go and if they aren't or your not happy with the answer take your hard earned money where it might be appreciated. :-) Good advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staffy_luv Posted February 18, 2015 Author Share Posted February 18, 2015 I did ask them and unfortunately they deleted my comment and then blocked me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jemmy Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 I did ask them and unfortunately they deleted my comment and then blocked me That would be a red flag for me... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dame Aussie Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 Its not cheap to run a rescue. Food, shelter, medications and vet work etc. Why shouldn't they charge for adoptions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staffy_luv Posted February 18, 2015 Author Share Posted February 18, 2015 Of course they should charge of adoptions. I wouldn't expect it to be free. The adoption fee I felt was odd was $600 they are putting on their pups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Her Majesty Dogmad Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 (edited) I did ask them and unfortunately they deleted my comment and then blocked me That would be a red flag for me... There's your answer. I hate to say it but I know of one "rescue groups" out there deliberately making puppies to sell .... there was another but they stopped. If you want a very open and honest rescue group to help - that really does need help - I could recommend PAWS, Greyhound Rescue and Save Our Strays. All have absolutely enormous vet bills and/or overheads which the adoption fees don't make up for. They are all registered charities that get audited etc. VIC has it's own share of equally fantastic groups. Edited February 18, 2015 by Her Majesty Dogmad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leah82 Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 I know it differs from state to state but in VIC being a not for profit org and having Charity status are very different. It's very easy to get charity status but very hard to keep it due to the auditing and not for profit orgs without charity status are quite limited with regards to fund raising. It's possible this organisation are taking advantage of a new charity status (although with 6 or less animals in their care it would hardly be worth it) which would explain the change in their posts. But there does appear to be some red flags with blocking you and charging a premium for puppies (some do it to take advantage of the cute factor, including the RSPCA). At the end of the day if a rescue is taking donations they should be open about where your money is going Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loving my Oldies Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 I did ask them and unfortunately they deleted my comment and then blocked me Oh dear. Sounds more than not good. Sounds dodgy. However, rescuing can be very very expensive. $8,000 could be expended easily and quickly depending on what the group finds wrong with dogs they rescue. But to delete you and block you would suggest that they are not being honest or, at the very least, being quite immature in not understanding and accepting that people who donate have every right to (and probably should) ask questions as to whether the donations go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussielover Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 (edited) There's nothing wrong with charging more for puppies- what I find disturbing is their response to your reasonable questions. If they have nothing to hide they shouldn't mind explaining why they charge certain prices and ask for donations etc. Puppies are cute and people are usually willing to pay more. This makes up for the cases that they lose money on- like old sick dogs that need to be in care for longer. By having a realistic price on puppies, this means they can often help more dogs and some of the more unfortunate ones that may get overlooked. I know one rescue group charges up to $800 for puppies. Personally I would not be willing to pay that much for an untested puppy with uncertain history but puppies of that breed often sell for around that price from breeders or pet shops. If people are willing to pay $800 for a pet shop dog, why shouldn't rescues benefit from that? This group actually has a FAQ that explains the differenc ein prices of different dogs which is useful imo. Unfortunately money doesn't usually go far in rescue and different groups have different focus. Some concentrate on rehoming a larger volume of younger, healthy animals, whilst others may want to focus their energies and money on only helping a few sick oldies. But as others have said, trust your instinct, it's your money and you should feel good about donating it. Edited February 19, 2015 by aussielover Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbedWire Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 I did ask them and unfortunately they deleted my comment and then blocked me Oh dear. Sounds more than not good. Sounds dodgy. However, rescuing can be very very expensive. $8,000 could be expended easily and quickly depending on what the group finds wrong with dogs they rescue. But to delete you and block you would suggest that they are not being honest or, at the very least, being quite immature in not understanding and accepting that people who donate have every right to (and probably should) ask questions as to whether the donations go. Seriously how many rescued dogs cost a rescue group $8000? :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_PL_ Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 (edited) I have one here that cost $6000+ I raised a litter of 7 pups, everything premium with no cutting corners and 24/7 by their side. Their adoption fee was a fraction of what they cost to raise and keep their mum healthy, add vetwork to that. If we were donated $8000 it would take very little time to burn through it. But if the rescue doesn't feel right, doesn't just ignore you but block you as well then go with your gut. Look further afield. Edited February 19, 2015 by Powerlegs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loving my Oldies Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Seriously how many rescued dogs cost a rescue group $8000? :) It is amazing how much wrong you can find with a dog who has been rescued. Then it depends on how far the rescue group is prepared to go. I know any dog I rescued/fostered deserved the same sort of treatment I would give my own. Very easy for a dog who has [forgotten name - similar to parvo] to rack up a bill of a few thousand dollars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loving my Oldies Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Unfortunately money doesn't usually go far in rescue and different groups have different focus. Some concentrate on rehoming a larger volume of younger, healthy animals, whilst others may want to focus their energies and money on only helping a few sick oldies. I was in the latter category :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdierikx Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 (edited) Seriously how many rescued dogs cost a rescue group $8000? :) It is amazing how much wrong you can find with a dog who has been rescued. Then it depends on how far the rescue group is prepared to go. I know any dog I rescued/fostered deserved the same sort of treatment I would give my own. Very easy for a dog who has [forgotten name - similar to parvo] to rack up a bill of a few thousand dollars. Coronavirus? It's another type of haemorrhagic gastroenteritis, but is not as hardy in the wild as Parvo... T. Edited February 19, 2015 by tdierikx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Gifts Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 (edited) Seriously how many rescued dogs cost a rescue group $8000? :) It is amazing how much wrong you can find with a dog who has been rescued. Then it depends on how far the rescue group is prepared to go. I know any dog I rescued/fostered deserved the same sort of treatment I would give my own. Very easy for a dog who has [forgotten name - similar to parvo] to rack up a bill of a few thousand dollars. Coccidia DDD? Food bills can be quite high and to attract a good discount a rescue might put in a bulk order that is worth thousands. There could be utility bills to pay or maintenance/upgrading costs if they have a shelter. There could be a vehicle that needs a service. Plus a rescue might owe money and be paying off vet charges so while no one dog might've cost $8000, the last ten dogs in who were health checked, vaccinated, micro-chipped and desexed might've run up a bill to that level. Plus, how often will a smaller rescue group ever have that amount of money at one time? It is their opportunity to clear debts or purchase necessary items for future use. Rather than delete your message and block you and make you suspicious they could've private messaged you or explained their financial situation in general terms in response to your post. A rescue group is not cheap to run but I too get put off when all you see is money, money, money. I prefer the ones that share stories about past and current rescues, who share the highs and lows with their supporters and who also add educational info to the mix. Edited February 19, 2015 by Little Gifts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koalathebear Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 (edited) Seriously how many rescued dogs cost a rescue group $8000? :) Nutmeg and Smudge cost us (out of our own pockets) more than $4,000 on vet fees because they had parvo. We elected to cover the costs ourselves because I wanted to control their treatment instead of moving them to a cheaper vet that didn't have overnight care. Vet fees, all of the bedding/toys/bowls etc that we had to replace several times over plus the bleach, F10 plus all the cleaning - they were expensive pups. They were adopted out for the same adoption fee. I know a lot of people would have euthanised but I'm glad we didn't. Nutmeg is a beloved pet and Smudge has become an AMAZING flyball dog with many titles. I'm with RADAR now and I've noticed that this group almost never asks for donations even after copping massive bills for parvo dogs, transport etc. It really seems to vary between rescues! Edited February 19, 2015 by koalathebear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted February 21, 2015 Share Posted February 21, 2015 Its not necessarily part of the criteria for running a successful rescue for the people involved to be poverty stricken indefinitely and only ever work voluntarily. Personally I think the sooner the key person running it can take at least a small wage and devote all of their time to it - running it as a viable business with a view to longevity the better. Usually those who are the founders of a rescue group sink massive amounts of their own money and resources in and that's very difficult to sustain especially if you are also responsible for feeding a family because people still have to eat and live. Being a non profit simply means any profits which are left after expenses doesn't go into the pocket of the board or anyone else and are used to grow the non profit business but legitimately expenses are a lot more than the actual money spent on the dogs, The current view that people involved in rescue should not be able to have their own expenses covered or draw a salary if they need to in order to continue what they have started and what they do in my opinion cripples the future of the group, limiting it to what it can achieve and has a high risk of those people who are at the core burning out. I do also think that the whole fundraising thing and public relations needs to be re assessed with innovative methods utilised so those who are supporting them dont get over cooked on it . So what they actually do with their money for me isnt the issue as long as they are covering the ethical issues and doing what they set out to do - I would much prefer constant legitimate fundraising requests than some of the other things which go on under the banner of rescue where donations are used to finance puppy farmers who stay under the radar because they call themselves rescue. i also dont understand why - if they can get that sort of money for their puppies that they shouldn't ask that .If some people are prepared to pay for it why should they not take it . Prices should surely be set at supply and demand the puppies are worth what ever people will pay and just because I wouldnt doesnt mean that others wont .Would be completely different if they had a litter of puppies now 6 months old with no homes because they are too pricey. I say good on them. They shouldnt have shut you up - bad PR. If they had bothered to answer you they may have been able to keep a supporter and gain more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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