I adopted my dog from the SPCA in Dartmouth, and we couldn`t be happier with our four legged friend, he has brought much joy however, with the SPCA now indicating that they are overwhelmed with all the cats/dogs they currently house, they have asked the public to adopt which I think is a good idea. The only issue I have with the SPCA is that although they take care of spaying/neutering and a 1st visit, they also charge an adoption fee for both dogs/cats, which I think they waved on cats for now. We were instructed that all dogs adopted must be enrolled in an obedience class, you must produce proof that you have done this etc…our particular class cost us 135.00 for 8 weeks.
You want to ease the stress of a full house, how about easing the necessity for obedience classes for ALL dogs, certainly some may need it but being the experts at the SPCA the staff should certainly be able to identify which of their dogs is an absolute candidate for obedience class. We were lucky, our fella went to 3 classes, was bored, had obviously been loved and trained before, so we stopped going.
Waive the obedience class demands, lower the adoption fee, even for the short term, and I think you may find qualified owners. I know the arguement will be that if adopting parents cannot afford the above fee`s how can they own a pet, well, there are many other options out there for potential adoptions.
—Dog Days of Summer
This article appears in Jul 30 – Aug 5, 2009.
The adoption fee’s are what help keep the shelters running….
And if you think about it, you can get a free pet through Kijiji, but then your spending twice as much at the vet as the SPCA charges you! It’s actually quite a deal really!
Of course, the people who are too cheap to pay the adoption fee at the SPCA are the ones who adopt these fee puppies & kittens off Kijiji & have no intention of getting thier needles, spay/neuturing done anyway etc.
As for the obedience training for dogs…one of the major reasons people abandon their dogs is because of a dog’s behaviour problems. By making new owners take a class (which teaches both the dog & the owner) it helps ensure that pet gets to stay with that family forever without such common fustrations.
I’ve been seriously considering going down and having a look myself – I got my last dog from a shelter and had him for 16 years until he passed away, he was amazing.
It’s not waived for cats, just reduced to 100 from 135.
The adoption fee is also to filter out the dumb shits that adopt an animal then dump it when the novelty wears off. It’s just a toy to amuse themselves until the new season of The Bachelor comes on, then they drive the animal to exhibition park, throw it in the woods and drive off. These morons aren’t as likely to do this if they have to part with some of their cash for partying.
I have an option. Put that stupid dog down (Brindi I think) that has been put up at the shelter while it’s clueless owner fights the courts to keep it alive. That would make some space.