Pretty much every single pet that has ever wandered into my life has been a shelter rescue or flat out rescue. I think anyone can pretty much guess that if you're furry, I have no problem opening my doors to you, as evidenced by our current 7 pets. ;) I donate as much as I can to animal causes, have volunteered my time for a local rescue group, and I do every little thing I can such as clicking those little buttons on my side bar to help companies donate food.
I was well aware that King County was cutting the tax funding for the Seattle animal shelter, but this - this is a little much to stomach. Not only are they raising license fees in Seattle, but starting in 2010, the total cost for adopting a dog will be from $202 to $237 and for a cat will range from $152 to $157.
Are they NUTS? I think they are. I know what I've spent on my rescues, so I know what the costs are that go into getting these furkids ready for adoption. Spaying and vaccinations aren't free, after all. But holy smokes, the average person on the street is NOT GOING TO PAY THAT AMOUNT. They're not. Point blank, Seattle Animal Shelter is writing the death sentence for a lot of these animals in this economy. I'm absolutely horrified! Have they missed that drops offs have increased so much because folks cannot even afford to feed their pets?
Yes, private rescue groups charge the same amount or more, but these pets have usually been under someone's care for several weeks, and behavior problems have been addressed or at least noted. These pets have mingled in amongst our families, socialized, and screened for the right home. The Seattle Animal Shelter isn't exactly doing that. I know when Housekeeping Cat came to us from the Tacoma Shelter on death row, it was a total wild card as to how she'd behave. And she certainly wasn't completely screened for being healthy - we had several vet visits that first week.
I feel so bad for those poor animals. :(
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5 comments:
Wow, that's crazy!!! At that price you might as well get a purebred (which I don't believe in lol). Our shelters charge around $60!
That seems outrageous. We just adopted 2 cats and I think the total was $120 and we will get back $50 when we show proof of having them fixed (at our expense). One of the cats is sick with sneezing and they are providing us with free medicine, but I still worry if she will be ok.
Stop by and check out the new kitties.
That is just plain insane! You're right, many of those animals are going to end up being put down. Our shelter is doing the exact opposite, for the past few weeks, they have been having a "sale". You can adopt a cat (everything included) for $25.00. If they were smart, they would lower their prices and thus get rid of more animals. This way, they would have fewer animals to care for. But that's just my opinion.
That is insane! I haven't gotten a shelter cat in about 30 years, back then it was $20! Since then all the animals that have come to me just wander in or or "given" to me by folks who don't want them.
You must have been reading my mind because I have been thinking these same things lately but at least the shelters around here isn't that much. Wow! That is crazy.
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