I’ve met my share of veterinarians who are clueless about the specific health problems of the breed you’re into, and what constitutes ethical breeding practices. Contact your city or state’s breed club (e.g., The German Shepherd Club of Western Dakota or, The GSD Club of Gotham City) and ask for the names of vets who are experienced in the breed. You can also ask a rescue group which vet they use.
One ethical and respected breeder’s experience, posted recently on a dog-related board:
"I need help in {city}, PLEASE! I have a couple of our pups placed there whose owners are in need of quality vet care. I am shocked at the things I am hearing from the vets they are currently using.
One puppy owner was told that they must do the puppies’ hips by 6 months of age or it will be too late to fix them if anything is wrong, WTF??? Both parents OFA excellent, btw.
Another puppy has had demodex, warts, and now what they say are seromas? If this puppy has seromas this big and this often, then someone is hitting that dog and I need to know! These sound like immune or stress issues to me and if the puppy has an issue, I need to know.
They also told the owner the puppy is vWD borderline because they ran the Elisa on him. He is vWD clear by Vetgen!
I am so upset and really need to know what’s up from a vet I can trust too.
So please, recommendations for a vet in {city} who knows {breed}, or at least knows what the heck they are doing?"
Adoption fees vary depending on how much funding the agency receives. Some public animal control facilities are funded (e.g., through taxes, user fees, donations) to subsidize vaccinations and neutering. Some ACFs, regardless of size, cannot afford having a vet on staff, so the cost of treating the animal falls to the purchaser. There are all sorts of funding scenarios in between these situations.
Private animal shelters are funded through a mix of adoption fees, donations of cash or supplies, sales of donated pet supplies, one-time grants from private foundations, grants from the city/county, donation of time by vets, vet techs and kennel helpers. Some receive funding from all these sources, some struggle every day just to be able to afford food for their animals.
Rescue groups are funded though adoption fees, donations, reduced fees by vets, and having foster parents pay for the animals’ feed, toys, deworming meds, bedding, winter coats, etc. Their adoption fees tend to be higher because they don’t receive the level of funding that public ACFs and private animal shelters do.
Example #1a: my local municipal ACF can afford to release dogs and cats without charge to 501©(3) rescue groups. Before they’re released, the dogs are altered, microchipped, tested for heartworms using both the DNA and smear tests, and vaccinated against rabies, DHLPP and bordetella. They are not funded to treat heartworm-positive dogs.
Example #1b: my local municipal ACF’s adoption fee to the general public is less than $90 for dogs, and the fee is waived if the dog is heartworm-positive.
Example #2: my current foster dog came from a county ACF that isn’t funded for vet care. On his first vet visit he was altered, microchipped, tested for heartworms and internal parasites (and given a broad spectrum dewormer), vaccinated against rabies, DHLPP and bordetella, had his thyroid functioning tested and some other services.
The vet bill, even with the “rescue rate” discount, was over $360. His adoption fee is $250. Who covers the difference? The members of the private rescue group. How do we pay for it? Out of our personal funds. (Some people choose to buy fancy cars, TVs, boats, or dine out at five-star restaurants. We choose to buy vet treatment for abandoned dogs.)
And it’s a good thing my foster dog doesn’t have heartworms, because the one vet clinic in this county that offered low-cost heartworm treatment (funded through donations and grants) stopped doing it because Merial stopped production on Immiticide due to manufacturing problems. So, we have to take heartworm-positive dogs to private vet clinics. Even with a “rescue rate”, treating a dog the size of my foster dog would run at least $700. There is no way an adopter will pay $950 for a dog, so the members of the rescue group cover the cost out of our personal funds.
Some dogs are in such poor condition when they are rescued, their bet bills run into the thousands of dollars. These dogs often take a long time to recover physically and then they need to be housetrained, obedience trained, crate trained, etc. In other words, turned into desirable companions. After a foster parent has made the time and emotional investment in a dog’s recovery and rehabilitation, they want to ensure whoever adopts it will take as good–or better–care of it than they did. Thus the “interrogation” of potential adopters.
Physically handling a dog at an ACF/animal shelter: unless you are experienced at reading canine body language, I do not recommend handling an unknown dog’s mouth or paws. Bear in mind that some dogs were injured before they arrived at the facility. A dog with rotten teeth or burrs embedded in its paw will not take kindly to having its mouth or feet handled by a stranger.
Just a few observations based on my experience. Hope this helps explain why private rescue groups operate the way they do.
