A thought about animal shelters charging to drop off an animal...

[greychins]

Something posted in another thread got me thinking about this... Many animal shelters charge you if you're going to drop off an animal. I think the shelter at home charges $25 per animal, and they have a sign on their door that if you drop an animal off (I guess, in some sort of box/crate, when they're not there) without paying the $25, they have cameras which they will use to prosecute you. And it's not just a threat, some people HAVE been prosecuted for dropping animals off at the shelters without paying.

So, now I understand shelters rely a lot on donations and the goodwill of people to keep running. I think they're good to have...

But I'm not so sure about the drop-off fees. I think they promote people either dropping their animal off on the side of the road and/or listing it on craigslist/other-classified-site and giving it to the first person who shows up, good home or not. While I do understand that the drop-off fee helps the shelters keep running, I know that for most people who find a stray dog, i they thought they had to pay $25, they wouldn't take it to a shelter.

I think that if there was a free-drop-off (and maybe some areas have this, I dunno), there would be somewhat of a cut in the stray population because people wouldn't be so hesitant to take a stray to the shelter. I know for me, I see strays every now and then, and I'm not about to pay $25 to drop them all off, but if there was no fee, I'd take them. I don't think most people have $25 to throw away, especially in this economy, but I think if it was free, then more strays would end up in the humane society as opposed to staying strays and breeding more strays.

Thoughts on this?

 

[Dolyphinm]

I volunteer at the shelter near me and there is no drop-off fee for a stray. There is an owner surrender fee. When you do drop off a stray you sign something that says you were not the owner of this animal and you cannot take this animal back.

 

[mapache315]

the SPCA is about $50/animal I think. I'm pretty sure the costs are used to cover euthanasia expenses.

 

[greychins]

Maybe this is a stupid question.... but wouldn't everyone just say the dog they're dropping off was a stray then? I mean maybe not, but I could see people doing this...

 

[Riven]

I have dropped off a stray before, and there was no fee. But I don't know how well that would go over if I was dropping of 15 cats... LOL

 

[mapache315]

Maybe this is a stupid question.... but wouldn't everyone just say the dog they're dropping off was a stray then? I mean maybe not, but I could see people doing this...

I guess some people just don't know, or that it is obvious that the animal is not a stray. Obviously a dog that is walking nicely on a leash, is generally well groomed (not grimy and matted like a dog that has always been a stray would be like), interacting with the family and has a name isn't going to be labelled as a stray. They also may feel that by telling them that it was a nice family dog that they had to get rid of due to moving, allergies, etc it has a higher chance of adoption. Ditto cats...feral cats have a kind of "wild" look to them that isn't seen in pampered persian cats.

I'm sure some people do do that. You can also refuse to pay the drop off fee in a lot of cases, because they are non profit organizations I believe they can only "suggest" what the donation be to surrender a pet. I don't know if you can actually get away with not paying it or paying less, but at the ASPCA the terminology used is "The suggested donation for each surrendered pet is..."

 

[InkedupTara]

I understand where your coming from but I think they should have to pay a fee. They are dropping off an animal that is going to cost money to care for, and I know they are having a tough time, but money is tight for everyone and donations are not coming in like they used to.

 

[Snickers]

This past Wednesday when I was working at the shelter someone was dropping his dog off with a broken leg. I believe the fee is $15.00 for surrender animals. Then I was told when they were bringing the dog in for outside the dog will be put down because of the broken leg. It was sad to see this dog in pain and the guy driving an almost brand new truck.

 

[Dolyphinm]

Well if a dog is their and they have vaccine records, they do need to let shelter know, otherwise their beloved pet could be overvaccinated. Some people have dropped off their animals as strays and then tried to get them back which they signed a contract stating its not theirs so they can technically go after them.

 

[greychins]

I'm not saying that the money isn't used well, I didn't mean it like that. I guess I worded it in terms of strays moreso, but I guess my thought process was that if someone wants to re-home their dog...many people ask a re-homing fee, so while I'm sure some people DO want their dogs to find the perfect home, fee or not, I'm sure some people would look at the drop-off fee and say "why would I PAY to get rid of my dog when I could just let it loose..." I guess this is coming from continually seeing those ads "well the adoption fee is $100 but if I can't find a home by Sunday it's going to the humane society or I'm going to let it loose"...

 

[equus_peduus]

I don't know if it's common knowledge that it costs money to drop off an animal, so I wonder if the "average" person would hesitate to take a stray in for that reason. And if the animal were *that* beloved, they wouldn't be taking it to the shelter for one, and wouldn't be trying to evade all knowlege of the pet for two. I think most owned-but-turned-in-as-stray pets are probably going to be an animal that they're not *that* attached to (not to say someone else in the family mightn't be, though...)

And if the pet has a microchip... you probably shouldn't try to pass it off as a stray if it's your own pet Though I have heard of that happening ;-)

 

[Riven]

I guess some people just don't know, or that it is obvious that the animal is not a stray. Obviously a dog that is walking nicely on a leash, is generally well groomed (not grimy and matted like a dog that has always been a stray would be like), interacting with the family and has a name isn't going to be labelled as a stray.

Actually just because a dog is happy, obedient, and well cared for doesn't mean that it wasn't found roaming the neighborhood.

Well if a dog is their and they have vaccine records, they do need to let shelter know, otherwise their beloved pet could be overvaccinated.

If they animal was so beloved it wouldn't be at a shelter, the people would re-home it personally. And although it's not recommended ( some studies are even showing that yearly vaccinations can increase other risks, including cancer ) unless the dogs JUST got it's shots, there are few risks with them getting them again what one would hope it be a "once in a life time event". And most people who just vaccinated their dog, obviously care enough about it, and wouldn't just drop it off. My thoughts anyway.