# How much is too much to pay for a puppy?



## Fire (May 27, 2016)

I tried searching to see if someone had already brought up this question but couldn't find anything and I was curious what the population of this forum felt.

But just wondering how much is too much for a mix breed puppy in your opinion? 

When I was younger if you had a mixed breed pup you went down to the farmers market and gave them away for free. Now granted this was also a different part of the country and 20 some years ago. But to me I cannot justify spending tons of money on a mutt from two parents that weren't health tested and little thought about the breeding other than "hey this dog is a female and that dog is a male PUPPIESSSS" even less if they are an "accidental" litter. This does not seem to be the time we live in now with most people wanting between 400 and 1000 for their mutts. Often it is cited as "to make sure they go to a good home that can provide care for them" I don't buy that. 

For a well breed dog from health tested and proven parents I would have no issue paying 3k for the puppy, I know the time and money that went into raising the parents and I know the time and money went into raising and caring for the puppy not to mention these puppies usually come with the beginnings of potty training and crate training with ample socialization and desensitization.

So assuming the puppy is de-wormed and comes with its first round of shots, how much would you pay for a puppy with little to no history?




Please don't make this a debate about how one should only ever adopt a dog from a shelter. (Plus around here shelter puppies are 200 to 600)


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## PatriciafromCO (Oct 7, 2012)

My first choice is purchase a pup from an established breeder in an established breed.

If I was going to adopt a dog I would only get it from a shelter/rescue and call it (adoption) last dog I adopted from a shelter was $60.00 which included his nurturing and his shots back in 1994). I would not pay an adoption fee to a shelter or rescue over $150.00 ...

I see private (sellers) using the term adoption fee all the time and find it hilarious for marketing tactics as much as mutts now having specific breed names as marketing for the extreme prices. I'd pay $30.00 to $50.00 for one of those pups.. But I would go to a shelter or rescue before I would purchase from a private seller. Purchasing from a private seller they will keep breeding and having oops litters as long as people will buy them.


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## Fire (May 27, 2016)

PatriciafromCO said:


> My first choice is purchase a pup from an established breeder in an established breed.
> 
> If I was going to adopt a dog I would only get it from a shelter/rescue and call it (adoption) last dog I adopted from a shelter was $60.00 which included his nurturing and his shots back in 1994). I would not pay an adoption fee to a shelter or rescue over $150.00 ...
> 
> I see private (sellers) using the term adoption fee all the time and find it hilarious for marketing tactics as much as mutts now having specific breed names as marketing for the extreme prices. I'd pay $30.00 to $50.00 for one of those pups.. But I would go to a shelter or rescue before I would purchase from a private seller. Purchasing from a private seller they will keep breeding and having oops litters as long as people will buy them.


Personally I love "re-homing" a whole litter of 8 week old puppies... it's like you do know that re-homing means finding a new home to replace your home... not selling intentionally breed puppies... right?


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## Pasarella (May 30, 2013)

For a mutt...well I never wanted a mutt, I'm very specific in what I want to see in my dogs, so I'm not risking getting something that might turn out completely the opposite of what I want. But if for some reason I would decide I will take a mutt I would take it for free. I live in a different culture, we still have a lots of mutts given for free, of course, no vaccines and very often they are only 4-6 weeks old, but you can find some 8 weeks old. I would consider going to a shelter only if I would be old and all my previous dogs would have already died, but I still wanted a buddy - I would go look for an elderly pet in that case. 

For purebreds, that is a whole different situation. I'm a breeder and I would be ready to pay more. Being realistic about smooth dachshund prices here, my upper limit for one would be 1.500 euro, but you can get a really good one under 1000 euro. I would pay more for excellent mini (around 2000 eur) or kanichen dachshund, probably up to 3000 euro if the dog is really excellent, older than 7 months, trained for the basics socialized. I would never take a kanichen younger than 7 months though, they often tend to grow to be minis and you can't predict that when they are small, both parents can be kanichen, but the puppies can grow to be a mini.


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## kafkabeetle (Dec 4, 2009)

Fire said:


> When I was younger if you had a mixed breed pup you went down to the farmers market and gave them away for free. Now granted this was also a different part of the country and 20 some years ago. But to me I cannot justify spending tons of money on a mutt from two parents that weren't health tested and little thought about the breeding other than "hey this dog is a female and that dog is a male PUPPIESSSS" even less if they are an "accidental" litter. This does not seem to be the time we live in now with most people wanting between 400 and 1000 for their mutts. Often it is cited as "to make sure they go to a good home that can provide care for them" I don't buy that.


I would not pay any amount of money to an individual rehoming their accidental litter. They may be greedy or may have good intentions, but I'm not supporting backyard breeders either way. I'd probably consider a free dog from an accidental litter, though.

I would, however, pay up to a couple hundred to a rescue for a dog that had some medical care included, because that money (if it ends up even being above and beyond what they put into the dog already) goes back into rescuing other dogs. I will spend extra to support people and organizations I believe in.


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## Dog Person (Sep 14, 2012)

It depends, we paid $200 for Zoey at the shelter and then paid for her spay at the Vet. If a dog was spayed before adoption then paying a little more wouldn't be unreasonable. IMO NEVER buy a mixed breed pup, you are possibly supporting puppy mills or bad breeders.

Can't say anything about pure bred dogs, haven't had one in 30 years but a pet store is not the place to buy.


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## Aussie27 (Sep 25, 2010)

I would never pay any amount of money for an accidental or BYB litter puppy. There was a girl on my facebook recently who was selling German Shepherd puppies for $500 each... pure, yes, but were the parents health tested and titled? Not at all. The puppies were snapped right up too, so hopefully the parents at least aren't dysplastic. 

I would pay however much required for a puppy from a breeder that is reputable and has everything I'm looking for in terms of health testing, titles, and overall temperament/structure/etc. 

As far as rescues go, as long as they had values and ethics I agreed with, I would probably pay up to $150. I can only ever see myself buying from a reputable breeder though, honestly.


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## Laurelin (Nov 2, 2006)

I'd pay a couple hundred for run of the mill oops if I like it. 

Litter I liked but didn't have all the bells and whistles id prefer (a lot of the farm litters here). $300-600 ish. 

Well bred mix with health testing and parents I like of a mix I like. $1000+. Same range as a purebred. Max would be around $1800. 

Same goes for oops of well bred parents. I'd pay full price.


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## Kyllobernese (Feb 5, 2008)

Because of circumstances I had been without a dog for several years so 12 years ago when I wanted a dog, I got Susie off an ad on the radio, for nothing. The prices for cross-bred or just plain mixed breeds has been rising steadily and can run from $500 to well over a thousand, in some cases more than a well bred, health tested dog. I only paid $350 for Kris who is a purebred Doberman but that was without papers and no shots or health tests but she was their last pup and I was willing to take the chance on her.

I had checked with the SPCA before I got Susie but they only had either Pit type dogs or Border Collies which I was not interested in. Not sure of the price of Rescue dogs but have seen them advertised for around $250 or more.


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

For an "oops" litter, I'd pay (directly to the vet) to have the Momma dog spayed. 

For the intentional, profit minded BYB type with no health testing; nothing as I wouldn't even be dealing with them

Municipal tax-supported shelter, maybe $100-200.

Non-profit rescue or shelter whose mission and methods are something I support, maybe $200-300 ($150-250 is a pretty common rate here with puppies and popular breeds on the higher end because it finances the vetting and care of the dogs who end up there for longer or who need more medical help). In a higher cost of living area, upwards of $400 is still pretty fair considering the costs of overhead (for physical shelters), food, HW/flea/tick treatment, spay or neuter, additional vetting costs for dogs with things like mange or cherry eye, etc. Some dogs cost a shelter very little if they come in fixed and healthy and are adopted out quickly while others can be somewhat costly if they need to stay in foster for several months while receiving HW treatment for example.

A mixed breed whose parents were tested and who was bred with intention, maybe a working breed or sporting mix with a "goal" to the breeding where I can support in good conscience that breeder producing more puppies? Same as for a similar purebred and that would depend on what I was looking for in a dog and the costs of the parent breeds from good breeders as comparisons. In my lower cost of living area, that'd likely be in the $800-1500 range.


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## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

I have paid for an accidental litter puppy. My cut off, however, is 'less than they paid in vetting the animal/care of the animal'. That's assuming accidental litter isn't actually someone who basically rescued mom pregnant or something similar, in which case I'll pay a little bit more.

I think asking SOME adoption fee is necessary and going to happen from anyone even trying to do the right thing and isn't a bad thing.

Someone trying to profit on an animal they don't care about and doing NOTHING for the pups, though? No. I'm not paying for that. 

To whit, in my area, that'd probably have a cut off of 50-100.00.

Intentionally bred but without health testing *OR* doing useful work? Probably about the same. Up to the cost of actual care they can prove to me the puppy has. Yes, I would buy them, under the same conditions as a oops litter. String me up now.

Health tested and/or working, titled, dogs who were carefully bred for a purpose? Up to about 2500.00.

Rescues/shelters? Probably up to a couple hundred in hypothetical land where they would adopt to me (they won't.).


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## Effisia (Jun 20, 2013)

I pay crazy amounts for dogs from breeders I want to support. Probably wouldn't go over 3k, but for the right dog... 

Rescues/shelters won't adopt to me because Beckett is intact, so that avenue is moot.

Oops litter or BYB or something I probably just would never get. Too many variables. I like knowing the health records of the whole line, basically. Helps calm my anxiety. But for a well-bred sport kind of mix, a mix bred with an actual purpose in mind (even if that purpose is companionship) with slid parents, testing where applicable... probably as much as a purebred.


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## Avie (Jul 10, 2011)

There's a difference between what I'm willing to pay and what people are actually asking for. 

I wouldn't pay over a 100 euros for an oops litter puppy out of parents that weren't tested for anything. In reality, people ask hundreds of euros, starting at 250 and often ranging around 400 per puppy. That's no longer an oopsie, that's making easy money.


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## CiElBie (Mar 5, 2016)

For an Oops litter, realistically I would say no and move on, but I would pay no more than what the owners of the mother paid (totals for vet bills, feed for the pups, vacs etc spread across all the puppies, if they paid for these.). As well as asking them to spay their dog. I actually don't know what it would come to

For a BYB dog, nothing. I would not pay for a dog not health tested which is not an accident as it supports future breedings

I would rather get a dog from a shelter than either of the two options above.

For a mix bred from health tested, carefully chosen parents, I'd pay full price as with a purebred dog if it is a litter where I liked both parents enough so that a puppy from that litter is a puppy I would want, with a limit depending on quality, but perhaps £1500 at most, usually no more than £1000 though, or £800 maybe.
But I would not buy from many designer dog breeders since they seem to be spreading misinformation and bad breeding practises, but perhaps if it was a good breeder. I wouldn't be adverse to a good, well bred poodle x working cocker spaniel, poodle x working border collie, kelpie x border collie, etc, if both parents had traits I would want in a dog and the puppy as well.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

I know someone whose Lab had an oops litter, and they kept track of expenses. It cost them over $100 per puppy just to keep them and their nursing mother (they only counted the extra she ate while nursing, not her usual amount) fed for 8 weeks, plus they went to the vet for first shots and de-worming (he was nice and waived the office fee, so it was only about $30 per puppy). Came to about $150 per puppy total. There were 11 puppies. They sold them for $100 each, so they took a substantial loss. Keeping track of that is what convinced them to spay the mama, lol . 

So I'd probably pay up to $150- $200-ish for an oops puppy if they had seen the vet once and looked well cared for. I'd feel better spaying the mama, but that would be around the same amount. If they did shots and de-worming themselves I'd pay less. If the pup had nothing done and had to be caught from under the shed, I wouldn't pay anything (unless they'd let me spay the mama). 

If I took an entirely unvetted dog off the streets, it would cost around $300-$400 to have all the vet work done (speuter, shots, heartworm test, etc.), possibly more if grooming was needed. So I'd pay that much for a fully vetted second-hand dog, maybe more if they came with some supplies (lots of craigslist dogs do). 

I don't have any context for the value of different things breeders do, I don't have any particular desire for a purebred and don't necessarily want to subsidize someone's showing hobby. But if that meant something to me, I'm sure there's a way to quantify what that's worth in dollar terms.

It WAS really different 20 years ago, and even 10 years ago, at least here. I think the internet is helping. Yay!


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## Lillith (Feb 16, 2016)

I would only pay $100, which is about what it costs around here to initial vet work and whatnot. I wouldn't dish out more than that. I actually paid $250 for Ralphie from a shelter, but he had all vaccinations, vet work, and neuter done already (Its around $100 for it around here). From someone who decided to throw their dogs together and hope for puppies? No, I would not pay them much. In the rural areas they are usually free.


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## Jen2010 (Feb 12, 2013)

For a random mix mutt that nobody really know what breeds are in it, I probably wouldn't pay more than $150.

For a mixed breed that only had two breeds and you are able to meet both the parents - I would pay up to $600 (personal experience)


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## ForTheLoveOfDogs (Jun 3, 2007)

I won't pay much of anything for a random craigslist "oops". Maybe $75.. tops. 

I'll pay a few hundred for a non health tested but bred with purpose dog.. such as Border Collies who work on their farm. Or even a "byb" (non health tested dogs, mostly bred as pets) who is breeding healthy long lived dogs of a breed commonly riddled with health problems.. as long as they were in the home, clean, trying to get good homes and socializing puppies I would pay a few hundred as well. 

I will pay up to several thousand (depending on breed) for a health tested dog from a breeder who socializes thoroughly and titles their dogs. This includes mixed breeds.. such as sport mixes. Border Whippets!

I will pay a couple hundred for a rescue as long as they are a reputable rescue and the dog is S/N.


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## InkedMarie (Mar 11, 2009)

I doubt I'd ever get a mixed breed puppy (I prefer pure bred puppies) but a rescue here, who gets all their dogs from down south, charges $545. For me, that is too much. I wish that kind of money would go to fixing the down south dogs that keep producing more & more dogs that seem to get transferred to other parts of the country. JMO.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

> wish that kind of money would go to fixing the down south dogs that keep producing more & more dogs


It does. Or, at least, the Nebraska/Missouri rescue I'm familiar with won't take puppies unless the owner agrees to let them spay the mother. But there are always more dogs, and too many people who push back because rights and freedom and you should take our puppies and be grateful and not require anything of us blah blah blah.


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

InkedMarie said:


> I doubt I'd ever get a mixed breed puppy (I prefer pure bred puppies) but a rescue here, who gets all their dogs from down south, charges $545. For me, that is too much. I wish that kind of money would go to fixing the down south dogs that keep producing more & more dogs that seem to get transferred to other parts of the country. JMO.


That does seem high for a transport dog. I wonder what the going rate is in other areas that get dogs from the South. I know there are fairly regular transport from here to places like Minnesota and Wisconsin or Virginia/Mid-Atlantic. 
It might be though that the groups that do the transports and work with shelters are sending a portion of that fee back to the shelters for S/N or other needs.

Surprisingly, one of the big barriers to S/N around here at least is NOT the unavailability of affordable S/N but rather lack of transportation and time to take off work during vet clinic hours. Here, pit bulls and pit mixes along with cats that are in the areas of the city with high shelter intake rates are eligible for free S/N, there are low cost clinics for other breeds or dogs from other parts of the city. 

But when some people I know started to research what could be done to reduce owner surrenders and stray intakes in one area of our city with a high rate, it turned out that there wasn't so much a blanket unwillingness to spay/neuter nor that people wanted to give up their dogs. Many people depend on public transit which doesn't allow dogs, so when the group began to offer pick up and return transport for groups of dogs to the low cost clinic and vouchers if needed, they got a pretty high turnout. They meet early in the morning so people don't have to miss work, they crate up several dogs (varies) and take to the clinic. They then return the dogs to their owners late in the day. 
Education on the risks and benefits of S/N has been helpful, a fair number of people are simply worried about their dogs having a surgical procedure of any sort.

Another big help has been something as simple as free ID tags. There aren't any pet stores in some districts of town so people buy pet food and basic gear at grocery stores/dollar general/etc and have little reason or chance to go into a full service pet store. At the community resource day, the city shelter loaned a tag making machine and hundreds of dogs got ID for the first time. So, less unknown strays when dogs get out of the yard etc.


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## So Cavalier (Jul 23, 2010)

If I remember correctly, I paid around $200 (or there about) for Baxter, the fluffy white mixed breed in my avatar. BUT i got him from I rescue that I KNEW was reputable and I knew his purchase price would help support the medical expenses for other dogs in their care. He is worth every penny!


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## ireth0 (Feb 11, 2013)

Here the rescue/shelter puppies are generally in the 200-350 range. Adults typically go for less. 

I personally wouldn't get a puppy from someone off the street (oops litter, kijiji, etc) just because I now have connections in rescue to go to if/when I were looking for another dog and I'm not a puppy person anyway.


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## Canyx (Jul 1, 2011)

Working at a shelter I could get a puppy for free, but we generally charge $200-250 for them. Adults are cheaper. I would pay $500-2000 for a purebred puppy from the right breeder (incl. shipping costs).


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## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

Willowy said:


> It does. Or, at least, the Nebraska/Missouri rescue I'm familiar with won't take puppies unless the owner agrees to let them spay the mother. But there are always more dogs, and too many people who push back because rights and freedom and you should take our puppies and be grateful and not require anything of us blah blah blah.


Definitely variable. When we transported north not only did we not get the adoption fee? OUR rescue, that pulled, paid for all the vetting before the dog went on transport, AND the transport itself, as well as any grooming that needed done. 

Pure. Profit. For the receiving rescue.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

CptJack said:


> Definitely variable. When we transported north not only did we not get the adoption fee? OUR rescue, that pulled, paid for all the vetting before the dog went on transport, AND the transport itself, as well as any grooming that needed done.
> 
> Pure. Profit. For the receiving rescue.


Yeah, the rescue I'm talking about does all the work before they send the puppies NE, I think their partner shelter is in Massachusetts. They even have a network of pilots to get them there. I have no idea if the receiving shelter helps out or not, kind of a racket for them if they don't :/. 

But, yeah, they insist on spaying the mama dog or they won't take the pups. Otherwise they get too many repeat customers. I'm sure this gets a lot of puppies killed but they've worked out both ways and found this to be the lesser of all evils. I talked to a local lady who rescues farm kittens, and she's worked hard to get the farmers to bring unwanted kittens to her instead of killing them. And they act like they're doing her a favor, "making a donation" they say, and she has to smile and pretend to be happy to take in hundreds of sick kittens or else they'll go back to killing them. And they don't let her spay the mothers because they want a few kittens every year. . .just not that many. It has to be so frustrating.


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## kafkabeetle (Dec 4, 2009)

Shell said:


> That does seem high for a transport dog. I wonder what the going rate is in other areas that get dogs from the South. I know there are fairly regular transport from here to places like Minnesota and Wisconsin or Virginia/Mid-Atlantic.
> It might be though that the groups that do the transports and work with shelters are sending a portion of that fee back to the shelters for S/N or other needs.
> 
> Surprisingly, one of the big barriers to S/N around here at least is NOT the unavailability of affordable S/N but rather lack of transportation and time to take off work during vet clinic hours. Here, pit bulls and pit mixes along with cats that are in the areas of the city with high shelter intake rates are eligible for free S/N, there are low cost clinics for other breeds or dogs from other parts of the city.
> ...


Those are some great, creative...simple solutions! Good for them, attacking the problems at their real sources.


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

kafkabeetle said:


> Those are some great, creative...simple solutions! Good for them, attacking the problems at their real sources.


I can't take credit for any of the ideas but the people I know who got things going for this community dog resource thing did come up with a lot of good solutions, even if only partial solutions (because nothing covers everyone and every dog). In large part, it was by asking people what they really were thinking and what they really needed, rather than assuming things.

So they work to provide anything from the aforementioned S/N assistance to stuff like building/repairing fences, flea/tick treatment so people are more happy to have their dogs inside, training help to stop behaviors that lead to surrenders, even something as simple as building a wheelchair ramp when the only affordable dog-friendly housing a low income person who uses a wheelchair could find wasn't accessible.

I haven't checked this years stats, but I think last year, intakes at the municipal shelter from that zip code were down roughly 15%

and to get mildly back on topic, 
it does seem money grubbing for the northern rescues to cover next to nothing in costs but take in such large fees.


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## Fergusmom (Apr 12, 2015)

I'm in the North East; both of my mutts came from the same rescue which charges $400 as the adoption fee. Yes I think it is too much, but that is the norm in the area I got them from. Prior to, I lived in Georgia, and all my previous pets from GA were $0. Mostly given to me by coworkerswho were involved informally in rescue.


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## Dog Person (Sep 14, 2012)

There are some rescues that have in their description of the dog a $275 transport fee along with their adoption fee and some that don't say anything, if the puppy/dog is S/N and it comes to approx $400 then it could be a bargain. The shelter we got Zoey from charged $150 for puppies and I threw them another $50 to help them get food or whatever. Zoey did have some deworming and Frontline applications before we saw her; Zoey's spay was over $400 at the Vet and we gladly paid for it getting Zoey already spayed for $400 would have been fine by us. We didn't get her from our local shelter as they didn't have a dog we wanted but our shelter only charges $25 for a dog. 

The truth is people will pay what they believe they should pay or think is reasonable. I see that people will pay a lot (IMO) for a mutt with a purpose, we just want a dog and a cheap mutt works for us. In the future I may try a rescue when we decide on another dog but a shelter may be the way to go for us as they seem more laid back.


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## MM1234 (Dec 21, 2015)

I refuse to buy a mixed breed dog, especially an intentional mix. I'll go to the shelter first, but I am not going to pay a $500 adoption fee either. I have no issue of adopting a dog from the shelter for up to $200. I prefer to buy my dogs from reputable breeders because I like to show & do obedience. 

Sent from my SM-G860P using Tapatalk


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## kafkabeetle (Dec 4, 2009)

Shell said:


> I can't take credit for any of the ideas but the people I know who got things going for this community dog resource thing did come up with a lot of good solutions, even if only partial solutions (because nothing covers everyone and every dog). In large part, it was by asking people what they really were thinking and what they really needed, rather than assuming things.
> 
> So they work to provide anything from the aforementioned S/N assistance to stuff like building/repairing fences, flea/tick treatment so people are more happy to have their dogs inside, training help to stop behaviors that lead to surrenders, even something as simple as building a wheelchair ramp when the only affordable dog-friendly housing a low income person who uses a wheelchair could find wasn't accessible.
> 
> I haven't checked this years stats, but I think last year, intakes at the municipal shelter from that zip code were down roughly 15%


It's amazing what can come from just listening to people talk about their lives and needs (and believing them).


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## Canyx (Jul 1, 2011)

Shell said:


> I can't take credit for any of the ideas but the people I know who got things going for this community dog resource thing did come up with a lot of good solutions, even if only partial solutions (because nothing covers everyone and every dog). In large part, it was by asking people what they really were thinking and what they really needed, rather than assuming things.
> 
> So they work to provide anything from the aforementioned S/N assistance to stuff like building/repairing fences, flea/tick treatment so people are more happy to have their dogs inside, training help to stop behaviors that lead to surrenders, even something as simple as building a wheelchair ramp when the only affordable dog-friendly housing a low income person who uses a wheelchair could find wasn't accessible.
> 
> ...


Who is the group, if you don't mind my asking? Sounds almost exactly like the org. I worked for in Durham NC. I am proud to have been a part of that and miss that work so much. You can PM me if you're not comfortable posting publicly.


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