# The application fee for rescues if you don't get accepeted.... is it fair?



## Papa Deuce

*OK, we DID get accepted, so we don't have any issues.* But I was at a rescue event last weekend and they require a $25 adoption application fee for all dogs. I heard - 2x - people who didn't like the idea of having to pay $25 and then maybe not being allowed to adopt. 

I see both sides of the argument. I know the rescue organizations need money. 

The reason I bring this up though, is that while we did get accepted, it took 5 days to hear anything. That is not much I know.... but 4 years ago, we wanted to adopt a Golden Retriever and the place required a $50 fee, and a home visit... 

And we were turned down - get this - because my other dog was 10 pounds overweight! But the lady who made the decision was about 150 pounds too heavy herself. I was really upset at not getting that $50 back, especially since 

1. We are long time dog owners

2. We had a big fenced in yard.

3. We had vet references

4. I work from home so somebody is with the dog(s) almost all the time

5. And I walked my dog 10 - 12 miles a week.... he just stayed heavy, even when feeding him exactly what my vet said to feed him.

I felt like that place was just "stealing" money..... there was no way we should not have been given a dog.


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## cynster

I actually agree for $50. But I think $25 is a normal application fee, pretty much anywhere. 

Now if it was for a deposit to hold the dog, I think $50 is acceptable. Maybe a $25 application fee, then $50 deposit on a dog, refundable if they find a better match for it, but you lose all of it if you back out.


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## Sangaris

The $25 I can understand. A lot of time can be put into researching the applications, whether or not they are accepted. If they make home visits they also have to pay for gas.


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## sassafras

Huh, I've gotten most of my dogs through various rescue groups and I've never had to pay an application fee. I probably wouldn't, either, unless I had no other choice (i.e. EVERY group in my area required one or I had my heart set on a particular dog). That just rubs me the wrong way. I'd rather they just tack on $25 to the adoption fee (which yea, is a bit of semantics... so sue me).


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## Papa Deuce

sassafras said:


> Huh, I've gotten most of my dogs through various rescue groups and I've never had to pay an application fee. I probably wouldn't, either, unless I had no other choice (i.e. EVERY group in my area required one or I had my heart set on a particular dog). That just rubs me the wrong way. *I'd rather they just tack on $25 to the adoption fee (which yea, is a bit of semantics... so sue me)*.


Not really. I mean if they add $25, they get $25 from 1 person.... but $25 from 5 appliacnts who don't get accepted, is $125.

Like I said, I see both sides. But I felt like my money was stolen with the $50 one.


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## jkliveng

$50 seems a bit silly, her time coming there and reading just your application is not worth that in my opinion. We did not have to pay a fee, but we did rescue and just called the day before, went there, and had a pretty long conversation about everything where she just trusted we were a good home. $25 makes more sense. I can't believe you guys were turned down, sounds like the perfect home to me...


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## Pawzk9

jkliveng said:


> $50 seems a bit silly, her time coming there and reading just your application is not worth that in my opinion. We did not have to pay a fee, but we did rescue and just called the day before, went there, and had a pretty long conversation about everything where she just trusted we were a good home. $25 makes more sense. I can't believe you guys were turned down, sounds like the perfect home to me...


$50 may be excessive if the home visit is local. I've done a few where I was the closest rep and it was an all day thing to do the visit (and I did it on my own dime). I do think that there are more than a few rescues with rather extreme and unreasonable qualifications. We all want the dog in the best possible home. But sometimes the best homes are homes with an intact pet in residence, a chubby dog in residence, children, no fenced yard, etc. It's important to go deeper - for instance, if no fenced yard, what are your plans for exercise? I also do think there are probably a few rescues that are dishonest enough to use big application fees and multiple rejections as a fund raising strategy.


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## jkliveng

Yeah, I guess it depends on the travel for sure, but then I guess the fee should not be a set one.


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## Thracian

I have no problem paying for a dog, but I wouldn't pay an application fee--whether it was $50 or $5.


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## katielou

sassafras said:


> Huh, I've gotten most of my dogs through various rescue groups and I've never had to pay an application fee. I probably wouldn't, either, unless I had no other choice (i.e. EVERY group in my area required one or I had my heart set on a particular dog). That just rubs me the wrong way. I'd rather they just tack on $25 to the adoption fee (which yea, is a bit of semantics... so sue me).


Agree i have never experienced this!


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## brandiw

I don't like the idea of an application fee at all. I think it would cause the rescue to really miss out on good applicants that might see an application fee as a possible waste of money (cost money, but no guarantee of a dog, sounds like gambling to me). In my area, no one would pay it, and we would have our dogs forever. IMO, part of volunteering my time for a rescue group includes the vetting of an application and home visits. I don't expect to be compensated for it, and I don't expect the rescue to be compensated for it either. That should be a part of the adoption fee, IMO.


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## GottaLuvMutts

I don't agree with having an application fee, either. That said, a good friend of mine runs a breed-specific rescue and she sorts through gobs of really bad applications on a daily basis. If she charged a fee, I doubt she'd get so many.


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## osdbmom

the other side of this is that really, the more applicants they turn down for some lame reason like the OP said, the more they may potentially make in application fees. Thats not really fair, either. 

I wanted to look into a rescue when we were looking for a second dog, but most of them locally wont talk to me bc I have kids and I have a big unfenced yard ( I dont get the hang up about fenced in yards).


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## lil_fuzzy

I think if you agree to pay the fee and get rejected, then you shouldn't expect your money back. You would have known there was a chance you could get rejected when you paid the fee, so you can't then turn around and whinge about it. See it as a donation to the shelter.

Personally I wouldn't pay a fee, unless I really wanted a specific dog, or I had to because everyone in my area charged one.


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## Papa Deuce

lil_fuzzy said:


> I think if you agree to pay the fee and get rejected, then you shouldn't expect your money back. You would have known there was a chance you could get rejected when you paid the fee, so you can't then turn around and whinge about it. See it as a donation to the shelter.
> 
> Personally I wouldn't pay a fee, unless I really wanted a specific dog, *or I had to because everyone in my area charged one*.


I don't know of a single one near me that doesn't charge at least $25 per application. I don't know that this is true, but I have heard that one Golden Retriver rescue in the area charges $75 for an application, and it gets credited towards the adoption if you get accepted. 

Anyway, we adopted a rescue last night. The PRICE was $350 for puppies, and this included the $25 application fee I had already paid... and then I wrote them a $25 check for a donation. They also had a dontaion jar on the table with what looked to be about $500 in donations, as I saw many $20's, and even 2 $50's in the jar. I liked tis rescue, as they were reasonable to deal with, and they actually gave us a phone number ( 3 of them actually ) to talk to a real person. Many of them want to do this process via email only until they get you a thumbs up on your application.


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## KodiBarracuda

sassafras said:


> Huh, I've gotten most of my dogs through various rescue groups and I've never had to pay an application fee. I probably wouldn't, either, unless I had no other choice (i.e. EVERY group in my area required one or I had my heart set on a particular dog). That just rubs me the wrong way. *I'd rather they just tack on $25 to the adoption fee (which yea, is a bit of semantics... so sue me)*.


*Like



Thracian said:


> I have no problem paying for a dog, but I wouldn't pay an application fee--whether it was $50 or $5.


*Like as well

I will spend an extra 25 dollars on the dog too if it is determined that I get the dog. But I will never spend anything for an application fee, that is just silly for the people who get rejected.

As my own example, I remember when I was 10 or 11 there was a puppy at the shelter that my dad decided he wanted (he found it in the newspaper, they had their own section of new dogs that had come in.) It was a BC puppy and he called the shelter and asked them to hold the puppy, we wanted it, and they said they would, when we got there ( 20 mins later) another family was playing with OUR puppy. We were there for about five minutes and the other family walked out with the puppy, if we had filled out an application that had a fee and they let our puppy walk away with another family when we had already said we were sure we wanted it we would have walked out with no puppy at all. (We did end up getting a different puppy that fit our needs.


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## sassafras

I'm not sure why, but the whole concept of an application fee just really rubs me the wrong way.


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## Crantastic

I kind of waver on the non-refundable application fee thing. A rescue does need to make money, and people have to spend a lot of time going through applications, making home visits, stuff like that. They may not have enough money to operate without these fees. A fee, even a small one, proves that the potential owner is serious about wanting a dog. You could also think of it as a donation, and I wouldn't mind donating $25 to a good rescue even if I wasn't looking for a dog. _However_, they don't call it a donation; it's a fee, and I just really don't like the idea of paying what is essentially a deposit and getting nothing for it.

I ran into the same issue with klee kai breeders, actually. A lot of breeders charge a fee (usually $100 or more) just to get on their (long) waiting lists, and they'll refund only half (sometimes none) if you get a dog elsewhere. I didn't apply to any of these; I would have been out several hundred dollars. An example from my least-favorite:



> After you have completed a Questionnaire and we have written back to you to notify you that your home will be a good home for one of our babies, we send an email to you with our mailing address and ask that you mail a $150 Application Fee in order for us to place you on our waiting list. This $150 Application Fee is applied to the purchase of your puppy when your name rises to the top of the Waiting List; however, it is not a "deposit" and is not refundable should you decide to change your mind and either not get a puppy from us or decide to go elsewhere.


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## Bones

If I saw an application fee I'd RUN AWAY. Maybe in an area that isn't inundated with animals- but here? Hell no and I'd raise hell on earth if the rescue I am on the board tried to implement such a thing!


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## dagwall

Yeah no application fees for me. I paid a $250 adoption fee but that was after I was approved and when I went to pick up Jubel. 

Haha my home visit didn't cost anyone anything either, my neighbor who lives just down the street volunteers at the shelter and walked over to my house for the visit.


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## zdonBGSU

application fee seems really strange considering these rescues are non-profit and ran by volunteers no? the fee that they charge for adoption barely covers the bills for the dogs, there should be no reason to charge an application fee. Are you in the US? I could just be naive but aren't most of these rescue organizations non-profit? Of all the petfinder ads I've seen, I have not seen one with a application fee, only adoption fee.


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## cynster

Non-profits can charge application fees, or really any fees in the US. They can make a lot of profit actually, but they can lose their status by spending too much money on non-operational costs.


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## zdonBGSU

cynster said:


> Non-profits can charge application fees, or really any fees in the US. They can make a lot of profit actually, but they can lose their status by spending too much money on non-operational costs.


yea in theory nothing is stopping them from, but I just didn't know it would be done this way.


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## cynster

Probably to make more money to pay for vet bills, promoting dogs, expanding


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## Abbylynn

It is too bad they don't run some of them the way the one did where I adopted my pup. The rescue group worked along with the county animal shelter. They pulled adoptable dogs and put them in a rescue facility. You had to pay the fee up front. The adoption fee was $100 for any animal they adopted out. You had to wait for 10 days to actually obtain your dog or pup. But the $100 was used to send your adoptive pet to PA to a Vet Tech Institute for all blood work, neuter/spay and all shots except the last rabies booster. You picked up your rescue animal 10 days later and was not charged any more of a fee. You were able to make donations for any of their other dogs in the facility, only if you wished to do so. You could sponsor ailing dogs also. Those dogs were then allowed to be re-homed with a licensed rescue group if another group wished to do so. 
I would in no way pay an app. fee. But then you also have to look at it in another way...........maybe they figure if you cannot afford a fee.....maybe you cannot afford a dog. Who knows!.........or they are just crooks! Lol!
You were refunded the $100 if your soon to be adopted pet should die under anesthesia.....but for only that reason. They had you sign a contract stating that you would return the animal to them if ever you could not keep it and that you would NEVER place your animal outside to live.
The only thing I saw wrong was that they did NOT make home visits. I may be an honest and responsible pet owner. But not everyone is! I would have gladly let them visit.
I too probably would have been denied because one of my dogs is about 2 pounds overweight and has an addiction to barking!


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## InkedMarie

I've only seen an application fee once, for a lab rescue in MA. I asked about it and she said even though it wasn't much, it weeded out people who weren't really serious. I'd have no problem paying it, IF approved it came off the total cost of the adoption fee or if not approved or the dog meet & greet with mine didn't work out, we got it back.


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## Papa Deuce

InkedMarie said:


> I've only seen an application fee once, for a lab rescue in MA. I asked about it and she said even though it wasn't much, it weeded out people who weren't really serious. I'd have no problem paying it, IF approved it came off the total cost of the adoption fee or if not approved or the dog meet & greet with mine didn't work out, we got it back.


Well, that's my beef.... not getting it back if not approved for any reason. Anyway, around here, I think they all have application fees. I haven't seen one that doesn't.


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## ThoseWordsAtBest

I think they are fine. I know a Doberman rescue here that requires an adoption fee. They have very high demand dogs and it weeds out people who are not serious. People put deposits on litters when they may not even get a pup from that litter. It's their business how they handle it.


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## cynster

Papa Deuce said:


> Well, that's my beef.... not getting it back if not approved for any reason. Anyway, around here, I think they all have application fees. I haven't seen one that doesn't.


But it's pretty standard anywhere you go not to get your application fee back - you don't get your application fee back when you apply to rent for an apartment and you get denied for some reason.


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## sizzledog

The rescue I foster/volunteer for has a $20 application fee *due at the time of adoption* - which I think is a great idea. Now, a fee simply to apply? No way - at least not for our rescue.


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## jenz

I've never paid an application fee, just an adoption fee.



> And we were turned down - get this - because my other dog was 10 pounds overweight! But the lady who made the decision was about 150 pounds too heavy herself.


LOL, I totally feel for you!!! Last time I went to my doctor, she lectured me about my BMI and how I should really lose about 15 lbs. But she looked MUCH pudgier and out of shape than I was, LOL! I mean really, what the heck...

Jen


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## Blue_Heeler

brandiw said:


> IMO, part of volunteering my time for a rescue group includes the vetting of an application and home visits. I don't expect to be compensated for it, and I don't expect the rescue to be compensated for it either. That should be a part of the adoption fee, IMO.


Exactly. In a couple weeks I'll be volunteering at an event to help out a pug rescue (don't even have a pug). I'm not expecting anything other then knowing I'm helping to keep the rescue going. Next month I'll be volunteering at a stock dog trial that will require me to drive over an hour each way. My only compensation will be the experience I'll gain.


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## Bones

sizzledog said:


> The rescue I foster/volunteer for has a $20 application fee *due at the time of adoption* - which I think is a great idea. Now, a fee simply to apply? No way - at least not for our rescue.


I just noticed but your dobie rescue took one of our dogs


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## Curbside Prophet

I'd yelp that.


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## Pawzk9

sizzledog said:


> The rescue I foster/volunteer for has a $20 application fee *due at the time of adoption* - which I think is a great idea. Now, a fee simply to apply? No way - at least not for our rescue.


An application fee in addition to an adoption fee at the time of adoption?


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## sizzledog

Bones said:


> I just noticed but your dobie rescue took one of our dogs


Oh really? Which one? 



Pawzk9 said:


> An application fee in addition to an adoption fee at the time of adoption?


No, it's part of the adoption fee... but if for some reason the dog is returned and we return the adoption fee, we keep that $20.


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## Bones

sizzledog said:


> Oh really? Which one?


Ralphie! The poor guy was SO LUCKY even though he is HW +. I remember seeing him at that rural pound (hell on earth) and feeling bad we didn't have room to pull him at the time. Fortunately we forced someone to take him and pulled him right before that pound/hell hole banished all rescues from visiting/pulling. They are now 100% euth if no one claims after a week. He is so fortunate and so sweet! The AC guy kept wanting to add him to euth list so our volunteer had to work to keep him off. Glad he made it somewhere where they can find him a great home!!!


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## sizzledog

Oh, I'm glad we got him! IDR+ is a great organization, we find the very best homes for our dogs - and we take in a lot of special needs dogs like Ralphie. I haven't heard much about him yet, since he's only just arrived.


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