Why are re-homing adoption fees so expensive? $200-400 for dogs?

When a dog or cat is rescued, 9 times out of 10 it has medical issues any where from fleas and ticks and anemia to mange to ear and eye infections, heart worms, hook worms, tape worms, sometimes parvo, some times broken bones that requires metal rods even amputation. A lot of them have open infected sores from dog fights or abuse, some have tumors, some are literally skin and bones and it takes weeks or months to get their weight up. Some need transfusions. Nearly all of them need to be spayed or neutered. They all need vaccines. They all need to be microchipped.

Who do you think pays for the vet appointments, the surgeries, the medications, the follow up vet appts, the flea treatments, the special food, the treated baths for mange, the microchip, etc.

When you adopt a dog or cat (and they ALL have adoption fees) all you get to see is a healthy animal with the right weight and all its hair. You don't see the sad damaged goods that has to be medically made sound or the weeks or months in foster care to be made psychologically sound.

Every animal that comes in costs a minimum $200 just for all the basics.
The adoption fees do not cover all the costs usually. That comes from donations, grants and fund raisers. Tescue groups are constantly financially struggling even with volunteer staffers. The food for feeding all those animals in their care is another huge monthly ecpense. Bags of cat litter are not free.

In order to keep functioning and rescuing more animals adoption fees go toward replacing some of those monies. One month we had $4,000 in vet bills for the cats we rescued. Bills can go much higher.

If you ever watch Pit Bulls and Parolees on Animal Planet they average $500 per dog on getting that dog ready for adoption. Their vet bill for Villa Lobos is $500,000 per year.

So when you ask what those fees are for, it's for bringing that animal back to life and making it ready for its forever home.