any suggestions?

[twix0699]

Okay, I know I have asked questions about this before and I have been doing some research but not alot. I really want to get another dog after I move the first of Feb and I am really interested in rescuing but I simply don't have the money to rescue. $175 is a lot of money for me to come up with---does anyone have any suggestions of how I can help out and get another dog without it costing me so much? I understand why rescue groups charge the money they charge but just because I can't pay that doesn't make me a bad pet owner, does it? I just really have my heart set on another play mate for Twix and would love to rescue a dog in need instead of buying another puppy. Any thoughts from you guys would be greatly appreciated.

Teresa and Twix

[Susan'sFreddie98]

Teresa,

Do you look at the DRWP site? Some dachsies posted from their owners do NOT charge. I know there are at least a couple listed right now.
Would you be able to handle the extra $$ for routine Vet care and food and supplies? It adds up.

I'm also leaning towards a Rescue as a companion for Freddie. I check out the DRWP, DRNA, and C2CDR almost daily. Good luck! Keep us tuned.http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/smile.gif

Susan

[Roxane]

I am going to tread lightly on this subject because I don't want any of my friends in rescue organizations hitting me over the head with a frying pan!http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/afraid.gif
There are other dogs out there, from time to time, offered by other than rescue groups. And if you are lucky you might find one that is up to date on it's shots, spayed/neutered, has been on HW preventitive since a pup and well trained and socialized. Often, as with our Baylea, the costs to us, with our own vet, was way over the charges that are often asked by the organizations, because she was none of the above. http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/mad.gif
Unless you know the person from whom you get the dog and/or are able to get in touch with the dog's vet; you may be getting a pig in a poke.
It is always important to know the real reason the dog is being given away.
Unfortunately, we often see ads in the classified sections:Free to a Good Home. That can be bad news for both the dog or the new owner, especially if the dog is not "fixed".
Now that I have set forth the warnings; if you get the word out to your local shelters, dachshund owners, generic small breed rescue groups, post notices on market bulletin boards and in the paper, you may find a dog that would otherwise fall through the cracks. Believe it or not there are both shelters and people who are not friendly to rescue organizations. Never have understood that!!!
Everyone is looking for that ideal housetrained pooch about 1 1/2 yrs. old, cat and children friendly etc. etc. What you will find out in the real world may be a very sweet but senior dog (see some of the other rescue posts), a dog with temperament problems, a dog with physical problems.
But, you know, those are the very ones that really, really need to be adopted, please keep that in mind.
Regardless, of which way you go, remember you are taking on another mouth to feed, more vet bills to consider.
It's a big decision and I wish you the very best of luck.
Roxane and crew

<FONT COLOR="#00FFFF" SIZE="1" FACE="Verdana, Arial">This message has been edited by Roxane on January 20, 2001 at 06:31 PM</font>

[Mandy]

Teresa,

Just like Susan said, the vet bills (and food and toy....) do add up. Heartworm medicine alone for two dogs (at least in our area) is a little pricey. But if you can afford that adn have room and love, by all means look into getting a rescue dog, even if it is not from a rescue group.

It is true that DRNA charges a fee. We wish we didn't have too, but a lot does go into getting these little guys up to date. When you get a dog from the shelter or someone else, you really don't know what you are getting...the dog could have any temperament, or maybe it isn't good with kids, dogs, cats, men, or women. When you adopt a dog from a rescue group, you can speak with the foster family and find out about these little details beforehand.

Have you thought about adopting a senior dachshund? Dachshunds over 10 or who have special needs only have a $125 adoption fee from DRNA. In fact, Bart and I just got a little foster yesterday who is sooooo sweet. He is learning very quickly about receiving love and is learning tons of new things. We have two dachshunds of our own, Henry (3 yrs.) and Jakey (17 mos.). The really funny thing is that Dash and Jake have become close buds! Even with the 10 year age gap, they just think the other one is great and stay together all of the time. Jake is teaching Dash all of those wonderful little dachsie things that should be cherished, but which Dash must have been too frightened to do in his old home. I can't believe someone could dump this very loving little guy at a kill shelter after spending 11 years with him. He, for one, would make a wonderful addition to anyone's home. And there are a lot of seniors out there.

[dutchman]

Hi Teresa,

A couple of comments and a couple of ideas. First the prices most of the rescue groups charge are really reasonable when you consider the expense they have especially with some of the special care cases. In our area the average price for a back yard breeder pup is between $350 and $500. I believe pet stores (selling mill dogs) average $500 to $750.

As far as ideas check with your local shelters and dachshund rescue people. Many shelters will offer to add you to a waiting list for a specific breed and contact you when (if) they get in a dog you might be interested in. The rescue people often stay in touch with the shelters and know when a new dachshund arrives. I know my dachshund rescue representative will send people who have been in contact with her to the shelter to look as dogs available there. Our local rescue people try to leave an animal at the shelter as long as it is doing well there. This helps keep their cost lower and also helps keep the adoption cost down for the new owner. Our local shelter charges $75 for an adoption and this includes a heart worm test plus a spay or neuter if that is required. There are cases when our local rescue people get dogs from the shelter as soon as the shelter can legally turn them over (10 days in the case of a stray, this is the waiting period for the owner to claim the animal). They will do this when an animal is having a hard time adjusting to kennel life (some dogs eat very little if at all in a shelter) or in the case of a special needs animal. The rescue people are not making money off of the dogs they are trying to relocate. I suspect in many areas rescue groups are either investing a lot of their own money or have been able to locate a number of good donors to help make ends meet. While some dogs are a quick place and spend minimal time in foster homes others spend months in foster care and have major medical needs. Our local rescue people won't adopt an un altered dog and they pay for the spay/neuter, they do a hear worm test, generally provide the first years heart guard medication, they will do a dental before adoption if that is required.

I know I got a price break on Tanner from my rescue rep for several reasons. I only paid about half the normal adoption fee for a dog his age (less than two years). Among the reasons I got him for this price were the fact that with his shyness problems he was considered a hard to place animal and had been in foster care for 2.5 months. My rescue rep also knew I had some major medical bills from my attempt to save Aggie and that combined with the fact that I am a bid advocate of her rescue attempts all contributed to their decision to give me a break on Tanner. I know of several dogs that have been placed from referrals I have made. In Tanner's case his foster mom thought he might need a dental. The local rescue rep didn't think his mouth was that bad but told me to ask my vet and if he needed one their local vet would do it and they would have picked up the bill. There had also been an oversight and Tanner had not yet had a heat worm test so they paid the bill for that and his rabies shot which I got from my own vet. My vet agreed that he did not need a dental if he had and you would have considered what my vet generally charges for dentals combined with the other reimbursed expenses they actually would have been paying me to take Tanner and that doesn't include any expense they had in obtaining him in the first place or the cost of feed and personal items while he was in foster care. He also came with heart guard for the rest of the year and several stuffed toys.

I know $175 can seem like a lot of money when you are on a tight budget but it really is less that most other ways to get a dachshund. You might consider contacting local show breeders and see if they have any retired show dogs or dogs who did not live up to their show expectations. Those dogs are often sold at very reasonable prices and they do need homes.

Good luck in your search for a new buddy,

Tom and the boys (Frank and Tanner)

[magoofl]

Hi Teresa,

I am with Coast to Coast Dachshund Rescue in Florida. Where are you located? Our organization will work with you on a payment plan for your adoption donation if you cannot afford the entire $175 up front. Please let me know if we can help. I can put you in touch with a CCDR rep in your area. All of our doxies are spay/neutered, up to date on shots and all other healthcare. We always have so many little doxie babies in foster care looking for a loving home. Will wait to hear from you.

Therese Fuhrman
Coast to Coast Dachshund Rescue - FL www.c2cdr.org (http://www.c2cdr.org)

[Oscar's Mom]

We want to adopt a dachsie later on this year so I started a New Dachsie budget for the adoption fee and expenses.

[Jennifer]

I think it is great that you are interested in adopting a rescued dachsie. Last year when we were looking for a dachsie, we got approved by CCDR and DRNA and were then waiting for the right dog to become available. During our wait, a beautiful little 3 year old red dachsie ended up in a shelter near my house. Since the shelter isn't rescue friendly, CCDR was trying to get her and the shelter would not release her to them. Betty was 2 days from being put to sleep, but the shelter would rather put her down than give her to CCDR. So, CCDR told me about the dog since it was what I was looking for and I ended up adopting my Betty through the shelter instead of through the rescue groups.

So, I paid 100 dollar adoption fee to the shelter. She ended up having heartworms and had a number of complications during the treatment. She ran up about 500 dollars in vet bills the first month we had her. Although the spaying was included in the adoption fee, we made the decision to pay for the spay ourselves because we would have had to leave her at the shelter for 2 nights. She was so scared there, that I just couldn't bring myself to break her trust by leaving her there after she had only been at our house for a week. So, I ended up spending 700 dollars on her in the first month! (not including all the new goodies I treated her to (toys, bed, crate).

If we had adopted her through a rescue group, like we had originally planned, we would have only had the 175 donation because she would have been treated before we got her (and I would not have had to go through the 2 months of stress and tears that I did). And we would have known about the heartworm problem before we had adopted her (the shelter made a mistake and told me she was hw negative when she was really positive). Also, dogs adopted through the rescue groups are typically housetrained or working on being housetrained, so this makes your first few weeks with the new dachsie more enjoyable.

So, my point is although the donation fee may seem high, you are getting a dog whose medical issues have already treated. And trust me, this is alot cheaper than if you get a dog with hw or another seious condition. Although, I would still adopt Betty all over again because she would have been killed if I had not taken her, I think there are definate benefits to going through a rescue group, espeically, if you are on a fixed budget.

[twix0699]

Thanks so much for all your input! I really appreciate it. I honestly do understand why rescue groups charge what they do and I don't have a problem with that. The thing I have a problem with is coming up with the money all at once. At my vet office, they offer a healthplan and I pay a small monthly fee that covers all my office visits and shots and gives good discounts on any other services received or meds needed. So that makes it easier for me to afford a dog. I was unaware that there are payment plans available and would like to find out more info on that. I have looked at the rescue sites but didn't see any dogs that were not $175. I have no interest in buying a pet store dog or breeder dog. I got Twix from a friend of a friend for $75 and as far as I am concerned she is perfect. I will continue to look at the rescue sites and will contact some shelters in my area but last time I checked shelters the price was between $125 and $150 there too. I guess I just needed some input. Thanks again for all your help. I will keep you updated on my search.

Teresa

[dutchman]

Hi Teresa,

Just one more idea and while their normal fees are $125 (some special cases are more) you might want to take a look at Hearts United web site (http://www.hua.org) I see you are in Kansas City so they would be within driving distance for you. If all else fails start a dachshund fund putting away ten to twenty dollars a month you may have to wait a little longer but that will make you new addition mean that much more to you.

Good luck,

Tom and the boys (Frank and Tanner)

<FONT COLOR="#00FFFF" SIZE="1" FACE="Verdana, Arial">This message has been edited by dutchman on January 23, 2001 at 10:33 AM</font>

[Tanya]

Hey Teresa. I do hope you continue to consider giving a rescue dachshie a home. Though the fees may seem pretty high, the fees just simply help us to pay for the dogs vetting. I adopted Ben from DRNA for $125. Ben came from the pound and was Heartworm +. I actually picked him up from the pound. His total vet bill for shots and all was close to $400 and that was with a vet discount. But regardless of the vet costs, the fee is still the same rate. The rescue groups don't make any money. we just use the fees to help vet other dogs. Don't give up. There are plenty of little dogs needing homes. Good luck.
Tanya