Hi Everybody!
Even though I've been involved in Ratbone for almost 6 years, I really didn't have any idea as to how much it really costs Ratbone to take in a dog from pulling it from a shelter, all the way through to adoption. The following is an excerpt from a letter drafted by a member of Ratbone's BOD regarding "The Cost of Rescue". As I read this, I noticed that it doesn't include any possible shelter fees when we pull dogs from shelter that make us pay to pull them, which is another additional expense, as well as arranging and paying for flights for shelter dogs to go into open fosterhomes across the country. This letter is strictly addresses vetting costs only!! Last year alone, Ratbone saved approximately 350-400 dogs (I apologize that I don't know the exact number). We currently have 125-150 dogs in fostercare!! The math is mindblowing!
That is why we rely on wonderful people like those of you on RT.Com, and all Ratbone supporters to help in our mission to save Ratties! Your financial contributions to our flights, special needs dogs, fundraisers, etc.. is crucial to saving these wonderful babies!! Thank you so very much for your generosity, it is appreciated and will ALWAYS be appreciated. 
I wanted to give you an idea of what it costs Ratbone Rescues to save Ratties.
For a typical dog that doesn't have any serious medical problems, we spend, on average, a little over $200 in vet costs. This covers exam, spay/neuter, rabies vaccination, distemper/parvo vaccination, bordetella vaccination, heartworm testing, microchip, worming, and 6 months of heartworm preventative. Our adoption fee is $150, so the amount that we have to raise for each healthy adult dog is about $55
For a typical healthy puppy, most of our expenditures are the same, except that a puppy can require up to 5 boosters of distemper/parvo vaccination and 3 wormings instead of 1. But a puppy doesn't need a heartworm test, so that is a savings. On average, we spend about $270 for a healthy puppy, and our adoption fee for puppies is $175, so the amount that we have to raise for each healthy puppy is about $95
Unfortunately, many dogs come into rescue who are not healthy. They need tests (such as bloodwork, urinalysis, X-rays, or scrapings). And then then need medicines or medical procedures to deal with their problems. An unhealthy dog is likely to cost us $100-150 in tests and then additional money to treat their problems. Here are some of the typical EXTRA costs we incur:
Dog with heartworm disease: $250-$350
Dog with demodex mange: $175-$225
Dog with urinary tract infection: $70-$125
Dog with a broken leg: $350-$500+
Dog with severe allergies: $200
Dog with major trauma requiring extensive bone surgery: $1500-$3000+
We are able to help save and rehabilitate these Ratties because of the generosity of the wonderful people here on RT.Com and all of Ratbone’s volunteers and supporters. RATBONE CAN’T THANK YOU ALL ENOUGH!!! |