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<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face="Comic Sans MS">I wanted to comment on the
post about how rescues should help at risk dog owners out with expenses so they
can keep their pets. As a rescue we always ask the owner who is wanting to
surrender their dog if there is anything we can offer them in the way of
help that would allow them to keep their dog. Most of the time when an owner
calls rescue they have already made up their mind they do NOT
want help to keep their dog. Rescues do try to offer education and sometimes
even dog food or supplies to get owners to keep their hounds and once in a great
while the owner changes their mind and decides to try to keep their
dog. Rescues are not waiting by the phone for calls to come in, we do
not need more owner relinquishes we have enough on our hands just saving
the Bassets left in kill shelters. But we do try
to offer help, we are always willing to give suggestions about
training, we will offer food, but where are we suppose to get the
$200.00 to neuter or spay their pet for them? Rescues do not get funding from
the government like the big Humane Societies. Rescues money comes from donations
and if we do not get enough donations we pay for medical bills out of our
personal family budget. We do not make a money from rescuing; the
adoption fees do not even cover the cost of altering the dog, much less for
shots and teeth cleaning, heartworm tests, well dog check up, not to mention the
dogs we get with health problems. Most owner relinquished dogs have not been
kept up to date on shots, most are not altered, and have never been on
heartworm preventative. Most owner relinquished dogs have been neglected and we
rarely get one that is well adjusted and healthy. Usually the only time we
get a dog that is a happy well adjusted owner surrender is when the owner dies
and the family does not want the dog. Just my two cents. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face="Comic Sans MS">Chris Bly Western Missouri Basset
Rescue, Inc. wmbri.org</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>