Firstly, I want to let everyone know how much I have appreciated your support and wonderful suggestions. Everyone in the boxer Rescue community has been wonderful, and I hope that it will only be a matter of time before I can find my brother another friend
this is a BIG THANK YOU for everyone that has emailed me regarding my message!!!
The email below was one that I recieved in response, I am posting it because I think some people had the WRONG idea! We certainly were not looking for a "hand out":
Dear Veronica Salle,
Thankyou for your heartwarming story, I do appreciate that fact that your
brother rescued an older dog and took very good care of her. I hope he is
able to find another rescue soon to love as much. I am sorry to hear that
you think our fees are exorbitant, but if you take into consideration all
that we put into each rescue.. our fees are really very, very, very low. We
do not get them healthy and ready for adoption.. we have to make them that
way. They almost always come to us sick and needing to be spayed/neutered
and all their shots updated. If we are lucky they are heartworm negative.
Besides medical, there is transportation, phone calls, fees from shelters,
toys and chew things to keep them happy and out of trouble, training crates,
food bowls, and the food itself. Our adoption fee helps pay for some of
these items, but the rest comes out of our pockets. If it wasnt for the
Breeders and Puppy Mills, there wouldnt be any boxers in need of rescue. So,
instead of blasting rescue for their adoption fees, tell the breeders to
accept the responsibility for the dogs the breed. I'm sure all the rescue
organizations would love to be able to just give them away, unfortunately
thats not real life or possible.
Thankyou for hearing me out, I felt rescue needed to be defended against
misconceptions such as some you stated.
Michelle and Leonard Campbell
Hampton Roads Boxer Rescue, Inc.
Website: http://come.to/SEVABoxerRescue
email: sevaboxerrescue@hotmail.com
AND HmptnRdsBxrRescue@hotmail.com
Reply:Firstly, I wanted to apologize if I came across as "blasting" rescue organizations. I assure you, that was not my purpose in writing this letter. Rescue organizations such as yours play an important part in uniting good owners with life companions. Instead, I was only trying to relay some of my frustrations with the way the "some" animal rescue adoption systems currently exclude a number of potentially great owners with "adoption fees" that can vary from $300 and up.
Michelle, I am sure that you are aware that the county animal shelter's fees have rightfully escalated to reflect the rising costs of caring for abandoned animals to about $150 in Prince Georges County. This includes shots, spaying/neutering, and daily upkeep. Once that same animal is brought to a "rescue" organization the shelters themselves told me that the "fees" to "adopt" many times double or triple. Personally, my family feels VERY strongly against purchasing dogs from "puppy mills, however I can certainly see the exasperation many people experience with rescue organizations and breeders, and sadly I am beginning to see why it is very tempting to plop down $350 and take a boxer puppy home the same day. Of course, we all know that this practice in many cases brings the animals in to the shelters in the first place.
Furthermore, purebred animals are most likely to be "rescued" before the general public even has a chance to put in an application. Pardon me for saying so, but in many ways this sounds more like a business than philanthropy, thus the tone of my letter.
Perhaps, it would be better to allow the general public a "reasonable" period to adopt boxers before they are "rescued" That way, everyone would have fair chance to bring these wonderful dogs into our homes and hearts.
Sincerely,
Veronica Sallee
this is a BIG THANK YOU for everyone that has emailed me regarding my message!!!
The email below was one that I recieved in response, I am posting it because I think some people had the WRONG idea! We certainly were not looking for a "hand out":
Dear Veronica Salle,
Thankyou for your heartwarming story, I do appreciate that fact that your
brother rescued an older dog and took very good care of her. I hope he is
able to find another rescue soon to love as much. I am sorry to hear that
you think our fees are exorbitant, but if you take into consideration all
that we put into each rescue.. our fees are really very, very, very low. We
do not get them healthy and ready for adoption.. we have to make them that
way. They almost always come to us sick and needing to be spayed/neutered
and all their shots updated. If we are lucky they are heartworm negative.
Besides medical, there is transportation, phone calls, fees from shelters,
toys and chew things to keep them happy and out of trouble, training crates,
food bowls, and the food itself. Our adoption fee helps pay for some of
these items, but the rest comes out of our pockets. If it wasnt for the
Breeders and Puppy Mills, there wouldnt be any boxers in need of rescue. So,
instead of blasting rescue for their adoption fees, tell the breeders to
accept the responsibility for the dogs the breed. I'm sure all the rescue
organizations would love to be able to just give them away, unfortunately
thats not real life or possible.
Thankyou for hearing me out, I felt rescue needed to be defended against
misconceptions such as some you stated.
Michelle and Leonard Campbell
Hampton Roads Boxer Rescue, Inc.
Website: http://come.to/SEVABoxerRescue
email: sevaboxerrescue@hotmail.com
AND HmptnRdsBxrRescue@hotmail.com
Reply:Firstly, I wanted to apologize if I came across as "blasting" rescue organizations. I assure you, that was not my purpose in writing this letter. Rescue organizations such as yours play an important part in uniting good owners with life companions. Instead, I was only trying to relay some of my frustrations with the way the "some" animal rescue adoption systems currently exclude a number of potentially great owners with "adoption fees" that can vary from $300 and up.
Michelle, I am sure that you are aware that the county animal shelter's fees have rightfully escalated to reflect the rising costs of caring for abandoned animals to about $150 in Prince Georges County. This includes shots, spaying/neutering, and daily upkeep. Once that same animal is brought to a "rescue" organization the shelters themselves told me that the "fees" to "adopt" many times double or triple. Personally, my family feels VERY strongly against purchasing dogs from "puppy mills, however I can certainly see the exasperation many people experience with rescue organizations and breeders, and sadly I am beginning to see why it is very tempting to plop down $350 and take a boxer puppy home the same day. Of course, we all know that this practice in many cases brings the animals in to the shelters in the first place.
Furthermore, purebred animals are most likely to be "rescued" before the general public even has a chance to put in an application. Pardon me for saying so, but in many ways this sounds more like a business than philanthropy, thus the tone of my letter.
Perhaps, it would be better to allow the general public a "reasonable" period to adopt boxers before they are "rescued" That way, everyone would have fair chance to bring these wonderful dogs into our homes and hearts.
Sincerely,
Veronica Sallee