Second Chance: Adoption Fees Explained! + Updates!

09 Oct Second Chance: Adoption Fees Explained! + Updates!

For 30+ years, the Animal Resource Center and Shops of Second Chance Humane Society have been serving Ouray, San Miguel, and Montrose Counties. Adoption hours are from Wednesday to Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. View shelter pets and services online at www.secondchancehumane.org.

“Connecting Pets, People, and Community While Saving Lives.”

View shelter pets and services online: www.adoptmountainpets.org.

Donate here or mail to: PO Box 2096, Ridgway, CO, 81432. 

Go here for more options from Second Chance.

At Second Chance Humane Society, we strive to place more pets in happy family homes. We regularly examine our fees and strive to keep them affordable. To this end, we also participate in events such as “Empty the Shelters” where adoption fees are reduced or even waived.

When these events happen, we invariably get questions like: “If someone needs help with adoption fees, how can they afford to care for a pet?” Some believe that reduced fees or fee-waived adoptions devalue the pet, may compromise their care, and/or reflect poorly on the shelter.

Here at Second Chance, we find that people aren’t adopting because of lower fees. Instead, people meet a pet at our shelter, and fees being reduced are just a reminder to visit and adopt.  They may even see the reduced or waived fees as “freeing up” more money for treats, toys, and other pet essentials.

Reducing fees may bring in adopters from communities with whom we historically haven’t connected, and this expansion of our audience is a great opportunity to help more animals.

Multiple studies by reputable animal welfare organizations have shown that animals adopted through fee-waived or fee-reduced adoption events like Empty the Shelters are NOT returned at a rate higher than any other pets. Additionally, there was no difference in post-adoption veterinary care received by fee-waived and non-fee-waived pets. Regardless of fee status, most adopters brought their pets for follow-up veterinary care.

Another piece of good news for pets like George and Tulip: studies found 87% of adopters of fee-reduced pets considered the length of time a cat or dog had been at the shelter as a factor in selecting their new family member. This suggests that fee-waived programs entice adopters who are explicitly trying to be part of the solution to homeless pets.

While adoption fees may be reduced during Empty the Shelters, our adoption policies and guidance are not.  We meet with every potential adopter to get to know them and their lifestyle, to make sure we are making a strong match and setting everyone up for success.  We provide tips and guidance on how to introduce new pets to the home, to other family members, and to resident pets. Every adopter fills out the same application, signs the same contract, and is asked the same questions.

Another question we get is “How does this affect your budget?” To be perfectly honest, adoption fees don’t begin to cover the costs of care for shelter animals. The medical care, food, behavioral work, and staff time cost much more than the standard adoption fee. This is especially true for long-stay pets. Our biggest asset is the donors who support our mission financially as well as by spreading the word about the great work we do. We also apply for grants, work with businesses, and move merchandise through our shops and gallery to fund our work. If someone adopts during an event, we hope they will consider donating. Either way, nothing makes us happier than seeing an animal find its new home.

Read more about the success of reduced fee or fee-waived pet adoptions:  https://lifelineanimal.org/mythbusting-fee-waived-adoptions/

Mary, Dean, Tulip, and Tiger are cats who have been overlooked. They have been with us most of their young lives and are so ready to find a family. Mary is a petite girl tortoiseshell girl; Dean is her all-black brother; Tiger is an extremely loving tabby boy;  and Tulip is a shy tuxedo girl.

AND… To continue the Second Chance Highlights section, we want to share the following:

This is the last week of Empty the Shelters, offering reduced-fee adoptions on all pets.
Dogs & Cats Over 6 Months Old: $25 Adoption Fee!
Kittens & Puppies Under 6 Months Old: $50 Adoption Fee

Nucla vaccine and wellness clinic THURSDAY OCTOBER 10.
Nucla community center
11am to 3pm