Why “Free to a Good
Home” is a Bad Idea!
Why? First of all, free dogs (or others pets) are anything but
free. The new owner must be willing to
make a financial commitment to their pet because there are veterinary expenses,
feeding, shots, worming, etc., that the dog (or cat or other pet) simply must have. How likely are the new owners to come up with
money for these expenses if they can’t afford the dog or are too cheap to pay a
minimal fee? Therefore some kind of financial
commitment can be seen as part of a screening process. Screening can also include asking questions about
the dog’s intended diet, housing, etc.
Second, people
who give dogs away are putting the dogs’ lives in danger. One of the easiest ways for criminals to
obtain dogs for resale (or other evil purposes) is to answer “free to good
home” ads. These people will lie about
who they are and what they intend, and they will even bring their children along
in an attempt to look like a loving home.
Here are some of the bad places that “free” dogs can wind up:
- In the cruel hands of dog-fighters. Large, powerful dogs of certain breeds can wind up as fighters. Small dogs wind up as bait to train the others.
- In cult rituals as sacrificial victims.
- In puppy mills, particularly if small or purebred.
- In research and testing laboratories, undergoing painful and dangerous experiments.
- On the table as food (or in a tank as food for a reptile).
Euthanasia at a veterinarian’s
office or animal shelter is preferable to a life (or death) in places like the
ones listed above.
When looking for a
pet, keep in mind that no dog is really free; there are still the same routine
expenses (veterinary care, training, etc.) for a “free” dog that you would have
for a shelter dog or one from a breeder.
But a “free” dog has no warranty.
There is nobody to take him back if he gets deathly sick or otherwise doesn’t
work out. A dog from a reputable shelter
that has had its first shots and that comes sterilized (or with a voucher) is usually
a better deal financially than a “free” one, even if you have to pay an
adoption fee up front.
Update on 6/13/14: My thanks to readers who provided me with some feedback this week! Here are some clarifications for the above post:
1. When I suggest a rehoming fee, I mean a minimal one. Many owners try to recoup the fee they paid for the dog as a puppy. That is probably not going to happen, even after a few weeks or months of ownership. Others advertise puppies online with a "rehoming fee" of hundreds of dollars. Don't be fooled! These folks are selling puppies and disguising their greed with their terminology.
2. Don't pay top dollar for a mixed breed dog. So-called "hybrid" breeds are mutts that people are charging top dollar for. Don't fall for it.
3. This post addresses those who advertise an animal as "free to a good home" with the intentions of finding the animal a good home. This practice is naiive and wrong. On the other hand, I have nothing but admiration for those who find or accept a "free" animal, who realize the animal's anything but free by the time it gets quality feed, toys, training, veterinary care, etc., and who provide a lifetime of those requirements. But these folks probably realize that the animal they took in dodged a bullet. In fact, any "free" animal I have taken in has invariably cost me more than a similar one adopted through a local shelter, assuming the animal was in a similar state of health when I took it in. That's because shelters often pay for first shots, worming, and at least a voucher toward the costs of spaying or neutering the animal.
4. I had one response that my post was alarmist. The reader didn't believe that free animals could wind up in the bad situations I described. I have seen first-hand some of the atrocities animals can suffer when I volunteered for the SPCA of Northeastern North Carolina. This is a good organization that deals with some of the worst situations its community's animals sometimes suffer. If you don't believe the kind of abuse animals can suffer, volunteer at an open-intake shelter for a while. You will have nights you won't sleep well. Volunteers deserve medals. As far as laboratories that take in animals and cause them suffering, there is one located near this area in Suffolk, Virgnia. Another was once shut down in Gates County, North Carolina, due to the animal cruelty there. Also watch the HBO documentary, "Dealing Dogs," if you can find it on Netflix or elsewhere. Seeing is believing. Have a strong stomach.
5. Local television station WVEC, Channel 13, reports that dognappings are on the rise.
Update on 6/13/14: My thanks to readers who provided me with some feedback this week! Here are some clarifications for the above post:
1. When I suggest a rehoming fee, I mean a minimal one. Many owners try to recoup the fee they paid for the dog as a puppy. That is probably not going to happen, even after a few weeks or months of ownership. Others advertise puppies online with a "rehoming fee" of hundreds of dollars. Don't be fooled! These folks are selling puppies and disguising their greed with their terminology.
2. Don't pay top dollar for a mixed breed dog. So-called "hybrid" breeds are mutts that people are charging top dollar for. Don't fall for it.
3. This post addresses those who advertise an animal as "free to a good home" with the intentions of finding the animal a good home. This practice is naiive and wrong. On the other hand, I have nothing but admiration for those who find or accept a "free" animal, who realize the animal's anything but free by the time it gets quality feed, toys, training, veterinary care, etc., and who provide a lifetime of those requirements. But these folks probably realize that the animal they took in dodged a bullet. In fact, any "free" animal I have taken in has invariably cost me more than a similar one adopted through a local shelter, assuming the animal was in a similar state of health when I took it in. That's because shelters often pay for first shots, worming, and at least a voucher toward the costs of spaying or neutering the animal.
4. I had one response that my post was alarmist. The reader didn't believe that free animals could wind up in the bad situations I described. I have seen first-hand some of the atrocities animals can suffer when I volunteered for the SPCA of Northeastern North Carolina. This is a good organization that deals with some of the worst situations its community's animals sometimes suffer. If you don't believe the kind of abuse animals can suffer, volunteer at an open-intake shelter for a while. You will have nights you won't sleep well. Volunteers deserve medals. As far as laboratories that take in animals and cause them suffering, there is one located near this area in Suffolk, Virgnia. Another was once shut down in Gates County, North Carolina, due to the animal cruelty there. Also watch the HBO documentary, "Dealing Dogs," if you can find it on Netflix or elsewhere. Seeing is believing. Have a strong stomach.
5. Local television station WVEC, Channel 13, reports that dognappings are on the rise.
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