What do you think?

[sandyleew]

I am hoping I posted this in the right section of the board. This issue came up on another BC forum and I am wondering what others' opinions are on the matter. If you have a dog at home that you cannot afford vet care for, ie neutering, is it right to go and adopt another dog. Especially if this dog happens to be an unaltered female?

 

My feeling is that if you can not afford to care for the one you have, you have no business getting another one. Then there is the issue of the possibility of an accidental litter of puppies and how on earth can someone afford puppies if they cannot afford a neuter. Plus, the world does not need any more unwanted puppies!

 

How does everyone else feel about this?

[bc friend]

Unfortunately, money does have to play into your decision to own pets of any kind IMO. I've had to charge unexpected expenes - even borrow money - for unexpected medical treatments but I consider altering a normal expense like food, vaccinations, heartworm meds, flea prevention, etc. If I couldn't afford routine expenses for my pets, I wouldn't get another one. That being said, I might pick up a stray and keep it until I could find a rescue group for it - but I've never had one that I didn't take to the vet w/in a couple days even if I had juggle my own expenses substantially.

[BayouBC]

If you can't afford a neuter, which you can generally find in MOST areas for a discounted rate if you really look, then no...you definitely shouldn't be getting another dog, especially an unspayed female. If you can't afford the neuter, then you obviously can't afford the next dog's spay. And what about their general vet care? Exams, vaccines? Those aren't cheap either. Food, emergencies, etc. The fact that the second dog is an unspayed female just makes it that much worse. If someone was going to INSIST on doing this and there was nothing I could do/say to change their mind about getting a second dog, I would at least try to convince them to get a second dog of the same sex in order to prevent any unwanted puppies.

[sandyleew]

There is no convincing the person to not get another dog, since they already have it. When I brought this issue up, I was accused of bullying and later the thread was deleted.

[sharkie]

we adopted both dogs and they gave us free vouchers for spaying. I am a bit ambivalent about med plans. My friend who got me into dogs and whos owned 30+ dogs has never enrolled any of his in any plans. All of them are yard dogs and they rarely got sick. We enrolled both of ours and I can tell that sometimes a peace of mind is worth a lot more than the expenses which IMO nearly everyone can spare from their cable/cell phone bills

[MrSnappy]

There is no convincing the person to not get another dog, since they already have it. When I brought this issue up, I was accused of bullying and later the thread was deleted.

 

Well of course you were. It's all about pandering to particular personalities and not about legitimate subjects of discussion. This should hardly surprise you. But I'm not sure bringing it here is going to enlighten anyone - I think everyone with an ounce of common sense would agree that if you cannot afford the animal(s) you have, recruiting more is simply irresponsible. However, how that action is perceived is largely due to how many people like the person engaging in the irresponsible activity, in that particular environment. But when someone has an unspayed dog and goes out and acquires an unneutered male, in MOST CASES it's because they intend to breed those dogs, especially when they make 'claims' about being unable to afford a spay. It's a red herring, as it were. Expect a proud announcement about a litter in a few months time.

 

RDM

[pandasmom]

I am hoping I posted this in the right section of the board. This issue came up on another BC forum and I am wondering what others' opinions are on the matter. If you have a dog at home that you cannot afford vet care for, ie neutering, is it right to go and adopt another dog. Especially if this dog happens to be an unaltered female?

 

My feeling is that if you can not afford to care for the one you have, you have no business getting another one. Then there is the issue of the possibility of an accidental litter of puppies and how on earth can someone afford puppies if they cannot afford a neuter. Plus, the world does not need any more unwanted puppies!

 

How does everyone else feel about this?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I definetly belive that if you can't afford to care for one dog, then you should not bring another one into the equation. there are so many rescue groups and humane groups that offer really resonable and sometimes free spay and neutering services, that I almost feel as if there's no excuse to not have a dog spayed or neutered, but definelty if you can't/won't get that taken care of then there is no need to bring in another dog that won't get sufficient care.

[PSmitty]

But when someone has an unspayed dog and goes out and acquires an unneutered male, in MOST CASES it's because they intend to breed those dogs, especially when they make 'claims' about being unable to afford a spay. It's a red herring, as it were. Expect a proud announcement about a litter in a few months time.

 

RDM

 

That's *exactly* what I said in a couple of PMs. I'd bet money on it happening.

[KellieinTX]

I think bringing an unaltered male into a home with an unaltered female loudly proclaims, "I want puppies".

 

If this had been someone I knew, my response would have been, "If you can't afford to spay your dog, how will you afford all the medical care and shots for a whole litter of puppies?"

 

I definitely think cost is a big consideration when getting a dog. I've wanted a dog for two years, but only now feel I have the extra money to make sure the dog is well taken care of. I am so glad that I did, because Oreo cost us $400 in vet bills in the first week we had her home. I could not imagine adopting a dog and not having enough money to spay her. That's like $65 at the SPCA.