Are Surrender Fees the Answer?
July 30th, 2010
I don’t think anyone who has been involved in pet rescue or who have volunteered at a shelter hasn’t wondered if people really know what happens to their pets once they are relinquished to the “pound.”
Most of the general public haven’t witnessed the gruesome reality on kill day.
Springfield Missouri Animal Control goes as far as to tell people who are relinquishing their pets that they will be euthanized if a rescue doesn’t claim them, but that hasn’t deterred some from handing their pets over, sometimes on an annual basis, according to Randy Barnts, supervisor at the facility.
That’s why, he said, the municipal shelter instituted a new policy on July 1. They began charging a $20 surrender fee.
Barnts says the fee covers vaccinations and deworming, as well as boarding for a five day hold period, and if a rescue doesn’t claim the animal, it covers killing it (the shelter is 40 years old and not set up for public adoptions).
“We’ve seen private facilities charge surrender fees, but seeing municipalities doing it is not really a trend we’re seeing,” says Betsy McFarland, who works for the companion animal section of the Humane Society of the United States.
That’s most likely because municipal shelters were built to help curb the dumping of animals that will either become wild and roam in packs, becoming a danger to the public, or die terrible deaths from disease or starvation.
Springfield Animal Control took in 2,500 dogs last year and 2,000 cats (some of those were picked up as strays). Barnts says he doesn’t know if their numbers have increased this year, but added that charging a surrender fee has been in discussion for at least a year within the city and was finally approved by the city council. “We have repeat turn ins, people will get a puppy and bring it in a year later so they can get another one,” says Barnts. “At least with the fee, they will have to take at least a little responsibility.”
He says it’s always a concern that people will simply dump their animals rather than paying the fee, but he says only time will tell how the new policy is working.
I’m not sure that in a state that has always been in the top five with regards to being home to puppy mills and in an area with so many people having a disposable mindset to animals, that charging a surrender fee will deter anyone or make them take responsibility.
It looks like more education might be needed.
What do you think about municipal shelters charging surrender fees, readers?
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15 Responses to “Are Surrender Fees the Answer?”
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Kerri Fivecoat-Campbell has had dogs all of her life. Her first rescue was Hershey, a miniature black and brown Dacshund. She ruled the Campbell household until 2005 when she passed away at age 16. The case of Scruffy, a Yorkshire terrier whose torture death was videotaped in 1997, horrified the nation when the tape appeared on national news shows. Kerri began covering the trial for the local daily newspaper in Kansas City, Kansas where the crime occurred. Her investigation into animal cruelty cases led to her awareness of the puppy mill problem in that state.
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On first glance a surrender fee seems like a good idea, but then people who give up their pets aren’t usually the cream of the crop and they’ll probably just abandon them somewhere if they don’t want to pay a fee. I really wish there was some kind of screening for people who adopt pets in the first place. So many out there shouldn’t have any.
The municipal shelter where I volunteered did charge surrender fees … much higher than $20 … and that was 15 or so years ago.
From a local politics/budget perspective and a personal responsibility perspective, it makes sense to me to charge *something* to help cover the expenses of caring for a relinquished pet.
At the same time, I can see how it might discourage people from using the shelter and how that might lead to pet dumping or abandonment.
To avoid paying, some people would bring pets to the shelter where I volunteered and pretend it was a stray they’d found. Many times, it was VERY clear that was not the case, but what can you do?
I agree with the previous posters. Surrender fees, while a good idea to help cover the costs involved in caring for the surrendered animal, may cause more people to just abandon their pets and not bring them into a shelter. I think more education is required, better screening of adopters and more emphasis on matching people with the right pets.
I think in a perfect world, we would be able to screen people to have pets in the first place. I think the disposable pet mentality is starting to turn around – more likely in more progressive places – but there’s still so much education that needs to be done. Thank you all for reading and commenting.
As a volunteer at an animal shelter, I am in support of fees.
Yes. There will always be a few of those people who would rather dump their dog or cat than pay a fee, but mostly people pay it.
Shelters are running on a shoestring budget already. If a surrender fee helps to defray some of their costs then it makes sense.
One other reason to include a fee? It forces people to stop and think. They can’t just dump their pet and walk out the door. I would rather they be forced to think about what they are doing than just mindlessly dump their pet.
We do see people dump their pets from time to time, but if we catch them we can report it to the police here-it’s illegal to dump a pet at a shelter door and run. People do pay for doing so.
Want to know what it’s like at a shelter? Read A Letter From A Shelter Manager http://tinyurl.com/24pxy5t It will break your heart.
Thanks, Melf, for your input. I’ve seen that letter before. It is heartbreaking.
Logically, it’s totally the right thing to do. Shelters need money to help the unwanted pets and cash doesn’t appear out of thin air. However, there are going to be people that will just dump their dogs/cats to avoid the fee. Hopefully most folks will do the right thing.
Well, really, Karen, if most people were doing the right thing, they would be keeping their pets for the 15 or so years they initially signed on for. But I agree with you, if they *have* to give them up, their chances in a shelter are far better than on the streets.
I think the fees are minor compared to the cost. Pet owners should be responsible for their pets. However some consideration should be made for someone that can not afford the fee.
Excellent point, Anthony. There are some people who really cannot afford to care for their pets, especially now. If they don’t have a job or in some cases, even a home, $20 is a small fortune.
I agree with everything that’s been said. I ran a shelter for 8 years, and have “seen it all.” There are, and will always be, extenuating circumstances that prevent some people from paying a surrender fee, effectively sealing the fate of some to abandonment. Once I saw what people were capable of, I decided to advertise “never a surrender fee.” This helped to ensure a higher use of the shelter and saved more pets, but of course, the expense was higher for us, not to mention, we were usually out of room. But, once someone came in with their pet, they were required to fill out forms, then sit through my “lectures” about the fate of shelter pets, and our expenses. I flat out told them that “Fluffy” would die if they did not help us out with a donation. Of course, I didn’t follow through with that (we were basically a no-kill with emphasis on no-suffer)… but they just needed a dose of reality. I sure could tell who cared about their pets. Most did donate… occasionally a substantial amount! They just didn’t know how it works… So many people here thought I was working for the city. I had to tell them the city didn’t care.
I have a feeling if there were more of those lectures, RJ, there would be at least a lot more education. Good for you for taking the time to talk to these people.
Re: the “lectures,” I couldn’t agree more. At the shelter where I volunteer, I have seen a number of people coming in to surrender pets, and the staff never talk to them to try to work with them and see if there’s any way they could keep their pet with help. (Ie; a referral to a pet food pantry etc.)
Sometimes they don’t even tell them there’s a chance their pet will be killed. I saw a dad bring in his two sons to dump off a pit bull pup, and the intake worker said something like, “We do our best to get rescue or a foster home, but that doesn’t always happen.” To me, that’s putting it much to vaguely and mildly. It really needs to be spelled out clearly and, if the parent doesn’t like their kids hearing that, maybe they will think twice before brining them along to dump off the family pet. (Or, better yet, think twice about dumping the pet.)
Also, Kerri, I have to say that reading about people who get a puppy, then dump it at the shelter after it grows up so they can get a new one, just about killed me. Who are these people?
I do not think surrender fees are the answer. I live in Dayton, Ohio, and to surrender your dog to our Humane Society is $200.00. Yes, you read that right. twohundred dollars. If people fall on really hard times, due to foreclosure, job loss, etc. they can’t afford to keep the pet, nor can they afford to surrender it. So what do you think is gonna happen next?? Find a road out in the country, bye-bye Princess. Maybe I am judging the issue too harshly, but from what I have seen in this area, I can’t agree with fees.
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