Why would people pay $$$ thousands for a pet?

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Originally posted by luckies4me
I want to know what you think of small animal breeders such as myself. Rat breeders etc. and how you feel about me breeding my rats.

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Um....To be honest, I really don't care.

There's not that many unwanted rats or small animals. Yes, there's a few -- but not as many as there are dogs and cats.

I still haven't found a rat in a shelter near me, and I don't know of any rescues for rats. More than likely if/when I do get a rat and I can't find one in the shelter I will get from a breeder. Again, that's ONLY if I can't find it in the shelter.


IMO, it's much more different for small animals than it is for dogs and cats. Atleast in my area it is, i'm not sure aobut everywhere else.

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Originally posted by Kfamr
Um....To be honest, I really don't care.

There's not that many unwanted rats or small animals. Yes, there's a few -- but not as many as there are dogs and cats.

I still haven't found a rat in a shelter near me, and I don't know of any rescues for rats. More than likely if/when I do get a rat and I can't find one in the shelter I will get from a breeder. Again, that's ONLY if I can't find it in the shelter.

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It is VERY rare for me to tell someone to go to a shelter for a rat. That reason being? Most of the time the animal is too hard to handle and often ends back up at the shelter VERY quickly. I only recommend someone going to a shelter for a rat IF they have years of experience with rats and have had them in the past, and they really have the money to care for the rat. They can be more expensive to care for then a dog or cat. Honey's estimated dollar amount for her emergency spay and treatment is about 500 dollars. Most times, these rats can be very agressive and just too much for a first time owner to handle, unless the rats are young. In any case I recommend a shelter before a breeder if the rats are young, and healthy. Rats can just be so much of a heartache to people, and most do not want to own a rat who has several problems and who is going to die from Myco in just two short months. So I am torn between this regarding rats.

But if you ever want one, you can get one from me. ;)

I voted I would Not. I do think it depends on the kind of pet though. Horses and birds are expensive and if people want those kinds of pets, they will have to pay more. For cats and dogs, however, I think some of those prices can just be outrageous! I can't imagine spending that much on a cat or dog, and nor would I ever. Working at the hospital has really opened my eyes to the world of purebreeds, and paying so much money for an animal with potentially so many problems is just incredulous. Although, most of the animals with problems that come in are "purebred" dogs from puppymills. Aka pet store dogs. I swear, everytime I answer the phone and a person says "I just bought a new puppy and it is coughing and has bloody diarrhea"....I know right away where that puppy came from. :rolleyes: The petstores put these insane prices on these dogs and *most* of them have so many problems. I can't believe that people actually pay $1500 and up for puppymill dogs around here, when they can get the same kind of animal from rescue for a couple hundred dollars!! :eek: Man, do I have some interesting stories from the hospital! ;) LOL
Just seeing the amount of purebred animals that come into our hospital with problems has really lessened my taste for them. When I first started working at the hospital, I was amazed at how many purebred animals I saw coming in. Primarily because I've not seen many purebred dogs "in person". So, it was kinda neat at first, until I realized that at least 98% of the animals that come in there are purebred with problems! :eek: The only time I see "mutt" cats and dogs come in is for shots and routine checkups or spay/neuter surgeries. Very rarely is it that these are the ones with major problems and other surgeries. It's the purebreeds that have all the health issues and major surgeries. Strange, isn't it? For me, I will always go to the shelter first, or a rescue if I get the hankering for a purebred animal, but right now, mixed breeds are right for me. Less health issues too! ;)

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Originally posted by wolflady
The petstores put these insane prices on these dogs and *most* of them have so many problems. I can't believe that people actually pay $1500 and up for puppymill dogs around here, when they can get the same kind of animal from rescue for a couple hundred dollars!! :eek:

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Sad, isn't it? All Pet Stores care about is making a profit. :(

Thousands??--no.
Close to a thousand--I have, and I would again.

We decided on a Shiba, and happened upon one that a couple was selling for a friend at a dog show. The price they had given us was less than what we had seen online from any breeders, reason being because he was 8 months old.

I wouldn't trade him for any shiba in a shelter.

We paid $75 for Abbey from a beagle rescue.
Riley was totally free.
Jada was $75 at the spca.

Any Bedlington Terrier I have ever seen in a rescue has Copper Toxicosis. While I feel for thses dogs and hope that they find forever homes, I do NOT have the funds to keep up on the treatment, nor do I wish to go through the emotional nightmare of adopting a dog only to watch it die before my eyes.

Therefore, I have found a great breeder in my state who has an average of two litters available per year. She has offered to get me ona waiting list when Alikkon and I buy a house, and there's an average turnaround of one year. Her puppies cost $1200 and up.

Is it worth it? To me, yes. Her dogs' livers are all quite healthy, and they do not carry the gene for CT. She is an incredible lady...I've checked a list of references she gave me and they were all VERY happy with the health, longevity, and temperament of her dogs. She also runs a boarding kennel and offers obedience classes. What more could I ask for?

I love my rescue dogs....but Star has such horrible separation anxiety, Wilbur has housebreaking issues STILL, and even working with an excellent behaviorist has helped minimally. We also had a rescue cocker who turned out to be a biter.

I want a dog with a good start on life, whi thinks the world is a wonderful place, so that I can hopefully have a dog without all the neuroses. Also, maybe this makes me bad in some people's eyes, but I do want a puppy.

http://clubs.akc.org/btca/images/Precious3.jpg
C'mon now, who could resist that face?? *Melts*

I didn't vote because none of the options really apply to me. I will always rescue my animals so I guess I wouldn't pay thousands persay. But if someone was abusing an animal and asked me to pay thousands so I could take the animal, then I would [if I could!].


I would never go to a breeder for an animal, especially since I am in shelters every single day and see the poor homeless animals. I am not knocking breeders or people who buy from breeders, but it is not for me. I respect their decisions and hope they can respect mine. The thing that ruffles my feathers is when people buy from breeders for stupid reasons like they believe those animals are better than shelter animals. That is just NOT THE CASE. No one here has said anything so stupid so I'm not aiming that at anyone. I just hear those comments sometimes and want to scream!!!!!!!!!

I know what you mean aly. I wouldn't trade my two for the world!

Wolfchan, I just have to show you this pic of a dog I watched over the holidays. He's a Bedlington/Standard Poodle mix [the gray one]. He is soooo adorable!

http://rescuedpaws.com/tht///sarasimon2.jpg

*Swoon* He's ADORABLE! (You can really see the Bed in his face!) You don't see a lot of Bedlington mixes out there, how did he happen?? :)

A woman I know has a friend who bred and showed Standard Poodles. She wanted to broaden her horizons and started breeding Bedlingtons. Supposedly an 18 yr old was left in charge of the dogs one day and a little accident happened with one of her Poodles and her Bedlington. She didn't figure out that they were mixes until a few months after they were born. She had already sold all the pups except one and they had all already been shipped to their homes. She called them all and they actually were all so in love with the pups, they didn't care about the mix. But she couldn't find a home for the last pup, so the woman I know took him.

He has the best temperament ever. He is the most lovey dovey dog. He just stands there with his paws on you and stares at you. If you don't pet him, he'll get closer and closer, hehe!

I don't regret getting my dog either. If it would have been my choice, we would have gotten a shelter dog or a rescue, but instead we decided on a purebred. It's not my fault, but I love my dog, and I don't regret anything at all.

I voted that I "would not", although I would love to have an English Bulldog puppy one day. So would my husband, but knowing the expense of that breed, and how many others need us so much more, we would probably never bring ourselves to spend that kind of money for a puppy.

Honey and Lilly, my first "puppies", are purebred Golden Retrievers and I don't regret them at all! :) I "bought" them, at a relatively low cost (have learned a lot of valuable lessons about backyard breeders since then), but they are worth thousands to me and my family, for sure. Murphy, our Lab, was the same way for Scott. Our Zipper is probably a purebred Golden, but came to us as a rescue, and now he's ours, and we are his.

Our cats didn't cost anything. They are precious to us too. :) And our birds were purchased, and I probably would have paid more, just knowing how much we love them. But I am not likely to buy an expensive, larger bird, just because they don't suit our lifestyle at all.

well, actually I don´t know too....Maybe someone is buying pure bred cats and dogs for shows... Humm, But I wouldn´t buy, I´d better take one from shelter....

Well...I'd adopted every dog that I have ever had in my life. I had hardly any trouble with any of them. Then I paid (I think) $600 for Teddy. No offense to Ted, cause he's a cutie, but he was the worse dog that I ever had. I spent tons of money on dental bills for him because he had some freakish thing called polydontia, he gave me so much heartache with his troubles.

I'm rambling. Sorry.

All I have to say is money doesn't necessarily buy you the perfect dog.