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

[jenluckenbach]

Please, don't go taking this all personal, I really would like to hear peoples' opinions, but why would anyone pay thousands of dollars for a pet when others need to die every day because there is no one to love them?

Some breeds are so much more expensive than others and these are the ones that I am speaking of.

I mean, if you have an extra $3,000 to $4,000 to spend on a pet, why not buy or adopt a lesser expensive pet and then a whole lot of "goodies"?

How can one breed be SOOOOOOO much better than another breed that you are willing to pay 10 times as much for it?

Now don't turn this into an all out fight, just state YOUR opinion.

Thank you.

[slick]

I'm with you on this Jen. I just don't understand it.

Recently a couple of coworkers were asking my opinion of getting a dog and of course I gave my usual speech about checking the rescue organizations around town. What did they do??

One spent $800 on a Spaniel puppy and the other one $700 on a Golden Retriever puppy. I just shook my head and walked away, but it's their choice. I don't respect them any less for it. Some people just prefer pedigrees.

Me?? I'll always get a rescue.

[Kfamr]

I'm with you on this, Jen.


I'll NEVER buy from a breeder, UNLESS all of the dogs (or whichever animal) are out of the shelters and rescues.

To me, it's alot more worthwhile to get a rescue or a shelter dog and bring them out of their shell. It's ALOT more work and patients, but it always pays off in the end.

Of course, animals coming from breeders need homes too -- but they wouldn't if people would stop breeding.

[binka_nugget]

I don't really get why people would pay such high amounts for their 'perfect breed'. I think there's more than one suitable breed for each person. For example, shelties are perfect for us but a collie, german shepherd, border collie, aussie, etc would work just as nicely in our house. Of course, I don't regret getting Kai from a breeder but I'm just as glad that we rescued Kaedyn.

[cocker_luva]

i wouldnt, unless it was a big pet. like a horse or something.

[luckies4me]

Originally posted by Kfamr
I'm with you on this, Jen.

I'll NEVER buy from a breeder, UNLESS all of the dogs (or whichever animal) are out of the shelters and rescues.

Of course, animals coming from breeders need homes too -- but they wouldn't if people would stop breeding.

What do you make of breeders such as myself than?

[Lixx]

It's hard to say. I would pay thousands of dollars if the animal was right for me and I could afford it at the time. While rescues need homes (and I do rescue myself), I also would hate to loose the individual breeds that are out there (of any animal species). I love German Shepherds, and would like to own a purebred one someday. Because of status? no. Because I can? no. Because I love the look, the feel, the personality and the devotion of the breed. Could I not find that in a "rescue"? Sure, and there are purebred rescues out there and if I met the right one I would take it. But with "mixed" breeds it can be alot harder to find what you're looking for. Don't get me wrong, I love Dante ( my mix breed) and when I met him I knew he was perfect matchfor me , but by going to a breed/breeder you have a much greater chance of finding what you are looking for. Example: When we picked up Dante he was supposed to stay small - between 20-30lbs. He's now 45lbs and still growing. Luckily, we've since moved and have more room. But what if he out grew my home and I had to give him up?

Sorry to ramble, but does that make sense?

[GoldenRetrLuver]

I look at it this way--if we didn't have any breeders in the world, (meaning responsible) then the breeds (or any animal) that we love wouldn't exsist.

Both of my dogs were from breeders. Do I regret it? NO. When I'm older, financially stable, etc., I will buy from responsible breeders, and possibly rescue/adopt from the shelter.

I do not in any way, "prefer" purebreds. I know mutts make great pets (I've had a few) and it's just my opinion. If there was a dog that I was absolutely in love with and it was a lot of money, I would come up with a way to pay for it.

But that's just how I am.

[Felicia's Mom]

My vote was because I can;

In my case, I wanted to own a at least one purebred cat in my life. But he did not cost thousands of $$$s.

If I were to spend many thousands of dollars on an animal, I would buy a racing thoroughbred horse. I am far from being able to do that

[Kfamr]

Originally posted by luckies4me
What do you make of breeders such as myself than?

What do you mean by that?

[zippy-kat]

Quite frankly, it depends on the animal.

For a horse? Sure, 3000-4000 is nothing for a one that has had good training -- and that excludes the breeding/background factor. (Some 1/2 breeds are able to be registered (ex. Morabs, Quarabs, etc) so they tend to be higher in price.) With horses, you get what you pay for.

Yes, there are horse rescues but sometimes the organizations don't have the resources to train foals...or the horses are only for limited/light riding... or are completely un-rideable (pasture pal only). This isn't pracitcal for the novice-intermediate rider who doesn't want/know how to train and/or needs a horse that can and will continue to meet their riding abilities.

I am in no way knocking horse rescues -- it's just that they may not have a horse suitable for everyone.


For a hedgie, rabbit, guniea pig, etc? No, thanks. And, yes I would have to either buy from a pet shop or buy from a breeder as there are not any rescues in the area.

For a cat? No, thanks. I'll stick to the strays and/or the pound.

For a dog? No, I wouldn't pay in the 1000s -- in the 100s, maybe. If in search of a particular breed, I would check rescues/pound first but if I didn't *click* with any of the animals then, yes, I would go to a breeder.


In this area, there are very little rescues of any kind; I think that's another thing to consider. If in search of a particular breed, what resources/avenues are available to you?


Lastly, I haven't voted because I don't see a selection that fits my answer. "Because I can" sounds a bit haughty as it depends on the animal in question. "The breed is perfect for me" doesn't consider some factors that make an animal $$$ even though it could be of mixed breeding. If there were an option for "Other" or "It depends on the animal," that's where my vote would be placed.

[Cheshirekatt]

You got me. I have no idea.

There's a girl at work that just paid $1,500 each for two english bulldog pups! It's all I can do to not slap her.

This is one of the reasons Chris and I have been waiting two years for a bloodhound to cross our path. We toyed with the idea to purchasing a pup but when it came down to it we just couldn't. Not with millions of dogs being killed every just because there aren't enough homes for them. So we decided to wiat as long as it took for a rescue to come along.

[luckies4me]

Originally posted by Kfamr
What do you mean by that?

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.

[popcornbird]

For a dog or cat, I think rescuing is the best option.................but for a bird, if you want a larger parrot, like a cockatoo, african grey, macaw, etc. you would have to pay $1000, $2000, or even more when buying from a pet store, OR a breeder. I would definitely pay that much for such a bird if I could afford it, because getting a bird from a shelter could mean feather plucking, or other serious problems that are hard to deal with. I would love to rescue, but I would prefer getting a bird from a breeder, as a baby, so it gets attached to me right from the start. I would pay that much for such a bird, because that's how much they cost..........everywhere (and because I WANT ONE!!). I think it really depends on the type of animal.

[luckies4me]

I never actually answered the question. I would never pay 1,000 dollars for any animal unless it was a serval or Ocelot to start a Federal Breeding Program for Endagered Species, which is one of my goals in life.

For a dog, no. A cat, no. A bird, possibly. Any other animal, no. I can find just as good of a dog from a shelter, or rescue. I may think of buying a purebred dog if I wanted to get involved in showing, or a purebred cat for the same reasons.