How Much To Adopt A Dog

Introduction

So you’ve decided to adopt a dog. Congratulations! You’re about to open your heart and home to an adorable little fur ball who will quickly become your best friend, confidante, and favorite housemate – if your life is like mine. Not only are you going to experience unconditional love from the get-go, but adopting a dog can even improve your health by reducing stress, lowering blood pressure and helping you lose weight and keep it off if you make regular walks with your new canine part of your routine. To learn how much it costs to adopt a dog from a shelter, we’ve broken down the areas where adoption fees apply as well as other factors that affect the overall cost of adopting a dog from an animal shelter or rescue group:

Shelter fees

The shelter fees are usually the most expensive part of adopting a dog. They’re also a one-time fee, so don’t be too worried if it’s a lot more than you expect! The range for these fees can be anywhere between $100 and $1000. That’s quite a variance!

As with any pet store or breeder, there will be additional costs associated with caring for your new adopted friend on an ongoing basis. These include food and supplies like leashes or toys—but not grooming, which is why we left that off the list above (and why it’s important to find out what kind of grooming your new buddy requires).

Adoption fees for dogs that are older, have special needs or are a breed

Older dogs may cost more. If you’re looking to adopt a dog that’s two years old or older, the adoption fee is typically $250–$350.
Special needs dogs may cost more. If your potential new pup has special needs such as amputation, blindness or deafness—and some shelters do charge extra for these services—it could raise the price of adoption by $50–$75.
Breed-specific dogs may be more expensive than non-breed specific ones. Some shelters and rescues charge additional fees for certain breeds (for example, Pit Bulls) because they require specific training and care. The fee can range from $100–300 per dog for this service alone!
Some dogs are free! If there are no adoption fees associated with a particular breed of dog—or if no one wants them at all—some shelters will offer them up for free so long as you take care of their medical expenses yourself

Extra costs of adopting a dog from the shelter

Your adoption fee will cover the cost of spaying or neutering your dog. If you want to be extra prepared and good to your new pup, it’s worth considering all the other expenses that come with adopting a pet from a shelter. Shelters often provide an extensive list of supplies that can help make life easier for both you and your new furry friend—and make sure to ask about these as part of your adoption process! The items on this list may include:

A crate or carrier for travel (if this is not provided by the shelter)
A leash and collar

Training and behavioral support

Training and behavioral support can be expensive. And it’s easy to feel like you’ve already spent so much on the dog, that you have no choice but to do it yourself. But this is a great opportunity to talk about the importance of training and behavioral support!

If you’re thinking about getting a dog from a shelter, we highly recommend bringing along your vet or another trusted resource who can help identify any potential problems with your new little friend so that they don’t manifest later down the road. If you’re able to hire professional trainers or behaviorists, even better! Many shelters will offer discounted rates on these services if they are introduced as part of their adoption packages.

Initial veterinary care

The cost of adopting a dog will vary from shelter to shelter, as well as depending on the age and breed of your new best friend. But you can expect to pay at least $300 for veterinary care including vaccinations, heartworm testing and treatment (if necessary), flea treatment, spaying or neutering surgery, microchipping, deworming and other medical needs that may arise over time.

Home pet proofing

Home pet proofing is an essential step in preparing your home for a new dog. It involves protecting your household from hazards that could injure or kill a curious puppy and help prevent damage to your house. If you want to save money on future repairs, home pet proofing may be the way to go.

Some common areas where you should focus your efforts are:

Removing toxic plants from any area accessible by (or even near) dogs.
Blocking off areas where they could get into trouble such as trash cans, cabinets, or under beds and couches.
Using baby gates at entrances/exits so that Fido doesn’t have free rein of the house while you’re away at work!

Spaying or neutering surgery and microchipping

Both spaying and neutering surgeries are a one-time cost. The adoption fee includes spay or neuter surgery, and microchipping is always included in the adoption fee as well.

The benefits of spaying or neutering your dog include preventing unplanned litters of puppies that could end up in shelters or rescue groups, helping to prevent diseases like testicular cancer, reducing aggression and marking behavior like urine spraying, helping to ensure that your dog doesn’t get injured during mating (and vice versa), helping you avoid having to take care of an unwanted litter’s puppies if your new dog ever gets pregnant by accident—the list goes on! You’ll never regret making sure that the little guy is safe from any potential health issues before he enters your life fully grown.

Once you’ve adopted a puppy who has been fixed yet still wants to mark his territory with territorial urination on walls—or worse yet: furniture!—you can rest assured that there’s no reason why this behavior should continue once he’s reached maturity.

The good news is adopting a dog can be much less expensive than buying from a breeder.

The good news is adopting a dog can be much less expensive than buying from a breeder. For example, if you were to buy a puppy from AKC-registered parents and register it with them at 8 weeks old, you would pay around $1,000 in fees alone. This doesn’t even include the cost of its first vaccinations or spay/neuter surgery! By adopting through an animal shelter or rescue organization (like us), however, you are saving not just one dog’s life but also the lives of all of its potential offspring.

In addition to saving money on purchasing fees and other costs associated with bringing home your new family member, adopting is also helping save animals who are at risk of being euthanized in shelters due to overcrowding and lack of resources for caretakers.

Conclusion

We hope this article has helped you decide how much it will cost to adopt a dog. If you are considering adopting a dog there are lots of great reasons to do so, and the biggest is knowing that you will be giving a homeless animal a second chance at life.