When Dog Rescue Becomes a Business

Over at Small Dead Animals they go over the economics of some pet rescues:

I took this picture and wandered down closer. Crates stacked floor to ceiling, most had multiple dogs in them. Dozens of people walked dogs ohhing and awwing. The transport owner stepped in front of me and asked what I wanted. I looked in the trailer and said really? If a breeder ever had that many dogs packed into crates like like they'd be crucified. Someone said "he's not a breeder, he's a rescuer!" I said how much to transport? He said I only charge $185 a dog. I said no you're not a dog breeder, you're a dog trafficker.

I started to walk away and he stepped in front of me and wouldn't let me pass. I said please get out of my face. He screamed at me "I'M IN YOUR FACE", with a lovely spray of spit. I probably should have called the police right then but I must tell you crowd was getting rabid. One woman screamed at me I was an asshole and I should get my head out of my ass. If they had rocks, I think I would have been pelted.

Boy, people are losing their heads and brains when it comes to this nonsense. My educated guess on his take for this transport? At least 150 dogs in this trailer. A neat $27,750. It's just a damned shame people don't get this concerned about hungry, poor children in this country than they do about this supposed load of these poor Texas dogs heading to the Northeast for adoption.

This is a nice story, but it's pretty much bullshit.  Think I'm wrong?  Awesome!  I am going to let you prove that I am wrong. Read to the end.

Let's start with a basic point: dog rescue transports are a good thing, and the costs are not free.

Of course, this is a values judgement.  I am for transport and spay-neuter, rather than gratuitous killing. Maybe you aren't. Maybe you are for killing 2 billion healthy dogs a year, most of whom are guilty of no crime other than having an idiot as a first-time owner. As I said, this is a values judgement. I find a lot of dog breeders are cheering squads for gas chambers and the blue solution of death for any dog that might stand in the way of a few dollars of their profit.  These breeders will tell you that killing is very low cost and that no one (except them) should ever be able to recover their costs, or make a small living, in dogs. Dog breeder profits that pay for travel across the country and MASSIVE RVs at dog shows are absolutely fine, but rescues that are actually self-sustaining and recover their costs are horrible.  Right.  As I said, a question of values.

In my opinion, the question with dog transports is price-point.

I could put 8 small dogs in small carriers in my SUV.  Would it get the dogs from rural Georgia to New York city cheaper and safer after gas and hotel (and the dangers of of heat and cold) are factored in? I'm not sure. If you add in the cost of my time at even minimum wage, and wear and tear on the vehicle, I suspect not.

As for the fellow who runs this massive dog rescue carrier truck. Here is this person. Yeah, I know, he's a real monster. The Today Show thought so too.




But hey, I have an idea.  If trucking rescue dogs from Texas to Los Angeles is so darn cheap and easy, how about you make a rescue run yourself, and document it all for us?

Tell us about your vehicle wear, the gas, the potty stops, the hotel costs, and the welcome locations and families that waited for all those dogs that you transported?  Here at Terrierman, we are only too happy to detail your actual experience after you have moved 20 dogs.  We'll make an entire post about it!  Are you on the East Coast?  Fantastic.  I know a shelter in Georgia that would love to have you move 20 or 30 dogs North, and do it every week or two.  All you have to do is find northern families or organizations that want those dogs.  Go for it!  Because it's as easy as pie, right?