Mission Statement:

To Rescue, Rehabilitate, and Place in Loving, Caring, Lifelong Homes.

Why Are Your Adoption Fees so High?
Please keep in mind that rescue dogs are not "bargain" dogs. Here at Little Paws, we have a space in our hearts for everyone of every mix, size, age, health, etc. Because of this, we can have extremely high veterinarian bills. Although we do receive discounts from some veterinarians, we do not receive free veterinarian services. When ill dogs have recovered, we feel it is unfair to them if we put their adoption fee at the cost of the veterinarian bills (most times the veterinarian bills are excessively higher than the adoption fee with the dentals, spay/neuter, and heartworm test). Part of our purpose is to help these poor victims onto a better life, by providing necessary vet care and placement into a permanent home who is 100% committed to caring for these animal(s) for the rest of their lives.  Adoption fees vary to help insure quality care for all of the dogs in need who come into our care.

But What if I Can't Afford the Adoption Fee?
Trust us, we understand how bad the economy is right now. But it is not our mission to provide the public with low-cost pets. We understand that sometimes money is an issue, especially for seniors on budgets, but we cannot reduce our adoption fees. One reason our adoption fees are put in place is for assuring that the pets new owner is not only serious about caring for it, but will be able to care for it financially as well. Too many times, a family doesn't take into account the real cost of owning a dog. Dogs often end up in shelters because of medical or obedience problems resulting from the family not factoring these costs into the monthly budget. We do not feel that they are unsuitable homes, but please keep in mind that any pet (just like any person) can become ill at any time for any reason. If you cannot pay the adoption fee chances are you won't be able to afford proper veterinarian care (especially emergency veterinarian care which can be very expensive). It would be tragic for both the owner and the pet, if the pet could not receive care or treatment because of money. We've seen a major increase in the number of dogs coming in with veterinarian-related issues because their previous owners could not/would not provide basic veterinarian work such as heartworm preventative, shots, spay/neuter. Please remember that all adoption fees/donations are tax deductible.

Rescues Profiting from Adoption Fees? Are you kidding?!
We are often asked why our adoption fees are so high, and are occasionally accused of attempting to profit from our rescue efforts. Anyone who spends any time in the rescue world knows how ridiculous this accusation is, but it warms our hearts when someone recognizes our efforts.  You can go to www.homewardboundrescue.com and read what Author Larry Powell www.readlarrypowell.com has to say.  He graciously gave them permission to post the following link http://readlarrypowell. typepad.com/read_larry_powell /2008/07/rescuers-profit.html to his recent article on rescues and how adoption fees are used. We couldn't say it better ourselves!