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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to be shocked that the minimum sponsorship donation for a dog at the dogs trust is £8.67?

36 replies

juicychops · 16/05/2011 12:53

i thought that was rather a lot of money!

ds saw their stand in the shopping centre this morning and asked if we can do it. So i said ok as i only expected it to be a few £££ per month or whatever you can afford like most charities - i pay £3 per month to RSPCA as that was the post i could afford to pay at the moment.

i couldn't believe it when he said its that or nothing because you cant just pick the amount you want to sponsor/donate.

If it wasn't for ds i would have said no.

AIBU for thinking this amount is steep? i know they have lots of dogs to help etc but surely £2-£3 per month is better than nothing?

OP posts:
Original poster
juicychops · 16/05/2011 12:53

thats £8.67 per month

OP posts:
didldidi · 16/05/2011 12:55

yes that is steep!

kreecherlivesupstairs · 16/05/2011 12:55

YANBU. IMO and IME charities are grateful for whatever anyone can afford. To be that prescriptive (and such an odd amount) is not going to encourage people to think of them.

zukiecat · 16/05/2011 13:01

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster
juicychops · 16/05/2011 13:02

im going to have a look on their website and see what it costs on there...

OP posts:
Ormirian · 16/05/2011 13:02

I told them I couldn't pay their minimum amount so now pay about £4. They are happy to have anything.

PiaThreeTimes · 16/05/2011 13:04

YABU. £8.67 per month to house, feed and provide medical care for a dog is very reasonable!

Bellie · 16/05/2011 13:04

I sponsor a dog with Dogs Trust - it is £4.34 a month.

Original poster
juicychops · 16/05/2011 13:07

it doesn't say how much it costs without registering and filling out loads of information. i think il do it for a month or 2 and then maybe cancel it for something else. Il let my ds choose what

glad im not the only one who thought it was a bit much

OP posts:
LyingWitchInTheWardrobe2726 · 16/05/2011 13:11

You can donate any amount to them. If you've been told differently then I'd suggest you contact the head office and give details of the volunteer if you have them. I've never heard Dogs' Trust stipulating that amount per month, it's advertised on TV at £1 per week, which is about the same as Bellie has posted.

ENormaSnob · 16/05/2011 13:12

Yanbu

culturemulcher · 16/05/2011 13:18

YANBU - most animal charities are rich beyond rich and yet still they keep asking for more donations.

I remember reading that charities like Battersea Dogs Home and Guide Dogs for the Blind (very worthy charities) have enough money to sustain their charity for 3+ years but they still keep asking for more donations.

I'm sure someone will be along in a minute to say this isn't true, but still - I was shocked when asked to donate £50 when we adopted a cat. We paid up, but still - £50 to give a home to a stray Shock. IMO it's a racket.

ClaireDeLoon · 16/05/2011 13:21

£50 to adopt a stray is to recover the costs of medical treatment and the care and is not unreasonable at all.

OP YANBU they allow small monthly donations because as Tesco tell us, every little helps.

kreecherlivesupstairs · 16/05/2011 13:23

But, Culturemulcher, had the cats been neutered, chipped and vaccinated? Me and DD will be on the look out for two kittens in August. I have braced myself for paying around 100 pounds each.
I haven't had a pet for 10 years or so, but doubt you'd get change from my figure.

culturemulcher · 16/05/2011 13:28

I know it's for the immunisations and neutering, and that's why I paid up without comment. My point is that most of these charities are rich, and can afford to carry out these treatments. Their coffers are full, and yet they keep campaigning for more and more money.

HowAnnoying · 16/05/2011 13:32

sounds like you've adopted twins! Ring them and get it changed to whatever you can afford, and report the volunteer he's doing them no favours.
I paid just under £100 for my rescue dog 6 years ago. They had fed and kennelled her for 6 months, and vaccinated and neutered her, I thought it was a reasonable amount.

HowAnnoying · 16/05/2011 13:34

I'm pretty sure our local dog/cat rescue centre has not got full coffers, they nearly had to shut down during the recession.

culturemulcher · 16/05/2011 13:56

I just looked up the accounts for Battersea Dogs Home. Last year their assets totalled £59.18 million, but they still campaigned for and received donations of £9.67m. Just saying.

emptyshell · 16/05/2011 13:57

I paid £150+half-price neutering (so more a smidge over £200) for my rescue dog at the start of the year.

He's been worth every penny. He'd been in there for 3 months, fooded, vaccinated, microchipped (which is about £30 when the vets do it anyway) - and considering if you let him he'd eat you out of house and home...

Looking for another one in the next month or so and it seems to vary from about £120 to £180 for adoption fees.

midori1999 · 16/05/2011 15:45

Well, YABU by giving your money to the RSPCA for a start, they are loaded (I don't have the figures for what they had in the bank a the last public audit, but I expect Valhalla has, it's a lot, they don't need your money. Plus, they killed over 8,000 dogs last year. Sad

YANBU to expect charities not to stipulate a minimum donation though. Have you looked at smaller, independant, genuine no kill rescues that will be far more appreciative of your money and also won't waste loads of it on national advertising campaigns?

I agree with adoption fees though, even if they exceed what the charity has spent on that individual animal. Research shows that people who pay a reasonable sum of money for their petshave put more thought into getting them and are more likely to keep them, which is obviously a huge concern for an animal charity that rehomes animals. I also agree it's never that expensive when neutering, vaccinations and possibly rehabilitations/assesments are included, in fact, it's a bargain!

ScousyFogarty · 16/05/2011 15:51

it is true they are loaded. Midori....VETS are said to charge the earth. Do they or can you get insurance?

hephaestus · 16/05/2011 16:03

Ditto midori, YABU to be donating to the RSPCA anyway. Someone probably has some better links than me but they are loaded, kill thousands of dogs per year and have basically acted like a bunch of knobs in a lot of animal cruelty cases.

Far, far better to donate two hours of your time per month to walk a couple of dogs from your local no-kill rescue.

Adoption fees are fair enough though, you couldn't get a dog neutered, vaccinated and chipped for under £200 privately never mind the cost of the dog's upkeep and the rescue's assessment/admin costs prior to adoption.

Ormirian · 16/05/2011 16:08

I bought a bog-standard accidental mog from a family home. Cost me £35. She is very lovely but nothing special. Then it cost me best part of £100 to get her spayed, vaccinated and wormed. So I think £50 is a steal TBH

issey6cats · 16/05/2011 16:08

i work for haworth cat rescue and our adoption fee for a cat is £50 this could be for a cat that has been in the center for 1 to 3 months, this is feeding the cat every day, heaters on all night in the winter,microchipped the rescue has to pay for this, neutered, deflead and wormed the rescue has to pay for this , one cat cost over £900 in vets fees to sort out the adopter was charged £50 of this thats a defisite of £850 for one cat, the large charities like the rspca the money donated via direct debit DOES NOT GO TO THE LOCAL CENTERS it goes to head office who have millions in the bank, local to us one center has already closed down due to lack of funds, the rspca has decided they will not take in stray or unwanted cats anymore only cruelty cases so our waiting list has doubled and less people rehoming due to the recession, add to that the people who do come most times we can match a cat to the people but sometimes we cant so a paerson leaves us without choosing a cat so all the pens (14 in our case) are stll full so we cant take anyone off the waiting list and an average saturday adds 4-5 more cats to the list, this iswithout the moms and kittens that are in foster homes who need feeding the center pays for this so please dont say rescues are awash with cash most of the smaler ones are really just floating above the waterline

doggiesayswoof · 16/05/2011 16:17

I work for a charity (not dogs trust)

They will be delighted to get your ongong support, no matter how little you can donate. IIWY I would give them a call and explain what happened and say that you would prefer to give a lower amount and can they change it for you. They will be much happier if you do that and stay signed up, rather than paying for a couple of months and then cancelling.

Sounds like the guy on the stall had a specific target to meet and that's why he gave you the line he did. He was wrong imho.

And re this stuff about charities being "loaded" - the total amount of assets does not equal what they have available to spend. Charities need enough in the bank or in assets to keep going - they want what they are doing to be sustainable, not to run out in 2 or 3 years. What would be the point in stopping seeking donations (and thus losing ongoing support and awareness) and running down their asets?