Animal shelter changes adoption fees

MOSES LAKE - Grant County Animal Outreach increased some adoption fees for animals at the shelter to cover surgeries and vaccination costs.

The new adoption fees are $80 for dogs and puppies and $65 for cats and kittens, Outreach President Harmony White said. The reduced rate for animals who were already spayed or neutered was $50 for a dog and $40 for a cat. Previously the shelter lost $30 per dog altered at the shelter, she said.

She said the reduced rate for altered animals was not effective and caused the shelter to lose money. It became difficult to track which animals were altered by the shelter and which animals came to the shelter with alterations.

It costs the shelter $65 to alter a dog and $55 to alter a cat, White said. Vaccinations for dogs and cats vary from $5 to $10. It costs $5 to microchip each animal.

White said the adoption fee for an unaltered cat is $5 less to help increase feline adoptions. She said it is more difficult to find a home for a cat than a dog. The previous cost for an unaltered cat was $70.

She said the shelter has an easier time finding homes for small dogs but faces difficulty trying to adopt out larger animals such as Labrador retrievers and pit bulls.

"We regularly have people travel from the coast to adopt small dogs and we can always get small dogs into rescue (programs)," White said.

The average adoption rate for animals across the state is approximately $100, she added.