St bernard dog for rehoming

I have a 3 year old Saint Bernard dog, short hair, full pedigree who we are looking to rehome.

He gets on well with children and other animals, he lives indoors, and is a much loved family pet. He is well behaved with no behavioural nor medical issues. He loves a walk, and is fine both on and off lead depending on where we are. He travels well in a car, and is used to journeys of up to 5 hours.

We are rehoming very reluctantly. I have been diagnosed with a health issue that means walking the dogs is near impossible, and also claning the house is also very difficult and of course big dogs are known for making a bit of a mess (hairs and slobbers, along with muddy footprints!)

It would have to be a good home as we have already turned down a few potential homes, I would be looking for £500 for him.

He has had all his vaccinations, has micro-chip, never seen a vet apart from annual checkups, and has full KC paperwork. He has been neutered.

He has his own facebook page as Toby StBernard if you wish to see more photographs of him, and to e-mail please contact tobydobs@hotmail.co.uk.

Thanks

I think it is ridiculous you are charging someone to rehome your dog. he is already going to be going through enough leaving the family he has always know.

hang on..........

can you just imagine the type of people you would get if your add said " st bernard for free" every muppet in the world would appear!!!

theres no need to rehome a dog for free just because he is "2nd hand!!!"

the new owners should be willing to pay if you were to go to a proper center you would have to pay????

so why should this be any different!?

my personal views of course but if i were to rehome a dog in this situation i maywell charge for him or her

IF there was something wrong with the dog that would be different

cheri

kandies28 wrote:

I think it is ridiculous you are charging someone to rehome your dog. he is already going to be going through enough leaving the family he has always know.

Thank you Cheri

This is exactly my thoughts and my reasoning behind the decision.

Toby is a very well loved and very good dog, rehoming him is a decision that is very difficult and by no means one we wnat to take but the way my health is we have concluded he will be better placed with another family who are able to walk him, etc.

In deciding that we have to therefore ensure he is going to a home where he is loved as much (or more) than he is loved here. If I advertise his as free to a good home then people are not making a commitment to him, and he may well end up going to a home where he will be for a couple of months until they get fed up of him and then what? Where as by setting an asking price of £500 people are making a large commitment, and a concious decision to have him.

He has already seen a family, who would have had him and it would have been ideal. I insisted they have him for a weekend to ensure it all works out okay for them and this was when they discovered he would not fit in any of their cars and so it all fell through. I could have sold him, and let him go there and been of the attitude I have my money now so its your problem, but this whole thing is about doing what is best for Toby.

If I were to be contacted by some-one who has for example, just lost a Saint, can prove to me they are able to provide a fantastic home for him but can only pay £200 then that would be okay, but if I advertise him for this then it is my opinion I could have some-one taking him without fully thinking it through.

Not only this, but he is full pedigree, cost £1,200 as a pup. Is micro-chipped, been castrated, was fed on premium dog food for the first 2 years of his life to ensure healthy hips and ligaments, etc. We have put a huge amount of money into him, and £500 does not go anywhere near covering it - if you wanted to look on it in terms of money (as you appear to be).

We did look into having the local rehoming centre re-home him, but they do not do home assessments and while it could work out okay I would prefer to have some input into it, to satisfy myself he will be going to a good home.

I completly agree with you both Cheri and Toby and i think £500 is resonable to ensure as Toby has said that prospective new owners are there to make a commitment, i have myself been in this very difficult and heart breaking possition and even asking £500 pound i still had so many stupid phone calls and told numerous people i didn't think they had the right home for him, I am pleased to say he has now found a lovely new home and is settled and very happy, i really hope you find the same for your boy. All the best.

Just out of curiosity, does anyone know the US$ exchange rate? I googled it and got $700+ (which I think would be nuts, I've seen well bred new pups for that amount!) and also found like $250ish (which is high but more reasonable).

I do believe that rehoming fees can help weed out bad people or those that can't pay, but if someone knew the breed or had other saints, knew what they were doing, and I felt that they were a great fit, I wouldn't really care if they gave me any money. I'd be more concerned that they sign a contract saying the dog would come back to me if for any reason they can't take care of it, and make them promise to give me updates on how it is doing.

I adopted my Ben from someone that had an accidental litter. When I went to see his litter, they were all unkempt and unclean and clearly not the 8 weeks she claimed (my guess was about 5, maybe just 6 weeks, and my vet agreed with me). She was asking for $150 US per pup, none had been seen by a vet and none had papers. I ended up paying $100 for Ben, which she promised would go towards spaying her bitch so it wouldn't happen again. I couldn't leave him there, I just fell in love with him. The woman told me to take as many pups as I wanted and told me she would give me a huge discount once she learned that I've had saints my whole life. She told me she wanted them to go to good homes and was only asking a rehoming fee to weed out people just looking for a saint to look "tough" or whatever. She was clearly in over her head, and if I had a place to put 10 saint pups, I wouldn't have hesitated for a second to bring them all home, vet them, and rehome them in a more proper way. But alas, our 2 bedroom apartment that we had at the time would not have provided much room!

I had never seen an entire litter before and just wanted to go see them (never with the intention of buying one! hah!).


It really irks me when people talk about how much money they put into their dog. I wouldn't expect someone to pay me back for the choices/things that went into my dogs while under my care. To me, saying you want to cover some of those costs is absurd! Plus, if I did that, I don't think I could ever rehome my weim, that has cost us about $3000 US in injury-related vet bills, lol!

Also, for most people, paperwork isn't a big deal unless they are looking to breed, and since your dog is neutered you wouldn't really have to worry about that. Most people looking to adopt just want to provide them a good home (at least the honest ones do).

I do wish you luck and I hope he finds a home. I would love to offer him a place but I definitely couldn't afford to have him sent to the US, and I think my landlord would have a heart attack if I brought home another!!

Good luck and let us know how it turns out! It is interesting to me to see the difference in opinions about rehoming fees. If you've ever read the Craigslist pet sections, you'd know what I mean! People get really up in arms over what is a "reasonable rehoming fee" and what is a "sale."

Also, I checked out his fan page on facebook, he's absolutely adorable!! Good luck!

The family that was rehoming Sasha was going to pay $100 to have her put into a rescue or they were asking two hundred dollars for her. She's been spayed, microchipped and is up to date on all her vaccinations. We'd wanted a Saint for a while, but we have two other dogs (1 is a rescued Beagle who is two years old and was used as a brood bitch. Her nipples are larger than some adult womens, and she had alot of issues from neglect, abuse, and well being tied to a tree for two years unless she was making puppies). Our beagle had recently gone to the vet and had essentially eaten up the $500 we had set asside for unexpected vet emergencies (spayed, and alot of other issues). When I saw the advert for Sasha...I was pretty up front with her family about things from where we were. We put $5-$10 asside a week so that we can take our dogs to the vet when its needed (it doesn't sound like much but when a huuuge bill comes along we're not diving into our other savings so much). We were willing to take in Sasha if they couldn't find another home...but we understood if they wanted to keep looking. We set up a meet and greet with our families and our dogs to see how everyone would get along...and well they decided that we were a better home than a rescue for her.

A rehoming fee isn't always set in stone...it is a great tool for eliminating people who want a particular breed for the wrong reasons. I know spaying can run over a hundred dollars...then shots...then microchipping, shots, obedience classes...it really can add up. I have to agree...rehoming with a fee is perfectly all right so long as you're not just givng your beloved to the first person with X number of dollars that comes along.

Best of luck finding a new home for your darling Saint.

First of all, please accept my sympathy that you have had to make the decision to rehome your Saint due to health reasons. It is hard to imagine how difficult this must be for you.

For what it's worth, I think you're right to ask for a fee for him and £500 is, perhaps, the sort of figure that would give pause to his prospective new owners regarding the commitment they would be making to him for the rest of his life.

I am sure that you have considered all the options available to you but, as a volunteer for the Cinnamon Trust, I just wonder whether you have considered the possibility of someone walking him for you? OK that would not help with the housework issue... Just a thought...

My very best wishes to both you and Toby.

BeBe

Thank you for your response. I have never heard of the cinamon trust? will google it.

I looked into dog walker, but she used to charge us £7.50 per day to come into the house for a 20 min visit and let the dogs out into the back garden for a pee! I dread to think how much it would be for an hours walk!

To employ a dog walker and cleaner again is something I looked into but the sheer cost of it is too much, added to this I am due to go back into hospital again soon (am putting it off for as long as I can just now) it is a long time option we need to look at to ensure stability for the dogs.

im pretty sure the trust does it for free??? maybe worth thinking about?

if not this trust maybe theres one who does the same thing near you??

GOOD thinking BeBe!!!

cheri xxx

Hi
There is a guy on FB called Simon Yarnold, his dog Oscar has recently died & his other Saint bitch Daisy is missing him dreadfully. I know Simon is devastated & asked me if I know of any Saints that need rehoming?
I don't know if he will have £500 but it may be worth a thought
Heather

Thanks Heather

I would love to explore options to keep the dogs, especially as I am doing okay just now, but in the long term I know rehoming them is the best option. Eventually I may end up having to have my bladder removed so a big op and long time in hospital, it would be so much easier to rehome the dogs and have them settled into a new home while Toby is only 3 rather than wait a couple of years until he is 5 when it will be so much more difficult to find a home and also for him to settle in.

hi we charge for our re-homes as well . we find by charging the owners something for the dog/bitch they will hopefully take him home and love him as they have had to spend money for the dog. we do however give some to the club and join the owners up so they can keep up with ideas and what is happening with other saints.

There are rescue groups available that would find an amazing home for your pup. I understand that health issues have caused reason to rehome- and that saddens me.

In the US there are so many GREAT people looking for dogs. There are so many rescue groups out there that would help place your pup in a home and yes there would be an adoption fee- mainly to cover the cost of health and boarding. Have you consider that? They have much more expereince in rehoming that we do as "dog people".

Do not want to come off brash- but with the amount of vet bills associated with saint bernards, i think finding a home for your pup is much more valuable that charging 500 euro.

Look into working with a rescue group that can help your dog find a new home that is educated on the breed and has been thoroughly and legally screened.

I also know Simon and he would be a fantastic dogpa for your dog. If you can find someone that you know will take good care of your dog I would do so with out a fee. Yes, charging a fee is a good idea to weed out the crazies, but once you find someone that would be excellent, like say Simon, the money doesnt serve the purpose it was intended. I think that is an astronomically high number personally, and finding a high quality home for my dog would be priority one.

Im sorry you have to make this difficult decision.

ok so it seems to me english people think this price is ok yet americans dont!

what is the normal fee you would pay in america???

bare in mind here for a puppy the normal price is £1000 so this is half the price of a puppy plus the owner has paid out for the dogs medical expences etc since having him.

very interesting!!!

ourfairview wrote:

ok so it seems to me english people think this price is ok yet americans dont!

what is the normal fee you would pay in america???

bare in mind here for a puppy the normal price is £1000 so this is half the price of a puppy plus the owner has paid out for the dogs medical expenses etc since having him.

very interesting!!!

I think the main difference between us is that we have such an ENORMOUS pet over population problem. Shelters are forced to put thousands of dogs down every day, there are hundreds of free to good home adds in the papers and craigslist and rescue groups do vetting and temperament testing with a rehomeing fee of $100-$300 US (thats around £75-£225) I can pick up a paper any day of the week and find a saint puppy (albeit not a well bred one) for $250 with AKC papers and first shots. Papers mean nothing when you are taking in a rescue nor does their previous vetting in most cases. Most people that are looking for a rescue a) dont know anything about the lines b) are just looking to give a dog a second chance and a fee that high (especially in this economy) will turn off alot of very well-qualified lookers and encourage them to opt for a puppy for just a few more quids. just my two cents

Have been reading this topic with interest, as each day when I look at sites like E-pupz I am amazed at how much people are asking for dogs they
are trying to rehome for whatever reason. My feeling is that a good home is priority and money should not come into the equation. They are living breathing animals at the end of the day, not an object to try and recoup some of the money outlayed on. It is very sad when circumstances change and a much loved pet has to be rehomed, but money should never come into it. There are so many people out there, who can give a loving home to a saint, but cannot afford the initial outlay and just because they cannot afford £1000+ for a puppy does not mean they cannot afford to keep a saint.
We feel that we are in an enviable position that we can give so much pleasure to people, by letting them have one of our dogs. We have given puppies to friends, with no strings attached and also older dogs have been rehomed to some absolutely great people. We are not well-off, far from it, but there is more to breeding dogs than making money (when we occasionally do LOL).

Karen

I forgot to add, has the original poster be in touch with Toby's breeder??
Did they sign a contract when they brought Toby??
If he was one of ours, we would be very upset that he was being sold on and not returned
to the breeder.

Karen

"Well-bred" (and people who think any AKC dog is well-bred and worth a fortune) pups in the US go for between $1000-2000 US. My mom's saint was $1200 + shipping from California, and that was in 2003.

I have seen large dog rescues (saint, great dane, etc.) that charge up to $300-$400 for an adopted dog. I realize often times that rescues shell out a lot of money for vet bills and spay/neutering, especially with such large dogs, but I personally would never pay that much for a 5 or 6 year old saint, and I know it sounds totally morbid but they really don't live that long, and I would rather shell out a bit more to get a good pup.

I also really hate hate HATE when people try to "recoup" the costs (medical, food, etc.) they put into their dog. So they took care of their dog while in their care (were a responsible owner), and the adopter should pay for it? They didn't decide the dog wasn't working out for whatever reason, why should they pay for your "mistake" or unfortunate circumstances? (some can't be avoided, I'm not trying to offend anyone, but there are people who didn't train their puppy and suddenly have a 150 pound poorly behaved dog!) I think it's a bit ridiculous to expect anyone to ever pay me for taking care of my dog while it was in my care. After all, isn't that what any responsible owner would do? Why should I pay for your responsibilities as an owner?

Half the price for a puppy is very high, especially since you miss out on the critical socialization periods and the optimum times for training, etc. You can end up getting a dog with a lot of problems! A rehoming fee should just be to deter evil-doers that get free pets and torture them, not to recover your costs.

I totally agree with whomever said you don't have to be well off to take good care of a dog. I couldn't afford the $1000 right up front for a well-bred pup (I wish I could, I would LOVE to get into breeding and showing). This doesn't mean I don't take care of my dogs. They get high quality food, groomed, plenty of play-time and exercise, and we have pet insurance that is wonderful and covers 90% of all illness/injury-related vet bills. We also see a wonderful vet at that runs an environmentally-friendly practice.

I realize you need to weed people out, as so many end up being "status symbols" instead of family members, but if I knew someone knew this breed and what they were getting into, I wouldn't hesitate to give someone my dog and all their things if I felt right about them and they signed a contract that the dog would come back to me.

It is interesting though to see the differences. I personally don't care about papers/etc. if I'm adopting, and if the dog is neutered, that's like buying an expensive sports car with a crappy old weak engine. It's just a paper, it doesn't guarantee anything and obviously no one will be able to profit off of using your dog for breeding, so why pay the big bucks to rescue a dog with papers?

very interesting!

i did speak to tobys owner he wasnt bred by a breeders as such he came from a pet bitch and tobys owner doesnt want to get them involved right now

cheri

I am very sorry you are having to make this choice, i would be heartbroken if i had to give up my boys .
I agree with a rehoming fee, but this i think can be negotiable, maybe a donation to the St Rescues would be more applicable.
I dont think anyone that takes care of their dogs well, can ever get a fraction of the money they spend back , so i don't think that is the issue here.
I do hope you find the forever loving home you want so badly for him. good luck