My daughter wanted a dog, so I spent a few months researching breeders, animal shelters, and rescues because I saw quite large price differences among these three options for adopting an animal.
It seems like since Covid, animal breeders charge between double and quadruple what they did pre-Covid. It also seems like general animal health, shots, spay/neutering, etc. varies a lot. My daughter wanted a smaller dog, like a Maltese or Havanese, and I saw some breeders charging close to 4 grand for a puppy. On top of this, it seemed like shots, spay/neutering, etc. were still on you, which could be several hundred dollars more.
Animal rescues I found to be the biggest hassle of all. We applied to adopt between 10-15 dogs. Out of those, I think only 3 actually replied. In all of those cases, the adoption fee was around $500 in total, and we would have still needed to foot the bill for spaying/neutering, vaccinations, etc. What really turned me off from them, though, was the whole application and interviewing process. The application forms themselves were often more intrusive than any job application I have ever filled out, and that is not an exaggeration. On top of that, they wanted to come to your house and evaluate if your home was suitable for a pe before allowing you to adopt the dog. I even had one that said that the previous owner said that the dog had allergies and that the dog would have to have a certain regimen of allergy medication and that I would have to provide proof of administering the meds after adopting the pet!
With the animal shelter, I found the biggest inconvenience to simply be that animals are adopted so quickly that you don’t feel like you can take time to think about it. We had 2 cases where we went in, saw a dog, liked it, but wanted to sleep on it, only to find out the next day that the dog had been taken. Despite that, I would say that animal shelters are by far the best option. In my state, all shelter animals are required to have shots, be chipped, and to be spayed/neutered. The process is also about as straightforward as can be. You sign in, spend some time with animals that you are interested in, and then fill out some paperwork, and then take the animal home. In our case, we were able to adopt a neutered Maltese mix with all shots, chipped, and even got a free carrier kennel for $15 on an Easter holiday special.
The shelter even had agreements with local vets for a free first checkup, which we took advantage of. It turned out that our new dog also has allergies, but I was really happy being able to talk to a vet directly about it without someone else(rescue) looking over my shoulder. In our case, our new dog is allergic to a lot of dog food. The vet recommended OTC Benadryl or trying to change up his diet. The latter helped a LOT more, to the point that we saw him no longer rolling around on the floor and scratching after eating and almost instantly started seeing a much more active dog.
Compared to a breeder, we saved several thousand dollars, and, compared to a rescue, we saved several hundred dollars as well as a ton of hassle. With all of the money we’ve only needed to make minor adjustments to our medical and grocery budgets, which has meant less time stressing out about money, and more time with the new family pet.