Blimey... shouldn't they be free?

One or two people are astonished that we charge for our rescue dogs. They think they're doing us a huge favour by offering a home to a needy animal. I can of course see their point. But rescues cost a lot to run , even one like Black Retriever X that doesn't have expensive kennels to maintain. The truth is, we can't survive on goodwill alone.

Some rescues charge quite a lot for a rescue dog - sometimes up to £200. I've always felt this is quite a lot so, until recently, we've only asked adopters to cover the £65 it costs us to bring a dog over from Ireland. Anything over and above that has been voluntary. Most people are terrific, it has to be said, recognising that there are often considerable costs apart from transport - vaccinations, kenneling, flea and worm treatments, neutering etc. People do, on average, give us about £100 - and sometimes more, which is fantastic. But a couple of weeks ago, I received a cheque for just £30 for a dog that cost us probably £300. It was a good home and I'm way too much of a softie to go back for more, but it has made me think again about adoption fees.

My day job (yep, I have one!) has always had to subsidise the rescue - to the tune of at least a couple of thousand pounds in the past year. My partner Jon and I have a successful small independent television company, but when you have your own business there are always times when cash flows a little more readily. So from today, we've decided to charge a minimum adoption fee of £100. It will undoubtedly mean we can help more dogs, so we hope everyone understands.