Bad Guys!!! Colorado Reptile Humane Society!!!

BAD GUYS!!! COLORADO REPTILE HUMANE SOCIETY!!!

Have you heard of the Colorado Reptile Humane Society (CoRHS)?
http://www.corhs.org/
These con artists, under the guise of a legitimate and state licensed reptile animal shelter, are ripping off people and potential great adoptive potential parents of their "poor, homeless reptiles" How do they do this? By requiring a $10 adoption questionnaire that will never, if ever be taken as proof of your qualified, legitimate desire to become the owners of their prospective adoptees. The $10 fee, which is merely “bait”, is taken from genuinely interested herpers to go into their tax- free personal bank accounts.
The questionnaire reprinted here :
To adopt an animal from CoRHS you will need to click on the animal's name, fill out an adoption application, AND pay a $10.00 nonrefundable application fee via PayPal to corr@peakpeak.com. We have been forced to ask for an application fee because of the number of applicants not serious about adopting.
If you do adopt from CoRHS, we will apply your application fee toward your adoption.
We CANNOT process your application without first receiving your fee.
We want to make sure each adoptive parent provides a stable and loving environment for his or her new companion pet. Because of this desire, our adoption application is very thorough. You must be 18 years old or older to adopt from CoRHS.
Colorado Reptile Humane Society's adoption fee is $55.00 for snakes and tortoises, $45 for box turtles and select lizards, and $35.00 for all other species. If shipping is required, the adopter is responsible for all shipping costs, approximately $90.00, in addition to the adoption fee. CoRHS does not have resources to pay for shipping.
First Name:

Last Name:

Age:

Address:

City:

State & Zip:

Phone:

E-mail:

We MUST have your email address to respond to your application!

Animal Name or species for which you are applying:

Do you need a special permit to keep a reptile in your county or state?
Yes No Don't Know (But will find out)
1. Please tell us about your living situation.
Do you live in a:
House?
Apartment/condo?
Do you live with:
Self / Roommate(s)?
Immediate family?
Other?

2. If you rent, will your landlord object to your having a reptile? Please provide your landlord's name and phone number

3. How long have you lived at your present address?

4. Are you planning to move in the next 6 months? If you move, what are you planning to do with your animal?

5. Have you adopted an animal before? If yes, what is the current status of that animal?

6. If you must give up the reptile you wish to adopt, what do you plan to do? (besides returning the animal to the rescue)


7. Have you ever brought any of your own animals to a shelter or rescue society? If yes, what were the circumstances:


8. Please provide a list of the animals you have kept as pets. If you no longer have these animals, please explain how long you had them and why you no longer have them: :


9. Do you already have a veterinarian who is experienced in evaluating and treating reptiles and amphibians? If Yes, please provide the name and phone number:


10. If your new animal gets lost, what steps will you take to find it?


11. How much money do you anticipate spending yearly to provide the appropriate food, medical care, permits (if required in your area) and supplies?


12. What types of supplies do you think you will need for the animal you wish to adopt?


13. What do you plan to feed the reptile you wish to adopt? How often and how much?


14. How many adults in your household? Number of Children? How old are the children?


15. Do all family members favor getting this type of animal?


16. Which member(s) of your household will be primarily responsible for the feeding, cleaning, handling (if appropriate) and general care of this animal?


17. Please tell us what you already know or have learned about the needs and disposition of the animal you wish to adopt.


18. Many reptiles live longer than 15 years; some tortoises may live more than 100 years. Are you ready to take responsibility for the animal you adopt for its entire life? How will you do this?


19. What provisions will you make to assure it is taken care of after you or the primary care-giver dies or is no longer able to care for it? Regardless of our age, none of us is planning to die; keep in mind that accidents *do* happen.


20. What books or other materials have you read about the animal you wish to adopt? What books relating to this animal(s), or to reptile or amphibian care do you presently own?


21. Please describe in detail the habitat you have prepared (or are planning to prepare) for the animal you wish to adopt. If you would like information about what we recommend for any of these aspects of caging, please just ask! Please include:
Size:

Construction Materials:

Substrate:

Heating System:

Lighting System:

Humidity System:

Ventilation:

Furnishings:

Water:

How will the enclosure be secured to prevent escape?


22. What qualities are you looking for in the animal you wish to adopt? (for example: Easy to handle, No handling, Complete tail, etc...)


23. What will you do about care for your reptile or amphibian when you have to travel on business or vacations?


24. Please put down any other pertinent information you think will help me get to know you better as a prospective adoptive parent.


25. Please provide the names and email addresses or phone numbers of two references (not related to you) who can talk to CoRHS about you as a pet owner.

Reference 1:
Reference 2:
26. Please let us know if you have any comments, or have any specific questions here:

You can see how ridiculously inane it is and nobody, it seems, could ever be considered as an adoptive parent.
Here is a letter from an “approved” adopter:
(IF IT SHOWS UP OR TO BE OTHERWISE UPLOADED)[IMG][/IMG][IMG]

Most of their animals have been at their facility for a few months to OVER A FREAKIN’ YEAR!!! DO THE MATH!
Not only do they charge an adoption fee: Their shipping fees are MONEY IN THE POCKET!!! “If shipping is required, the adopter is responsible for all shipping costs, approximately $90.00, in addition to the adoption fee.”
When’s the last time you had some hots delivered by Delta or a snowcorn delivered by UPS for an outrageous price like that?

BOTTOM LINE:
Stay away from these scammers and use your common sense!

MY NEXT STEP:
Getting their tax-free license revoked!
BE WARNED!
Roy A. Young
TEL: 7704730223
Email: royayoung@comcast.net

I know, I've been ripped off by this scam "adoption society."
Roy

I don't think this is in the correct forum. Probably general herp talk or sound off.

I also don't have a problem with it. By definition the Humane Society's mission is to look out for the animals in their care. It wouldn't make much sense to take them from one poor home just to put them in another. The questionaire and fees would go along ways to eliminate those that are looking for a "free" snake.

Although I understand your frustration, I do not think you realize how these organizations operate. It costs a great deal of money to operated these places including cost of employee's salaries (not much but they do get paid), routine care for the animals, as well as emeregency health care for the animals. They operated soley on donations and adoption fees. Even if you go to adopt a cat or dog, in the end, you are going to pay fees which will often surpass the price of any pet store (assuming it isn't a pure breed animal).

It is even more difficult with reptiles because they are often abandoned or brought in because they get too big for their owners and trying to adopt out a large iguana or burmese python isn't an easy task. Not nearly as easy as the pet store selling that cute little burmese python all curled up in its 10 gallon aquarium. You can expect they are going to take precautions to make sure it isn't returned two weeks later because they just realized how much it eats and the landlord wants it out.

I am not necessarily defending these people. They may be legitimate, they may not be but the adoption fee is just a tool of the trade to keep operating costs down and deter those just trying to get "a really neat looking pet" that they have no idea how to care for.

Is your issue suitable for this forum, depends on the details. Are you just upset about the fee or was there an actual transaction that went sour? Based on what is given, it does not appear to be a BOI issue.

Bart

I actually used to volunteer for this very organization, and usually you will find me speaking somewhat negatively about it, and I have my reasons to do so, but here I must defend them.

Do you know how much it costs to feed 40- 50 adult iguanas every day? (I dont know how many they actually have right now, but I know they have had that many in the past) you cant just let the greens sit for a day so they can be eaten the next day, they need them fresh!
How much it takes to feed numerous adult burmese pythons a month? They have to get money from somewhere. They are a legit rescue and while I may not agree with some of their tactics, they do care for the animals. Ann-Elizabeth the director quit her job a while back to do this full time, so now they only have one income supporting the household.

I could go on and on about this but the bottom line is you will see very few rescues that dont charge anything. My friend runs an Old English Sheepdog resuce and their adoption fee is $300! The Gabriel Foundation adoption fee for their birds can sometimes be higher than if you actually bought the bird from a petstore.

Sarah

I don't think the whole issue is the "adoption fee", I think it's the fact that they are charging people to simply fill out an application. Sure, ou get it back IF they allow you to adopt, but they can choose not to let you any any reason they choose without refunding that money.

I think their actual adoption fees are more than reasonable.

I have to agree with Cathy, the 10 dollar fee to just be considered is going to far. Gee I have a Bredli female with a full stripe give me 10 bucks in order for me to consider selling her to you. If that's not a scam it sure is awful close to it. Randy

Originally Posted by ravensgait

I have to agree with Cathy, the 10 dollar fee to just be considered is going to far. Gee I have a Bredli female with a full stripe give me 10 bucks in order for me to consider selling her to you. If that's not a scam it sure is awful close to it. Randy

Randy,

It reminds me of times long gone when we used to send money and a SASE to receive our reptile price lists. We never complained about being ripped off although we had to pay for the price list, the envelope and the stamp, even if we decided not to buy from them. In esence it was our choice. The bottomline is that they are not taking money from you. They are collecting money to be able to run an animal refuge. From what we have heard from someone that has worked for them, they are also for real. They are not promising that you will be the one getting the animal. Their terms are clear, they charge $10 to review your application. Colleges charge two or three times as much or more to review your application, and they don't guarantee you will be accepted either.

Regards.

Maybe my perspective of them is skewed due to the my recent attempt at adoption, where they said I was a breeder, when, in fact, I have never bred a single reptile in my entire life. Even said, their $10 non-refundable application fee is questionable, to say the least. I wonder how many applicants they get a day? They refuse qualified people to lure others that are interested in a particular animal in. Even if they make some money, that doesn't matter to me, they may be doing a noble job, but I think they are crooked and make profits that far exceeds their daily costs. Only my opinion.
Roy

In my mind, it would seem more "on the up and up" to raise their adoption fees by that $10, instead of charging the fee ahead of time. I've never heard of a rescue charging a fee just to put in an application. In my experience with canine and equine rescue, there's a vast difference with the number of folks who apply and the number who actually are considered "acceptable" to adopt an animal. Maybe they feel they are "weeding out" people who aren't really dedicated to getting an animal, but charging just to apply may be discouraging some very good folks as well. I don't call them "crooked", I just think it's a bad idea.

Comparing a reptile rescue to a college application is "apples and oranges", IMO.