Before I get into the subject listed in the title, I'd like to mention that my wife gave birth to 5 babies, now all adults, and the oldest is married and has just today given birth to their 5th child.
They got married on the West Coast and now live on the East Coast ...but we grew up in the Midwest, so we made arrangements to fly from the Midwest to the West Coast wedding.
We also had two dogs at that time, and though we have our property adequately fenced in, our one dog was a German Shepherd which was a favorite dog for us ...but it could bite non-family members, so we didn't want to have that happen.
We called the 'Dogtopia' near us ...and though they were advertised as professionals, even professionals can get bit. We didn't want that, and obviously they wouldn't want it either. Though they did have crates for misbehaving dogs, the thought was that perhaps all the dogs could interact with each other and not be crated the entire time (yet, no one wants their dog to be bit by another dog either).
Dogtopia said we would have to bring both our dogs in for two interviews each ...and we had to pay for each interview. I was already paying for 6 of us to fly out to the West Coast, parking our vehicle at the Midwest airport, our stay in a motel on the West Coast, and pay for a rent-a-car and parking for our car at the motel. I wondered whether our dogs would pass the interviews ...or would I be out that money, adding to the cost.
Our dogs passed ...and would be staying for an extended weekend at that utopia motel of sorts. The total package for taking care of the dogs was nearly a thousand dollars $$$$.
So, that was all to guarantee that our family dogs would be well taken care of. I also will mention that the first dog we had, before these two, cost me quite a bit of money to purchase that dog. My wife wanted a dog that would be good with our children, yet not be overly burdensome with the shedding of hair ...so, she wanted a short-haired, or Smooth Collie.
We had to travel a couple hours to see the dog, and this dog seemed rather calm ...which seemed to us as a good match for our children. The owners said we had to sign papers that said that if we decided after a while that we didn't want the dog, that we had to bring it back to them (we couldn't resell the dog, nor just give the dog away).
It seemed like they were true 'dog lovers', and wanted to make sure the dog had a good home, so if we no longer wanted the dog ...well, perhaps we weren't good owners and were not looking out for the welfare of the dog.
I worked in a Mental Health facility where kids were often moved around from place to place ...and I felt there was no way I was going to abandon any dog that entered our family.
Things seemed to be going well at first ...until we all went to church. I don't know if the dog felt abandoned, or just didn't like being alone ...but when we got home from church, we were very surprised what this calm dog had done. I had a plant stand with several tiers of plants ...and I think it brought tears to my wife's eyes as we entered the house. The plants were dragged throughout the entire first floor of our house, and black dirt was ground into the peach carpet everywhere.
I never liked the peach carpet, and it was not difficult to agree that we both wanted a new carpet. I know picking out carpet, curtains ...actually anything can be a long tedious process, but I swept up some of the dog's hair and put it in a Ziploc bag. We held the bag of hair against carpet samples, and there was one mottled carpet pattern which blended great with the hair, so we got that one.
In our excitement to get the dog, we hadn't at first noticed the young dog's limp. For a large dog, that can develop over time ...but this dog was young. We also noticed that it was afraid of stairs. My dad said he felt the dog had been abused, and possibly thrown down a stairs ...yet, it is impossible to guess what had happened to this young dog. One thing for sure, I felt sorry for this dog and I had to gain the dog's trust and bring peace to this dog's life.
This dog began to trust me, and I was also trusted in traveling over a crosswalk over a 5-lane road ...something I did not force the dog to do, but was able to accomplish together with the dog.
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Yes, there are different types of dog owners because there are different types of people. And that brings me back to the subject that perhaps you thought I was going to forget all about (the title of this blog).
Adopting a child should not be the result of a passing notion. And I guess, by what (AI) Artificial Intelligence Overview is showing me, there is much to adopting which makes it difficult enough where just casual considerations would likely not persist.
- This is the most affordable option, with minimal to no cost. The government may even provide financial assistance to cover legal fees and other expenses.
- Private Domestic Adoption:
- This type of adoption involves adopting a child within the United States and typically costs between $20,000 and $60,000.
- Through an agency: Costs often cover agency fees, home studies, legal work, and birth parent expenses like medical care and living expenses.
- Independent (or private) adoption: Without an agency intermediary, this can be slightly less expensive but requires more direct legwork from the adoptive parents to find and screen birth parents.
- International Adoption:
- Costs for adopting from another country vary significantly based on the country and can range from $25,000 to $60,000. Expenses may include agency and government fees, travel, and translation services.
- Common Expenses Involved in Adoption:
- Legal Fees: These cover attorney services for drafting and filing legal documents.
- Home Study: An assessment of the prospective parents' home and readiness to adopt.
- Agency Fees: If using a private agency, fees for their services, including matching with a child and counseling.
- Birth Parent Expenses: In private domestic adoptions, costs to support the birth mother during her pregnancy, such as rent, medical bills, and living expenses.
- Court & Filing Fees: Charges for court documentation and filing the adoption paperwork.
- Travel & Lodging: Expenses for travel to meetings, court appearances, or to meet the birth mother and for potential travel to meet or pick up the adopted child.
