Our local shelter is in trouble ( like everything else in NY). She could have adopted a kitten for $50.00 and donated the rest to her SPCA. $50 grand.......I wonder what something as big as a horse might cost?
I live in the SF Bay area and the shelters around here are hard up, too. With so many cats running around Oakland, I can have my pick, just by giving them some food and water. It gets a cat off the street, frees up space at the SPCA, and I get a pet.