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I don't do rescue. Although I'd love to, Artie won't let me. Neither will my husband. They both feel that one dog in the house is plenty. BAH!
But I've got to say:
1. You people who do rescue must feel such tremendous satisfaction and pride in what you do. And if you don't? You should! You're doing an AMAZING thing. You're, essentially, giving life.
2. What happy homes you must have. I mean, really, a home with a couple (or more) dogs running around = BLISS! I can't imagine not enjoying every minute of every day, and smiling all the freakin' time with these dogs around.
I bow (not bow-wow ) to all of you who do rescue.
DandJ - you don't need to foster to be active in rescue. I can't foster right now since I'm at my canine limit (or at least I am until I can convince DH otherwise) There are many many ways to be active in rescue. Things like doing home visits and application processing, transport, follow up on inquiries and updating website postings. A lot can even be done without ever leaving your home, computer and telephone. If you are interested in joining those of us in rescue, its easy to do. Just contact a local rescue that you would like to work with. I'm sure they will find something for you to do!
Last edited by Va-Cat; 11-05-2009 at 10:22 AM..
Reason: spelling
Thanks! Is there any type of documentation needed? Here in Maryland, you are only allowed 4 dogs per household, unless I imagine your a breeder or a certified rescue, is their a board of certifications, or anything along those lines? Or is it just about collecting a few dogs, and began advertising as a rescue?
Here too, we are only allowed to own for dogs and I had four of my own already and the fostering part has nothing to do with it. They aren't your animals and they are not permanent residents and you do not have to lisence them and you are not running a business out of your home it's non profit volunteer work. I live in the heart of suburbia and the police in my part of town and all my neighbors know I foster dogs and they are all very supportive. There's no official certification needed. I'd say the only thing you need to make sure of is the dogs do not become a nusiance to the neighbors. I'm real sensitive to that and the minute they start making noise in the back yard I haul em in. They all eat from a comunal bowl and have a dog door to the back yard to come in and out as they please.
But back to the subject at hand the qualifiers are you are only allowed to OWN four dogs and you do not own these fosters.
Last edited by Thursday007; 11-05-2009 at 10:39 AM..
How do you start fostering/rescue? I would be interested in doing a american bulldog rescue. Is there a "for dummies" guide out there
Thanks!
If you're interested in a specific breed, contact a breed specific rescue of that type in your area. Let them know you'd like to help out and what you can do to become a foster home for them.
If you're wanting to go it alone, you'll need lots of info on that breed of dog. I'd had rotties for about 4 years when I started a rottie rescue and had to learn so much on the fly. It made it really tough. And I"d spent my entire life with dogs and the 4 years I'd had rotties I was very active in the rottie community. So you really need to know your breed very well if you decided to go it alone and go breed specific.
You'll also need a very good vet that you've got a good history with - or lots of money. Especially with that breed. They are known for health problems and lets face it, high quality well bred dogs don't usually wind up in shelters. So you're looking at pulling adorable but poorly bred dogs that initially came from BYBs so there's no telling what you're going to encounter with them, medically speaking.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cool rob
Thanks! Is there any type of documentation needed? Here in Maryland, you are only allowed 4 dogs per household, unless I imagine your a breeder or a certified rescue, is their a board of certifications, or anything along those lines? Or is it just about collecting a few dogs, and began advertising as a rescue?
Contact your local zoning department. See if there is anything locally. Make sure you tell them these will not be your dogs and will not be in a breeding program. They will be temporarily in your home. That does make a difference in some states / towns that have limits on how many dogs you can have.
Sounds like you're looking to go it alone, which I prefer. Then you can pull the dogs you want to save, not the ones someone else tells you to save. Once you're established with a vet, get set up on Petfinder. If you go to their site, at the very bottom on the left is a link that says 'are you with a shelter or rescue group'. Click that link and it will give you all the info on what you need to get signed up. I've had probably 85-90% of my adoptions because people found me on PF. Excellent resource. You can also sign up on Adopt-A-Pet the same way.
To sign up you'll need an application and / or contract. I have generic versions of both that I can e-mail you. They are just word documents and you can alter them in any way you see fit.
Then get some business cards. I litter every single place I go to with mine. Doctor's offices, vet's offices, pet supply stores, grocery stores, shopping malls, church, etc. I've even been setting up a visitation room in my home and when it's complete I'm going to do flyers and put them on vehicles all over town to invite people out for an adoption day.
Once you're set up with a vet and on PF or a site like it, start contacting the local kill shelters near you. Let them know you've begun doing rescue and you'd like to know what they require to pull from them. Some are very rescue friendly and will be happy to have your help. They require a vet reference that will state all of the animals you take in from shelters are spayed / neutered and vaccinated before you adopt them out and you have an adoption contract they sign and you do back ground checks - all standard for rescue. Others are more difficult to work with. They require you be a 501c3. For a small rescue it's not worth it. For me it would actually cost me more than I could save, so I've not bothered. Because of that there are some shelters that don't recognize me as a rescue. Sad for the dogs, but ok with me. God knows there are plenty other shelters out there that need help and will welcome me.
Some shelters charge pull fees or mandate the dogs be fully vetted before you can have them. Some even mandate you do the vetting through their chosen vet. I have issues with those shelters. I always wonder if they're getting kick backs. And ask if there are any other fees. I had one charge me to transport the dog to the vet that they mandated I use, vet charged me additional fees for meds that I was led to believe were included, charged to transport the dog out of the vet to the boarder in her home and she charged me as well. I wound up spending $200 to pull a single dog after they were done feeing me to death. My adoption fees at the time were $120 and I had her for about 8 weeks prior to her adoption, so needless to say I lost a good bit of money on her. Worth every penny - don't get me wrong - but I'll never work with them again.
Some shelters in the south - GA is infamous for being intolerably difficult - will require you be registered in their state as a rescue and reside in their state. And some will give you a hard time about pulling a dog if they don't like the breed. Because I've been very involved with pits lately I've gone a few rounds with some shelters over it. So, just keep it in mind.
The good shelters have no pull fees and vaccinate dogs on intake just to make sure they're not spreading disease like wild fire. They love seeing rescues come in and will do anything they can to work with you.
Lastly - network. Get your name and your rescues name out there any way you can. Social networking sites are priceless for this. I joined Facebook for the rescue and knew a few other rescues through a pet rescue website forum I was on. Through them their rescue friends added me and they added and they added. It was like the old Breck commercials - she told two friends and they told two friends and they told two friends.............. I've now got hundreds of contacts through FB that have been a massive help to me. Other rescue people - the good ones - all have the same goal - save lives. I board other rescues dogs that are coming out of shelters in my area for free. I'll go pull a dog for them under my rescue's name for free. I'll help transport that dog to get it to their rescue for free. We all have the same goal. So networking is a huge asset!
Location: Montreal -> CT -> MA -> Montreal -> Ottawa
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Va-Cat
DandJ - you don't need to foster to be active in rescue. I can't foster right now since I'm at my canine limit (or at least I am until I can convince DH otherwise) There are many many ways to be active in rescue. Things like doing home visits and application processing, transport, follow up on inquiries and updating website postings. A lot can even be done without ever leaving your home, computer and telephone. If you are interested in joining those of us in rescue, its easy to do. Just contact a local rescue that you would like to work with. I'm sure they will find something for you to do!
Oh! I never thought of that! I think that might well be my goal for 2010! Thanks!
PS. I tried to rep you on another post, but I had to spread the love first. I'll try again on this one, but if you don't see one posted, know that I tried.
If you're interested in a specific breed, contact a breed specific rescue of that type in your area. Let them know you'd like to help out and what you can do to become a foster home for them.
If you're wanting to go it alone, you'll need lots of info on that breed of dog. I'd had rotties for about 4 years when I started a rottie rescue and had to learn so much on the fly. It made it really tough. And I"d spent my entire life with dogs and the 4 years I'd had rotties I was very active in the rottie community. So you really need to know your breed very well if you decided to go it alone and go breed specific.
You'll also need a very good vet that you've got a good history with - or lots of money. Especially with that breed. They are known for health problems and lets face it, high quality well bred dogs don't usually wind up in shelters. So you're looking at pulling adorable but poorly bred dogs that initially came from BYBs so there's no telling what you're going to encounter with them, medically speaking.
Contact your local zoning department. See if there is anything locally. Make sure you tell them these will not be your dogs and will not be in a breeding program. They will be temporarily in your home. That does make a difference in some states / towns that have limits on how many dogs you can have.
Sounds like you're looking to go it alone, which I prefer. Then you can pull the dogs you want to save, not the ones someone else tells you to save. Once you're established with a vet, get set up on Petfinder. If you go to their site, at the very bottom on the left is a link that says 'are you with a shelter or rescue group'. Click that link and it will give you all the info on what you need to get signed up. I've had probably 85-90% of my adoptions because people found me on PF. Excellent resource. You can also sign up on Adopt-A-Pet the same way.
To sign up you'll need an application and / or contract. I have generic versions of both that I can e-mail you. They are just word documents and you can alter them in any way you see fit.
Then get some business cards. I litter every single place I go to with mine. Doctor's offices, vet's offices, pet supply stores, grocery stores, shopping malls, church, etc. I've even been setting up a visitation room in my home and when it's complete I'm going to do flyers and put them on vehicles all over town to invite people out for an adoption day.
Once you're set up with a vet and on PF or a site like it, start contacting the local kill shelters near you. Let them know you've begun doing rescue and you'd like to know what they require to pull from them. Some are very rescue friendly and will be happy to have your help. They require a vet reference that will state all of the animals you take in from shelters are spayed / neutered and vaccinated before you adopt them out and you have an adoption contract they sign and you do back ground checks - all standard for rescue. Others are more difficult to work with. They require you be a 501c3. For a small rescue it's not worth it. For me it would actually cost me more than I could save, so I've not bothered. Because of that there are some shelters that don't recognize me as a rescue. Sad for the dogs, but ok with me. God knows there are plenty other shelters out there that need help and will welcome me.
Some shelters charge pull fees or mandate the dogs be fully vetted before you can have them. Some even mandate you do the vetting through their chosen vet. I have issues with those shelters. I always wonder if they're getting kick backs. And ask if there are any other fees. I had one charge me to transport the dog to the vet that they mandated I use, vet charged me additional fees for meds that I was led to believe were included, charged to transport the dog out of the vet to the boarder in her home and she charged me as well. I wound up spending $200 to pull a single dog after they were done feeing me to death. My adoption fees at the time were $120 and I had her for about 8 weeks prior to her adoption, so needless to say I lost a good bit of money on her. Worth every penny - don't get me wrong - but I'll never work with them again.
Some shelters in the south - GA is infamous for being intolerably difficult - will require you be registered in their state as a rescue and reside in their state. And some will give you a hard time about pulling a dog if they don't like the breed. Because I've been very involved with pits lately I've gone a few rounds with some shelters over it. So, just keep it in mind.
The good shelters have no pull fees and vaccinate dogs on intake just to make sure they're not spreading disease like wild fire. They love seeing rescues come in and will do anything they can to work with you.
Lastly - network. Get your name and your rescues name out there any way you can. Social networking sites are priceless for this. I joined Facebook for the rescue and knew a few other rescues through a pet rescue website forum I was on. Through them their rescue friends added me and they added and they added. It was like the old Breck commercials - she told two friends and they told two friends and they told two friends.............. I've now got hundreds of contacts through FB that have been a massive help to me. Other rescue people - the good ones - all have the same goal - save lives. I board other rescues dogs that are coming out of shelters in my area for free. I'll go pull a dog for them under my rescue's name for free. I'll help transport that dog to get it to their rescue for free. We all have the same goal. So networking is a huge asset!
Ok, thanks for the great information and warnings. One last question, can this be done part time, from what was described looks like a full time thing! I would hate to get started, and then figure out later that I can't dedicate the right amount of time to it
If you work with an established rescue organization, they will give you dogs off and on. There may be times where you have none other times I get a call, 'can you take her in.' and if I'm ill or something and can't that's fine, they know they'll catch me next time or they will send out a mass email asking if anyone can foster any of these dogs with a photo and name of the dog - then you can decide if you can take one in at that time. Every rescue is different and has different protocol, but if you are overwhelmed at times they totally are understanding.
If you are doing this on your own then you decide when you can and can't take in a rescue. There's no hard-fast rule that says you have to have a rescue every day in your home. I've had up to seven one day and the next none for a couple weeks and then three.
If you work with an established rescue organization, they will give you dogs off and on. There may be times where you have none other times I get a call, 'can you take her in.' and if I'm ill or something and can't that's fine, they know they'll catch me next time or they will send out a mass email asking if anyone can foster any of these dogs with a photo and name of the dog - then you can decide if you can take one in at that time. Every rescue is different and has different protocol, but if you are overwhelmed at times they totally are understanding.
If you are doing this on your own then you decide when you can and can't take in a rescue. There's no hard-fast rule that says you have to have a rescue every day in your home. I've had up to seven one day and the next none for a couple weeks and then three.
Thanks again! Last question, how do you pay for food/vet expenses? Is it all out of pocket, or are their tax breaks/advocacy's group that supply free food, or vets who charge cut rate prices for resuces? I imagine, this could all get pretty expensive
Thanks again! Last question, how do you pay for food/vet expenses? Is it all out of pocket, or are their tax breaks/advocacy's group that supply free food, or vets who charge cut rate prices for resuces? I imagine, this could all get pretty expensive
I'd really start under another rescue. That way you can just take one, it's on their dime except for the food, which you'd provide. Then you can go slow and make sure it's something you want to do.
If it is and you decide to go on your own, you'll be footing bills. Again you can go the 501c3 route which will exempt you from taxes and you can write off some of the expenses, but you've got to keep extremely detailed records and the filing alone - depending on your state - can be in the several hundreds of dollars. The guy I work with paid over a thousand to get his set up.
I've heard the you can get some businesses to donate some things to you, but I think by and large they mostly donate to shelters, not rescues. A good vet will give you a much better rate for vetting.
You'll also find humane societies and such might be able to do spay / neuter cheaper than your vet. Watch for local spay / neuter campaigns and see if they'll work with rescues. A local Humane Society here was doing $10 neuters for male dogs over 40 pounds if both testes had decended. You can't beat deals like that. Unfortunately the only males I had were small. Even so, it was only $25 to have the little ones done, so still a good deal. They also did my rabies while they were there for $8. My vet charges $5, but the convenience factor couldn't be beat, so we did that too.
Also ask your vet if they'll show you have to vaccinate the dogs yourself and if they'll sell you the vaccines. That's saved me a ton of money. Also, you can buy Frontline in the 6 packages for the largest dogs and then break it down for dosing smaller sized dogs yourself. You'd be floored at how much that will save you.
I know some rescues use Ivermec for cattle for their dogs for HW prevention. I've never done it yet. Was going to try, but HW is one of those things that's fatal if you screw up their dose and I'm just not that brave. But it's an option and something to talk to the vet about.
It gets very expensive. People that do rescue never make money and probably 99% of the time lose money. I spend literally thousands of dollars every year that I'll never get back by doing rescue. I go through about 25 to 30 pounds of dog food a day at this point. It's very expensive. But when you adopt that first dog out, and you see a complete family and know that dog would be dead if you'd not stepped in, man, it makes it all worth it.
Thanks again! Last question, how do you pay for food/vet expenses? Is it all out of pocket, or are their tax breaks/advocacy's group that supply free food, or vets who charge cut rate prices for resuces? I imagine, this could all get pretty expensive
If you work for an established rescue group often they have donated dog food, we get truckloads of it because the manufacturer is local, but I've rarely used it. I just buy the dog food and keep the receipts - everything you purchase personally is tax deductable on the Charities line.
As for vetting all rescues have different policies. Some offer a rebate of part of the donation after the new owner proves they got the dog spayed and neutered. The rescue I work with does not allow a dog out of the program unless they have been completely vetted and it has been spayed or neutered, but this is a cost they absorb, not the foster. We have a whole network of vets we use at various places around town. We also have someone on staff that provides some vaccinations and doles out the heartworm and frontline medications at our weekly adoption events.
Last year I got a high rate of dogs with heartworm and they have to go in for treatments and testing, which again is absorbed by my rescue organization. You just need to get it to the vet and back and this may conflict with your job hours, but as you work with other fosters you'll find ways to trade off favors with drop off and pick up. All your mileage is a deductable expense. The hard part about fostering a heartworm dog is they cannot run around and play with the other dogs and must be as still as possible the faster their heart pumps the more they create and you may end up fostering this dog for months. I saw the highest rate in Jack Russells - who are typically very high strung dogs, but I was fortunate the ones I got were really sweet and low key - made it much easier.
Some dogs require medications and I've had to get creative feeding them because of the other dogs in the house. I always use dry food - makes their messes easier to clean up, but some require meds in their food and I'll use a can of wet and held the dog over the counter to eat out of the bowl. The only dogs I cannot take are those which require a special diet for weight loss, because of the other dogs in the house eating their food.
The only way I was able to do fostering is because the office I worked at was just down the road and I could pop in and check on them. Then, I began working from home and was able to take in more dogs and puppies.
Last edited by Thursday007; 11-05-2009 at 07:10 PM..
This thread is making me wonder what I can do to become involved again. I am the co-ordinator for a volunteer program at school (which I love), and don't know how much I could put into it...BUT, my heart really lies with dogs.
Unfortunately where I live there is a 2-dog limit. And my understanding was that to foster, you also had to be able to keep the dog. So I never looked further into it.
Thank God there are people like you out there, working for these animals!
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) to all of you who do rescue.
There are many many ways to be active in rescue. Things like doing home visits and application processing, transport, follow up on inquiries and updating website postings. A lot can even be done without ever leaving your home, computer and telephone. If you are interested in joining those of us in rescue, its easy to do. Just contact a local rescue that you would like to work with. I'm sure they will find something for you to do!
