Rescue Matters: How to Find, Foster, and Rehome Companion Animals: A Guide for Volunteers and Organizers
In Rescue Matters! award-winning author Sheila Webster Boneham, Ph.D., provides invaluable advice for groups or individuals who want to know how to start, run, fund and promote rescue. But the book doesn't stop there...\ Drawing on the author's experience as a rescuer, breeder, dog-sport enthusiast, and owner of pets of several species, the book offers helpful advice for anyone who wants to help homeless animals, whether they can commit a few hours a year to help with a special event, or many...
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Part I of Rescue Matters! covers the legal, organizational, and paperwork needs of rescue groups, as well as finding and working with volunteers. Part II deals with the animals themselves: how to evaluate (health issues, personality assessment, type of home needed) foster homes and veterinary care, assessing potential adopters, training, and dealing with behavioral problems. The book offers something for everyone interested in saving homeless pets, from those wanting to help out a few hours a week to those willing to provide foster homes or volunteer their organizational, office, or publicity skills.
Chapter 4 - Financial and Material Support\ Money and material resources are essential rescue tools. Without them, serious rescue work is impossible. Your group does not need to maintain a big bank balance, but does need sufficient money and equipment to transport animals as needed, feed them and care for them properly, pay for the services of veterinarians and possibly other professionals, and so on. If you want to expand your efforts to public education (see Chapters 5 and 11), you will need money or outside support. Most important, and assuming you have enough volunteers to do the work, having adequate funding will enable you to support individual animals longer and to be more discriminating in rehoming them.\ There are many ways to raise money, and many excellent sources of information on fund raising for not-for-profit organizations. Start with the basics, and don't be afraid to look for new sources of money and supplies. Talk to volunteers from other rescue programs and other types of charities about their fund raising successes and failures. Keep your eyes open for more possibilities, and be creative. The ideas in this chapter are based on my own experience and on input from experienced rescuers around the country.
Foreword Dean Koontz viiPreface ixAcknowledgments xIntroduction xiPart I People and Policies 1Chapter 1 Getting Organized 3How to Organize 4Who's In Charge Here? 4Where are You? Points of Contact 5Incorporation 9Establishing Policies and Procedures 11Legal Documents 15Insurance 15Chapter 2 Volunteers: The Hearts of Rescue 17Fostering Animals in Transition 18I Can't Take in Animals What Can I Do? 21Before You Leap: Pitfalls of Rescue Work 23Burnout 26Chapter 3 Finding, Training, and Managing Volunteers 28Where Are You Now? 28Recruiting Volunteers 29Screening Potential Volunteers 32Organizing, Training, and Empowering Volunteers 34Chapter 4 Financial and Materials Support 39Not-For-Profit and Tax-Exempt Status 40Raising Money 40Soliciting Support 43Cutting Costs 45Chapter 5 Spreading the Word 49Networking on the Internet 50Networking Face to Face 50Publicity and the Media 54Additional Ideas for Publicity 57Teaching More than Rescue 58Delayed Reactions 60Part II The Animals 61Chapter 6 Animals in Need, or What It's All About 63Animal Management Basics 63Phone Calls and Paperwork 66Points of Origin 70Chapter 7 The Human Side of Rescue Work 76The Cultural Setting 77Preventing and Correcting Pet Problems 78Supporting Your Adopters 80Chapter 8 Health Screening for Rescue 81Setting Up Standard Procedures 82Health Issues 85Preventing Disease 91Parasites 92Altering 96Chapter 9 Temperament and Behavior 99Temperament 100Aggression 100Health Related Behavioral Problems 102Other Common Behavioral Problems 102Chapter 10 RehomingRescued Pets 109Attracting Adopters 109Screening Adopters 110Matchmaking: The Right Person for the Right Pet 115Adoption Contracts 115Going Home 117Follow-up Procedures 118Chapter 11 Optimism 120Appendix 1 Sample Documents 123Adoption Application 124Foster Caretaker Application 129Appendix 2 Resources 135About the Author 141Index 143
