How to use this blog...........

When we started to create this blog to help others start up their own responsible rescues, we weren't all that aware of how Blogger works.  We started with the first post, which was the beginning of how to start and with each new subject, we'd add a post.  It took us an entire day, dedicated to sitting in front of the computer with compiled lists of subject matter, statistics, data, etc. to get it all down.  Finally, we'd completed the entire ten sections!  We went to the blog address to see how it looked.................and realized that Blogger posts things by date / time, which means our entire blog is set backward!  Seriously??

So, we've tried to add some info in there and now we've created this post to explain how to use the backward blog site!

Here is the first step.  When you look at the top of this page you should see this:

You'll click on the 'January' tab.  This will bring up all posts created in January 2014.  The vast majority of the posts, and all of the ten sections to this program, were done on the same day, so you'll find them all there.  Any additional info we've added over time will be in other months / years.  So, click on the January tab and you'll get this:

You'll still see the tab list at the top with January where you've clicked.  You'll also see all of the posts from that month. You'll want to click on the 'Welcome' post that should show up first.  There is some info on that page for you to read through and it also goes through how to use this blog.

Once you've read that page if you scroll to the bottom you'll see this:

So at the end of each section you'll scroll to the very bottom.  Feel free to leave any comments or questions.  We get automatic emails to each comment so we'll be able to come back and answer any questions you have if you leave them there, or you can simply email us back at ronniconnelly@gmail.com

So at the end of each section just click on the 'Newer Post' option at the bottom and it will take you through the entire blog as you go.

Adoption Application

This is going to be one of your two primary forms.  I've found that I average about five completed applications before I get to an application that is both approved and the adopter follows through on the adoption.  The purpose of the application is two fold.  First, it gives you the information you need to screen a potential adopter.  It should at the very least include their name, address, name and age of everyone in the home, the type of lifestyle and home they live in, a veterinary reference, a list of current and previous pets they've owned as well as what happened to them if they don't have them now, if they own or rent and if they rent the name and phone number of their landlord, and the name / type of pet they're interested in.

This is your second step to finding this pet a safe and wonderful forever family.  It is second only to getting the pet completely healthy, happy, trained and vetted.  Once you've completed all of those things and put in that time, effort, money and love, you truly will want to find the best home and family for this pet now, and here is your chance!

Other information you can ask of potential adopters:

If they have a fenced yard and if so, what type and size fencing.  If no fence, how do they plan on exercising the pet?

What do they expect out of this pet, or why do they want to adopt it?  Are they looking for a guard dog for their family?  Do they want a working dog for help herding livestock or guard a flock of chickens?  Do they want a small lap dog that can travel with them?  The more you know about what they're looking for in a dog, the better you'll be able to decide if this family and the dog they are interested are actually a good match for each other.

How many hours per day will they spend with the dog?  When the dog is home alone, where will it live?  Do they crate dogs or have a specified room to keep them secured in?  Does the pet have furniture privileges?  Will it have a doggie door and fenced yard?  It's important to know that the family has thought ahead further than just bringing the pet home, and have truly discussed and planned for what they'll do when they go to work or even just go shopping.  If they work long hours and are interested in a dog that has anxiety issues, it's just not going to be a good match, so this question can help eliminate possible improper matches.

How affectionate a dog do they want?  People are very different in how clingy they want a dog to be.  Some prefer a dog that will live and breathe for the owner, never wanting out of their arms.  Other people want the dog on the doggie bed laying in front of the fireplace while they watch TV.  For someone wanting that 'velcro dog', a placement with a highly independent dog could leave an adopter with regrets.

How often do they have company?  What are the plans when company comes over?  If they're interested in a very shy, quiet dog but they're a younger couple with young kids and they have frequent sleep overs with five young kids, it could leave the dog terrified.  A terrified dog, even one that's normally very sweet and loving, can bite out of fear.  Dogs that bite, regardless of the reason, are often seized by county shelters and euthanized.  It's YOUR job to set this dog up for success by finding it a family that is suited to it's temperament.

How much experience have you had raising or training a dog?  A new owner is not going to be a great candidate for a very high drive dog, like a husky or Aussie.  While they might be gorgeous and sweet dogs, the more intelligent dogs can be a challenge for new owners.  Keep in mind what this family is capable of handling and you have to decide if it's best for the dog to be placed with them.  Perfectly wonderful loving people might be a great family for a beagle, but perhaps not for a high drive Cattle Dog for example.

For an example of an adoption application, see our link here:

  http://www.emailmeform.com/builder/form/T733uinf5fhglob

Again, I VERY HIGHLY RECOMMEND this website for setting up your forms.  Once completed and submitted they'll be sent right to your email.  You can go into the website and make comments directly on the form that only someone with access to your account can see.  It's a great way to log notes from vet references, landlord calls, etc., as well as log who has adopted which pet.

Section Ten: The ugly reality

This is the part no one ever wants to talk about.  The death, the abuse, the neglect, the torture.  It's all the ugly stuff, but it's something you've got to deal with in rescue.

We have some REALLY bad people in the rural parts of Tennessee.  I'm not sure why there are so many and why they seem to be concentrated in one state.  Maybe it's something in the way they were raised; who knows.

We have hoarders and breeders that call themselves rescues.  We have people who enjoy torturing and killing pets that call themselves loving pet owners.  We have counties that support these kinds of people and refuse to prosecute violations of the law that pertain to animals, and yet they'll threaten to throw a true rescue in jail in a heartbeat if they can spin anything to make you look guilty.

As a former member of a wonderful law enforcement agency in SW FL with co-workers that adored animals and fought for their safety and well being on a daily basis, it's hard for me to see such sickness and corruption in the agencies here.  But it exists.

The point to this is to let you know that while no one that loves animals ever wants to see one die, there are much worse things than an animal being humanely euthanized.  While you'll hear a lot of groups having hissy fits over heart sticking euthanasia, what they don't tell you, because they probably don't know themselves, is that when it's done according to state law it's actually VERY humane.  I'll explain...........

There are two commonly used forms of euthanasia; IV and heartstick.

IV involves finding a vein in the animal, putting in the needle and then pushing the medications that stop the heart.

Heartstick requires the pet to be completely sedated and while unconscious, a needle with euthanasia drugs is inserted into the heart and injected.

Both forms are done humanely with very little trauma to the animal.  The trauma and stress that an animal goes through during euthanasia comes from the fear of the unknown, the fear of the people restraining it, and picking up on any stress the humans are under.  The death is quick and generally uneventful and peaceful.

The reason heartstick gets a bad name is there are some people that choose to inject the medication into the heart without sedating the pet first.  We had one shelter in TN shut down and a vet's license taken because he was doing this.  So, heartstick itself isn't an evil or cruel practice if done properly.

The other ugly part of rescue here is you're going to see the abuse, the neglect, the torture and you're going to see the rural counties in most areas not only refuse to do anything about it, but refuse to acknowledge that it exists and flat out lie about it, even when it's done by their own employees.  This video will probably be one of the most difficult things you'll ever watch, but if you want to save lives, you need to see the other ugly, dirty side too.  If you need to pause it and walk away, do so, but come back and finish watching it.  If you can't handle the terrible things that happen on film, you'll never be able to change them in real life.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQyAY-cWvLU

Section Nine: Your adopters

Once you're set up on line you'll start getting people interested in your pets.  I highly recommend setting up your adoption application on a website called EmailMeForm.  Here is a copy of ours on there:  http://www.emailmeform.com/builder/form/T733uinf5fhglob

The website is free and you can configure all kinds of applications and forms on there.  We also have our rescue partnership form on there.  It's a great site.  If you add the link to your application on every single pet you place on line for adoption, people will be able to fill the form out and it gets emailed right to you automatically.  Much easier and less time consuming than them emailing you and asking if the pet is still for adoption and then asking you to send the application, etc.  It just streamlines it for you, and it also logs every single application.  You'll be able to log on, pull each application and make notes directly on it as you call to confirm references and such.  It makes tracking applicants easy!

Ok, so you just got an application in your email.  Now what?

One of the first things I always did was confirm the vet reference.  To be approved to adopt from us every single pet you have and have had for the last five years MUST have been spayed / neutered.  Rabies must be current per state law and the combo vaccine can be no more than five years old.  So obviously that call to the vet is first.  When you call their vet, tell them your name and the rescue you're calling from and that their client has listed them as a veterinary reference on an adoption application for a foster pet in your rescue.  Ask if they're showing them in their system and if so if their pet(s) are spayed / neutered, current on vaccines, and if they've kept them on preventatives and such.  A vet can give you a good idea of how good a pet owner is based on whether or not they even need to go pull a file.  There is nothing that makes me happier than a vet office staffer say 'oh my gosh, they're wonderful' without needing to dig through paperwork to check.

These are really the basic criteria for vet reference checks.  There are a lot of rescues that go a lot further.  They want to know if they've had heartworm tests every year, if they purchase their preventatives from the vet, and some even go as far as asking if the patient has a balance on their account.  This is where you've got to decide how far you want to grill an adopter.  Personally, I think with as many homeless pets as we have in this country, if they've kept their pets spayed / neutered and up to date on vaccines, I'm not going to go prying too much more.  They're obviously a caring pet owner.  I'm not looking to put a pet in a home where it'll be fed caviar from fine crystal; I'm looking for an owner that will care for and give a lifetime home to a pet in need.

Beyond the vet reference, you'll need to make other decisions.  Most rescues will schedule a home visit to make sure the house is safe for a pet.  You'd be surprised how many people live in filth and want to add an animal.  Or live in a home that's falling down on itself.  Or have a kennel out back with a crate in it and an obvious wear path worn in the grass where a pet spent years running in circles out of neglected boredom.  If you choose to do the home visits before adoption, I always brought the pet with me.  I wanted to see how comfy it was in the home and how the entire family reacted to it.  You don't need to be nosey, checking bedrooms and bathrooms, but a walk through the main living spaces and the property can tell you a lot.

You can also do a Google image search for the home to see what it looks like and what the neighborhood is like.  You can ask for personal references and phone numbers of neighbors to see if they complain of dogs barking all night or running loose in the neighborhood.  You can call the local animal shelter and see if there have been any complaints from that address.

As a last note, sign up for www.dnapets.org   It's a database that's kept by rescues and shelters and others in animal welfare.  Anyone that's had a bad adoption or seen someone convicted of cruelty, neglect, etc will log the info there.  You can search for people by name and state.  I usually went on quarterly and just printed a list for the state and the surrounding states and kept it in a file for when I was at adoption events and didn't have internet access.

If you do get a hit on there, keep in mind that anyone that signs up as a rescue can enter anyone for any reason and they can lie.  And sadly with some of the catty people in rescue, it happens.  So if you get a hit, contact the person that entered it and ask for details that you can confirm.

Screening your potential adopters is a huge part of rescue.  This is a person that you might be handing a pet to that was once homeless and could have faced death.  Their life is in your hands and you need to take that very seriously.

Section Eight: Promoting your pets

The most important part of getting your pets adopted is getting them seen.  Trying to do pet rescue with no outlet for the public to see your pets will take years to find a home for a single one.  Petfinder is easily the most common and well known of them.  There is also Adopt A Pet, Pets 911, and hundreds of other sites.  While Petfinder is the primary account used by most rescues, it's also the most difficult to get set up with.  And that might be why it's the most popular.  While they really can't confirm every single rescue, they do their best and it means there are fewer puppy flippers and breeders on there.

After a few rescues and shelter I've set up, I've got it pretty down pat for you though.  First, you need your vet.  Make sure the one you choose knows you're a rescue.  They will require a letter on his letter head stating that their office does all medical care for every one of the animals in your rescue, including mandatory spay and neuter of every single animal with no exception.  That is the big thing with them; all animals, no exceptions, all medical care.  Make sure he includes spay / neuter!

You need to start here:  http://www.petfinder.com/register/index.html

Here is what you'll need:

If you are a 501(c)3 or state tax-exempt non-profit or Canada charitable organization:

• A copy of the first page of your IRS determination letter, state tax certificate, or Canadian charitable status; AND

• A letter of reference signed by your primary veterinarian (on his/her letterhead) confirming that he/she provides medical care for the pets in your rescue and adoption program.

• A copy of your ADOPTION CONTRACT (not the application); AND

• A letter of reference signed by your primary veterinarian (on his/her letterhead) confirming that he/she provides medical care for the pets in your rescue and adoption program.

If you are an organization without official non-profit status:

• A copy of your ADOPTION CONTRACT (not the application); AND
• A letter of reference signed by your primary veterinarian (on his/her letterhead) confirming that he/she provides medical care for the pets in your rescue and adoption program.

Most likely you're going to fall under the second section as it takes forever to get your determination letter from the IRS.  So it's really honestly, pretty easy.  Just make sure your vet does that letter with those words!!!  Then include your adoption contract making sure it includes that all pets that are adopting must be returned to the rescue if the adoption does not work out, that all pets are spayed / neutered without any exceptions, and your rules for how the pet must be treated.  Again, after this course, see the blog entry on adoption contracts and feel free to edit it to your liking.

Because there are so many websites that you can list your pet on and updating everyone would take so much time, there is a great site that I highly recommend.  Once you've been set up through Petfinder and set up through Adopt A Pet, log in here and simply your life.  The beauty is that you enter information and photos and videos, etc in one place and the website does all the work of updating all of your sites for you!

https://www.rescuegroups.org/

After you're set up on those sites, set up social media sites.  Facebook is the most common.  Once you've set it up, start liking animal welfare pages; Pet Pardons, The Good the Bad, the Unforgivable of Pet Rescue, various pet food company sites, etc.  Post on their pages and share their postings.  By being active on the larger sites, you're getting exposure for your rescue with large numbers of people.  If you take in a really bad case, or if you get a really great adoption, post the story on those pages.  Give people a reason to follow you!  

Twitter would be a secondary account to set up with probably Pinterest being a third.  I believe there are sites that are similar to RescueGroups, where you post one update and it sends it to all of your social media pages.  Juggling multiple social media outlets was too much for me - I must be getting old - so I only use Facebook.  If you're a social media guru, or if you pick up a volunteer that is, go with it!

Last, use the news media when you can.  If you're in a small area, contact the local newspaper and see if they'll run a Pet of the Week for you on a Sunday or something.  It can fill space for them and get you some local attention.  Also, see if they'll do a story on a new rescue in the area.  This is a great time to bring up all those statistics on euthanasia and the number of homeless pets we have in the country!  If you work a big hoarding case at some point or if you get your 501c3 and receive a grant to spay / neuter, etc., call the local news media and see if they'll do a story.  Anything to get your name out there in a positive way!

Section Seven: Networking

This is a HUGE part of rescue!  For starters, the biggest resource you will ever have is another good rescue.  Sadly, there is a lot of cattiness and ego in rescue.  Do your best to always remain positive and don't let yourself get dragged down in the mud with those that like to fling it.  I cannot stress this enough!  A couple years after I started a rescue in TN, I had a dog that a co-worker had left in a small fenced lot for years.  He'd lost his home and needed to find a place for the dog and asked me to help.  I offered to courtesy list him as we just didn't have room in the rescue.

Courtesy listing is when you post the information you have and the photos of an animal on your advertising pages but don't actually have custody of the dog.  You screen adopters like you would with one of your own and it's up to you how much medical you do.  For us, if we handled a CL dog, we only did basics; vaccines, heartworm test and spay / neuter.  Because we didn't have them long enough to evaluate them or start any housebreaking or obedience training, or do any blood work or other medical for them, we reduced the adoption fee.  We had a couple contact us about adopting him, screened and approved them and started working on getting him transported.  In the meantime we were contacted by a lady that had started a rescue outside of Nashville.  I explained the dog had been adopted, at which time she offered me $500 to tell the adopters that something happened and they couldn't have him so she could.  I was highly offended; I take the ethics of rescue very seriously, and I told her as much.  She did apologize and I moved on.  Ultimately the people that adopted him noticed some serious swelling from his neuter site but didn't contact me or take him to a vet until a week later.  I was obviously not happy but made arrangements to bring him back.  In the meantime I contacted the other adopter / rescue and let her know he was coming back and needed to see the vet but when we got whatever the problem was under control that they could adopt him for the same reduced fee, not $500.  She and her husband offered to go right then and pick him up and take him to their vet and cover any cost of medical for whatever his problem was.  I agreed to that and waived her adoption fee.

Ultimately the dog had a major medical condition that was life threatening.  We offered to take him back so they wouldn't have the expense but they wanted to keep him and were willing to cover any medical.  She in the meantime got in touch with the lady that first adopted him and neglected to inform us of his medical issues or take him to a vet and became friends with her, then calling me to tell me to refund the lady's adoption fee.  We had a very large disagreement and I informed her that our policy was we do not refund fees, especially when they neglected a dog with a medical problem, and that we still had to cover his neuter and vaccines and heartworm testing.  It escalated and became a huge ordeal that lasted a good month of battling.

Since then her rescue has grown immensely.  Although I have issues with her on a personal level for obvious reasons, I do acknowledge the fact that she runs a great rescue and any animal in her care gets the absolute best vet care there is.  I would never hesitate to transfer any animal from my rescue to hers.  Will I ever call her and ask her to go have coffee with me?  No.  But it doesn't mean I can't put my personal feelings aside given that when it comes to animals she does wonderful things for them.

This is the story I tell everyone in rescue.  I don't get involved in the drama.  I don't want to know your personal feelings about another rescue.  I want to know if they get good vet care for the animals, if they screen potential adopters, if they do follow ups.  I don't care if you never want to have a slumber party with them and I won't get involved in the drama that goes along with it.

When rescues argue and bicker and a small disagreement blows up into a huge argument, animals lose.  There are a lot more puppy mills and crummy pet owners and dog fighters out there than there are rescues.  The animals need us to form a united front to help them.  Learn to put your personal feelings aside for the greater good.

Aside from rescues, you're going to need to find foster homes if you want to help more animals than you're able to care for on your own.  In most foster situations, the foster will provide the food for the pet and the place for it to live, as well as transport it to and from adoption events for the rescue.  The rescue will provide all medical and preventative medications for the pet.  I always let my foster homes see adoption applications, speak with and meet potential adopters, and be a part of the decision making process.  While no one will know that animal better than it's foster and know better what situation will be comfortable for it, no one but you will ultimately be held responsible for where it goes.  You'll need to learn how to balance the foster's opinion with your own decision.

You'll also want to reach out to people to help with transporting, cross posting, networking on social media, keeping in touch with shelters and foster homes, logging and tracking medical care and procedures, etc.  The larger your rescues, the more volunteers you'll need.

Section Six: Documentation

Regardless of whether or not you choose to be a 501c3, you'll still need to document everything you do.  Once you've taken on any responsibility for an animal, it's your responsibility for the rest of your life!  Because of that you'll want to keep a log of every single animal you've come in contact with through your rescue.  Every single animal will need it's own file.  Every single file should contain a form stating where it came from (shelter name, owner name and address with owner surrender form, or stray and where and when you found it as well as the means of listing it as found), any medical care it received, an intake information form stating the condition of the animal when it came in, and the ultimate location the animal went to.  Even if you have animals with terminal illnesses or that pass from injuries or accidents, log it and keep it!

Among the multiple forms you'll need to write and keep are:

• Intake form - this form will give the date and location an animal came from, the animal's species, breed, guesstimated age, weight, breed or mix, sex, altered status on intake, color and markings, fur type and length, and the name you've given it or that it came in with. I highly recommend adding in the condition / status report to this as well that lists a place for you to fill out any injuries that are present, any scars the pet may have, whether the pet is over, under or at ideal weight, any dental issues that are obvious, behavior / temperament issues that are observed, etc.  
• Medical form - this form will have the basic info on the dog (name, breed, sex, age, markings / color, etc) as well as lines to document dates and dosages for dewormings, heartworm and flea / tick preventative doses, combo and rabies vaccines along with the rabies certificate information (date, vet name and certificate number), any treatment or procedures done by the vet, etc.  This form will be copied and the original will be given to the new owner when adopted.  My form has a space at the bottom for the ultimate disposition of the animal (adopters info, or if death the reason and date and attach all medical forms as documentation, transferred to another rescue, etc).  This is also the form you'll attach the sticky labels from the combo vaccines to.
• Owner surrender form - make sure you fill out everything on this form, have the owner sign it, have a witness for you sign it if possible, write the owner's ID number or attach a photo of the ID that you took, and if you can, download photo of pet with owner to your computer and print it out and staple to the form.  This information and documentation will be your proof that the owner gave you the dog, so there can't be too much information on here!
• Transfer form - It's common for rescues to transfer dogs between each other.  We're in an area with a LOT of hounds that are homeless.  Sadly, finding adopters for them here is nearly impossible.  They can get one from the local on line site, so why would they adopt one from a rescue?  However, there are many great rescues up north that love the hound breeds and have approved adopters waiting for them.  I highly recommend reaching out to northern rescues.  Let them know you'd like to help the high kill shelters here and pull dogs for them and send them up.  We can vet them much cheaper too and if we can find volunteer transporters we can send them highly adoptable dogs at a tiny fraction of what it costs them up there.  It saves a lot of lives.  In doing so, you'll want to have a transfer form.  It needs to list the basic info on the dog, list your rescue and the rescue it's going to.  Make sure it says you're transferring ownership of the dog to the new rescues and that you've disclosed all information regarding the pet's health and temperament and are not liable for any medical or behavioral issues after transfer.  Keep this copy with a copy of the intake and medical form in your files and send the originals with a COPY of the transfer to the new rescue.  You always keep the original transfer form.
• Adoption application - This is the very first step any new adopter will take in bringing home one of your foster pets.  There are multiple applications on line and many rescues will happily share a copy of theirs with you.  After I've completed the entire course outline here I'll start to load my forms as well.  You're welcome to copy it and make any alterations to fit your rescue.
• Adoption contract - This will outline what you expect of the new owner.  Like the application, you'll keep the original in your file with a copy of the medical form and the original intake form.  New adopters DO NOT need the intake form unless you choose to give it to them.  I never sent it to adopters, only to rescues if transferring.  

As I screened adopters, I also printed out emails and other forms of communication and had a spot on the bottom of my application where I could keep notes about phone conversations, documenting dates and times and who I spoke with to confirm vet information, landlord confirmation, etc.  

Over time there will be other forms you'll develop.  I had them for my foster homes, my shelter coordinator, transporters as well as transport cover sheets and fax cover sheets.  But the ones listed above are a good start.  Again, I'll create the forms on here after the course outline is done and you're all welcome to copy those and edit them in any way for your own rescue.