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.
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