For starters, you're going to need a veterinarian. You can certainly find a local spay / neuter clinic that works with rescues, but keep in mind they generally don't do exams, additional medications, xrays or other diagnostics, prescribe medications, etc. So if you'll be doing this regularly, you'll need a vet.
I always suggest writing up a proposal and send it to multiple vets and see what you get. I called the local spay / neuter clinic and got their prices for basic services; rabies vaccines, spay / neuter procedures for cats and dogs / males and females, heartworm testing, health certificates, etc. Then I contacted a few local vets offices to get prices on the things the clinics don't offer; exams, xrays, health certificates, etc. Then I wrote up my proposal for services based on the clinic basic pricing and knocking off about 15% from the vet pricing on other services. I also added a second line on the exams section that agreed to waive the exam fee is another service was being performed like having xrays. The only time we had to pay the exam fee was if we only need a rabies vaccine or a heartworm test or something inexpensive and simple like that. Given that exams usually run $25 and up, this can be a significant savings over time. On the very bottom line I had a space for credit limits. With our vet, we had a limit of $1000 and we had to have a zero balance going into the new year. Some vets will not give you any billing credit at first and it's something you'll need to work up to as you've been working with them a while and they trust you. However, don't think you can't put anything there. They can't say yes if you don't ask the question!
Once the proposal was set up I'd sign it and fax or email it to the local vet offices with a place for them to sign if they agree. If they called and said they could do it but wanted us to pay $xx for such and such service, we'd haggle over the phone until we agreed. I'd then re-do the proposal for the agreed amounts and send it back over for them to sign. KEEP THIS SIGNED FORM FROM THE VET IN A FILE! If there are pricing disputes at any time you'll need it!! Also keep in mind that in the rural areas of Tennessee, finding a vet that will work with you can be difficult. We had to drive an hour, but for us it was worth it.
Ok, so you've got your vet and hopefully you've found a low cost spay / neuter clinic that works with rescues as an emergency back up. ALWAYS have an emergency back up of some form! Now you need to invest in the supplies that you keep on hand. For starters, you need basic medical supplies like alcohol, peroxide, betadine or iodine, gauze pads, vet wrap, antibiotic ointments, gloves, Qtips and cotton balls, nail trimmers, Benadryl (generic is fine but it must be ONLY diphenhydramine - I buy the 25mg WalMart brand of 100 capsules for $4), plain asprin, puppy pads or chux, blankets and bath mats to put in dog crates, pill cutter and pill crusher, saline solution, high quality clippers and scissors, pet shampoos, athlete's foot cream (treats ringworm), and canned pumpkin (for treating intestinal upset). Most of these things you can grab from your local big box store or grocery store.
You'll also want the more serious medications:
- Ivomec which is a cattle and pig medication but also the easiest and cheapest way to prevent heartworm
- Antibiotics - you can purchase antibiotics over the counter at your local pet store in the aquarium section. Amoxicilin and Cephalexin are the most common.
- Combo vaccines - We always used Galaxy brand DAPPv (now made by Nobivac) and had no reactions at all. I do NOT EVER recommend a vaccine with lepto in it. Unless there is a lepto outbreak in your area and your dogs will be trampling through standing water in the woods, there is absolutely no reason to ever vaccinate them for it. Lepto has the highest rate of complications of any vaccine on the market and I see no point in subjecting any animal to it. We ordered our vaccines from Jeffers Pet on line. You do not need a prescription and can probably get the aquarium antibiotics from them as well. If you're ordering in the summer, get the extra ice packs and the better cooler. Vaccines must be kept cool or it will kill the virus and it's like vaccinating with water!
- Syrings, both with and without needles
- Dewormer - I use SafeGuard. It's a goat dewormer but the same ingredient as PanacurC for dogs. You really can't over dose a dog with it and unlike many of the other dewormers out there it's a broad spectrum so it kills all of the intestinal parasites, not just two or three. If you're going to deworm, you might as well get it all from the beginning
- CapStar - oral pill for getting rid of fleas quickly. Order through your vet.
- NutriCal - you can probably order this when you order your vaccines. It's great for sick dogs or young puppies, giving them the extra nutrients they need when they're stressed.
Accidents will happen, and if you have puppies, it'll happen a lot. Keeping a case of paper towels and a few gallons of bleach is a big help. If you have puppies, you'll also want to keep large bottles of vinegar on hand in case you have coccidia pop up. The symptoms are very similar to parvo, but unlike parvo it can't be killed by bleaching the area. Vinegar is the only thing that might kill it, but you've got to soak it a long time. Coccidia is straight from hell!
Ok, so you've got all your supplies, you know where the animals are coming from that you're going to save. Now you need to know how to care for them. First, if you don't know how to give a vaccine to a dog or cat, watch this link. As you watch, remember that gravity is your friend. I don't know why they've got her holding the vial at an angle. It's MUCH easier if you hold the vial upside down and let gravity help you out. Aside from that it truly is as easy as they say. If you're vaccinating wiggly puppies, it's easier if you have someone help out by holding them for you. I also massage the area the vaccine was administered after to help break up the lump it creates.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSWWlBUlp1o
The next thing you need to decide is your vaccination schedule. Realize that the situation your in and that the pet is in will change how you vaccinate. Pets in shelters, especially puppies, will get A LOT of vaccines. The more vaccines a pet gets, the more likely it is to wind up with vaccinosis. Given the choice between a slight chance of vaccinosis and a real risk of parvo or distemper in a shelter, the shelter should lean on the side of caution and vaccinate once a week. After the puppy has reached 12 to 14 weeks the vaccines can stop, but this means a puppy that's entering a shelter at 6 weeks old and vaccinated until 14 weeks old will get eight vaccines! Out of the shelter however, if you've taken a litter of owner surrenders, in theory your surroundings shouldn't be as dangerous. You can vaccinate every two weeks starting at six weeks of age and vaccinating for a series of four vaccines with the last being give when the puppy is 12 weeks of age. Half what they get in a shelter.
When I had juvi dogs, I chose to do a series of two vaccines if they were under a year but over 12 weeks. They'd get their first vaccine and then a follow up vaccine two weeks later. Dogs over a year old got only a single vaccine. You'll need a form to complete that logs the date and information on the dog when you vaccinate. Make sure it has room on the form for the small label from the vaccine bottle and make sure it's from the vaccine, not the sterile water vial. The new owners will need to log this with their vet as it has the batch numbers and expiration dates.
As for dogs in your rescue long term, you'll need to decide how often you vaccinate. The AVMA recommends annual combo vaccines. The AAHA recommends the vaccines be broken down into individual vaccines and that they be given anywhere from every three to seven years. I personally only give my dogs an annual combo vaccine every five years or so. This is something you'll need to read and study yourself and make your own decision.
The next step is deworming. If you've bought SafeGuard, you can safely dose 1cc per every five pounds of body weight. Dose once per day for three days in a row and try to dose at the same time each day. For example if you have a 35 pound dog that comes in, you'll give them 7cc of SafeGuard per day for three days. SafeGuard can be added to the dogs food for dosing and works really well if you've got some canned food in there with them.
After this you'll want your vet to examine them. A rabies vaccination as long as they appear healthy and are at the age requirements for your state should also be done as well as a heartworm test. As long as the heartworm test is negative, you can give monthly preventative at home with the Ivomec. Dosage is 1/10 of a cc per 10 pounds of body weight, rounding up at 6 pound increments. Sound complicated? It's really not. For a 27 pound dog treatment would be:
1-6 pounds = .1cc
7-15 pounds = .1cc
16-25 pounds = .1cc
26-27 pounds = .1cc
So the total dosage would be .4cc once a month. It should be given ORALLY - NEVER EVER inject Ivomec into your dogs! If you have a dog that tests light positive for heartworm, ask your vet if they feel that the slow treatment method would work. This is simply dosing the dog with the preventative each month like you would for a heartworm negative dog and then retesting in six months. You'd continue to retest until they come up negative. The upside to this method is it saves you anywhere from $300 to $1000 in treatment the standard way. The downside is that while you're treating, there will still be heartworms eating away at the heart muscle and there is a risk that the dying heartworms can lodge in the veins and cause death. It's a small risk, but it is something to consider.
Fleas / ticks are another persistent issue for any rescue. Because they can cause itching which can lead to skin damage and infection, as well as serious skin issues for one with an allergy, flea / tick preventative is a must. Fleas also can carry the microscopic eggs of intestinal parasite and cause anemia, and in severe cases even death.
Because there are so very many diseases and each has it's own symptoms and treatments, there's just no way to go over it in a blog. I'd highly recommend you read up on at least parvo, distemper, coccidia, and campylobachter. Parvo, coccidia, and campy all have very similar symptoms but very different treatments. There are ways to mix your own Albon for coccidia, but again, it's so indepth that it's easier if you just do your own research.
And lastly, the MOST important part of rescue, spay and neuter. We currently euthanize over 4 MILLION pets every single year. It's not for health issues or behavior problems. It's simply because there are more pets than there are homes. Pets wind up in shelters for a multitude of reasons, but one common factor is the lack of reproductive altering. Especially in our area, it's highly unusual for an animal to be in a shelter if it's been spayed or neutered. Why?
Male dogs for one are known to roam. Blame it on the hormones. They're like teens boys at a school dance. Looking for a good time. Because of this they wind up in bad situations and get lost and picked up by local animal controls. And they're the lucky ones. Others wind up on a farm harassing a farmer's cattle and are shot. Others are hit by cars, die of starvation, get sick or injured and die of that. Sadly, there are also the people that prey on the unsupervised animals, using them as bait in their dog fighting rings. These animals are taken back to compounds, have their jaws and hips broke to keep them from escaping or fighting back. They are then thrown into a ring with a dog that's been taught to kill. Slowly, they're literally ripped into pieces until they die from the injuries. The lucky ones die pretty quickly. Others however are thrown in rivers or lakes to drown, are electrocuted, are shot, or are just left in the woods to slowly die from their injuries.
Female dogs will go wandering when they're in heat, looking for a mate. As the pregnancy progressed they may wander off again to have their puppies in the safety of the woods. Born away from humans, these unsocialized puppies seldom will approach people and grow up and continue to reproduce where they are. They'll suffer the same fates as the males that wander. The ones picked up by animal control are usually deemed unadoptable and are euthanized immediately.
Aside from all this, the ones kept as pets that are allowed to breed are usually given to family and friends or the guy down the road. The most recent statistics that I've found showed that for each litter of ten puppies born, only one will find a home for the entirety of it's life. The others will be bounced from home to home, wind up on the streets, hit by a car, be surrendered to a shelter, etc. When you start to take breed into account it gets worse. The pitbull type breeds are by far the worst off in shelters and the most in need of help. Aside from being completely misunderstood and abused by humans, they're also one of the most bred dog in the country. One in fourteen puppies born will even live to be a year old.
As you get into rescue, and probably before rescue, you'll hear about the 'No Kill Nation'. Many jumped on board with their huge hearts, thinking finally some one found a way to save every single homeless animal in the country! It sounds wonderful, right? Unfortunately the numbers don't add up. In our country there is only a set number of people that will adopt a pet each year. Estimates are that appx 8 million pets enter our shelters every year. Of them, roughly half will be adopted or saved by a rescue. That leaves about four million a year being euthanized for lack of a home. To believe that there is a home for every homeless pet, you'd have to believe that EVERY YEAR an additional four million families will adopt a pet. Keep in mind, it's not just once. They would have to do that every single year. By the end of a decade they'd be living with ten additional dogs. It's just not logical.
So what's the answer? Spay and neuter. Simple. The only way to stop so many unwanted / homeless pets from entering shelters is to stop that many from being born. And there is some good news. In the 70s we were euthanizing about 12 million per year. So we're dropping fast. Right now estimates are that 83% of dogs and 91% of cats owned by families are spayed / neutered. So we're headed in the right direction. But keep in mind, these are guesstimates and they only take into account pets currently in homes. It doesn't account for the number of stray pets and those in breeder's home and puppy mills.
Overwhelming? Yeh, a bit. But our country is headed in the right direction and it's due in large part to people like you. Those that love animals and want to make a difference and do things the right way. So learn the facts and make sure as you pass people in town or stand next to them in the check out lines that you bring it up. The more educated the public has become, the fewer animals have had to give the ultimate sacrifice for our ignorance.
Now............on to Section Five!
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