Ok, now we're getting to the real rescue fun stuff; saving lives!!!
By now you should have chosen your rescue's name and obtained your licenses. You should know if you're going to be registering as a federal 501c3 or if you plan on being small, even if just for now. You know why you want to start a rescue and what your mission plan is for it. A list of one year and five year goals for you to accomplish is a great start too. So now let's talk about where all these animals you'll be saving are going to come from.
The most common place rescues obtain their foster pets is from owner surrenders. This is generally the safest and best way for newer rescues as well. Because these come from private homes, even if they're not great homes, it means the chances of them having parvo as puppies or kennel cough or other illnesses and diseases that are found in large groups of dogs and cats is limited. The other great thing about owner surrenders is that in many cases you'll have time to move them to your program. This is extremely helpful and wonderful in the case of puppies. Because stress will cause puppies to break with disease that their bodies are currently building immunity to, the less amount of stress they're under, the healthier they'll be. By going to visit them first to get photos, do basic combo vaccines and start them on dewormer and then going back in a week to ten days for a second vaccine and spending time with them, when you do move them they'll have the benefit of knowing you to some degree as well as having some additional immunity due to a couple vaccines.
One thing I stress strongly to new rescues when handling owner surrenders is to document, document, document!!!! Take a camera with you as well as an owner surrender form. Get a photo of the owner holding the dog(s) that you'll be helping. You need not tell them it's a documentation situation, just that you need photos of each dog and it's helpful if they hold them since they know the owner and are more comfortable with them. After photographs, have them fill out the owner surrender form completely. I have one for a single surrender and one for a group surrender which is helpful in the case of litters of puppies or hoarding situations. After the paperwork is done, ask for their state photo ID. I consider this VERY important. I put the ID number on the surrender form and if you can get a photo of it with the camera or your cell phone, even if you have to do it discreetly - perhaps telling the owner you need to run back to your car to get something and snapping the photo there - it will further serve as proof that the owner did in fact give you legal ownership of the dog(s).
I know this sounds so paranoid, but I can't tell you how many times a rescue has taken in a sick or injured dog, spent a fortune on medical bills, only to have an owner come back when the dog is well and claim that the rescue offered to cover those expenses and get the dog healthy and then return it. I encourage all rescues to share these stories because it can help the rest of us avoid the stress of these same problems.
Keep in mind when you're picking up an owner surrender, this can be very difficult for an owner or they could want you to just take them and get out. Regardless of how bad a situation is, keep in mind that the only way to help the animals is to stay positive and friendly with the owners. Your own personal opinions and feelings must be kept completely out of every single situation in rescue. We all find ways over time that help us handle the emotions that come with this wonderful thing called rescue. You'll find your way over time, but be aware that it will eventually get to you and you will need a coping mechanism. Just always think of the potential problem that can come up and remember how important that documentation will be!
One of the most helpful things I learned was to keep a photo album of before and after photos of dogs in my rescue. Showing them in a shelter, scared in their run and then beside it all dolled up in clothes and clean beds or with their family so happy. Showing them in a hoarding situation where you can see the filthy they're in and then next to it, cuddled again with their new family in a clean environment and looking happy. Many people, especially when handling with hoarding situations, have a hard time believing their pet can love anyone else or that anyone else will love them. It helps for them to see the differences. And always remember to sympathize. Hoarding isn't done by people that don't like animals. It's people that love them but have something broken in their mind that doesn't allow them to see the problem it has become. Acknowledge the pain this is for them. But also remind them that this is going to be a great thing for the pets and that sometimes the best way to show love is to let them go.
The second most common way rescues find homeless pets is to take them from shelters. This is one of the most difficult for so many reasons. For starters, going to a shelter knowing that animals may be euthanized after you leave if you don't take them is emotionally draining. After moving our rescue to Tennessee, I only pulled from one shelter. It was a small rural shelter about four hours from me. I became very close friends with the Director who did an outstanding job. The fact was still that it was a rural area with a huge over population problem. When she had a euth day, she sent email blasts to her rescues. If she was going to be putting them down on a Friday, I'd wait until the other rescues had been there during the week to save what they could. On Friday she'd send me the list of the ones still needing rescue and I'd tell her who'd I'd take. I'd drive up there that day and take as many as I knew I could safely care for. If I couldn't save the entire euth list, I'd stop at a gas station just outside of town and cry. It was how I dealt with it. We all deal in our own way.
The other problem with shelter pulling is disease. Any time you have a single place with a lot of animals, you have a recipe for medical problems. Parvo, distemper, coccidia, intestinal parasites, kennel cough are just a tip of the iceberg of illnesses and diseases that can be brewing. Knowing how to determine if a pet has a disease that you can treat yourself and what the cost will be for treatment is vital in knowing if you can pull that dog and save it.
Other than disease, you've got the added issue of evaluating temperament in a strange and scary environment for a pet. Their behavior here will be very unlike what it will be in a home setting. If you are working with a shelter that has a separate room for adopters that's away from the noise and commotion of the shelter, that's the best place to eval a pet, especially a dog. We will go over body language and behavior / temperament issues later on. In the meantime, it's something to keep in mind if you plan on pulling from shelters. It's definitely very rewarding but has it's own set of difficulties.
The last way to bring a pet into your rescue is through strays. The problem here is evaluating temperament although it won't be as difficult as it is in a shelter setting. Also, you've got to deal with county / state laws on how long you must be in possession of the animal prior to adopting and how you must advertise it as a found pet. I'm very fortunate in my county in that we don't have a shelter here and the county is very eager to work with a rescue. When we found a stray here I called them and asked how long I needed to keep it before it could be adopted and what I needed to do to advertise it as found. All they require is for me to list it on our local on line sales site (www.golsn.com which is available in the entire state of TN) and not adopt it out or have it spayed / neutered for thirty day, after which time it was legally the rescue's dog and we could vet it and adopt it. Not all counties are this willing to work with a rescue. If you have a county run shelter they may require you to surrender it to them. This is one of the areas you'll need to check with your specific county on.
One of the most important things to keep in mind when bringing in a new animal from any situation is to quarantine! The incubation period for some diseases can last two weeks. That means for two weeks they're spreading disease and yet not showing symptoms. In the meantime, everyone else there is getting sick. Quarantining for at least two weeks gives you plenty time to observe the animal for any signs of illness, give it a chance to get to know you in a calm and quiet environment and begin to relax.
A quarantine room should be set up in your home or building somewhere. Keep a dishpan of bleach and water and a mat you can step on right at the door. Bleach going in, bleach going out. Many diseases are highly contagious. All it takes is for one dog or cat to sneeze or cough in their crate, have one single cell go airborn and land outside the crate. You go in to give them water and step in that spot, even though it may not even be visible. Then you go about your day walking around your home and property, and every place you walk you've contaminated. Diseases can have truly astounding life spans as well. Parvo for example can live for up to 18 months in a yard, just waiting for a dog to come along that has no immunity. You can't ever be too careful when it comes to adding new animals to your pack!
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