Posts
The following is out of my Rescue Guide from the chapter entitled Process, which follows the Preparation chapter posted previously:
1) Now that you know everything about your animal you can determine what its ideal home is. If you cannot determine an ideal home; you are not yet prepared. Do not proceed until you are confident in this knowledge. When you are ready, write down the Ideal Home for this animal. Commit it to memory.
2) Write an ad. Ideally your ad will generate calls from people who have interest, but would need to ask you questions. In other words; you don’t want to say too much in your ad. You want to say what the animal is, the sex, and the price. But above all you want to state that the candidate will be scrutinized. The whole point of this ad is to discourage any riff-raff from calling you, but let through true candidates. You don’t have time to waste on anyone who is not a potential candidate. Let me repeat: You don’t have time to waste on anyone who is not a potential candidate. You and your animal will suffer in this case.
Example ad (bold AND capitalize “approved home”):
To APPROVED HOME only: male bunny, neutered, $75, 555-555-5555
In this example you are stating right up front that you will be scrutinizing the candidates. You are telling breeders “don’t call here.” You are also saying “no freebies here.” Also keep in mind you must use a price that is competitive with like rescues regardless as to what the same animals “go for” at the local pet store/breeder: Remember, you want to attract attention from someone who is interested in adoption, not in “purchasing merchandise.” Also, most rescues determine their prices, by how much they have invested in the animals under their care, such as for neutering, vaccines, vet checks and so on. You have made these same investments, and are justified in asking similar amounts as they are. Last but not least; this short little ad is cheap.
3) Place the ad. Use commonly read newspapers in your area; it's of no use wasting your money on ads that will be read by people umpteen miles away…most are not willing to drive that far. However, those few people who are willing to drive that far will find your ad on the Internet. So do make sure that wherever you place the ad will also give you Internet exposure. Try also to find ad deals like the,“2 lines 4 day special” kind. Use a deal like this to run the ad Thursday through Sunday. Do not advertise in Penny saver type papers; those readers are looking for “free” animal ads. Do use Craigslist, but be sure to give no indication that this animal is free. If you haven't figured it out yet; Free To Good Home ads are no way to actually get a good home for this animal.
Note: Do not place your ad around any important holidays. Do not place your ad just before Halloween. Most sophisticated rescues know that cats, especially black cats are targeted by weirdos (I will not define this word for any one's sake...you know who you are) during this holiday. Do not place your ad just before Easter…especially if you have any kind of caged animals to adopt out. Especially do not place your ad before Christmas. Allow at least one month before in this case, and one month after. If however, a potential candidate contacts you and the intent is to give a pet as any other sort of gift, such as for a birthday, educate this individual as to why it's discouraged to give animals as gifts, and invite them to contact you at some future date.
My next post will continue with this same chapter.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Monday, August 18, 2008
Why do we have so many Rescues?
I'm sure at some point someone from a much younger generation, or even a depression-era person has asked this question. Perhaps one day the realization of the sheer numbers of available rescues in any given metropolitan region struck this person as huge.
Everyone else besides this eclectic group member who are in some way involved with rescue knows we have a serious overpopulation problem with unwanted animals in this country. And we know we have had this problem for decades upon decades now.
I thought as many did 20 or so years ago that education would stop the problem. Instead the problem has grown phenomenally in the oh-so-wrong direction. Twenty years ago I did research on how many unwanted animals were put to death in this country. The figure was at about 90,000 per year. Today, according to the Humane Society of the United States the figure stands at about 3 to 4 million. That's per year.
I'm sure many will agree that it is a problem of out-of-control breeding. We've got Greyhound breeding for the dog track, and look at where those "surplus" dogs end up; either they are "disappeared" as my Dad used to say when he worked at an auto wrecking yard taking wrecked cars apart as a kid. Or a few lucky ones end up in a Greyhound rescue. The same is true in the horse industry. Except they often end up at meat-auctions as well.
We've got people buying "pure-bred" dogs and cats at pet stores...that are in existence due to the hard-at-work "Heartland" petmills; or from road-side displayed signs; or from backyard breeders. If you walk into an animal shelter, you'll find 30% there are purebred. That's out of 6 million taken in every year in nationwide shelters according to the HSUS.
We've also got people breeding and "domesticating" birds and rodents for "colors." Now those same animals are so inbred they can barely make it through couple of years of life without dying from some nasty disease. I've seen it in pet rats, mice and hamsters. Also, years ago Parakeets would normally live to be 12 years of age, and Cockatiels would live to be 18. Today you'd consider yourself lucky if one you had made it to 5 years of age. Also many of today's purebred dogs and cats have got cancer, or tumors, major organ failure, blindness, deafness, birth-defects, or a myriad of other diseases plaguing them at an overwhelming rate.
And what's point of all this? Money. Plain and simple. To some the end result of dollars disguised as self-importance is their life's goal, and the fact that that was achieved by sacrificing countless animals' lives does not matter one bit.
Yes, I've heard all the reasonable arguments: "We have to preserve the breeds," or; "We have to keep the breed pure," or; "I'm not inbreeding...I'm breeding for Type." And on, and on, and on. I say to all of them: Read Darwin; if you are disallowing Natural Selection, which "Is the process by which favorable heritable traits become more common in successive generations of a population of reproducing organisms, and unfavorable heritable traits become less common, due to differential reproduction of genotypes," then you are inbreeding!
Now we've even got the more enterprising breeders who figured out that some out-crossing results in a more viable animal...not to mention a more inflated price tag. Think: Labra-doodles, Cock-a-poos, Puggles, Terry-poos, Chi-weinees....etc. But it's a little too late isn't it? We can find copious amounts of those "breeds" in Rescues too.
Basically as a civilized society we just can't go on like this. Many when considering the definition of a civilized society immediately think of the criminal element in their community. But I ask you is not a person who keeps a female animal in a cage for a decade breeding it over and over every 6 months during that time until it dies a criminal? Is not a person who produces purebred animals knowing each one comes with a laundry list of major health problems, then sells them for $1000 each to people who with very little doubt will have to spend thousands more in Vet bills on those animals a criminal? Is not this same person who while engaging in his/her "enterprise" denies basic needs such as food, water, and health-checks to these animals a criminal? After all no one can deny that anti-cruelty laws exist, and are enforceable by such standards, not to mention violation of anti-fraud laws.
So what is the answer then? We have the answer here to the question at the top of this post I think, but do we have the answer to the big question, the one that asks how do we stop this problem?
We can perhaps pass legislation that addresses rampant breeding of unnecessary animals. Or pass laws that steer people into looking first in the burgeoning population of homeless animals languishing currently in rescues and shelters for that first doggy for Johnny or Susie rather than to a breeder. Or it could be a tax-burdened law...you know...breed animals...pay hefty taxes. Kinda like the vice-taxes we have now. After all every tax-paying American Citizen is already burdened with extra taxes to treat the symptoms of this problem. Or how about a government rebate? The slogan could be: Adopt A Pet - Get A Check. Or instead will we just let the situation get so bad that the very act of breeding animals will be a criminal offense? Our jails and prisons are already overcrowded though aren't they?
Of course when discussing passing legislation, one must always consider that there is a risk that such laws will in the end be designed to self-serve the politicians who enacted them. Couldn't we instead figure this out on our own? However, I'll be the first to admit, no one has The Answer. Though it pains me to do so. I, a strong advocate of education admitting it didn't work.
Help me out here folks. Throw me a bone....pun not intended.
Everyone else besides this eclectic group member who are in some way involved with rescue knows we have a serious overpopulation problem with unwanted animals in this country. And we know we have had this problem for decades upon decades now.
I thought as many did 20 or so years ago that education would stop the problem. Instead the problem has grown phenomenally in the oh-so-wrong direction. Twenty years ago I did research on how many unwanted animals were put to death in this country. The figure was at about 90,000 per year. Today, according to the Humane Society of the United States the figure stands at about 3 to 4 million. That's per year.
I'm sure many will agree that it is a problem of out-of-control breeding. We've got Greyhound breeding for the dog track, and look at where those "surplus" dogs end up; either they are "disappeared" as my Dad used to say when he worked at an auto wrecking yard taking wrecked cars apart as a kid. Or a few lucky ones end up in a Greyhound rescue. The same is true in the horse industry. Except they often end up at meat-auctions as well.
We've got people buying "pure-bred" dogs and cats at pet stores...that are in existence due to the hard-at-work "Heartland" petmills; or from road-side displayed signs; or from backyard breeders. If you walk into an animal shelter, you'll find 30% there are purebred. That's out of 6 million taken in every year in nationwide shelters according to the HSUS.
We've also got people breeding and "domesticating" birds and rodents for "colors." Now those same animals are so inbred they can barely make it through couple of years of life without dying from some nasty disease. I've seen it in pet rats, mice and hamsters. Also, years ago Parakeets would normally live to be 12 years of age, and Cockatiels would live to be 18. Today you'd consider yourself lucky if one you had made it to 5 years of age. Also many of today's purebred dogs and cats have got cancer, or tumors, major organ failure, blindness, deafness, birth-defects, or a myriad of other diseases plaguing them at an overwhelming rate.
And what's point of all this? Money. Plain and simple. To some the end result of dollars disguised as self-importance is their life's goal, and the fact that that was achieved by sacrificing countless animals' lives does not matter one bit.
Yes, I've heard all the reasonable arguments: "We have to preserve the breeds," or; "We have to keep the breed pure," or; "I'm not inbreeding...I'm breeding for Type." And on, and on, and on. I say to all of them: Read Darwin; if you are disallowing Natural Selection, which "Is the process by which favorable heritable traits become more common in successive generations of a population of reproducing organisms, and unfavorable heritable traits become less common, due to differential reproduction of genotypes," then you are inbreeding!
Now we've even got the more enterprising breeders who figured out that some out-crossing results in a more viable animal...not to mention a more inflated price tag. Think: Labra-doodles, Cock-a-poos, Puggles, Terry-poos, Chi-weinees....etc. But it's a little too late isn't it? We can find copious amounts of those "breeds" in Rescues too.
Basically as a civilized society we just can't go on like this. Many when considering the definition of a civilized society immediately think of the criminal element in their community. But I ask you is not a person who keeps a female animal in a cage for a decade breeding it over and over every 6 months during that time until it dies a criminal? Is not a person who produces purebred animals knowing each one comes with a laundry list of major health problems, then sells them for $1000 each to people who with very little doubt will have to spend thousands more in Vet bills on those animals a criminal? Is not this same person who while engaging in his/her "enterprise" denies basic needs such as food, water, and health-checks to these animals a criminal? After all no one can deny that anti-cruelty laws exist, and are enforceable by such standards, not to mention violation of anti-fraud laws.
So what is the answer then? We have the answer here to the question at the top of this post I think, but do we have the answer to the big question, the one that asks how do we stop this problem?
We can perhaps pass legislation that addresses rampant breeding of unnecessary animals. Or pass laws that steer people into looking first in the burgeoning population of homeless animals languishing currently in rescues and shelters for that first doggy for Johnny or Susie rather than to a breeder. Or it could be a tax-burdened law...you know...breed animals...pay hefty taxes. Kinda like the vice-taxes we have now. After all every tax-paying American Citizen is already burdened with extra taxes to treat the symptoms of this problem. Or how about a government rebate? The slogan could be: Adopt A Pet - Get A Check. Or instead will we just let the situation get so bad that the very act of breeding animals will be a criminal offense? Our jails and prisons are already overcrowded though aren't they?
Of course when discussing passing legislation, one must always consider that there is a risk that such laws will in the end be designed to self-serve the politicians who enacted them. Couldn't we instead figure this out on our own? However, I'll be the first to admit, no one has The Answer. Though it pains me to do so. I, a strong advocate of education admitting it didn't work.
Help me out here folks. Throw me a bone....pun not intended.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Live In A Rural Area?
If you live in rural Arizona chances are you've run into a fantastic array of wild animals living on or around your property. Maybe you've seen some wild animals that have been sick or injured. Maybe you wanted to help but didn't know how.
Rescuing wild animals is a whole other ball game compared to rescuing domestic animals. Even rescuing wild rabbits can be difficult.
I've found some great guidelines in this website: http://www.cuhumane.org/topics/wildlife.html
They can definitely help you if you want to rehabilitate a wild animal every now and again.
For someone more ambitious who's interested in starting a whole wildlife rescue I found this great online course: http://www.universalclass.com/i/crn/30365.htm
$25 is the basic course with no certificate and $50 gets you a certificate and 3 Continuing Education Units (CEU).
Need someplace to take a wild animal? Check out the Tucson Wildlife Center: http://tucsonwildlife.com/index.html
Rescuing wild animals is a whole other ball game compared to rescuing domestic animals. Even rescuing wild rabbits can be difficult.
I've found some great guidelines in this website: http://www.cuhumane.org/topics/wildlife.html
They can definitely help you if you want to rehabilitate a wild animal every now and again.
For someone more ambitious who's interested in starting a whole wildlife rescue I found this great online course: http://www.universalclass.com/i/crn/30365.htm
$25 is the basic course with no certificate and $50 gets you a certificate and 3 Continuing Education Units (CEU).
Need someplace to take a wild animal? Check out the Tucson Wildlife Center: http://tucsonwildlife.com/index.html
Animal CPR Classes
Finding yourself in an emergency situation with an animal can be daunting if you're not properly equipped with the skills to perform CPR.
Classes in Arizona are offered by the The Humane Society of Southern Arizona and the American Red Cross Southern Arizona Chapter. These classes will cover topics such as:
● Recognize an emergency.
● Determine what information to give the veterinarian.
● Administer animal cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
● Identify poisons and other dangers to pets.
● Safely handle injured animals.
● Receive tips for preventing animal emergencies.
All for $25.
To register, or for information on the classes, please contact
Pennie Liebig at 520.881.7406
Classes in Arizona are offered by the The Humane Society of Southern Arizona and the American Red Cross Southern Arizona Chapter. These classes will cover topics such as:
● Recognize an emergency.
● Determine what information to give the veterinarian.
● Administer animal cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
● Identify poisons and other dangers to pets.
● Safely handle injured animals.
● Receive tips for preventing animal emergencies.
All for $25.
To register, or for information on the classes, please contact
Pennie Liebig at 520.881.7406
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
A Request for the Arizona, East Valley area
Play all day with Pets, Volunteer at our adoption events!
We are looking for volunteers for our Saturday or Sunday Petsmart Adoptions Events. As a volunteer you would spend the day (10 a.m. – 4 p.m.) at Petsmart talking to people about our pets we have for adoption, playing with the pets and letting customers play with them too. It is a great way to spend the day playing with pets, talking to people and hanging out with a friend, significant other or another volunteer all while helping to find permanent loving homes for our pets. We need 2 volunteers per day so you can volunteer with someone you know or meet someone new.
We are also looking for transporters who can bring the pets to Petsmart and back. Someone with a truck that can bring 3 – 4 dogs in crates is ideal, but even a car that can fit 1 – 2 crates would be great too.
For more info please contact Jodi Polanski at 480-688-7899 or Jodi@LostOurHome.org
www.LostOurHome.org
Editor's note: This is rescue group formed by Real Estate Professionals in the Maricopa County area. If you click on the title to this post it will take you to their website. There you'll find help to aid you with your pets in your difficult time if you are about to lose your home. Check it out!
We are looking for volunteers for our Saturday or Sunday Petsmart Adoptions Events. As a volunteer you would spend the day (10 a.m. – 4 p.m.) at Petsmart talking to people about our pets we have for adoption, playing with the pets and letting customers play with them too. It is a great way to spend the day playing with pets, talking to people and hanging out with a friend, significant other or another volunteer all while helping to find permanent loving homes for our pets. We need 2 volunteers per day so you can volunteer with someone you know or meet someone new.
We are also looking for transporters who can bring the pets to Petsmart and back. Someone with a truck that can bring 3 – 4 dogs in crates is ideal, but even a car that can fit 1 – 2 crates would be great too.
For more info please contact Jodi Polanski at 480-688-7899 or Jodi@LostOurHome.org
www.LostOurHome.org
Editor's note: This is rescue group formed by Real Estate Professionals in the Maricopa County area. If you click on the title to this post it will take you to their website. There you'll find help to aid you with your pets in your difficult time if you are about to lose your home. Check it out!
Monday, August 11, 2008
Continuation: Assessing your Adoptee
The following is out of the Preparation section of my Rescue Guide:
1) Learn about your animal:
Find information on the species/animal needing rescuing. Ideally you want to educate yourself with knowledge on the subject of this animal on a higher level than what the average person would know.
Areas of Focus:
· How to determine the sex
· How to determine the age
· Known/Common illnesses
· Average Lifespan (in captivity if an exotic animal)
· Ideal food (ask people who are nutrition experts of this animal...it likely will not necessarily be a Vet nor a food manufacturer)
· What are ideal living/sleeping environments (temperature-light, etc.)?
· What are this animal’s predators or common causes of premature death?
· What other types/sizes of animals can co-habitate with this animal?
· What kinds of people are good companions for this animal?
· In what kinds of dwellings would these people be living?
Other Information Resources:
· Other Rescue Organizations of this type of Animal, i.e.; Breed Rescues (see link to left)
· The Internet
· The Library
· New/Used book stores
· Breeders (be careful here – listen for old-wives-tales & panic-mode theories, and some also may be subjective and self-serving)
· Breed Associations or Show clubs (same as above)
2) Set up your animal in its ideal living conditions within your means as quickly as possible.
3) Prepare the animal. These are subject to the animal’s condition at the time of rescue.
Ideally the animal should be in good physical condition for the following actions:
Areas of Focus:
· Spay or Neuter the animal (if applicable).
· Test for common incurables (do these ASAP, especially if
disease is suspected).
· Inoculate for common illnesses if tests are negative (regardless if
you “believe” in vaccines or not, what must be considered is where the animal will end up at the end of this process. If you decide to keep it yourself then you can discontinue vaccines at your discretion).
If you need clarification on any of the above points feel free to ask.
1) Learn about your animal:
Find information on the species/animal needing rescuing. Ideally you want to educate yourself with knowledge on the subject of this animal on a higher level than what the average person would know.
Areas of Focus:
· How to determine the sex
· How to determine the age
· Known/Common illnesses
· Average Lifespan (in captivity if an exotic animal)
· Ideal food (ask people who are nutrition experts of this animal...it likely will not necessarily be a Vet nor a food manufacturer)
· What are ideal living/sleeping environments (temperature-light, etc.)?
· What are this animal’s predators or common causes of premature death?
· What other types/sizes of animals can co-habitate with this animal?
· What kinds of people are good companions for this animal?
· In what kinds of dwellings would these people be living?
Other Information Resources:
· Other Rescue Organizations of this type of Animal, i.e.; Breed Rescues (see link to left)
· The Internet
· The Library
· New/Used book stores
· Breeders (be careful here – listen for old-wives-tales & panic-mode theories, and some also may be subjective and self-serving)
· Breed Associations or Show clubs (same as above)
2) Set up your animal in its ideal living conditions within your means as quickly as possible.
3) Prepare the animal. These are subject to the animal’s condition at the time of rescue.
Ideally the animal should be in good physical condition for the following actions:
Areas of Focus:
· Spay or Neuter the animal (if applicable).
· Test for common incurables (do these ASAP, especially if
disease is suspected).
· Inoculate for common illnesses if tests are negative (regardless if
you “believe” in vaccines or not, what must be considered is where the animal will end up at the end of this process. If you decide to keep it yourself then you can discontinue vaccines at your discretion).
If you need clarification on any of the above points feel free to ask.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
How are you assessing your adoptees?
When I had my own rescue in CA years ago, I would take whatever time was needed to assess the animals in my care to determine the best kinds of homes they would thrive in. I had no special technological skills to do this, however it got done. Sometimes it would take over a year to determine a certain animal's outcome. That didn't matter however, as I figured that the better I hit the nail on the head, the better the chances the newly placed animal would remain in that chosen home for the remainder of its natural life.
In fact only one dog came back during those 16 years. It was because I neglected to do an initial home visit to determine if the home was suitable, not because of a mistaken assessment. The home was not suitable, and the Adopter had lied to me regarding that. Lesson learned.....I never let that happen again. But that's another post for another day.
All I did was focus on the animal during normal routines and experiences throughout the day. Basically I let nature take its course. Barring actual fighting, for when it did occur I naturally nipped it in the bud right off. In the meanwhile I watched and learned, and noted the patterns developing.
For example; we had a female Scotty named Beatrice who tormented her own adult daughter relentlessly. When she wasn't doing that she was peeing or pooping in the middle of our bed. She was clearly sending, "I'm unhappy," messages to us as well as fighting for her spot in the world with her daughter. At about the age of 5 years she was adopted by a single mature woman who had a great deal of experience with Scotties, and had no other animals or humans living with her. This dog had not one behavior problem with this lady from day one, and lived to be 16 years old under her care.
We also had a female Chihuahua named Lucy. We had estimated her age to be about 8 or 9 years. She was quite set in her ways. She had no behavior problems, but she was not thriving in our home. She wanted to just sit in your lap all day, or at least be right by you at all times when you sat down. As our house was busy all day at the time, and noisy as well, she was disturbed by all the activity, and could never relax. On top of that she didn't like children and was nippy with them.
One day a family brought their elderly mother who was wheelchair bound to see her. This lady had had a little dog who had since died about a year before of old age. I asked her if I could put Lucy in her lap. She was frail, but confident, and said, "Yes," in a strong voice. We all stood around and watched as Lucy looked up at her in her cautious way. The lady reached out very slowly, but not fearfully and began caressing Lucy's head and body. Lucy closed her eyes and bowed her head down, and I kid you not she was smiling. In the next instant Lucy was curled up in her lap as contented as she could be. Tears were rolling down my face. I knew it was a perfect match.
Do you have stories to share? Please do...someone might need to hear about it. They might be stuck in finding that perfect home for one of their charges.
In fact only one dog came back during those 16 years. It was because I neglected to do an initial home visit to determine if the home was suitable, not because of a mistaken assessment. The home was not suitable, and the Adopter had lied to me regarding that. Lesson learned.....I never let that happen again. But that's another post for another day.
All I did was focus on the animal during normal routines and experiences throughout the day. Basically I let nature take its course. Barring actual fighting, for when it did occur I naturally nipped it in the bud right off. In the meanwhile I watched and learned, and noted the patterns developing.
For example; we had a female Scotty named Beatrice who tormented her own adult daughter relentlessly. When she wasn't doing that she was peeing or pooping in the middle of our bed. She was clearly sending, "I'm unhappy," messages to us as well as fighting for her spot in the world with her daughter. At about the age of 5 years she was adopted by a single mature woman who had a great deal of experience with Scotties, and had no other animals or humans living with her. This dog had not one behavior problem with this lady from day one, and lived to be 16 years old under her care.
We also had a female Chihuahua named Lucy. We had estimated her age to be about 8 or 9 years. She was quite set in her ways. She had no behavior problems, but she was not thriving in our home. She wanted to just sit in your lap all day, or at least be right by you at all times when you sat down. As our house was busy all day at the time, and noisy as well, she was disturbed by all the activity, and could never relax. On top of that she didn't like children and was nippy with them.
One day a family brought their elderly mother who was wheelchair bound to see her. This lady had had a little dog who had since died about a year before of old age. I asked her if I could put Lucy in her lap. She was frail, but confident, and said, "Yes," in a strong voice. We all stood around and watched as Lucy looked up at her in her cautious way. The lady reached out very slowly, but not fearfully and began caressing Lucy's head and body. Lucy closed her eyes and bowed her head down, and I kid you not she was smiling. In the next instant Lucy was curled up in her lap as contented as she could be. Tears were rolling down my face. I knew it was a perfect match.
Do you have stories to share? Please do...someone might need to hear about it. They might be stuck in finding that perfect home for one of their charges.
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