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What Is A Rescue: Organization
A rescuer is an individual or group of individuals who are dedicated to offering an animal a second chance at finding a permanent home. A solo rescuer may only be able to accommodate a single rescued animal at a time. Larger organizations utilize foster homes, individuals who offer their time and home to providing a safe haven until the animal is adopted. The goal is not to place the animal as soon as possible, but to provide sanctuary for the animal until the RIGHT home is found for that individual, no matter how long it may take to find that special home.
Fostering is not a job to be taken lightly. Many of these animals take weeks, or even months to overcome medical, social and psychological issues. In addition to providing food, shelter and love, a foster person must instill basic household manners in the animal to make it a more desirable pet to own. It is a huge commitment, one that can be difficult if it is discovered that the animal is unable to overcome ghosts from his previous life or cannot be medically stabilized.
People don't rescue with the goal of making a monetary profit. The reward comes to the heart, in knowing that an animal that previously faced an uncertain future is now safe, secure and loved.
The funding necessary to restore these animals to an adoptable condition is obtained from the adoption donations and charitable gifts. In order to insure that the next animal needing assistance can be rescued, it is necessary to recover the monetary funds put into previously rescued animals. Some organizations can receive subsidy assistance from their national breed clubs, but it never covers the full amount of expenses put into an individual animal. A heartworm positive dog will consume a minimum of 6 weeks of foster time and $400 in medical costs. Even a healthy owner turn-in will require updating vaccinations and a spay/neuter. Veterinarians are wonderful about helping rescuers by providing medical and professional service discounts, but the sheer numbers of rescued animals can be staggering, and they must recover their supply costs, at a minimum, in order to maintain their financial balance as well.
Not all Rescuers are the same.
It is an applicant and an owner's responsibility to insure that the rescuer they are dealing with is responsible, ethical and working with the animal's best interest as a priority. Another priority is the applicant's safety. There are many questions you can ask a rescuer to screen them, just as they will be screening the applicant. Are all animals altered before placement? Vaccinated? Are the dogs tested for heartworms? Have you seen the rescuer's accommodations to be sure it isn't a backyard full of kennels or a garage full of dirty crates? Are the animals already in their care healthy and happy? Do they have a good working relationship with their veterinarian? Did they come to visit your home? Do you need to sign an adoption contract? Do they ask for an adoption donation for their animals? Most importantly, will they help you with post adoption issues and if it shouldn't work out, do they REQUIRE that the animal be returned to them? If you cannot answer YES to each and every question, look for a different rescuer.
What Is A Rescue: Individual Animals
Rescued animals are not throwaways. They are not rejects. They are not just someone else's problems. They are animals who have been failed by their owners. People purchase animals on impulse, without seriously considering the time, money and commitment that animals require or without considering how large the animal will become, or how long it will live. Some owners divorce, or become ill, and can no longer care for their animals.
The majority of rescued animals have not been physically mistreated. They are often mistreated in the sense that their owners failed to provide them with the education they required to become well mannered adults. Their owners failed to provide the time they required to become emotionally stable and well balanced. Their owners failed to provide the time and place for them to exercise and build a strong body. Or their owners just failed to view them as a valued member of their family, but instead saw them as a disposable item to be discarded when they became inconvenient, when they become old and require medical care, when they moved to a new home.
Occasionally a dog comes into rescue by no fault of their owner. People end up in unavoidable situations and wanting to avoid the stress on their animal from being in a shelter, they seek out a rescue so that their animal can be housed in a home environment until it is matched with a suitable home. Situations such as job loss, financial strain, divorce, death of an owner, military transfer to an overseas location, terminal illness of an owner, can all result in a pet being released to a rescuer for re-homing.
By whichever means, the fate of the rescued animal is placed into the hands of the rescuer. It is the rescuer's job to do their very best to insure that the dog is not failed again by thoroughly screening their applicants, thoroughly screening the animals, and making the best match possible for a happy owner/pet relationship. |
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