how does rescue work??
 Can yall educate us on this please? They also want to know how many you decide to keep and why you keep the ones you do?? Full of questions...... |
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Quote: I often show my kids and husband pictures of everybodies sheepies on here. I'll tell them when some of you run OES rescue groups. They always ask how yall do it? Who pays for spay/neutering? Shots? ETC... they know from our 3 how expensive it can be. So I'd thought Id ask so I have an answer next time instead of "Im not real sure". Can yall educate us on this please? They also want to know how many you decide to keep and why you keep the ones you do?? Full of questions...... When I had the rescue here, I paid for the spay/neuter and hoped to recoup it in adoption fees. Larger organizations have to raise money by various means to make end meet. They are 501C3 non profit organizations which helps with finances, but really adds to paper work. One of the biggest fund raisers is New England OES rescue with their on line auction and their local auction. They often share money with other rescues in emergency situations. I never had a fund raiser though was getting to the point I was going to need to. Fortunately I had a generous vet who gave big discounts, I also used the city's services for spay/neuter and vaccinations whenever possible. I housed all dogs here, did all the shave downs, etc. Some groups will send the dogs to a commercial kennel for awhile, another money eater. About half of my dogs were locals, the others came from far and wide....I remember trips to El Paso, 240 miles south. yeah, it was the finances that ended it for me.....and my husband's health. As for giving them up for adoption, we failed a few times. Jack was a biter. I had put down one biter before. He nailed his owner rather badly....after a year in his new home. I felt horrible about it and vowed to try to keep any future biters. Also I couldn't risk a law suit. Others bonded with the guys here and I couldn't break up the pack.......Fox for example. Harry isn't a full sheepdog and people weren't interested in him, but in the mean time he welded himself to my heart. Several others were also welding to us but we knew it was because they needed a home. They got them, probably better than here as they were "only" dogs or one of two, not one of seven. |
| Wow seven dogs. We currently have four and we see others on rescue site. We stay away from adoption fairs because we are softies and we always have feelings for these animals. It is so hard not to adopt but you can't have them all. But one day you never know we will find another that touches our heart and it will have a forever home and be number five. |
| I help out as I'm able, with the Old English Sheepdog Rescue Network of the South East. They are a 501c3, and depend on charitable donations and fund raisers. By getting that 501c3 certification, the Rescue is officially a non-profit, and any money donated is a tax write off- so that helps encourage people to donate. I also think that there is some program, through the OESCA maybe?, that gives 501c3's some kind of financial support on a per-dog adopted out basis. I don't know the exact details of that, and am probably getting it wrong- so don't quote me! Like SheepieBoss was saying, sometimes you hope to make some of the money back on adoption fees, but its usually not even close to covering the medical expenses. I know Fiona, our Rescue's placement director, does the shave downs herself, and she often can't find enough fosters in our area, and ends up with several dogs at her home until she can get them placed either with foster families or in permanent homes. We do auctions as fund raisers, and hope for donations from kind-hearted, dog-loving people. |
We appreciate that there are people out there who realize how much it takes to care for these dogs.  There are many who believe that rescues are huge money-makers for the people running them. If they are doing it for the love of the dogs it's a money-losing proposition in most every case. Some dogs we are lucky with. They are already current on vet care, have no medical or behavioral issues and come to us nicely groomed. Then there are the dogs that come in heartworm positive, that can actually wipe most small rescues out. The majority of dogs we take in need to be spayed or neutered and that costs a chunk of money as well. We also have the "project dogs" that stay with us for a long time, or we end up adopting ourselves due to the liability involved or they've just been with us so long they adopt us. It rarely happens but in the event a dog must be euthanized, that even costs over $100.  Our vets also do give good discounts and excellent service so we're very grateful for that.With Midwest OES Rescue it's pretty much the same as Susan and Allison stated. We do our own grooming, pay for the food, treats, toys, collars, leashes out of our own pockets just because we can. Now that we're 501(c)3 it will hopefully be easier to attract donations from larger organizations but these days are financially hard for everyone. It's actually very difficult to get volunteers to foster since they most likely already have dogs of their own. With the high cost of fuel even transport help is getting more difficult to obtain. OESCA currently will reimburse an OES rescue who is a member of the club $100 per dog if they provide an owner surrender and proof that the dog was spayed or neutered. Of course it must truly be an OES.  Most importantly, this year the St. Louis OES Club was generous enough to donate the proceeds of this year's live auction to us, which was over $1,700.  We were chosen once before for this as well as receiving proceeds from previous Chicago SheepieFests. We also had some very nice private donations  People may think we're rolling in money after that but you may recall Laverne, a dog with us who suffered bloat and was saved last Thanksgiving night. Her vet bills totaled over $3,500 but she was saved! Our normal adoption fee is $300 so you can see how easily a rescue can be wiped out financially with one medical problem.For anyone interested in helping with their nearest rescue, please give them a call. Even if you're miles away from the Placement Director you still may be in a great position to help. We  our volunteers!Nita Midwest Old English Sheepdog Rescue http://www.midwestoesrescue.com/ |
Rescue groups are wonderful wonderful people. I fostered for a local resuce for a couple of years. At the time it was something I felt like I needed to do. I still remember the day I called to volunteer, and the head of the resuce asked me if I was crazy.  My first year I had 12 fosters come through our doors. We kept one for over a year. She was 9 when we got her and had her issues, but she finally found her forever home. I did alot more than was required when it came to vetting the dogs out. I felt if I was going to adopt a dog I would want to make sure they were one hundred percent healthy. So I had alot of tests done, and paid for them out of my own pocket. Because I wanted too. I had a trainer come in and help me figure out behavior issues with some of the dogs so the owners hopefully wouldn't have as many issues with them. Our group didn't do events or get any money in. Every once and awhile I would get a small check from the rescue, but it didn't cover much, and I wasn't doing it for that purpose. I did the home checks before my dogs were adopted. When every dog left this house they had there own album with pictures of there time with us, a day to day history of everything they did, ate or whatever. Each dog had there own collar and leash, and there own personal toy. We loved them as they were our own. I don't think alot of people know what a difficult yet mostly rewarding job running a rescue is. Thanks to everyone out there that is involved with the wonderful act of rescuing animals. Lisa Frankie and Mattie |
| I am with Susan on how we do things We are not a 501(c)3 probably never will be as I am not much on paperwork  We do run as the others though with screening homes, adoption agreements etc... We are members of OESCA though and just started turning in our paper work to be reimbursed the 100. Thanks to Amy H., Amy P., Marilyn and Kristine's guidance on turning in the papers it was painless and easy! I do other shaggy's too so, obviously don't turn them in. I also help with BONE and they are a 501(c)3,although I am new to that whole aspect, it is kinda nice! Yes and did I mention I desperately need a transport for BONE from a shelter in WV to a foster in Raleigh!  (just had to throw that in ) |
| Hi, I'm not a rescue either, but I help with for 5 different ones as a foster parent. I don't just foster dogs but also cats, bunnies, guinea pigs . However, as with any rescue they become overwhelmed with all the incoming and not the same amount of forever homes willing to adopt. Sometimes I have the fosters for months and it helps the shelter free up room and save lives. Those animals still belong to the rescue and the majority of them get adopted through their website and people come to my home to view the animals. With fosters - The rescue is supposed to supply the food and pays for the vet bills. That is in theory of course, but the reality is when the animals are in my home and the shelter says they can't afford to send an old animal to the vet as they need to spend it on the younger ones. That too is reality. Or they supply crunchy food and my guys are ancient ones they need special foods or soft foods. They will pay for neuters and spays and medicine for younger animals but often ask that I return an older one for euthanization if their medical cost will be more than their adoption fee. It's when I adopt them myself and then become soley responsible for their care. Out of 130 cats - 122 got adopted but 8 weren't so lucky and now that i've had them in my home for a period of time is when I adopt them. Thus I ended up with 8 special needs cats, 4 dogs (2 seniors), 8 bunnies, 2 guinea pigs. The bunnies I've "fostered" for the past 8 years.At first I would go get the food supplied by the rescue but then they kept getting more incoming and I felt guilty getting food and after the first year the fosters really became my own tho I never officially adopted them. The bunnies I had were never going to be adopted as they were all special needs and after a year I started purchasing my own food for them. The dogs, Panda the rescue - was my responsility once he came into my home. His yearly vet bill is aprox 1,000 per year. I have had him for 7 years. Gilligan - I took him at the request of OES rescue and his is a special case, as originally I was only a temporary hold for him until rescue could pick him up. Then the vet discovered a mass in his mouth. it was thought that he was only going to have 3 good wks with me and then it was time for euthanization. However, thanks to people on this forum he got a biopsy which showed his oral mass wasn't cancer but a fibroid mass. So he stayed put. OES - New England has paid his vet bills. I purchase all his other items. I still feel extremely guily about this but as I have so many already under my care they had to be my priority. In a nutshell my vet bills are incredibly high due to so many senior/special needs pets - in the last several months - they have been aprox $7,000 which came out of my own pocket. I remorgaged my home to get a loan which I use to pay their vet bills/meds/Advantage/Flee Treatment/Food/Litter/ect.. My food cost monthly for the animals is a couple hundred. I never want any animal in my home not to get the right treatment regardless of their age but I took that responsibility when I adopted them. I'd like to be non profit but too busy to look into getting the paperwork done . I would fall under the category of animal sanctuary not rescue as my guys are old and this is a place for them to live out their lives. Then again, people would know of me and I'm scared they would drop animals off with no where else to go and my inn is full. |
| Hi, I'm not a rescue either, but I help with for 5 different ones as a foster parent. I foster dogs but also cats, bunnies, guinea pigs . However, as with any rescue they become overwhelmed with all the incoming and not the same amount of forever homes willing to adopt. Sometimes I have the fosters for months and it helps the shelter free up room and save lives. Those animals still belong to the rescue and the majority of them get adopted through their website and people come to my home to view the animals. With fosters - The rescue is supposed to supply the food and pays for the vet bills. That is in theory of course, but the reality is when the animals are in my home and the shelter says they can't afford to send an old animal to the vet as they need to spend it on the younger ones. That too is reality. Or they supply crunchy food and my guys are ancient ones they need special foods or soft foods. They will pay for neuters and spays and medicine for younger animals but often ask that I return an older one for euthanization if their medical cost will be more than their adoption fee. It's when I adopt them myself and then become soley responsible for their care. Out of 130 cats - 122 got adopted but 8 weren't so lucky and now that i've had them in my home for a period of time is when I adopt them. Thus I ended up with 8 special needs cats, 4 dogs (2 seniors), 8 bunnies, 2 guinea pigs. The bunnies I've "fostered" for the past 8 years.At first I would go get the food supplied by the rescue but then they kept getting more incoming and I felt guilty getting food and after the first year the fosters really became my own tho I never officially adopted them. The bunnies I had were never going to be adopted as they were all special needs and after a year I started purchasing my own food for them and paid their vet bills. The dogs, Panda the rescue - was my responsility once he came into my home. His yearly vet bill is aprox 1,000 per year. I have had him for 7 years. Gilligan - I took him at the request of OES rescue and his is a special case, as originally I was only a temporary hold for him until rescue could pick him up. Then the vet discovered a mass in his mouth. it was thought that he was only going to have 3 good wks with me and then it was time for euthanization. However, thanks to people on this forum he got a biopsy which showed his oral mass wasn't cancer but a fibroid mass. So he stayed put. OES - New England has paid his vet bills. I purchase all his other items. I still feel extremely guily about this but as I have so many already under my care they had to be my priority. In a nutshell my vet bills are incredibly high due to so many senior/special needs pets - in the last several months - they have been aprox $7,000 which came out of my own pocket. I remorgaged my home to get a loan which I use to pay their vet bills/meds/Advantage/Flee Treatment/Food/Litter/ect.. My food cost monthly for the animals is a couple hundred. I never want any animal in my home not to get the right treatment regardless of their age but I took that responsibility when I adopted them. I'd like to be non profit but too busy to look into getting the paperwork done . I would fall under the category of animal sanctuary not rescue as my guys are old and this is a place for them to live out their lives. Then again, people would know of me and I'm scared they would drop animals off with no where else to go and my inn is full. |
Marianne wrote: Hi, I'd like to be non profit but too busy to look into getting the paperwork done . I would fall under the category of animal sanctuary not rescue as my guys are old and this is a place for them to live out their lives. Then again, people would know of me and I'm scared they would drop animals off with no where else to go and my inn is full. I hear ya Marianne! I do rescue but, I do also have a few furever fosters. It is hard for me to think of paying somebody to do paper work when I have dogs that need things. You do wonderful work   |
| You guys are the best!! I know some donations have to go to groups for a tax write-off. But this is something some people don't understand... just because someone who's actively doing rescue isn't a registered non-profit 501c3 organization doesn't mean they aren't doing the same exact work of one that is. The big difference is that they don't have a board of directors to go before to get approval for funds sitting in a bank account. These are the people making personal sacrifices to do the work they love. I wish there was a way to get you guys funding... |
| Thanks everyone for all the info and for everything you do for the animals you help. |
| Nita already posted on Midwest OES Rescue. I also volunteer with a basset hound rescue. We are fairly good sized - serve MN, WI and Il to the Chicago area. We have had an average of 100 bassets in our care for the last year. All are in volunteer's homes. We (foster home) pay for daily expenses (dog food, etc), the rescue pays all medical needs. I usually take dogs specific to my expertise - those w/ behavior/training needs, and those with medical concerns, usually surgeries and such. We also have other needs - some transport, some coordinate intakes, adoption applications, doing the screening of applicants - reference checks, home visits. We have several fundraisers throughout the year in each state, and one big one for the entire rescue too. We also have a partnership with the Petco Foundation and have adoption/informational days as standing commitments with many stores in the tri-state area. For this commitment, they donate funds to our group. It really takes a variety of skills and people to run a bigger rescue and keep up with the high volume and high costs involved. |
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