Rescue - the Basics
A few years ago, before I got really involved in rescuing dogs, someone wrote to me and said she thought it would be really cool to have an animal shelter. Already at this point there were probably some 30 animals at my house, so I had a fair idea of the amount of work involved in maintaining them. The person was not impressed enough to reply when I explained the 105 hour work week with no days off. People seem surprised when I tell them that you have to take care of your dog 365 days a year. There are no vacations unless you can afford to board them. With multiple dogs this becomes impossible. I can honestly say that I have not had a single day off from doggie care since 1985. I did board part of the crew in order to go to my stepfather's funeral in 1990, but I took nine dogs with me.
Here are the basic chores:
1. Taking dogs in and out
2. Feeding
3. Scooping
4. Crate cleaning
5. Floor sweeping
6. Shopping for dogs
7. Vet trips
8. Transport - pick up new fosters
9. Networking - with other rescues, potential adopters
10. Interviewing prospective adopters
11. Home visits
12. Recycling
13. In the leftover time I do chores for the house - these are always low in priority as my mother will attest.
Most of my dogs stay inside (crated) during the day while I am at work and at night. I have nine dog pens and need twelve to accommodate all of the animals, so I have to walk them in and out. With the exception of my three "upstairs" pets, all of the dogs are walked out to their pens on leashes. This takes about two hours or more a day. Some of them are easy to handle. Others put up a battle and drag me along.
Training is a constant activity. I have a background in dog training. I have attended many classes and seminars and put titles on three dogs - now I don't have time for these fun activities, but I still train every dog at least to the level of good leash manners.
The dogs get fed twice a day. This means I serve up about fifty pans of chow seven days a week. The eat a mix of dry and canned, and some are on custom diets. Obviously the corollary to this is that I also have to scoop pens and the yard on a regular basis. When it rains, like it is right now, this becomes a really unpleasant task. It is essential to keep up, or it becomes overwhelming.
Be next chore, which I don't do as much as I should, but which also has to be done regularly is cleaning out the dog's crates and changing their bedding. Messy dogs benefit the most. Dogs that are good don't get clean bedding as often. Not fair, but there is only so much time. Taking care of the kennel is very much like the place where I work - management by crisis. Puppy soaks her bed, she gets new papers.
Papers - My mother saves these for me. I have also on occasion practiced "dumpster diving" because it is hard to get enough newspapers for the entire kennel. I used to use blankets, but it is nearly impossible to keep up with washing them and I can't afford to buy new ones all the time. Only the really good old dogs that don't chew or otherwise mess up their blankets get to have them.
Floor sweeping - the pups bring in half the back yard it seems, and also rip up bedding, so there is a constant need for dusting and sweeping - I'm always behind on this chore.
Shopping for dogs - food mainly. Sometimes I can get donated food, but I have to go pick it up. Otherwise I buy huge bags at the local Sam's club. Either way I have to bring it in - which means hauling it down the hill beside my house in a wheelbarrow. During the ice and snow last winter, I had to store it in big containers in the front yard, but usually I keep it inside. Unfortunately I have also managed to bring in a few mice. The cats and I are working on this problem, but it is ongoing.
Funding - none other than me. Lately I have had some success at adoptions, so the adoption donatations help, but generally this money is used entirely on veterinary fees.
Vet trips. Every dog that comes into my rescue program is updated on shots, heartworm tested and spayed or neutered. They also go in for updates on shots, and of course any illness or trauma. Sometimes I get a break and don't have to take one for a while, but I probably average two vet visits a month. I don't add up the costs, it would be too discouraging.
Transports. I didn't use to do this, but now that my rescue is pretty well established, I seem to be making quite a few trips to pick up dogs from area shelters. I've recently had a lot of work done on my old van with the hope it will get me there and back. Last year I think I drove about about 1250 miles on rescue "runs".
Networking: E-mail, phone calls - daily. We are all trying to keep each other informed about dogs in need, sharing ideas, etc. The Internet has saved countless animals, but it also makes me aware of the huge magnitude of the problem with unwanted dogs.
I only vaguely knew about this before, but now they have pictures, you see their faces. It is very hard to say no to a beautiful animal if it is at all possible to do something about it.
I'll talk about the adoption process later.
Recycling - packaging of dog food containers, cans and boxes. I always seem to have a van load of recycling.
Tomorrow I am getting another dog....
Here are the basic chores:
1. Taking dogs in and out
2. Feeding
3. Scooping
4. Crate cleaning
5. Floor sweeping
6. Shopping for dogs
7. Vet trips
8. Transport - pick up new fosters
9. Networking - with other rescues, potential adopters
10. Interviewing prospective adopters
11. Home visits
12. Recycling
13. In the leftover time I do chores for the house - these are always low in priority as my mother will attest.
Most of my dogs stay inside (crated) during the day while I am at work and at night. I have nine dog pens and need twelve to accommodate all of the animals, so I have to walk them in and out. With the exception of my three "upstairs" pets, all of the dogs are walked out to their pens on leashes. This takes about two hours or more a day. Some of them are easy to handle. Others put up a battle and drag me along.
Training is a constant activity. I have a background in dog training. I have attended many classes and seminars and put titles on three dogs - now I don't have time for these fun activities, but I still train every dog at least to the level of good leash manners.
The dogs get fed twice a day. This means I serve up about fifty pans of chow seven days a week. The eat a mix of dry and canned, and some are on custom diets. Obviously the corollary to this is that I also have to scoop pens and the yard on a regular basis. When it rains, like it is right now, this becomes a really unpleasant task. It is essential to keep up, or it becomes overwhelming.
Be next chore, which I don't do as much as I should, but which also has to be done regularly is cleaning out the dog's crates and changing their bedding. Messy dogs benefit the most. Dogs that are good don't get clean bedding as often. Not fair, but there is only so much time. Taking care of the kennel is very much like the place where I work - management by crisis. Puppy soaks her bed, she gets new papers.
Papers - My mother saves these for me. I have also on occasion practiced "dumpster diving" because it is hard to get enough newspapers for the entire kennel. I used to use blankets, but it is nearly impossible to keep up with washing them and I can't afford to buy new ones all the time. Only the really good old dogs that don't chew or otherwise mess up their blankets get to have them.
Floor sweeping - the pups bring in half the back yard it seems, and also rip up bedding, so there is a constant need for dusting and sweeping - I'm always behind on this chore.
Shopping for dogs - food mainly. Sometimes I can get donated food, but I have to go pick it up. Otherwise I buy huge bags at the local Sam's club. Either way I have to bring it in - which means hauling it down the hill beside my house in a wheelbarrow. During the ice and snow last winter, I had to store it in big containers in the front yard, but usually I keep it inside. Unfortunately I have also managed to bring in a few mice. The cats and I are working on this problem, but it is ongoing.
Funding - none other than me. Lately I have had some success at adoptions, so the adoption donatations help, but generally this money is used entirely on veterinary fees.
Vet trips. Every dog that comes into my rescue program is updated on shots, heartworm tested and spayed or neutered. They also go in for updates on shots, and of course any illness or trauma. Sometimes I get a break and don't have to take one for a while, but I probably average two vet visits a month. I don't add up the costs, it would be too discouraging.
Transports. I didn't use to do this, but now that my rescue is pretty well established, I seem to be making quite a few trips to pick up dogs from area shelters. I've recently had a lot of work done on my old van with the hope it will get me there and back. Last year I think I drove about about 1250 miles on rescue "runs".
Networking: E-mail, phone calls - daily. We are all trying to keep each other informed about dogs in need, sharing ideas, etc. The Internet has saved countless animals, but it also makes me aware of the huge magnitude of the problem with unwanted dogs.
I only vaguely knew about this before, but now they have pictures, you see their faces. It is very hard to say no to a beautiful animal if it is at all possible to do something about it.
I'll talk about the adoption process later.
Recycling - packaging of dog food containers, cans and boxes. I always seem to have a van load of recycling.
Tomorrow I am getting another dog....
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home