Friday, October 22, 2010

360 Rescue

The world of rescue is full of roads and like life full of choices.  One of the most challenging things for most rescues is making hard choices for very ill or injured animals.  For animals whose temperament or age make them unsafe and unhappy


The other hard choice can be to choose not to pull when the resources are not available.  The constant cry for money and fosters, volunteers and adopters gives the impression that rescues live in a constant crisis mode.  So often there is a strong need to save them all.  Too often this comes at a huge cost to the animals and the rescue.  It does not have to be this way.  There can be sustainable balance where animals can be saved, the rescue can provide care and there are adoptable animals finding a forever home!

As an example, a rescue which is oriented saving the next dog can forget about the dogs which are still needing their care and the fosters and adopters which still need their help and support.  Rescue needs to have a 360 view of the world around them, not just a small angle of focus.  If you look at it not as a pie chart but as a person who stands looking out the same small window, you may see what I mean.

That small window may only show dogs (for example) who need to be pulled from a kill shelter or it may show a sick animal suffering with no care but it doesn't show the whole picture.  It doesn't show the other important jobs of a full rescue.  It doesn't show that the animals still need you even after they are saved.  

A full 360 rescue not only pulls animals from harm (close to home or via long distance relay transport), they ensure that the animals are treated, assessed and made ready for foster homes and then they work with their fosters to get them ready for adoption.  Fosters and volunteers are what makes rescue work, and no one can afford to squander their life blood.

We need less crisis mode rescue and more 360 rescue where the animals are not just saved but also cared for until the end of their life.  No one can survive in crisis mode for long.

360 rescue  and those who see the whole rescue picture understand that you are not successful if you are only focussed on one area.  It has to be more than the pull, the dramatic save it has to be the day to day animals are being placed with the right people, the fosters and adopters have someone who is available to help them and they know they are not alone

All animals, not just special needs animals, should have the fosters and adopters staying in touch with each other for support and help.  Fosters need respite, they need breaks so they don't burn out.  Volunteers need to be heard and those who are adopters need to feel a sense of community.  As a rescue you need to be there for the easy animals  and those who are more challenging.  

When a foster or adopter calls to say they are lost and don't know what to do you need to be there for them and not be focussed on the next pull, next crisis, the next __________.  You made a choice to save that animal you need to keep helping that animal.

Fosters make it easier for animals to be adopted - build supports for fosters!

Adopters make a choice to adopt not shop - built supports for adopters!

Volunteers give of their time and resources - make every bit count!

Rescues make choices about the animals they save and the resources they use - they need to be accountable for each animal.  

From the time you pull to the time they have their last rest.  That may mean making hard choices in a time of crisis.  It may mean doing things differently or facing challenges in other areas.  That could mean choosing for the animal and not for the human self.

Animals only know quality of life not quantity of life.  People put the quantity on things, forgetting that there are times when quality counts more.  That may be hours, days, months or years.  All they know is now is good, or bad.  

Could you choose for the animal when that choice meant stopping their suffering? Or do you have to have the save?  Can you picture how many could be helped if you didn't need the save?  

Join the discussion about 360 Rescue here at Chore Time!

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

NO Designer Dogs!

Manitoba Voice for Animals http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mixed-breed_dog

This is an excellent wiki article about mixed breed dogs - there are times when we do deliberate crosses, there are times to keep the bloodlines pure bred but to bring in new genetic material to avoid inbreeding and there are many times where by accident or design a dog is mated for the sole purpose of puppies. These dogs are often labelled "Designer Dogs" when they are anything but!

When you purposefully mix dog breeds you are looking to maximize on the good traits of both parents (often purebred) so that you have a calm demeanor in a working animal (for example). What a responsible person does not do is combine animals who have traits that are not desirable and magnify them - mixing dog breeds who both have genetic tendencies towards breathing problems, for example. Or combining breeds that both have high drive without considering what their purpose, their job is going to be.

Mixing large and small breeds can lead to physical challenges such as a small framed animal with the gains of its larger breed counterpart. This is an animal with health issues from the start.

When petstores and online ads market "Designer Dogs" they are combining a cute mix of names from most often 'guessed' at breeds in the parent dogs. This 'chidoodloor' is a random breeding of two intact animals for the sole purpose of making money. With a high cost to the buyer, to the shelters and vets who end up caring for these animals when their health and temperament deteriorates.

The breeders of 'designer dogs' can be puppy mills and backyard breeders who do not take proper care of the health of the animals, they do not provide proper socialization, remove puppies too early from their dams, they do not give adequate attention to the physical needs of exercise, healthy food and clean water and proper shelter for these animals. They breed indiscriminately, they breed many times and when they no longer can do this they are dumped, killed or left to die.

Stores who can bring in 'designer dogs' are deliberately feeding the market of ignorance and providing the unsuspecting public who has a tendency to trust pet stores with animals that wont' be what they want or pay for.

I have seen ads for 'designer dogs' that go from $900 and down...!

By educating people we can stop this trend. Just because it has a 'designer' name doesn't mean it was a well thought out or good idea. Most often, if you look at the runways of Paris and New York, you see things that are strange, unwearable and quite dangerous. The same holds for so-called 'designer dogs' - they are strange, they are often not able to be a long term, healthy family pet and sometimes their health and temperament can create dangerous situations for the families, the vets and the shelters where they eventually get dumped.

Do your part, next time you hear someone talking about 'designer dogs' educate them, when you see ads for them, report it to the site owner and post educational information. If you know a store which sells these dogs ask them to stop, put them in contact with a reputable rescue to learn where their dogs go and give them an option to actually help dogs instead of adding to the problem.

If you know someone personally who is breeding 'designer dogs' or is a backayard breeder contact us and we'll give you some resources to help educate them. If you know of a puppy mill report it, and if you know where they sell to, share that with us.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

How Many Stand Silent?

How Many Stand Silent? 

How many stand silent,
Watching as you quietly die?

How many stand silent,
Watching as you are abused?

One, a dozen, the whole world.
What if no one spoke for any of us?

Would you speak if the hand raised,
was raised against you and yours?

How many stand silent,
Knowing who deals death
Just beyond their door?

How many stand slient,
Knowing cruelty lives and thrives
Just beyond their door?

One, a dozen, the whole world.
What if no one looked at any of us?

Would you cry out or would you cower away,
if the cruelty was coming through your door?

How many stand silent,
Waiting for someone to speak?

How many stand silent,
Believing the lies, "I've changed"?

One, a dozen, the whole world.
What if we stopped believing them?

How many stand silent...
How many stand silent waiting for...
Just one person to say, "Stop! Enough!"?

How many stand silent...
How many stand silent waiting for...
Someone else to make the world change?

copyright Shanyn Silinski 2010