Sterilizing pets is not a priority for new owners.

Check out this article.

The survey cited in this article is the first large-scale effort to quantify the actions and perceptions of pet owners and non-owners relating to spay/neuter, pet overpopulation, and adoption of pets from shelters and rescue organizations.

Educating people about animal welfare must be one of our top priorities. Legislation is also key, but the national survey in this article reveals 3 important facts:

1. “Despite campaigns encouraging sterilization to reduce pet overpopulation, and despite expanding options for low-cost spay/neuter surgeries, nearly half of people who have acquired unsterilized pets in the last year haven’t fixed them.”

2. “Many pet owners are unaware of the scope of overpopulation: 62 percent of 18- to 34-year-olds and 47 percent of 55-plus respondents estimated shelters euthanize fewer than 1 million animals annually; 28 percent put the euthanasia number at 100,000 or less.” In fact, the Humane Society of the United States estimates that 4 million animals are killed in our shelters each year. And that number could be on the low end because there is no national system for tracking the amount of animals that are killed in our shelters.

3. “Southerners and the under-35 set are the least likely to sterilize their pets. … 42 percent of people who recently got a pet did no prior research, formal or informal.”

And we all know what happens when people don’t spay and neuter their pets…

Grace, a Sheltie mix, and her seven puppies made it out of a high-kill shelter in Memphis, Tennessee, at the last minute two days ago thanks to two very dedicated rescuers, Holly and Jill. One of Grace’s puppies was just too weak and died last night while in foster care.

Grace and her puppies will be up for adoption soon. Applications can be made by emailing Jill at dogscats6@yahoo.com .

And you can contribute to the enormous costs of caring for this momma and her babies by contacting their vet:

Dyer County Animal Hospital
410 Hwy 51 ByPass W
Dyersburg, TN 38024

731-285-2043

vet clinic contacts: Jessica Harrison & Amy Campbell

How can we balance our dedication to animals with our need to take care of ourselves?

After all, if we don’t take care of ourselves, we can’t take care of them.

We have to find some balance.

Those involved in the front lines at animal shelters and rescues face heartbreaking situations every single day. We give of our time, our energy, our hearts, and even our pockets.

And sometimes our commitment and our compassion cause us to drain ourselves completely.

The work of saving homeless and abused animals is never-ending, and it takes a toll on those of us who take part in it. When you work with trauma victims, you absorb their stress and trauma. So when we work with terrified animals who have been dumped, abused, or worse, we find ourselves with compassion fatigue. The symptoms include recurrent nightmares, recurrent and intrusive distressing recollections of the trauma, flashback episodes, intense psychological distress at exposure to cues that symbolize or resemble an aspect of the traumatic event, restricted range of feelings (i.e. blocking feelings), difficulty falling or staying asleep, irritability or outbursts of anger, difficulty concentrating, hyper vigilance, and exaggerated startle response.

Any of that sound familiar?

Teresa Wagner, an expert in this field, offers some ways we can balance service and self-care.

I have an uncle who once told me a story about volunteering at an animal shelter in South Carolina many years ago. He told me that he went back the next day to find that his favorite dog was gone. When he learned that the dog had been put down, he said that he could never go back. He was too heartbroken.

And when my mother went to pick up Arthur from the shelter, she was horrified by the sheer amount of animals waiting for a home. She asked one of the shelter workers how she copes and how she keeps coming to work every day. This worker told my mom that she chooses one animal every single day and focuses on saving him or her. In this way, the worker knows that she is saving lives and doing what she can. The work of people like her with the sheer determination to find rescue and forever homes for as many animals as they can is what saves the lives of many.

This reminds me of a wonderful rescue in Rhode Island that has saved many, many cats and dogs from gassing shelters in North Carolina. The name of the rescue is Help Save One. (And they also happen to have chosen a great song for their homepage!)

That’s what it’s all about.

Help save one.

Do what you can. Raise awareness. Educate your neighbors. Raise animal-loving children. Fight for legislation. TNR and feed feral cats. Foster an animal. Donate money to a rescue or a spay/neuter clinic. Volunteer your time at a shelter. Troll Freecycle and Craig’s List for items that you can collect and donate to your local shelter or rescue. Sew blankets for a shelter. Drive a leg for a rescue transport.

Whatever you do, do not allow yourself to feel so overwhelmed that you do nothing. Identify what you can do, set your boundaries, and get to work while remembering to take care of yourself so that you can take care of the animals!

P.S. Anyone got a thing for blue eyes and floppy ears?

Check out Dotty! Can she be any cuter? This poor girl is having trouble even finding a foster home in Istanbul, and what she really needs is a permanent home. Geography is not a barrier, so please let us know if you’d be interested in learning more about Dotty. We’re always happy to answer your questions, and transport can always be arranged.

And since you asked…

I happen to think that Dotty and Genny would make quite a striking pair for anyone who would like to adopt two Turkish beauties!

Genny is still in a wonderful foster home fighting distemper, but our fingers are all crossed that she will be healed up and ready for her forever home sooner rather than later. Would you be interested in adopting her? Or perhaps helping fund her medical costs? Most of us can’t afford to give huge amounts right now, but even if we all contributed the cost of our morning coffee or the cost of our lunch today, we could make a huge collective difference for Genny and the other Let’s Adopt! animals.

Hello Friends!
I kindly ask you to please support the rescue and medical treatment of Genny, who is currently battling Canine Distemper. A potentially fatal disease.

Thanks to the animal welfare volunteer network Let’s Adopt! Turkey, she’s physically safe and with a volunteer foster home right now.

Please us help Genny! We’re all she has.

We’ve just learned, that WordPress is not supporting the updates for the ChipIn widget. Which means, you can still click through the chip in above to contribute to “Simba’s Fund”.
However to see updates and current status of the contributions, you have to click through to the “bethechange” page on ChipIn, which you can reach here:
ChipIn Simba’s Fund
We will track all contributions, as well as funds going towards Genny’s care.
Any funds left will be used for future rescues and their medical needs, as Let’s Adopt! specializes in the rescue and treatment of abused, injured or special needs animals.

Genny’s condition has improved a bit and she has been upgraded from “critical” to “stable”.

We even received a new video of Genny ‘playing’.

To learn more about this extraordinary group of international volunteers: Let’s Adopt!

For more info about the Simba Fund and how it came about.
Click Here

Thank You!

The next few days are still critical for Genny’s survival. Please keep her in your thoughts, and continue to support our important work.
We’ll keep you updated.
A big “Thank You” to all of you out there who have already contributed to Genny’s vet care before the Chip In was set up.
We are very grateful for your support.

For Genny…

Genny is fighting this killer disease with all she got

Thank You!!
Be The Change….Indeed! ♥

Misha Dee

Let’s Adopt! USA

Genny is fighting for her life! We need your help!

This is Genny, a gentle and kind Dobermann Pinscher who believes is a lap dog.

Tonight Genny is desperately fighting to win a battle against a most cruel disease, canine distemper.

Genny was rescued from a factory in Izmir where she was living in terrible conditions. Her rescuer found a person in Facebook willing to adopt her and sent her to Istanbul. The rescuer made two mistakes:

1. Genny was not vaccinated.
2. He sent the dog to Songul Kotuklan, an individual who had recently lost a dog and simply went onto the internet to get another one.

The moment I heard the dog had gone to that person I immediately drove to her place and rescued her. Driving to Kotuklan’s home in an industrial suburb of Istanbul probably saved her life. Genny was placed on one of our safe houses.

Yesterday we received the most terrible news. Genny is very ill and has tested positive for canine distemper.

Genny is very lucky, she has had a very early diagnosis and she is currently being treated by the best vets in Istanbul using the most advanced medication available. We are hopeful she will survive this test, but at the moment her situation is critical. Furthermore, we are bracing ourselves for an even bigger problem and we are closely monitoring those dogs Genny has come in contact during the last two weeks. We are confident we will be able to treat any case from the moment they show the first symptoms.

This will be either a nightmare or yet another of Let’s Adopt! success stories…

For now I need to kindly request your help towards Genny’s veterinary treatment and towards our emergency fund. When Let’s Adopt! was created it was our intention to be able to function without having to rely on any of our member’s support, unfortunately peoples incredible irresponsibility has taken our personal capabilities to the limit.

This is one more of those cases.

So here is Genny. Help her please.

UPDATE 02/10: We now have a ChipIn widget on our page, where you can securely contribute via PayPal.
Thank to everyone who has already contributed to help this sweet girl.
She’s a fighter and still going….

Contact viktor@myletsadopt.com

via Help Genny! « MyLetsAdopt !.

one of Bali's magnificent beaches

Who wouldn’t like to be whisked away to Bali just in time for Valentine’s Day and right in the middle of our winter?

It is indeed a beautiful island, but its dogs and cats are suffering greatly.

A kind tourist offers water to a thirsty Bali dog on one of the island's beaches.

The Indonesian island of Bali is just over 2,000 square miles in size. The island has a population of about 4 million people and approximately 600,000 dogs, down from an estimated one million ten years ago thanks to a population management program.

Today we have an interview with Paula Hodgson, co-founder of the Bali Street Dog Fund (BSDF), which raises funds for the Bali Animal Welfare Association (BAWA). Paula has some great information to share with us and some insight on TNR amongst the street dog population on Bali. She also has all the details on how you could take a volunteer vacation to help Bali’s street dogs.

BAWA is a not-for-profit charity registered in Indonesia. The organization’s aim is to relieve the suffering, control the population, and improve the health of Bali‘s street dogs through medical care, spay/neutering, street-feeding, puppy adoption, and education of school children.

BAWA currently has an experienced team of 7 Indonesian vets, who have been supported in the past by vets from Veterinarians Beyond Borders and by vets and vet nurses from Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. BAWA’s vets are supported every day by a local dedicated team of nurses and helpers.

The BAWA street teams work outside in the central gathering place called the "banjar" in each village they visit.

BAWA’s street teams led by Indonesian veterinarians travel daily into villages and set up mobile operating stations to conduct up to 40 sterilizations per day. Some of the dogs they sterilize are brought in by their owners, but most are street dogs who are caught in nets and immobilized immediately before a vet sedates them for surgery. The mobile team remains in a village until 60-70% of its dogs have been sterilized. While the dogs are still sedated after their surgery, the vets place a small mark on one of their ears to enable easy identification.

BAWA’s clinic just outside Ubud offers free sterilization of pets belonging to any Indonesian family who can not afford to pay.

The organization operates under a no-kill philosophy and only euthanizes animals (by injection) when the organization’s veterinarians believe that the animal is suffering entirely too much and has no chance of making a recovery.

BAWA and its American founder Janice Girardi were featured in the September/October 2009 issue of The Bark magazine. Stay tuned for a future interview with Janice!

What’s a Bali dog anyway?

Bali dogs are unique. A 2004 genetics study by the University of California, Davis revealed that they were probably established in Bali 12,000 years ago when it became isolated from Java. They are the most genetically diverse dogs in the world. Their closest relatives are the Chow Chow, Australian Dingo, and the Akita. Until recently there has been no influence by European breeds.

BAWA is funded 100% through donations.

Paula is going to tell us how they accomplish this feat.

Paula holding a sick and injured Bali puppy.

1. Tell us a bit about yourself and your furry family.

I am an ex-pat New Zealander who has lived in Australia for 20 years, and I work as a medical secretary.  I have always been an avid animal lover and was heavily involved with anti-vivisection groups whilst in New Zealand. I had six cats and one dog growing up. I knew from the time I was very small that I was destined to be involved in animal welfare.

My furry family consisted of 4 gorgeous cats. Pumpkin, my eldest, was two weeks old when I found her in a drain. I hand raised her on a bottle until she was six weeks old.  She was born to feral parents, and even though she was domesticated she never lost that feral streak which I found to be an endearing part of her personality. Six weeks after I got Pumpkin, I took in a white cat with blue eyes who was profoundly deaf. Chantelle and Pumpkin became inseparable, but sadly Chantelle died at 12 months of age due to a bee sting. Nine months after losing her, I found myself saying “yes” to two beautiful 6-week-old kittens who had been dumped in a rubbish bin.  My family of one suddenly became a fantastic trio of tortoiseshells: Pumpkin, Apples, and Dusty. Dusty passed away aged 13 in 2006, and Pumpkin passed away aged 16 in 2008. Apples is now 16 and a diabetic. I cherish each day she is with me.

the divine Miss Apples enjoying some time outside

2. Why Bali? How often do you go to Bali?

Why Bali is a question I am often asked, and I say, “Why not?” I became involved in this cause when my closest friend Natasha came back from Bali and asked me to help the dogs in Bali. She became distressed each time she went there, and on a visit in 1999, she found a vet who was trying to help the street dogs. She came home determined to try and do something, and in September 1999, Natasha and I founded the Bali Street Dog Fund (Australia).

I try and go to Bali at least once a year, but due to unforeseen circumstances with my health and my cat Apples’ health, I have not been to Bali for 2.5 years. Even so, I am in daily contact with BAWA (Bali Animal Welfare Association) via email.

3. Tell us some of the things you do in Australia to help raise awareness and money for BAWA? What works?

Raising awareness for a charity can be difficult at times, but you must take every opportunity that arises to let people know about your work. A good website is the first step followed by brochures and business cards, word of mouth, and merchandise. Creating a database of supporters is essential, and putting out a newsletter once or twice a year is a good way to raise more awareness and to bring in donations.

BSDF holds a “Bali Nights” fundraising auction every year to raise money for the BAWA spay/neuter van and the animal welfare education program in the schools. Having great merchandise works wonders. I hand make greeting cards (everyday and Christmas) depicting gorgeous puppies and adult dogs from Bali, and those cards are one of our best sellers. Everyone who receives one of those cards gets our contact information and website on the back of the card, so that helps to bring in additional donations. A full range of merchandise is displayed on our website so that people can purchase it all year round and not just at our fundraiser.

4. Are there any Bali dogs in Australia? Do any of the dogs ever get adopted by families outside Bali?

There is one Bali dog living in Australia. Her name is Nessa, and you can see her story on our website.

It is extremely expensive to bring a Bali dog back to Australia due to the amount of quarantine required. Dogs from Bali have to go to Singapore for nine months before they are allowed into Australia. When Nessa came to Australia 5 years ago, the cost was $10,000. I imagine it would be much more now.

Sometimes dogs go to the USA, Holland, or Belgium after being adopted by families there, but currently NO dogs are allowed out of Bali due to the presence of rabies. Janice and everyone at BAWA are working to eradicate rabies from the island and to vaccinate and protect the island’s dogs during this time.

5. Are there any particular BAWA accomplishments that you would like to share with us?

BAWA has achieved a lot in the three years they have been operating. In 2008, they put Bali‘s only 24-hour animal ambulance on the road which was desperately needed, and it is kept busy every day. Ideally, another ambulance to cover other parts of the island is required. Unfortunately, BAWA does not have the funding available to make this happen, and BSDF only manages to raise enough money each year to fund the spay/neuter and education programs. At present, the 24-hour ambulance and the 24-hour vet clinic are both funded entirely by Janice Girardi, the organization’s founder. BAWA also launched the “Bali Idol” competition which is a puppy adoption competition within the schools. The success of this program has been phenomenal.

Village children are often very curious when the BAWA team arrives to spay and neuter dogs. They are supervised, of course, but the staff do allow the children to come close to the dogs. This is a great learning opportunity for the children, many of whom have never even touched a dog.

The biggest and latest accomplishment is hosting a Rabies Seminar just two weeks ago. Janice has worked tirelessly since rabies was first found in Bali in November 2008 and since the government started massacring the dogs in a misinformed attempt to eradicate rabies. Bali’s governor ordered that the island be eradicated of all street dogs and called on villagers to exterminate strays themselves. Dogs were poisoned and shot much to the horror of many tourists and even island residents, some of whose pets were also killed.

Janice and her amazing staff have never given up with their campaign to get the government to vaccinate not eradicate. The seminar was attended by experts from the World Health Organization, prominent veterinarians, and members of the Balinese Government, and it was made clear that culling will not work. Now it’s up to the Indonesian government to listen to all the expert recommendations and move forward in managing the situation.

6. What’s the biggest challenge you face in trying to raise funds for BAWA?

The biggest challenge is trying to get goods donated for our annual fundraising auction. All involved in the fund spend hours contacting companies asking for donations. It is always sad to be told, “No, your charity does not fall into the worthy cause category,” but we never give up. We just cross that organization off the list, and send out a letter to someone else. A lot of people will not donate to “overseas” charities, especially for animals. In the 10 years that the Fund has been going, we have come up against a lot of opposition as to why we help the dogs and not the people. As I always point out, there are plenty of charities for children in Bali but not for the animals. They have as much right to life as a human.

Paula holds a Bali puppy with terrible skin problems. Unfortunately, such skin problems are common among the puppies on Bali.

7. Do you have any advice for anyone who wants to help animals overseas?

My advice is to follow your heart. Don’t be put off by what people think or say. Animals are just as deserving as we are. I would definitely look into the charity you are thinking of helping to make sure they are above board, i.e. a registered charity that has been established for a while.

Last year, I was contacted by a Bali Street Dog Fund supporter who wanted to help a charity in Jamaica. She was uncertain of the charity’s authenticity, so I did some research on the Internet for her. In the end, they were a genuine charity, but it does pay to check organizations out.

If people want to volunteer for an overseas charity, again research the charity and establish a good email rapport with the organization before booking your ticket!

8. Anything else you would like to share with us?

BAWA desperately needs donations to continue its amazing work. That’s why I do what I do! We keep our operational costs as low as humanly possibly by capitalizing on the efforts of a small army of human volunteers.

You can make donations directly on BAWA’s website via the PayPal link, and for everyone in America, you can also donate by mailing a check to: BAWA; C/O Janice Girardi; 12407 Torrey Pines Drive; Auburn, CA 95602.

BAWA needs to keep its current ambulance on the road and fund another. BSDF would like to raise more funds to extend the spay/neuter and education programs across the island so that we can make a lasting impact on the status of animals on the island.

Another ambulance and spay/neuter van would be a dream come true so that BAWA teams could travel to other areas of Bali where the dogs currently receive no help. The western and northern parts of the island are quite remote, and BAWA has not been able to begin work there yet. Bali is over 2,000 square miles in size, so it’s almost impossible to reach out to the entire island with only one ambulance and one spay/neuter van.

The BAWA Animal Ambulance responds to calls from around the island 24 hours a day to assist dogs and cats in need.

Bali is pretty far away for most of us, but there are still ways we can help the island’s street dogs.

You can sign this petition requesting the Indonesian Government to create an effective law against cruelty to dogs. Every day in Bali. dogs are poisoned or stolen, often for meat. Others are starved, beaten, or neglected.

There are currently no laws whatsoever to protect the animals of Bali. BAWA works proactively to educate children in the correct treatment of companion animals and provides free medical care to street dogs and dogs owned by Balinese people, including sterilization, ambulance services, and a rescue program.

Without effective animal welfare laws, BAWA is handicapped.

Would you be interested in helping BAWA in Bali?

Volunteer vets and vet nurses as well as non-veterinary volunteers are needed to help at the clinic. Flight volunteers are also needed sometimes to carry supplies to Bali with their excess luggage allowances. (Customs letters and all paperwork are supplied though such documentation is rarely requested by the Balinese officials upon arrival.)

If you are planning a holiday to Bali and would like to offer a couple of days or even a week of your holiday to help at the clinic, please contact BAWA by emailing bawabali@aol.com . Please note that to volunteer at BAWA, you must be able to pay your own airfare and support yourself whilst in Bali. It is also essential you have your rabies shots and an up-to-date tetanus vaccination.

I enjoyed spending time in the vet clinic - especially in the bottom level which has an adoption center with lots of indoor and outdoor room for the puppies to play.

I volunteered with the Bali Street Dog Fund during the time I lived in Australia and have been lucky enough to carry medical supplies to Bali and to spend time with the BAWA street teams. These amazing people net and spay/neuter the street dogs every day. I can assure you that any time you spend volunteering with them will only serve to enrich your holiday. It’s the sort of experience you’ll never forget.

Also, for those of you who are wondering about the cats on Bali, BAWA does help them as well. The vet clinic outside Ubud desexes and adopts out cats and kittens in addition to dogs and puppies. The majority of the group’s work is with dogs, but cats are never turned away!

Don’t forget that Let’s Adopt! is always in need of flight volunteers to transport animals from Turkey to their forever families in places like Canada, Germany, and the United States. Turkey makes for an amazing vacation, so if you ever decide to go, please get in touch with Let’s Adopt! founder Viktor Larkhill (viktor@myletsadopt.com) to offer your time as a flight volunteer. This good deed will cost you nothing at all!

Also…

Genny, one of the dogs Let’s Adopt! has rescued in Turkey, has come down with distemper over the weekend and is in need of our support. Please read about her here, and email Viktor (viktor@myletsadopt.com) if you are able to help with Genny’s medical costs and those of the dogs she has been in contact with the past two weeks.

Have you ever volunteered overseas with animals? Please tell us about your experiences and your organizations. Let’s Adopt! members can be found all over the globe, and many of us travel a great deal. It’s always wonderful to have meaningful experiences and meet other animal lovers while on the road!

Another milestone for our network!

Let’s Adopt! Wikipedia

Viktor Larkhill, Founder Of Let's Adopt!

Sibel Karabeyoglu’s interview with Viktor for “Time Out”, Istanbul’s exclusive lifestyle guide.

Almost reaching its two-year mark, Turkey’s “Let’s Adopt!” is an animal welfare group administered by Viktor Larkhill. The group has come into existence by focusing on raising social awareness on the necessity for animal rights and prevention of animal abuse in Turkey. The strong network of members across Turkey, nationals and foreigners, volunteer their time to improving the lives of primarily dogs and cats who have been discounted by society and now live marginal existences on the streets, shelters, and in inhumane conditions….

The entire article can be found on  TimeOut Istanbul

We all need money, right?

Once upon a time, I worked in development at a non-profit dedicated to women’s health. I remember the director of the organization telling me that you could always get a job in the non-profit world if you knew how to raise funds. What she was saying is that there is always enough money to go around and that we just have to be clever enough to claim our share.

It has never been easy for animal shelters and rescues to raise the funds they require to carry out their work. In this economy, it’s even harder to do so. I checked with a handful of friends to find out what they have seen work in the realm of fundraising, and I’d like to share some of our ideas with you today.

Remember to leave your comments at the bottom of this post. We would love to hear your ideas about fundraising.

Before you even start browsing through the ideas, make sure you really know your donors. Take the time to develop personal relationships with the families who adopt the animals you have rescued. Don’t be afraid to ask for their continued support of your work.

Another reason you need to really know your donors and your supporters is so that you can tap into their skills. You might have a database genius, a graphic designer, a professional artist or photographer, a café owner, or even a journalist already inside your group. Who knows? You might be lucky enough to have a fundraising professional as a supporter!

Know your base, and engage with them in a big way.

Here are some tried-and-true suggestions to help you with your fundraising efforts:

• Hold a silent art auction. Have people donate all kinds of art work that somehow relates to your mission statement (or not) and hold a silent auction. Post a minimum on all the bidding sheets. You can also hold eBay auctions.
• Offer ways for people to buy their special occasion and holiday gifts from your organization in person and online. This allows them to shop from home, and it allows you to reach a much wider audience. Eco-bags with or without your logo are a great item to offer as more and more people are trying to spend their money in ways that effect change.
• Hold car washes, road blocks, and garage sales. Ask local youth groups and students to help you with these efforts.
• Run a campaign to ask people to remember you in their wills. Let them know that you will help with the rehoming of their beloved pets if necessary in the event of their death.
• Offer various levels of membership, and offer animal sponsorship. Go seasonal so that people have a reason to sponsor an animal more than once a year. For example, you could offer people the opportunity to “buy” one of your animals as their valentine this year. Take time to create beautiful Valentine’s Day cards to send out to supporters who buy a valentine.
• Run a furry speed dating event around Valentine’s Day. Invite all animal-loving singles to register and attend for a set donation amount.
• Have children trick or treat for pets at Halloween. Instead of taking candy from friends and neighbors, children can ask for small donations to help their local rescue. Advertise this idea to parents, and offer them brochures or information about your rescue for children to decorate their Halloween baskets and even pass out to families as they go from door to door.
• Offer pictures with Santa every December. Have someone in your group dress up as Santa, and have a photographer volunteer his or her time to take pictures for people. Local pet supply stores are often willing to host this sort of even for free because it attracts customers who buy things while they are there.
• Provide your wish list to schools and churches in your community. Get young people involved. Some students have to complete a certain amount of community service hours in order to graduate. Why not offer them the opportunity to bathe dogs, scoop litter boxes, or even organize a fundraising campaign aimed at young people? Be sure to provide them with recognition and a letter of reference once they have completed all their hard work for your organization.
• Have fun and create a competition. In my city, a non-profit that raises funds for inner-city schools joined forces with another non-profit organization to create a cookie competition last year. In cooperation with a local bakery chain, each non-profit created a cookie to see whose would sell the most. Over the course of about three weeks, customers could buy each of these two types of cookies at the bakery’s local stores. Each cookie had a name that tied it back to the organization who created its recipe. The non-profit organization received a huge percentage of all cookie sales and got plenty of PR in the course of the competition. Why not try something similar in your town?
• Encourage rivalry among your supporters. Choose a couple of key active players in your organization to lead this effort. Create teams or pit individuals against each other to see who can raise the most funds for your organization during a particular time period. You can divide people up as men vs. women, one side of town vs another side of town, or even 35-and-under vs 35-and-over. Have fun with this, and keep track of the results on your website. Of course, it would be even better if you could offer some sort of prize to the winning team!
• It doesn’t always have to be about the animals. Not everyone is going to seek out animal-related organizations for their donation dollars. Find ways to entice people who don’t want animal-related products. Do you have a member of your group who happens to be a massage therapist, for example? You could offer chair massages with the profits benefiting your organization. You can even go crazy with this idea and create an entire bazaar or boutique night where you offer all kinds of items and services with a percentage of all sales benefiting your organization.
• In the same spirit, talk to your friends who are involved with non-animal related organizations. Find out how they handle fundraising. You might learn a lot from each other!
• Organize a cookie or cake drive. You could also set up a cake wheel at a local fair or bizarre, or you could sell cookies and cakes at garage sales. People holding garage sales will often be happy to sell your items because food draws people in to buy their items!
• Organize a trivia night. This draws in people of all ages. You could even hold it at a local pub or pizza restaurant.
• Use your newsletter. Send it to all your donors so that they can see where their money is going (and that you are staying in touch), and post it to your website so that potential donors can see what you’re doing. Time spent creating a professional, effective newsletter will pay off in dividends. Here are some tips.
• Approach your local churches and community centers and ask them to post your newsletter in their bulletin area. You could even offer church youth groups the opportunity to volunteer with your organization for a big group project such as “The Great Kennel Clean” once a month. You could even ask your local church to take up a collection for your rescue during its annual Blessing of the Animals. Catholic, Episcopal, and other churches hold these annual events.
• Set up a booth at your local farmers market to raise awareness and funds. Know a farmer who will place information and a fundraising jar on his or her table for you? Even better. You can also leave these fundraising jars at local pet supply stores and veterinary offices.
• Target the young professionals in your community. Find out where they hang out, and then speak to the owner of the restaurant or bar about holding a cocktail event with proceeds benefiting your organization. This is a great way to attract a donor base that can grow with your organization, and it’s a great way for young professionals to meet like-minded people in their community. It’s fantastic for singles, too!
• Hold an open house. People like to see how you are taking care of the animals. They want to know where their money is going. During the open house, you can include merchandise/bake sales and raffles.
• Play bingo! Take some bingo cards and all the equipment to a senior citizen’s center. It will be great fun for you and them, and it will all be for a great cause.
• Open a retail store operation such as Meow Mart and Pedigree Interiors in Cincinnati, Ohio.
• Team up with restaurants or retailers for a percentage of their proceeds on specific days. This arrangement benefits both of you because folks who support your organization are likely to patronize the restaurants or retailers on those days.
• Arrange for your organization to receive a percentage of sales using a merchant’s gift card. For example, in my area, Kroger gives 4%, and Bigg’s gives 6%.
• Create and sell greeting cards with pictures of your rescue animals on them. These can be real pictures or even an artist’s rendition of the animals. You can create them with volunteer time and effort, or you can have them printed professionally.
• Throw more meaningful parties. Let friends and family know that you don’t need anything for your birthday or Christmas this year. Ask them to make donations of money or supplies to the organization of your choice. This idea works extremely well for children’s birthday parties where kids have an opportunity to shop for something to help a homeless kitty or puppy. It provides a learning opportunity for each child and an opportunity to build self-esteem and feel good about doing something positive.
• Look online to find local newspapers, magazines, and websites that accept free submissions to their calendars from non-profit organizations. Then start advertising your adoption days, fundraising events, and open houses. This would be a perfect project for a school student or a local Girl or Boy Scout looking to earn community service hours, by the way!
• Everyone appreciates humor. Run a “Spay-ghetti and No Balls” dinner and silent auction. Think of other creative ideas like a Black Cat Ball around Halloween where people get to dress up and you get to raise awareness of the heartbreakingly low adoption rates for black cats and dogs.
• Print and sell a calendar with photos of pets your organization has rescued. This is also a great way to keep adopters involved because they can submit their pet’s photos for the calendar competition each year. Ask each of your volunteers to commit to selling at least 10 calendars, and also offer your calendar on your website, in your newsletter, and during all of your events. Do make sure your calendar looks professional and beautiful so that people actually want to buy it and use it around their homes and offices. You might even find a local printing company willing to provide free or low-cost printing.
• Apply for every grant you can find. Yes, it’s a pain. Yes, it’s tedious. But once you pull everything together for the first couple of applications, you can do cut and paste jobs for the bulk part of every future application (and then perform some tedious editing with a fine tooth comb!). Non-Profit Guides has some fantastic resources for grant writing.
• Use the resources of the Foundation Center. Their website is fantastic, and they have physical offices in five cities: New York City; Washington, DC; Atlanta; Cleveland; and San Francisco.
• And, finally, acknowledge your current donors on a frequent basis. Treat them well so that they turn into regular supporters.

Perhaps the most basic and most important thing we all need to do is demonstrate and communicate the impact of our activities.

Don’t ask people to feel sorry for you. Don’t try to guilt them into donating or buying your organization’s items. That doesn’t work in the long run.

Entice people to join your cause by demonstrating that you are a positive force for change in your community. Set yourself apart as the leading organization in your area or in your specialty. Build a track record, and use it to network yourself and your organization.

Want more?

Humane Fundraising and Helping A Cause 4 Paws both have websites full of many other ideas.

The Messy Beast also has a page full of clever fundraising ideas.

You probably already have a website, but is your group on Facebook yet? Do you have a blog?

Think big.

You might be part of a small local organization, but that doesn’t mean you can’t think big in terms of your fundraising strategies and techniques. We live in a global society, and we have the unbelievable resources of the Internet at our fingertips.

If you don’t already have a website or blog yet, explore your options on WordPress. Setting one up has never been easier, and this could be a great project to hand over to a student who would like to volunteer with your organization.

Don’t forget to join the Facebook group of Let’s Adopt! (USA).

Of course, it’s not all about raising funds.

It’s also about minimizing costs. In order to minimize your costs, you first need to know your costs. This might seem obvious, but a lot of us could improve our financial tracking and budgeting skills. Are your fixed costs low enough?

In short, we could take a few lessons from the business world.

This document was developed for non-profit organizations in general, and not everything will apply to your situation. But it’s still worth having a look!

And remember that volunteers are a great way to keep costs low. So spend as much time building relationships with your volunteers as you do with your donors. Not everyone has money to spare, but many people will give of their time. Anything they can do for you will help keep your operating costs low, and you want to keep them coming back.

a Bali Street Dog who needs our help

Is it about doing things your way? Or is it about saving animals?

Economies of scale can apply to rescue as well.

Have you considered merging your rescue with another one in your local area? Or even just working on joint projects? Oftentimes we can accomplish more together than apart, and we shouldn’t let our egos interfere with our ability to remain focused on our collective goal of saving animals.

Why not have open dialogues with other rescues to see what you can do as a whole? You could take advantage of a much larger donor and volunteer pool if folks in your community don’t have to choose one group over the others, and you might even find that the hard work of rescue is easier when all of you are working on the same team and splitting the work between you. You could even create a group such as Pet Groups United whose aim is to be a United Way type of organization for animal groups in Kentucky.

Do you need some tools to help you manage your costs?

I offer you this absolutely incredible collection of 100 online resources to help run any aspect of a non-profit organization.

Idealist.org, one of my favorite websites, is also full of all kinds of tools to help you start and manage a non-profit organization.

Innovative Design, a leader in sustainable architecture, has prepared an interesting document about how to minimize operating costs in schools. Much of the information in this document could be applied to animal shelters.

Incorporating some of these lessons and tools into your organization will make it even easier for you to demonstrate and communicate the impact of your activities. Such an approach is also more likely to gain the attention and respect of those involved in the business world who oftentimes have the ability to decide where corporate donations will land. If you’re running a lean, professional organization, potential donors might be even more encouraged to take the plunge and get involved with you.

My sincere thanks to Bali Street Dog Fund’s co-founder and fundraiser extraordinaire Paula, Just Faith employee Theresa, Volunteer Rescue Transport Coordinator Krystal, Willie Wonka the Wonder Dog who works tirelessly on Facebook in memory of Buddy, and Ohio Alleycat Rescue & Spay/Neuter Clinic volunteer Tania. Thank you for sharing some of your ideas with the rest of us.

And before you go…

Animal Planet will be airing the American Kennel Club/Eukanuba National Championship tomorrow (Feb 6, 2010) evening at 8 PM and 11 PM EST.

They are calling this “the biggest, most exciting dog show of the year.”

Take a moment right now to let Discovery Communications (the owner of Animal Planet), the AKC, and Eukanuba know that you are not excited by the breeding and showing of dogs.

Let them know that you will not be watching the program because you do not support the breeding, showing, or selling of dogs as long as 4 million dogs are being killed in our animal shelters each year. Encourage Animal Planet to air more relevant programming, and ask Eukanuba to sponsor events that are of more interest.

MYTH: “My pet will get fat and lazy.”

The truth is that most pets get fat and lazy because their owners feed them too much junk food (canned or dry) and treats loaded with HFCS, and don’t give them enough exercise. A run around the yard is NOT exercise.  Consider switching our animals to a raw diet, which will keep them healthy, happy, lean and your visits to the vet at a minimum.

Read Viktor’s blog about why Let’s Adopt insists feeding our animals a raw diet.

MYTH: “It’s better to have one litter first.”

Actually,  science indicates just the opposite!!!
In fact, evidence shows that females spayed before their first heat are typically healthier. The best time to spay your female dog or cat is before her first heat. Early spaying greatly reduces the incidences of mammary cancer.
Both pregnancy and birth can be very stressful for the animal.
Animals giving birth sometimes die from complications.
Many veterinarians now sterilize dogs and cats as young as eight weeks of age.

MYTH: “I’ll find good homes for all the puppies and kittens.”

You may find homes for all of your pet’s litter. But each home you find means one less home for the dogs and cats in shelters who need good homes. Also, in less than one year’s time, each of your pet’s offspring may have his/her own litter, adding even more animals to the population. The original problem of crowded kill-shelters is created by just one litter at a time. 

"FREE to good home"... the "wonders of birth" come at a high price for the animals AND our communities

There’s no need to breed – PERIOD!
This must stop!

I once had a lady from Jehovah’s Witnesses knock on my door to tell me about her vision of doomsday and all….while we were chatting, two of my five foster kittens jumped on the window sill and played in the sun.

orphaned kittens under the age of three weeks are euthanized on arrival at a shelter near you.... too much work, too little resources.

I told her that these kittens were born in my house to a rescued homeless cat, who was barely a year old herself.
The lady was so excited seeing the kittens, that she didn’t listen to a word I was saying beyond “babies”.
Said the following: “I want to get a cat for my children so they can witness the wonder of birth”.
I explained to her how this was exactly part of the problem, and asked her to take her children to a city shelter to show them hell on earth first.

Perhaps consider fostering for a local rescue like myself, and not only show the kids the wonders of birth, but also educate them (and obviously herself) about the consequences.
She said she couldn’t do that. Foster pets and then give them away…. “I don’t know how you do it”, she said.
“I get joy out of seeing them united with their adoptive home, and there’s always a never ending supply new fosters…”
The lady walked away, on to the next home to tell them about doomsday, not realizing that her thinking perpetuates the ultimate doomsday vision for every pet out there.

MYTH: “But my pet is purebred.”

So is at least one out of every four pets brought to animal shelters around the country. There are just too many dogs and cats; mixed breed and purebred.
Your purebred’s testes aren’t any more valuable than those of a mixed breed. They’ll contribute to the same problem.

MYTH: “I want my dog to be protective.”

S/N does not affect a dog’s natural instinct to protect home and family. A dog’s personality is formed more by genetics and environment than by sex hormones. The only changes in behavior you’ll see are positive ones.
Tom cats tend to reduce their territorial spraying depending upon the age they are neutered. If neutered young enough, before they begin spraying, they may never develop the behavior.
Neutered male cats and dogs fight less, resulting in fewer battle scars, contagious diseases such as Feline Leukemia and horrible abscesses.
And since they aren’t interested in pursuing females in heat, they also wander less, greatly reducing their chances of being hit by a car or getting lost.

MYTH: “I don’t want my male dog or cat to feel like less of a male.”

Pets don’t have any concept of sexual identity or ego – HUMANS DO!
He doesn’t suffer any kind of emotional reaction or identity crisis when neutered – HUMANS project that onto them.
If your dog’s balls mean so much to YOU, and you have the resources to spend, consider Neuticles. </sarcasm>
However, you might consider getting a larger pair for yourself, and give your dog a break!
When I worked with a city shelter in the San Francisco Bay Area, I witnessed a young man trying to pick up his lost dog from the pound.

It was an intact pit. Very sweet – his owner not so much. He was informed that they wouldn’t release an un-neutered pit, and that by claiming the dog, he had to get the animal neutered within a certain time frame. He made a huge scene about how his beloved dog can’t be neutered. He couldn’t have his “baby’s balls cut off….”

The argument went on for a while.

Pitbulls are likely one of the most misunderstood and most abused breed in our society.

He finally said – “F*ck it – keep the stupid dog!!” - and stomped out.

Left his beloved dog, his baby there, on death row. Now jumped from “stray” up the death row chart to “owner surrender”. Needless to say – this once beloved baby was destroyed.
Why did I not do anything. Because our rescue was already over capacity, boarding dogs because foster homes were full and I personally had a house full of orphaned “wonders of birth”-kittens to foster.

neo natal orphaned kitten - death by ignorance of humans. Kittens like these are euthanized by default if no rescue will take them. And most won't/can't because of the lack of volunteers..

There are no resources.

Volunteers are hard to come by, and the ones shelters and rescues are so very lucky to have are exhausted!

MYTH: “It’s too expensive to have my pet spayed or neutered.”

The cost of spaying or neutering depends on the sex, size, and age of the pet, your veterinarian’s fees, and a number of other variables.

But whatever the actual price, spay or neuter surgery is a one-time cost; a relatively small cost when compared to all the benefits.

It’s a bargain compared to the cost of having a litter and ensuring the health of the mother and litter; two months of pregnancy and another two months until the litter is weaned can add up to significant veterinary bills and food costs if complications develop. Most important, it’s a very small price to pay for the health of your pet and the prevention of the births of more unwanted pets.

Many counties offer free or low cost spay/neuter clinics or vouchers.
Yesterday, I posted a list of low/no cost spay/neuter resources.

Contact your local HS or SPCA for more information. If it turns out that there are no resources in your area, consider getting involved in you community, and help organize a yearly event. Thanks to social networking it is getting easier and easier setting up events and get the word out.
Use this tool!
Remember to BE THE CHANGE – don’t wait for others to do it for you!

Fix your pets, educate your friends and family, and don’t forget to you join us on Facebook, so we can network and delegate the resources each of us has to offer.

~Misha

Each year between eight and twelve million dogs, cats, puppies, and kittens end up at animal shelters around the country.

Some are lost, some are abandoned, some are unwanted, most are the result of irresponsible people.

Approximately four to six million animals are killed each year in the US alone.

Sadly, between four and six million of them must be euthanized, because there aren’t enough adoptive homes out there for them.

Ready for some more mind boggling number?…
In six years, one female dog and her offspring can the the source of 67,000 puppies.
In just seven years, one female cat and her young can produce 420,000 kittens.
In addition, there is no limit to the number of offspring male dogs and tom cats can produce.
Every single day in the United States, tens of thousands of cute little puppies and kittens are born.
Compare this to ‘just’ 11,000 little humans each day, and it’s easy to see that we’re in big trouble here.

Most of these animals end up in municipal shelters. That’s the administrative term for your regular dog pound. The one that is by law required to take in every single animal surrendered or found, no matter how full their cages and kennels…they’ll just have to make room.
How? Read Julia’s article on the gas chambers of America.

“Spay/Neuter is the cornerstone of a successful lifesaving effort,
Low-cost, high-volume spay/neuter will quickly lead to fewer animals entering the shelter system, allowing more resources to be allocated towards saving lives.”

- Nathan Winograd,Founder of the No Kill Advocacy Center
and author of "Redemption", The myth of pet-overpopulation
and the no-kill revolution in America.

A must read for anyone involved in animal welfare, no matter what country you reside in….

Here’s a task for YOU – yes YOU..

I’m asking you to contact your local animal services and shelters to gather information about low-cost/free spay/neuter locations in your area.
Be courteous, and ask how much of their annual budget is going towards programs such as

• Spay/Neuter  for low-income and senior citizens,
• TNR (Trap Neuter & Release)
• Community Education

Post your findings here or on our Facebook Page

The results will likely surprise you.
Most large shelters will not spend a dime on public outreach, other than press releases, media events and fundraisers.
Our municipal shelters have not a dime in their budget allocated towards such services.

Which leaves small 100 % volunteer-run rescue groups to do the deed.
WHAT CAN WE DO AS A COMMUNITY of animal lovers?
What are YOU willing to do?
Organize a spay/neuter event?
Lobby local veterinarians to honor discount vouchers or set aside one weekend a year to offer a Spay/Neuter Marathon?

freshly altered kittens in the recovery line up of a mobile spay/neuter event

Imagine the great publicity these businesses would receive!

We will soon start posting lists of rescue friendly businesses and veterinarians.
The ones who have proven to go the extra mile to save a life.
Please e-mail me your suggestions for consideration.

But I am not letting YOU off the hook just yet

Every single day, we are bombarded with desperate calls for HELP!
There’s a puppy in NC to be PTS (put to sleep) in 24 hours…PLEASE RESCUE- HELP!!!
A senior doberman pincher on death row in NY, nothing wrong with him, his owner died – he’s so sad at the shelter and his time’s almost up….PLEASE RESCUE – HELP!!!!

Soon there will be drones and drones of kittens- they all seem to magically appear on someone’s porch, in the garage, under the house.
Is there such thing as the kitten fairy??
I doubt it, because most of these cute little critters will end up in shelters and killed immediately,starve or freeze to death, die of diseases, eaten alive by fleas….yes fleas!
Other dogs and cats will be killed each Friday afternoon to make room for the weekend rush of kittens and puppies.

What are YOU willing to do this year?
Re-posting bulletins has saved some lives,

BUT – WE NEED TO DO MORE!

We want the killings to stop!
We want the dumping of animals to stop!
We want the breeding to stop!

We want the YOU to stop for a moment, and think about what you can do right now!

What can YOU do today to save animals in your community?

Start by asking questions, and be more observant.
Visit your local municipal shelter and just observe.

• How are the animals handled?
• Is staff helpful and attentive?
• Where is the shelter located in approximation to the city’s center?
• Does your city have a Citizen Humane Commission?

If yes, attend meetings!!!
If not, consider setting wheels into motion to create one.

• Is your city funding any spay/neuter events?

If not – start asking questions!
If yes – volunteer!

The killings must stop!!

There is no humanity in killing perfect animals.They either shouldn’t have been born in the first place, or they should be in loving homes.
The only reason to take an animal’s life is out of compassion to free it from physical suffering.
Killing animals to make room to kill more doesn’t make sense!

So, I’m asking you again- what are YOU willing to do TODAY to change our hideous system?

Need some inspiration?

Here’s a great video about TNR, courtesy of the Feral Cat Coalition Of Oregon

These events are actually a lot of fun to attend, and a great place to network with other rescuers. Please don’t forget to support your local feral cat networks as they all do tremendously important work. They deserve their own article, so stay tuned for more on these courageous & compassionate “kitten wranglers”.

Links:
HSUS Spay Day – find a location near you!
USA Neuter and Spay Resource Database

Join us on Facebook: Let’s Adopt! (USA)

And Don’t Forget….