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.

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!

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.

This post was almost too hard to write.

My brain has trouble wrapping itself around the fact that shelters in the United States of America are still killing animals by gassing them to death and by sticking them in the heart.

What’s heartsticking, you ask?

A poison-filled syringe is jabbed through an animal’s chest wall. The needle punctures layers of nerves on the way to the heart. If the syringe pulsates, it is in the heart. If not, the animal gets another sharp stab. Once on target, a press of the plunger injects “blue juice” (sodium pentobarbital) into the heart of an unadoptable animal.

The American Veterinary Medical Association protocols require that animals being euthanized by heartstick be “heavily sedated” or “comatose.” That doesn’t always happen. And you know what else? It’s not always a trained vet tech or a vet performing this procedure. Needless to say, without a medical background, it can be difficult to find the heart of a live animal on the first try.

This very graphic video from what appears to be a hidden camera shows dogs being killed by heartstick in Robeson County, North Carolina.

There are people out there fighting to stop heartsticking. You can join them by signing this petition.

Today I want to address the issue of gas chambers in North Carolina, but bear with me as I digress for one more moment.

Decompression chambers are also used to kill homeless and unwanted pets. Imagine being stuck in a small overcrowded box filled with other terrified people and having all the oxygen drawn out until you literally suffocate. Decompression chambers simulate an ascent to thousands of feet above sea level in a matter of minutes. At many shelters that use this method, decompression occurs at speeds up to 15 times faster than the recommended rate which causes severe pain as the gases in animals’ sinuses, middle ears, and intestines expand quickly. Accidental recompression can occur when equipment malfunctions, when there is a personnel error, or when small animals become trapped in air pockets. Animals must then be put through the procedure all over again.

Now let’s take a look at the situation in North Carolina…

Gas chambers kill animals by poisoning them with carbon monoxide. Some shelters use commercially manufactured units, and others use crudely built units constructed of cinderblock, metal, and wood. Workers put several animals in the gas chamber at once – sometimes cats and dogs together. The animals oftentimes bark, meow, howl, whine, gasp for breath, fight to claw their way out of the chamber, vomit, convulse, and/or urinate and defecate in terror. It takes between 20-45 minutes for animals to die in the gas chamber, and some animals are gassed more than once before they are killed.

In some shelters in North Carolina, they wheel the dead dogs past the cages where the other dogs are being held. Can you imagine their terror? More than 20 counties in North Carolina still kill animals using gas chambers, and North Carolina is home to the highest number of gassing facilities in the United States.

Does any of this remind you of a particularly horrible and shameful period in human history? There are those who shy away from comparing animals to humans, but I think it’s pretty obvious that we are doing to dogs and cats what was once done to humans.

You can get the facts on North Carolina’s gassing chambers from the North Carolina Coalition for Humane Euthanasia, and the Animal Law Coalition also maintains information about gas chambers.

Help Save One, a rescue that recently won Petfinder’s shelter challenge for the state of Rhode Island, organized a rescue effort on January 22, 2010, at Gaston County Animal Control in North Carolina. You can see photos of the rescue here. All of the animals saved from death by gassing at Gaston are up for adoption, and transport can and will be organized for these animals.

This is one of the dogs awaiting adoption after Help Save One's rescue in Gaston County, North Carolina.

Some dogs survive the gas chamber.

Two of these dogs have become well known in the fight to stop this unthinkable method of killing unwanted and homeless pets.

Davie’s family found him alive in a bag of other dead puppies in a dump site in North Carolina. They are working hard to pass Davie’s Law which will outlaw the use of gas chambers in North Carolina.

Back in 2006, Amazing Grace survived being gassed in one of Georgia’s gas chambers. At the age of two, she was placed in a gas chamber with three other dogs for 30 minutes and somehow survived the ordeal. The shelter worker who pulled Amazing Grace out of the gas chamber took her to a veterinarian and is working with other shelter workers to stop the use of gas chambers in their facility.

Gas chambers are not what our shelter workers want either. Many of them are counting on us to help make their jobs more bearable. One North Carolina shelter worker’s story, “A Heartless Job,” has been posted all across the Internet and can be found by clicking here and scrolling toward the middle of the page.

Why is this happening in North Carolina?

There are probably a variety of reasons, but Dr. Ralph Houser, DVM, known to many as Dr. Death, is a big part of the problem. He opened Carolina Veterinary Consulting in 1987 in Pittsboro, North Carolina, and he manufactures gas chambers. He consults to shelters around the state about the “most humane” methods of euthanasia and proceeds to sell them his gas chambers. Am I the only one who detects a slight conflict of interest?

Oh, and did I mention that Dr. Houser demonstrates and teaches his methods on live animals during his workshops? Here’s one of his brochures which was used for a presentation at the Gaston County Animal Control facility where Help Save One is conducting its rescue mission.

You can reach Dr. Ralph Houser, DVM, by phone at 336-376-8134 or by fax at 336-376-0770. His mailing address is 10020 NC Hwy 87 S; Pittsboro, NC 27312-9201. Let him know that the world knows his gas chambers are far from humane.

The bottom line?

PETA, The American Veterinary Medical Association, and The Humane Society of the United States concur that an intravenous injection of sodium pentobarbital administered by a trained professional is the kindest, most compassionate method of euthanizing animals. The American Humane Association considers this to be the only acceptable method of euthanasia for cats and dogs in animal shelters.

If this post was difficult to write, this very graphic footage of a gas chamber in Yadkin County (North Carolina) is almost impossible to watch.

And yet we must watch because we must know what’s going on in our backyards.

Until we all get outraged enough to act on our knowledge of what’s occurring in our animal shelters every single day, nothing is going to change.

Do something today.

Let us stand in solidarity with the animals and with those in North Carolina and across the country who are fighting tirelessly to end the use of gas chambers in our animal shelters and to ensure that euthanasia is only performed by intravenous injection. Write to your local legislators, write to the legislators of North Carolina, and write to President Obama. Why not? Digital media has democratized our society even further and has made it even easier to make our voices heard. Let’s join together and win this battle.

Another one of the beautiful dogs rescued by Help Save One. She's up for adoption!

Eight or nine million animals go through our shelters every year in this country. Approximately four million of those do not find homes and end up being killed. Yes, I said four million. Some are “lucky” enough to die by lethal injection; others suffer extremely horrible deaths in gas chambers and decompression chambers. Some are victims of heartstick. Electrocution, shooting, and drowning kill other animals.

And this happens because our shelters are over-crowded and because we do not do enough to educate the public, change our laws, and adopt our pets.

Please join Let’s Adopt! (USA) on Facebook. We are connecting a new generation of animal activists with one another to make a true difference on the ground.

Claus found himself in the 24-hour emergency vet clinic early one morning despite my near-obsessive efforts to keep my pets healthy and safe. It can happen to any pet!

My mother and I completed a pet first aid course a couple of weekends ago. We spent our Saturday learning to perform rescue breathing and CPR on cats and dogs.

While I hope I never have to use any of my new skills, I would like to take a moment today to share five important tips on pet safety.

1. Know what’s normal for your pet. Like humans, animals vary. Examine your pet weekly by doing a snout-to-tail wellness assessment. This is great bonding time for you and your pet, and it gives you a chance to know your pet’s heartbeat and pulse. Pets very often mask their injuries, so it’s important to do a thorough exam each week and check your pet’s ears, eyes, tail, toes, teeth, tongue, and other parts. Yes, I know some animals do not like you to open their mouths and peer inside! Claus goes ballistic if I try to cut his nails, so I know it can be a challenge. Start slowly, and do the exam little by little throughout the week. Choose a quiet place, and make sure your pet is relaxed. You don’t have to get through every part of it all at once. If you are rushed, your pet will pick up on your energy and be less cooperative.

An added advantage of making this a new habit? Once your pet is used to this routine, going to the vet should be less stressful.

2. Be prepared, and remain calm. The more time you spend right now thinking about how to handle emergency situations, the more prepared you will be when you actually have to handle one with your pet. Car accidents, house fires, and natural disasters happen. Pets eat things they are not supposed to eat. We can not always prevent a situation from occurring, but we can educate ourselves and be prepared to handle emergencies. Even the CDC recommends preparing an emergency plan for your pets. The American Veterinary Medical Association also offers some great tips and a brochure called “Saving the Whole Family” which addresses disaster evacuation planning.

Take it a step further: Make sure your pet sitter or dog walker is familiar with the emergency plan for your pets. Why not ask if he or she is trained in pet first aid?

3. Every season has its own unique hazards. Be aware of ice-melting chemicals and Christmas tree tinsel in winter as well as heat stroke and sunburn in summer. Wag’N Pet offers some very useful print-outs for general hazards and season-specific hazards. Print them out today and keep them in your pet files so that you can reference them with the start of each new season.

Always keep these 24-hour poison emergency hotline numbers handy in case you need them:

ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center:

1-888-4-ANI-HELP or 1-888-426-4435

National Animal Poison Control Center:

1-800-548-2423

Unfortunately, there are times when we need to make our dogs vomit immediately. If you ever find yourself in this situation, remember that you should give your dog approximately 1-2 ml of peroxide per kilo or 1-2 tsp of peroxide per 10 pounds of body weight every 10 minutes until he or she vomits. Don’t forget to seek follow-up veterinary care in situations like this. Pre-measured doses of peroxide and Benadryl appropriate for your pet’s weight are two items you should keep in your pet first aid kit so that you always have them handy.

Arthur loves to play in the snow, but we always make sure to clean his paws thoroughly after a walk or a run outside. This helps keep the house clean, but more importantly, it prevents him from licking ice-melting chemicals off of his paws. Devices like the Paw Plunger make the job of cleaning your dog's paws much easier!

4. Plan carefully before taking your pet in the car. Pets can become projectile objects in car accidents. That could mean the death of your pet and serious injury or death to you. The thought of my 100-pound puppy turning into a projectile object is pretty horrifying. Please keep your pets harnessed or in secured crates for their safety and yours. Remember that your airbags can seriously injure your pets, so it’s always best to keep harnessed and crated pets in the back seat. The Ruff Rider is a great car harness recommended by many dog safety experts. Consider ordering this free kit to help make sure you are prepared in the event of a car accident involving your pets.

It’s not safe to leave your pet in the car unattended – even when it’s winter, even if you crack your window, and even if you park in the shade during the summer. Your car is a greenhouse, and animals can not sweat like humans. Dogs cool themselves down by panting, and they sweat through their paws. If there is no cool air for them to inhale as they pant, they will not cool down. They will slowly cook themselves. MyDogIsCool.com has compiled amazing resources to educate us about the dangers of leaving animals in our cars. They even have charts explaining how hot our cars can get, and they have some fabulous posters you can print out and leave in your car in case you see an unattended car with a pet locked inside. The Humane Society also has similar educational posters of its own.

Remember that pets can also be stolen from cars. If you are in a shop, it’s very easy for a thief to break a window and grab a small dog before anyone realizes what has happened.

And just in case you’re interested…

While researching this topic further online, I came across an interesting review of pet-safe vehicles.

5. Your first aid kit is different from your disaster evacuation kit. Partnership for Animal Welfare has a very comprehensive list of what you should keep in your first aid kit, but your disaster evacuation kit serves a different purpose.

According to the Humane Society of the United States, a pet disaster kit should include:

• A three-day supply of food and drinking water as well as bowls, cat litter, and a container to be used as a litter box.
• Current photos and descriptions of pets.
• Up-to-date identification including an additional tag with the phone number of someone out of the area in the event the pet becomes lost.
• Medications, medical records, and a first aid kit stored in a waterproof container.
• Sturdy leashes, harnesses, and carriers to transport pets safely as well as blankets or towels for bedding and warmth. Carriers should be large enough to comfortably house your pet for several hours or even days.

I would also print these handy evacuation cards to keep in your disaster evacuation kit or near your front door in case you do ever have to evacuate.

One note about the photos: Photos of you with your pets can be very useful in proving that you are their guardian in case you are ever separated from them and have to reclaim them in a disaster situation. Microchips also help greatly in such a situation, but pictures kept in your wallet are immediately accessible even if there is not a microchip scanner available.

Why not set aside some time this weekend to put together your first aid kid and your disaster evacuation kit?

This is Charlotte's ID photo. I chose this one because it clearly shows all of her features.

And one more easy thing you can do to help your pets on a daily basis and during true emergencies…

I had an amazing holistic vet back in Australia, and I learned so much from her about Chinese herbs and homeopathy for dogs and cats. I don’t have a vet like her here to prescribe all the right herbs and remedies, but I do still keep a bottle of Bach Rescue Remedy. It’s great for humans and pets, and it can be used to help dissipate negative emotions and energy. This remedy helps humans and pets recover from stress, injury, fatigue, fear, illness, irritation, and general malaise.

I use the human form in a spray bottle because I find it difficult to use the dropper which comes with the pet form. You can spray it in your pet’s water or on his or her tongue. Even if you just spray some in the air above your pet’s head, your pet will still benefit from the remedy!

Finally, keep in mind that you should always check with your vet about what’s appropriate for your pet. While I gladly share my research and education with you, I myself am not a veterinarian.

In case you missed it, check out my earlier post on three easy ways to help keep your pet safe.

Don’t forget to join us on Facebook and make your mark on our Let’s Adopt! world map.

Can you help Sookie get to her forever family?

Sookie is a gorgeous 25-pound black and white girl from Istanbul who is somewhere around a year old.

She has a family in Germany who has been approved to adopt her, and she also has a family in Canada who has been approved to adopt her.

So what’s the problem?

Sookie needs to hitch a ride.

We are looking for anyone travelling between Istanbul and Canada or Germany who can take Sookie with them. She will travel with all the appropriate paperwork, of course, and it will cost you nothing more than your time to help Sookie get to her new home. Someone from Let’s Adopt! will meet you at the airport in Istanbul with Sookie and her paperwork. Then she will travel in her crate in the cargo area of the airplane until you both reach your destination.

Help us spread the word. Share this post on your Facebook profile and with your friends. There must be someone among us who will be travelling from Istanbul to Germany or Canada in the coming weeks.

For more photos of Sookie, click here.

And to read about my own experience with transporting Lucy from Istanbul to Chicago, click here.

Please get in touch with us in the comments section if you can help Sookie reach her forever family. We will be happy to answer any questions you may have.

I wrote a letter on Monday to a parenting website called Moms Like Me with groups all over the country. Their Louisville group is offering several sets of free circus tickets to families who leave a comment on their blog about their favorite part of the circus. Circuses with animals are not family-friendly activities.

Circuses.com publishes three great reasons to never take your children to a circus.

I encourage every one of you to take a stand against the use of animals in circuses. I challenge you to educate mothers about why they should never take their children to circuses which include animals. Many people may not know or may never have stopped to think about the cruelty of the circus. In fact, most people do not automatically make the connection between animal cruelty and human cruelty.

Here are three easy ways you can make your voice heard:

1. Help spread the message to moms that the circus is not a good choice for a family outing. You can sign here to help parenting website Mom Central realize that they should end their marketing partnership with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. It just doesn’t make sense to link the raising of our children with the torture of animals.

2. Talk to your school boards to discourage circus promotion in schools. There is already enough violence in our schools and neighborhoods. Let’s make sure our schools are not doing themselves and their students a disservice by promoting animal cruelty.

3. Anyone anywhere in the world can take one minute to read and sign PETA’s online petition to take animals out of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey’s Circus. There is also a petition to encourage the USDA to seize the 11 elephants used by Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey’s Circus based on the videos taken by PETA during its 2009 undercover investigation.

We need not be combative or aggressive in our mission to educate people about animal cruelty. The truth speaks for itself.

The Captive Animals Protection Society offers a step-by-step guide on everything you need to plan a circus protest.

As my friend Kaye says, speak your mind even if your voice shakes.

Hello, Moms Like Me!

I noticed that you are supporting the Kosair Shrine Circus by holding a ticket contest, and I wanted to share my opinions with you because I believe that it is important for groups such as Moms Like Me to educate their readers and take a stand on issues around how we raise our children.

It is more important than ever that we raise good global citizens, and it is our job to enable our children to recognize human and animal cruelty in all forms. If we take them to the circus to witness animals who are outside their natural environment performing unnatural “tricks” for human amusement, what are we really teaching our children? Are we de-sensitizing them to animal cruelty and teaching them that they should enjoy watching wildlife behave in unnatural ways?

Circus animals travel every day of the year in conditions that usually are not good, and they are often deprived of the companionship of other animals of their species. Nothing about the circus is natural or amusing. Think about it. Animals are afraid of fire just like we are. How much beating down of an animal’s spirit and physical body do you think it takes to get her to jump through a ring of fire?

It is not just so-called “radical” groups like PETA who recognize and condemn the cruelty that occurs in the circus industry. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty Against Animals speaks up against the circus industry and suggests boycotting the circus. The ASPCA officials attend animal circuses in New York to inspect conditions and educate the public about the cruelty. Even the Humane Society of the United States opposes the use of wild animals in circuses. A simple Google search will produce plenty of information from unbiased sources like these.

How embarrassing not only that we allow this circus to happen in our backyards but also that we actually attend it.

Please note that the Shrine Circus is not a charitable event. Many people seem to believe that the money goes to help Shriners Hospitals and the burn victims they treat. This is not the case. The money goes to the Shrine Fraternity. The work done at Shriners Hospitals around the country is nothing short of extraordinary; people who want to support this work should absolutely make donations directly to the hospitals. I do exactly that.

I think you could write a brilliant piece with circus alternatives for moms and kids. Why not take your children directly to a Shriners Hospital and talk about burn dangers and good samaritans who work together to heal children who have suffered burns? Why not spend some time at home teaching your child about training the family pet and discussing the differences between domesticated and wild animals?

Why not read a children’s book such as _Saving Lilly_ by Peg Kehret or _The Chimpanzees I Love: Saving Their World and Ours_ by Jane Goodall so that you can discuss the importance of wonderful, wild creatures remaining in their natural habitats and continuing their natural behaviors? Most of us can not afford to take our children on a safari, but why not take your child out in nature to observe and learn to appreciate wild birds, squirrels, and perhaps even deer?

Elephants, tigers, lions, bears, monkeys, and other “circus” animals were not put on this Earth for our amusement.

You could even include a link to the ASPCA’s list of circuses which do not include animals. I would be willing to bet that the eyes of every child in the audience at a cruelty-free circus still light up in amazement.

Maybe you could even post the very informative brochure “The Truth Behind the Big Top“ from the Humane Society of the United States .

The bottom line? You would be doing a great service to moms in the Greater Louisville community if you wrote a piece on the truth behind circuses and encouraged them to patronize only circuses which do not include animals. There are many, many alternatives.

We live in a day and age where money is very tight, and we also live during unprecedented times in which our purchasing dollars have the ability to effect great change. My purchasing dollars will never go toward a ticket for a circus that includes animals. I, like many other women around the country, am committed to creating a positive, sustainable, and wonderful community by carefully considering my purchases and my actions.

Step up and meet your reading public. We do not support animal cruelty.

Most people go to the circus because they love to see the animals. What most of them do not know is that they are supporting an industry with a long history of animal cruelty. An article on Moms Like Me about the cruelty of the circus industry would be a great service to your readers.

Thank you.

Kind regards,
Julia

Are you in or around Louisville, Kentucky?

The Shrine Circus is coming to town Thursday February 4th thru Sunday February 7th.  Animal Lovers of Louisville (ALL) is planning a peaceful demonstration for the 2:00pm show on Saturday, February 6th, 2010. The demonstration will be held at the Main Gate at the Fair and Expo Center on Philips Lane. We need to assemble at 1:00 pm at the Main Gate. We will be there less than one hour.

The organizer will have all the signs and pamphlets we will need. Just bring yourself and a friend. Even if you have never attended a peaceful protest, please come and help educate others on this very important issue. We are making a difference!

Look for the orange cones, and we will be there. No permit is needed for this part of the demonstration because we will be on a city-owned street. Parking is always a problem. However, we can park in the Transportation Cabinets’ parking lot which is across the street (Philips Lane side) from the old Executive Inn or in the Bowling Alley parking lot.

Are you far from Louisvillle but still want to help?

Please take a few minutes and call these people to let them know what you think of animal circuses.

The Shriners hire George Cardin who is one of the worst in the business. He has multiple USDA fines for cruelty to animals. The Shrine Headquarters in Louisville can be reached at 502-587-0406 and 502-585-5863.

Kosair Charities (who support the Shriners circus) can be reached at 502-637-7696. Let them know you will not be donating any money to them and that you recommend they associate their children’s health charity with a more suitable event than the circus.

Have you ever protested a circus or any other acts of animal cruelty in your area? Have any tips or resources to share with us? Please leave your comments!

Marijo was injured and left paralyzed in Istanbul. While looking for a safe place to give birth to her four kittens, she fell on a metallic blind. She and her kittens were all rescued by Let's Adopt!, and her kittens all found homes. Marijo now lives in New York because no family could be found in Turkey to adopt her.

My dear friends:

A few months ago I decided to make a change in Let’s Adopt! strategy.

Today, and after having to deal with three very unfortunate cases, I have decided that enough is enough.

From today, Let’s Adopt! Turkey will operate in a completely different way.

1. We will not be able to take up ANY new cases. For the last two years, I have been writing about the need for animal lovers to be responsible for their own rescues. Instead, people abused the system and dumped animals on me. The result has been a massive backlog of cases and astronomical bills left in pensions and vets in my name.

2. The animals we currently have will be rehomed overseas. If any of your previous adoptants wants to adopt another animal, they are more than welcome to contact me, but we won’t be seeking any new adoptive families locally.

3. From today, Let’s Adopt! Turkey will focus EXCLUSIVELY in the rescue and rehabilitation of blind, disabled, and elderly animals.

Let’s Adopt! has intended, from the beginning, to be an educational network. Rehoming was just another way to show people the meaning of responsibility and humanity, two issues that most parents seem to forget to teach their children and that schools seem not to pay any attention to.

I encourage all our members and friends to continue working with us, continue enlarging the network, and continue rehoming their own rescue animals by following our adoption rules. Be the change you wish to see in the world. Don’t wait for me to push you. Take action…TODAY!

For more information about our change of policy, please click here.

Have you joined the Let’s Adopt! member map?

This interactive map will be used for the following purposes:

- Re-homing logistics
- Volunteers needed at a special location
- Coordination of foster homes
- Coordination of flight volunteers
- Locations of trusted veterinary doctors
- Locations of Istanbul shelters

In short, we need to know where you are. Please be as specific as possible whilst keeping the level of privacy you wish. Being able to locate you quickly will help us be more efficient when we try to mobilize.

To access the map, please click here. This map will be published in search results and user profiles. I would like to encourage you to add your location as well as the location and details of those vets you trust. This will be a collaborative effort. The success (or failure) of this common resource will depend exclusively on the degree of input from our members.

Arthur loves running in the snow in our backyard.

I am queen of the foster failures. And now it appears I am also turning into queen of the transport failures…

I was due to drive King Arthur from the pound to the airport back in November so that he could be flown to a rescue out of state, but it seems that just wasn’t meant to be because he is still lying at my feet as I type this post. He is a nearly one-year-old Tibetan Mastiff who is so big (almost 100 pounds now…) that you forget he is still a puppy until you catch him carrying blankets around like Linus!

In truth, I have always wanted a giant dog. I’m the sort of person who daydreams about how cool it would be to have three Great Danes (rescues, of course!) who greet visitors to your home. That’s how I found out about Arthur’s transport needs in the first place. A friend who manages a shelter sent me the posting about him the day after I had met with her to pick up a dog that needed transport and had spent half an hour drooling over her rescued Great Dane named Sport.

I had never even heard of a Tibetan Mastiff when I read about Arthur, but I fell in love as soon as I saw him. He is perfect in every way, and absolutely everyone who sees him wants to come up and pat him. I’ve certainly done my fair share of reading up on the special considerations of giant breeds and am learning everything I can to make sure Arthur grows up to be as healthy and strong as he can be. There always seems to be a steep learning curve with every new member of the family. Every animal has its own special needs.

Arthur’s brother went to a rescue somewhere in Cincinnati. They certainly weren’t from the same litter, but they came into the pound together. He was a golden-colored dog, and I would love to find him and his new family so that he and Arthur could run together in our backyard. I am so glad those two made it out of the pound alive, and it breaks my heart every day when I think of all the dogs who do not have such a happy ending.

There are a few lessons we can all learn from gentle souls like Arthur:

1. There is never any reason to go to a breeder for a purebred dog. Pounds are filled with purebred dogs – especially the small ones like Terriers, Chihuahuas, and Malteses. Giant dogs might not be appropriate for everyone, but large dogs such as Black Labs and German Shepherds die every day in pounds across America while people continue to go out and buy them from breeders.

2. Black dogs (and black cats) are statistically the least likely to make it out of the pound alive. People have strange superstitions about them and overlook them, so please consider black dogs and cats when you are ready to adopt a new pet.

3. Big dogs have big hearts. They are gentle giants. And yet far too many of them are put down in pounds because far too many of us are unwilling to adopt big dogs. I have always found big dogs to be a lot easier than small dogs and certainly a lot friendlier with strangers and even small children. Most people with small children want to rush out and get a small puppy, and I think that’s probably one of the biggest mistakes they could make. With small children in the house, who has time to train a puppy? And with children who are not already dog-proofed, a larger dog like Arthur with a more laid-back attitude is going to react a lot less than a smaller, feistier dog when his ears get pulled or a child falls on top of him.

Arthur with Claus in the background

Let’s Adopt! in Turkey also has a very special giant named Leon who is looking for his forever home. You can see his photos here. As usual, get in touch with Viktor if you would like to open your heart and your home to this special boy.

Several beautiful Turkish dogs have found homes right here in the United States. In fact, Let’s Adopt! recently placed a King Arthur of its own in an American home. The adoption process is very simple as long as you meet the criteria and your application is approved. Ge in touch if you would like more information.

And ask your local rescue about large and giant dogs. Rescues oftentimes have difficulty finding foster and forever homes for larger dogs, so they are not always able to pull them from the pound. Why not step up and offer to foster or adopt one?

What have you learned from the animals you have adopted? Share your stories in the comments section.

Whenever there are natural disasters, I always think about everyone affected – the people AND the animals. All too often, the animals are sadly forgotten as we scramble to help the human victims.

On Dec 26, 2004, I was due to be in Sumatra or Borneo to live out a lifelong dream of seeing orangutans in their natural habitat right at the time the tsunami hit. My plans changed and I was not there, but I couldn’t stop thinking about all the animals who experienced the tsunami.

The wildlife, domestic animals, street animals, and farm animals are the silent victims of natural disasters. So many of them die every year in Australian bush fires, and so many of them died in Hurricane Katrina right here in America.

Right now, many animals in Haiti are suffering alongside all the human victims of the earthquake.

Many of us do not have the qualifications, skills, or abilities to travel to affected areas and add real value to rescue and relief missions after natural disasters. In many cases, the best we can do is donate money to help support those organizations and the individuals working for them to do the amazing work they do.

When the earthquake hit Haiti, I knew from my own background in public health that my donations would go to Paul Farmer’s Partners in Health and to Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors without Borders). That decision was easy.

It has taken me a bit more time to research the animal rescue and relief efforts in Haiti because I did not know anything at all about the situation for animals in Haiti prior to the earthquake. Today, I would like to share with you some of what I have learned so that you, too, can follow the plight of Haiti’s animals and make informed decisions about how to donate your money.

First of all, if you don’t already have it bookmarked, I would suggest keeping up with the World Society for the Protection of Animals blog: Animals in Disasters.

On January 20^th, the Haitian government asked for the WSPA’s immediate assistance with the animals affected by the earthquake. The WSPA and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) have come together to lead the Animal Relief Coalition for Haiti (ARCH).

Members of ARCH include the following organizations:

• World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA)
• International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW)
• American Humane Association
• Best Friends
• RSPCA (UK)
• In Defence of Animals
• American Veterinary Medical Association
• American Veterinary Medical Foundation
• Antigua and Barbuda Human Society
• ASPCA
• United Animal Nations
• The Kinship Circle
• One Voice
• Swiss Animal Protection
• Palo Alto Humane Society (PAHS)
• People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)
• Finnish Federation for Animal Welfare Associations
• Animal Welfare Care Foundation (AMCF)

Humane Society International also does a great amount of work for animals in disaster situations. They are working independently in Haiti, but their existing relationships around the globe will ensure they are able to provide a great amount of assistance for the nation’s animals. HSI was the first international animal welfare organization on the ground after the tsunami, and they have a track record of sticking around well after the disaster.

A Facebook-based group called Operation: Haitian Dog Rescue has also been formed to charter a rescue plane and create a directory of adoptive homes in the U.S. They are currently seeking pilots able to assist Animal Rescue Flights with the transportation of staff, volunteers, and supplies to Haiti.

Although their website does not mention any work with Haiti at present, I will be keeping an eye on Pilots N Paws to see if they plan any flights to Haiti.

Haiti has long been the poorest country in the western hemisphere. An earthquake would be devastating even for any of us here in the United States, but it is truly paralyzing for a country like Haiti. The animals in Haiti were already suffering greatly even before the earthquake. There were no shelters, no animal control agencies, no veterinary colleges, and no animal organizations to advocate for the nation’s voiceless citizens.

Perhaps this is an opportunity to create lasting change for the animals of Haiti. I know that the rescue and relief work for humans and animals will carry on for many weeks and months to come. Let us not forget to support those organizations and individuals who are on the ground carrying out this work.

Have you ever worked with animals after a disaster such as the earthquake in Haiti? Do you know more about the animal rescue and relief work going on in Haiti? We’d love to hear from you in the comments section!

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