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Help Us Help Them
How Can I Help? A Word About Breeding Spay/Neuter FAQ Why Do Pets End Up in Shelters? Sponsor A Scottie Norche's Pawtistic Expressions (Original Artwork by a Scottie, portion of Proceeds go to Rescue) |
How Can I help? You don't have to be a "Scottie" person to help with rescue. Rescuers, of any breed, are always on the look out for potential foster homes. Shelters fill up quickly, and sometimes dogs need extended treatment and have to stay for quite some time. If you are willing to foster a rescue dog, contact your local purebred rescue. Be prepared, they will ask you LOTS of questions, but they want to make sure you are well equipped to deal with foster dogs, sometimes whose background is unknown. They will also want to know if you are able to deal with the medical needs of some of the dogs that come in to rescue. Rescue is not for the faint of heart, so if you tend to be squeamish, or are such a softy that you cry when you accidentally step on a bug...consider helping in other ways. Many times Rescue organizations need people to do home checks (checking fencing, gates, yard condition, house condition, and so on) or we get a call from a shelter saying they "think" they have a Scottie, and need someone to run down and check to see if it really is a Scottie. Or we need people to man information booths at local events or malls. Or even someone to help transport a dog from point A to point B. There are many ways that you can help. I can't have another dog, how else can I help? You don't have to be able to physically foster a dog to be able to help with rescue, there are plenty of other ways that you can get involved. Spay or Neuter your animals-As the old saying goes "if you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem." Literally thousands upon thousands of animals are euthanized (put to death) each year in shelters and humane society's. (Some statistics say a dog is euthanized every 30 seconds in this country.) Most are unwanted puppies and kittens whose parents should have never been allowed to breed. Others are strays that have just been turned loose and allowed to breed. If you are not breeding to improve the quality of your breed, then "Sophie" doesn't need to be having puppies. If you think letting "Poochie" have puppies is the best way to teach kids about the birds and the bees...you might want to take a look at this page. Please help stop the suffering. There are low cost spay and neuter programs being implemented all across the United States, making it possible as well as affordable for everyone to spay and neuter their family pets. Check out SPAY USA's site. Donate your time or talent--many Animal Shelters and Rescue organizations would love to have someone come in once a month, or once a week for a few hours and help out. Some shelters need the extra hands to contact breed rescues, or trace dogs with identification tags. In some cases, a well groomed dog has a better chance of being adopted, so if you have grooming or bathing experience, they can use that as well. Call your local shelter or rescue to find out how you can help. Start a "Friends" group-Start a Friends of the Shelter group, that helps locate homes and place dogs, screen and council potential adopters and so on. You can also have fund raisers for local shelters or food drives, and they can always use supplies. Donate you money - donate your money, or supplies to the shelter yearly, or even monthly. Many shelters need: bowls, blankets, towels, detergent, bleach, dog food, cat food, litter and so on. Contact your local shelter or breed rescue and find out what they need. There are MANY other things that you can do to help animals in need, these are just a few, pick up the phone and contact your local Animal Shelter, Rescue or Humane Organization to see how you can help in your home town. |