Hi there,

I'd really like to have my own GSD rescue but keep thinking I can't do it because we haven't been able to sell our house and can't possibly do rescue at our current location. Today I got to thinking that maybe I'm defeating myself before I know at least some of the ins & outs / do's and don'ts of it all. I also realized that maybe one doesn't need a full blown rescue to start with - at least if I save one at a time, that's better than none

So ... I'm wondering ...

How your rescue got started?

What did you do (or not do) to make it happen for you?

Is it difficult to get the non-prof status? Is it necessary or recommended or ???

Did you start your rescue out of your own home or did you seek out businesses (or maybe some really rich people) asking for donations of money or maybe property with livable buildings on it?

If you sought out donations, how did you go about doing this? Ads in the paper or ???

I'll take any info you are willing to share. If you aren't comfortable replying here, feel free to PM me your response(s). Thanks!

Deb, have you considered just joining a local rescue instead of opening your own? you wont make money owning a rescue, you will likely lose money...and a lot of it.

In my rescue we have too many dogs and not enough fosters. I have 2 young females (2-3 years old) that are sisters and need to be fostered together and bc there just isnt room they could die. I know almost every other rescue has some of the same issues, lack of volunteers.

If you could open your home, and your heart, enough to start your own rescue, you could do so much good for another established rescue in your area.

maybe think about that as an idea?

Other than that, i cant help you with getting started, i am just a foster mom. sorry!

My concerns with starting my own resuce would be the legal issues involved.

Liability insurance - we all have a hard enough time getting it for our own GSDs but to get it for a rescue with lots of GSDs? What happens if someone sues you because the dog adopted to them bit the neighbor? Are the adoption contracts legal?

It's much easier to be active in an exisiting group that have all the hard stuff done and maybe aspire to being on the Board if you desire to have more pull.

Jamie makes a great point. It's sad you have to think about that...but you do. We have a farm policy with a million dollar umbrella and I'm not sure if that's even the proper coverage for rescue issues.
Don and I have pulled dogs on our own (from the other board..Hansel;Gretal;Shylo;Honey) plus some local dogs that were in danger. It's an AWESOME responsibility because we are now ALWAYS responsible for these dogs, should something go wrong with the adoption. When we pulled Shylo and Honey, Echo stepped up and volunteered to consider them Echo dogs and helped with the adoption process....that was welcome support. Bottom line....working with established rescue is by far, the best option. You have a network of people to help you through any issues and help with the adoption process. IMHO

It's wonderful that you want to get involved in rescue! I agree with everyone else that you'll be most effective in helping dogs by joining an existing rescue organization, and/or by volunteering at a shelter. If no GSD breed rescue is near you, an all breed rescue will welcome you.

Rescuing involves complex and multi-faceted knowledge beyond the knowledge we acquire in individual dog ownership. It involves many different tasks which require different skills. No one person can have all of these skills, and teams are much more effective.

People skills, dog behavior skills in different situations, dog health, knowledge of hygiene and contagious diseases, financial, grant writing, legal, publicity, computer skills. You need to know the demographics of your adoptive population, the demographics of shelter dogs in your area. Assessing the behavior of shelter dogs takes knowledge and experience, so does recognizing veterinary issues common to shelter dogs, and knowing the cost of treating these. You need to build relationships with shelters, others rescues, veterinarians, sponsors.

A good rescue will match a new volunteer to an experienced buddy for each task the new volunteer wants to learn and the rescue has needs for. In a team, people support each other and help each other in maintaining boundaries and not burning out. Organizations centered around one person only, without checks and balances, have been the ones at risk for rescue turned into hoarding.

501c status entails a board that is to be representative of a community. Donors are less likely to donate to a one person enterprise w/out 501c status, and a new and inexperienced rescuer. Filing for 501c status requires substantial fees, money better used for paying veterinary bills of an already existing 501c rescue.

Adoption fees rarely covers vet costs - in my experience on average about 1/3 of vet costs, depending on how selective you are at intake. It's hard to have to leave a good dog behind b/c you don't have the funds for his treatment. So fund raising is crucial unless one has deep pockets oneself.

I've done years of all breed rescue and breed rescue, and would not run a rescue on my own. If I lived in a very isolated area, I'd still try to find team mates.

Rescue takes a willingness to learn from dogs and from people, and then it is incredibly effective for the dogs and rewarding for the people who help them. Welcome aboard!

This isn't about making money.





I have thought about it many times and even taken steps toward doing it. The only thing I have left to do is complete the app and so they can get the vet references and then give me a dog to foster. I have two rescues that want me to foster for them. One I already have fostered for. I get so far and then I back off. Riley stops me in my tracks. He doesn't do well with all dogs but some he's fine with. We tend to think submissive females he's ok with, at least that's how it seems. My concern is that because there aren't enough foster homes and should the dog put into my foster care not be compatible with Riley I would still have to keep the dog and go through the crate-musical-chairs and other means to keep the dog safe no matter how long it takes to find it's forever home and that is no life for a dog either.

If I had my own rescue, I would set it up so that no matter what the foster dog would have a good life in my care and not have to be protected 24x7 because Riley doesn't like it and might hurt it and not have to worry how long the dog would have to stay w/me until a good home was found for it.

I'm also concerned that I might just not be ready to foster or start my own rescue because I unknowingly made mistakes with Riley and even after 3 years going on 4, I'm not confident enough in myself to feel comfortable about caring for these dogs properly. Some have special needs and behavior problems. I'm much better than I used to be but I come here and see so many educated shepherd people that sometimes even though I do really well w/my own especially compared to what I didn't know then to what I do know now, I feel inadequate.

Then I worry about the foster dog's diet. Any foster dog in my care would get the same raw diet our own dogs get. So, then it gets adopted and if the forever home isn't willing to feed a raw diet, the dog may not eat dry dog food which is what most people feed as I understand.

I'm really torn over this, you wouldn't believe how bad I want to help but I get scared because I'm just not sure I can handle it and do right by the dog. I'm here by myself about 6 days a week. I have to do it all by myself and I don't have proper activities in this area for them, my own dogs don't get enough activities because they're just not available during the time I have available (mornings) to get them there and back and participate.

I could go on and on, but I figger you get the picture.

I just remembered another big stop-gap for me. Years ago I hand fed baby birds/parrots for breeders. Had some breeders of my own. I was not only heartbroken when the babies got new homes because I loved them, but the scary part is knowing that people will be sweet as puddin' pie to your face, lie their butts off to get the pet up for adoption. Then they take them home and things like what happened to Courage the GSD in CA happen, or they get beaten or or or .... I could not live with myself if I had a part in that.

I keep thinking if I had my own rescue, I would just keep the dogs because then I *know* they'd be safe. I know, very unrealistic and I know rescues take steps to make sure the dogs go to good homes but in the end, even they don't know for sure.

I should just shut up, I sound ridiculous, paranoid and nuts.

i totally believe your heart is in the right place. There is lots of things you can do to help a local rescue without fostering. You can do temp testing, pulls and holds for transport, transports, hand out fliers, fund raise, work events, collect donations of blankets, towels, leashes, bowls, ect...advertise the rescue to bring awareness to the general population, TONS!

Fostering is hard. Plain and simple. Even if you dont have a dog its hard, then when you have a dog who may have some behavioral issues when it comes to DA,it gets even harder...and more dangerous. But there are still ways around it. You can crate and rotate, you can foster puppies (always a supply and the quickest to adopt out, sadly), they can handle smaller areas like xpens for contained play, or even x-large crates for safe overnight housing. Then just monitor them while playing and crate or put riley in a part of the house away from them.

It all can be done if you have your mindset right and you are responsible. Otherwise, like I said, there is ALWAYS a need for volunteers who dont foster.

Good luck in whatever path you choose, and thank you for caring so much about these beautiful dogs!