Be Their Voice | Voice of Rescue

What Does a Dog Rescue Do?

Written by Voice of Rescue | Sunday, August 24, 2014

There are all kinds of different types of Rescues that are dedicated to placing animals in need of a permanent home with those people looking for a pet to love.

Many specialize in certain dog breeds or areas of the community in which to rescue dogs, but they all have a few things in common at their core.

So what are those core items?

Rescuing:

This may seem obvious, but this is how it all starts. Rescuers go trekking through the woods, canals, and streets chasing neglected, starved, and wounded dogs that have been abandoned or gotten lost. It takes a very special person (or group of people) to be able to bear that type of emotion every time they find a needy animal they can help.

Recovering:

Some dogs are rescued and need a great deal of care and medical attention to get to a place where they are able to be adopted. Rescues generally have specific veterinarians they work with on a continual basis, to ensure all dogs are on their way to being healthy.

Fostering:

Most rescues use fostering as a way to increase the amount of space in their facility and therefore increase the amount of lives they can save. Volunteers share their home with one or more dogs while waiting for their forever home. Fostering also has the added benefits of making the dog more comfortable and well socialized while in the rescues care.

Volunteering:

Since Rescues are most often volunteer based, they need help, and lots of it. From socializing the dogs or cleaning out kennels, to working adoption events, or larger needs like fostering, there are endless jobs required to run a rescue.

Adopting:

Getting a rescued dog adopted into a loving home is a Rescue’s ultimate goal, plain and simple. Lots of time, money and effort goes into accomplishing this task.

Donating:

Since most rescues are non-profit and rely solely on donations, they need assistance with supplies for the dogs as well as monetary donations to cover medical expenses.

Sponsoring:

To supplement donations, Rescues often get Sponsors to fund or promote events, specific dogs or even provide frequent contributions.

Education:

Sharing the message of animal adoption and educating anyone that will listen on how or why to help.

Each rescue organization is unique, a product of their community, animals and volunteers. But they share more in common than not and by focusing on these core items, we can help each other help animals.