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No More Homeless Pets Forum
September 13, 2004 Creative Collaborations |
This week you are the forum guest: What effective partnerships have you formed to help animals in your community? Do you have a unique relationship with a local business or another organization? How do you keep your collaborative efforts on track and running smoothly?
Submissions
Animal kinship ministry in church
Rabbit rescues partnering with shelters and hay distribution
Partnership with Regional Institute of Community Policing for animal abuse training
Offering adoptable guinea pigs at PETsMART instead of selling them
Partnering with local businesses
Multiple groups purchasing joint ad in a newspaper and paper donating space
Partnering with run club for "Run for the Animals"
Putting materials in vet and doctor offices
Feral cat spay/neuter project collaborates with doggie day care and horse boarding facility
Feral cat group partnership with sanitation and electric department
Working in cooperation with organizations in other areas
Organizations working in non-competitive, cooperative situations
Animal kinship ministry in church
Idea from Kris:
Regarding effective/unique partnerships, our church has an Animal Kinship Ministry! In addition to holding Pet Grief support meetings and partnering with local animal groups on Fundraisers (the church allows the group to sell crafts and keep 100% of the proceeds for themselves), we do a holiday outreach called Claus for Paws where we collect cash and other donations for four local animal rescue groups... typically horse, bird, dog, cat... which we then deliver to their surprise!On the educational front, we have requested and received support from the church in writing animal-themed articles for the church newsletter, tabling once a month and placing a Pet Tip of the Week in the church bulletin. These tips range from animal rights and animal welfare issues to animal health and companionship tips. This past week, our tabling was geared around cruelty free products and information.
We had over 100 people take informational flyers on where to access additional information. We have found that once people know that these issues are occurring, they are very open to doing what they can to support the cause. It's all in the educating. The possibilities are endless so approach your church and see if they might entertain adding an Animal Kinship Ministry to their outreach efforts. Feel free to access our info at http://www.newvisionaz.org/animalkinship.htm to get some ideas on how to structure your own.
Also, consider talking to your child or grandchild's school librarian about having a Be Kind To Animals week in May... or ANY month. Teachers might incorporate kindness to animals into their lesson plans, and the Librarian might be willing to support the effort by suggesting a list of animal-themed books for that week. Never hurts to ask!!! And it's great to start planting the seeds of animal kindness in our youth as early as possible.
Finally, approach your local doggie daycare or health food store about sponsoring a "Pet Wellness Fair", and round up everyone you can to attend. We've done this at several locations in our community and typically have Animal massage therapists, communicators and holistic practitioners join together to provide the public information about alternative therapies for their pets. It's all about education and if even one animal benefits it's a job well done!
Rabbit rescues partnering with shelters and hay distribution
Idea from Michelle, House Rabbit Society, San Diego Chapter:
The San Diego Chapter of the House Rabbit Society has been active in rabbit rescue and public education for more than 15 years. Two of our most beneficial partnerships are:1. HRS volunteers work with several of our animal shelter to spay or neuter their rabbits for them, prior to adoption. The shelters allow us to take their rabbits to the veterinarians we work with to be fixed, and then we return the rabbits to the shelter for adoption. This partnership increases adoptions for the shelters, sends all the rabbits out fixed, and once fixed, the chance of the rabbit staying in his adoptive home is greatly increased. We fix between 250 - 300 rabbits a year.
2. Over the years we have developed a hay distribution program. This program helps support our rescue efforts while getting fresh hay out to local bunny parents. Some local veterinarians help us distribute the hay that our volunteers pack. For the veterinarians, they become know as HRS supporters and more than likely, their business increases by increasing the number of people who come to their office to buy hay and probably return for services. Proceeds from the hay are credited to our vet account and help us continue the work we do.
Partnership with Regional Institute of Community Policing for animal abuse training
Idea from Ledy:
In Illinois the ASPCA has a great relationship with RICP, the Regional Institute of Community Policing. They have our animal abuse investigation on their website http://ricp.uis.edu under news.They have also published our animal abuse investigation training sessions in their newsletter that goes out to 1300 police stations in the state of Illinois. In a joint effort the ASPCA supplied RICP with 1300 animal abuse investigation cds, and they distributed them to all the law enforcement agencies in Illinois. They are wonderful!
Offering adoptable guinea pigs at PETsMART instead of selling them
Idea from Shannon with Cavy Care:
This has proven to be a very effective program for our organization. More than half of our 2300 guinea pigs placed in the last five years, adopted through this program. By partnering with local PETsMARTs we have stopped the sale of guinea pigs in those locations, and gave the public the option to adopt. The basis of this program is for folks to be able to adopt guinea pigs rather then buy them from select local PETsMARTs, much like the dog and cat adoption programs already in place in those locations.The guinea pigs are housed in the PETsMARTs in adoption centers that Cavy Care Inc. (CCI) has designed for the specific needs of guinea pigs. PETsMART keeps these adoption centers near the small animal habitats already in use at their stores. Because they are housed in the PETsMARTs, PETsMART staff takes care of the cleaning, feeding, and all maintenance on the habitat at their cost, and of course under our supervision. This has made it possible for CCI to have adoptable animals in more locations than one and thus reach a broader range of people. These locations also do not sell guinea pigs, but only promote adoptable guinea pigs. This program has proven not only to be a win, win for us but for the PETsMARTs as well. No longer do they have to deal with the cost and overhead of medicating sick guinea pigs, which was a huge problem in our area, but they also can take pride in their motto of "promoting adoptable animals wherever possible".
How do we implement our program? CCI contacts the store director of a location we would like to be in. Offering recommendation from other locations if necessary, we explain our program, and then set up a training date with staff, and a date of opening.
Meeting with staff, we explain how our program works, go over our forms and what they can expect from us, and what we expect from them. CCI promotes the new location on our website and at Petfinder.com well in advance of opening.
We have our own set up which contains 3, size appropriate cages, which can house up to two guinea pigs each. Each setup has a place for our promotional materials, which includes a care pamphlet, shopping list, and our business cards. We promise to offer a variety of guinea pigs to each location.
Because we have a number of locations we try to rotate guinea pigs, for example: a store might have all females, varying in ages, and the next week males. If we get babies, then we try to spread them out over a couple of stores. Guinea pigs typically do not spend more than a week in each location, because we do not want them over-stimulated. If a guinea pig becomes ill, we at once pick that guinea pig up... the same day.
As mentioned above, guinea pigs are not usually in a store for more than a week and then are in the shelter a week for rest. Guinea pigs, who have been in a center over a period of three cycles, are rotated completely out and then move into another program where they are offered for adoption at one-day events only. Almost 73% are adopted with in the first week of offering. Almost 97% are adopted if offered a second time.
PETsMART staff members DO NOT approve adoptions. CCI staff members are the only ones who approve adoption applications. PETsMART staff offers a pre-adoption interview form to interested parties wishing to adopt. Those individuals answer the twenty or so questions and then return it to a staff member who in turn faxes it back to the shelter. There are only two staff members who are trained to approve applications in our organization. Interested parties are informed that it can take up to 24 hours before they hear back from anyone. They are also given the shelter number if they would like to contact us themselves. CCI staff then contacts interested parties wishing to adopt.
We are looking for key responses, or phrases from them as we discuss their reasons for wanting to adopt. We will approve them or tell them why they will not be approved to adopt that day. (PETsMART staff have no interaction or part in the decision making process for the adoptions.) That form is then faxed back to the stores with Approved or Not Approved written at the top and reason why they were not approved written at the bottom. In turn, we call and verbally confirm that we have faxed back the form and what our decision was.
What is nice about these forms is that we encourage the staff to write their own comments about the people they deal with. Because this is an internal form, the perspective adopter never sees it. So PETsMART staff can write in their own observations.
The adopter has 24 hours to pick up the animal, which they are told at the time of approval or the guinea pig moves to the next individual. Adopters must complete an adoption contract, which is kept in a notebook with our information, and the store collects our fee. This fee is kept locked in the safe for our weekly pick up. All paperwork is then matched up at the shelter and invoiced. Animals in our adoption center come with a 14-day health guarantee as well as a free vet exam. PETsMART in turn gives our shelter a quarterly check, which is a $5 per adoption incentive. What's more, we are a reliable resource of information for staff members as well as for our adopters, encouraging them to contact us with questions and concerns long after the adoption.
This program has been so popular that we have a waiting list of stores that would like us to offer the same services in their location. At existing stores we have placed, at their request, double set-ups. The primary shelter no longer conducts adoption but refers folks out to the adoption centers. The primary shelter can then be used as a place to take in surrenders, assess health and behavior, and house sanctuary guinea pigs, thus decreasing our operating overhead.
Though we have no hard numbers to explain this phenomenon, for the first time in 5 years, May 2004, we literally had no guinea pigs to adopt. Until that date, CCI averaged between 70 and 150 guinea pigs at any one time for adoption. So you can imagine our shock. This was confirmed in a decline at other shelters as well.
Please feel free to contact me at cavycareinc@yahoo.com if you would like more information, if you have questions about starting a similar program in your area, or if you would like copies of the forms we use to implement this program. Please note this program can be altered to fit the needs of your shelter or rescue group, while still helping to effectively save animals lives in your area.
Partnering with local businesses
Idea from Deborah:
I live in a small town. A few of my friends and I frequently have a dog and occasionally a cat that needs a home. There are several businesses that will post pictures of the animals that are up for adoption. I usually try and bring the dog in personally for the business owner to meet. Then the networking begins. Recently two of my rescues were adopted because the business owner went out of town and mentioned the dogs to a couple who called me and drove down to adopt the dogs. They were a great home, and I was most appreciative of the business owner and took her a thank you note and small gift.Idea from Rene:
I'm a business owner who has helped out some animal rescue groups in our community. I thought you might like to know about a valuable partnership in which we participated with a local rescue group.My company specializes in design and printing of large format graphics for things like retail displays and exhibits. One way that we helped out a rescue group was by offering them free design and discounted production and materials for "point of purchase" displays that were essentially:
- Colorful 8.5" x 11" countertop stand-up displays that hold a clear sleeve for inserting flyers of current adoptable animals. They can hang on a wall or stand up on a counter. See http://tinyurl.com/2bmr9 and scroll down to "Pocket POPs" items for examples.
- We provided a Publisher template so volunteers could drop the photos of animals into the flyer and print it on their desktops.
- The displays also have a business card holder with the group's contact info for potential volunteers and donors.
- Finally, these displays went into local vet's offices, feed stores, etc. In exchange for these businesses giving up valuable retail space, each location got their name listed as a sponsor on the front of the display.
My own company simply asked that our name be added to the back of the display, as a way to market ourselves. It was a win-win for everyone. The only downside I can see is that the group seems to be having trouble finding people to keep the flyers current.
Thought everyone might like to know about a great way to put their name out there and benefit local businesses.
Idea from Susan:
This is just an idea... Encourage spay/neuter of pets by offering PetSmart/PetCo gift certificates with proof of altering and/or earned day off. This promotes responsible behavior in regards to pet over population as well as a bonus for the employee!Multiple groups purchasing joint ad in a newspaper and paper donating space
Idea from Joyce in the Dallas area:
Rescue groups in the Dallas/Fort Worth area recently joined together to run a very large ad in The Dallas Morning News urging people to adopt from rescue groups and shelters. I sent e-mail out to suggest the idea, and within 48 hours, there were 28 groups and 4 independent rescuers offering to contribute to the ad!This project has been great for building cooperation and camaraderie among the local rescue groups. My rescue group, the SADIE foundation, has even picked up several new volunteers.
We believe it is important for the public to see animal welfare groups working together toward our common goals. I don't think many of us really expected the ad to have an immediate impact, although a few groups have reported some success. What we really hoped to accomplish was to increase public awareness about independent rescue groups, shelters, and the work we do. We know we have accomplished that.
Our first 1/2 page ad had overall messages of "adopt, spay/neuter, volunteer, and donate", and it had excellent placement in the paper. To see this ad, go to http://www.starspets.com/news/rescueAD/RescueAD.pdf
A second 1/4 page ad ran in the Dallas Morning News in a football insert (team schedules for the year from NFL down to local High Schools) and encourages readers to adopt and donate. This ad should be on every football lover's coffee table for the entire season! That ad can be viewed at http://www.starspets.com/news/rescueAD/Print_RESCUE_AD.pdf
More ads are underway for the Dallas Morning News as follows:
October: PSA about Proper Pet ID
November: PSA message about Senior Pets
December: PSA about giving pets as gifts
Our rescue group partners for future ads include those providing rescue for dogs, cats, ferrets, rabbits, & horses. We are approached weekly by other "critter" groups wanting to participate. We have formed a Yahoo group called RescueFriends to discuss & coordinate the ads in a group manner.
We try to get 28 groups to participate in each ad. We ask everyone to pay at least $55 and ask the larger groups to kick in more if they can, so we can purchase a larger ad. Our ads are ½ page and run in the Pets section of the Classifieds.
We intend to run an ad monthly to keep our names in front of the public. Hopefully, we will be able to find a company or individual to underwrite the cost of an ongoing campaign.
Idea from Moira:
We have a relationship with our local newspaper. It's not very big or impressive, but we figure every little bit helps.The paper agreed to give us space for a regular column which appears every second Saturday. In this we write about pet related issues, health, training, summer hazards, holiday hazards, spay/neuter, etc. We touch on issues like puppy mills, roadside puppy sellers, tethering, etc., as well as articles about the activities of our humane society... rescues, fostering, fund raising activities, volunteering and so on. If we are able to reach just one person and change their behavior it is worth it.
In addition, the paper gives us space on a weekly basis for Pets of the Week, in which we feature two animals in our foster care and adoption programs.
Partnering with run club for "Run for the Animals"
Idea from Aimee:
When I worked at a local humane society, we wanted to do a 5k run, because running is so big in our area. But we didn't have a clue on how to get started, as none of us were runners! So we approached the local Road Runner club and asked for their help. For just $1.25 per runner, they provided equipment and volunteers to time the race, advised us on what age groups to have, what kind of prizes to have, when to start it, how much to charge, etc. They also helped us advertise it in their run publications and to their members.Our first year we had 220 runners, most of whom where not humane society members (an opportunity though because now we have their contact information!) and we raised $4,400! It has continued to grow in size and donations each year. Without the Run Runner's help we never would have been this successful.
Putting materials in vet and doctor offices
Idea from Alexis:
Many rescues (my group, PAWS, included) put flyers, binders with available pets, etc. in vet's offices. Of course every rescue in the area is doing the same thing, and we are flooding the market.We have just started putting classy looking binders in doctors' reception areas, lawyers' reception areas, accountants', etc.... Basically any place that people are sitting & waiting. Instead of looking at People Magazine, they can look at the pets we have available. You never know when true love will find an adopter!
Idea from Aimee:
We made up posters with cute pictures of dogs and cats with fun messages about spay/neuter that end with "ask your vet about the benefits of spay/neuter". We had them blown up and framed nicely. We then asked veterinarians if they would put them up in their vet waiting rooms. Many vets in our area only have the heartworm poster or blank walls and nothing advertising spay/neuter! This is a win for the vets who may get additional business and for us to reduce the number of unaltered animals!Feral cat spay/neuter project collaborates with doggie day care and horse boarding facility
Idea from Julie:
Our local Feral Cat Spay/Neuter Project collaborates with the doggie day care and pet feed store that is next door. When kittens and sometimes cats come in that are really truly friendly strays they go next door to the adoption area. With this collaboration strays that would have been returned under the TNR program actually find themselves back indoors with new owners.In our community we have a feed and horse boarding facility. Each year they have their community open house with lots of giveaways, prizes and demonstrations. They invite our non-profit group to set up a tent with information about what we are doing in the community. We are able to raise lots of awareness on spay/neuter programs and compile a list of ranchers who might be willing to accept our ferals as barn cats should we run into a situation where we have to move a colony.
Feral cat group partnership with sanitation and electric department
Idea from Karen:
I am not directly involved, but my friend is a volunteer for a program that offers low-cost spay/neuter surgeries for low-income households and feral cats. Here is what she said: "We work closely with our city offices, and they have turned out to be a wonderful partner to us. The waste department and electric department both keep an eye out for feral cats or for households with too many animals or that seem to have need. Then they refer us to them so that we can help get the animals fixed. The electric department also prints notices for animals on the electric bills, including one letting people know about a spay/neuter event we did for Spay Day last year. Recently, when we started providing other services for these animals, too, including dog houses, cables and harnesses (for dogs on chains and choke collars), dishes, leashes and collars, and shelters for the feral cats, the sanitation department had a volunteer day to build dog houses for us. They really like being able to help when they see an animal in need. We get referrals for the animals that most need our help. It's a great relationship for everyone involved!"Working in cooperation with organizations in other areas
Idea from Donna:
We are a very small rural group that has come to realize that rural attitudes are hard to crack, so we have formed a relationship with the Humane Society in a major metropolitan area. We send our puppies and kittens to them for care and adoption because they have the facility to manage them and a very high adoption rate. Additionally, they have great programs in place for the people that adopt companion animals to help make the transition go more smoothly, like a hotline for adopters to call with questions, and training and behavioral classes. Typically puppies are adopted within 72 hours of being placed "on the floor." All animals are altered prior to adoption so we don't have to worry about yet another litter. While it takes effort to arrange these puppy/kitten transports it is well worth it.We have learned to be very respectful of this relationship. If puppies or kittens are not healthy or are showing signs of illness we do not send them. As an example, we had a litter of puppies that were ready to be transported two weeks ago. The day of the transport something wasn't quite right. Our vet decided that it probably wasn't PARVO but more likely E-Coli (he doesn't have a lot of faith in the tests because he says they only show if there is blood in the stool). So we treated the puppies with antibiotics and kept them in our emergency puppy foster home. The following week three of the puppies were fine, one died at the Vet's office and one was still not thriving. We sent the three healthy pups and kept the sick pup.
It's important for small rescues to remember that just because an organization is large and bright and shiny it doesn't mean they have unlimited resources -- financial or human. We still have the last little pup after almost three weeks; she will be ready to go soon.
Organizations working in non-competitive, cooperative situations
Idea from a member:
I'm not sure our situation is "unique", but we have partnered with two shelters in our community on the Cash for Critters fundraiser. That way we get to use our combined resources for public support, as well as volunteers from all three organizations to collect the empty printer cartridges, and send them off for recycling and cash! We did this originally so that we wouldn't be competing with each other for the local support and it's been a way to strengthen our relationships.Idea from a member:
Partners Helping Animals is a cooperative network of shelters and rescue groups in New York. One of the most crucial things in keeping the partnership alive is that everyone must leave their differences and their egos at the door. We realize that different groups may have different ideas about how to operate and what works. You all just have to accept that you are there for the animals and share your ideas, resources and concerns openly.The hosting organization, Spring Farm Cares also has a great group of people who run the monthly meetings and handle online programs, which keeps everyone informed. The key is communication and information. Frequently a group in one area is having a problem or in need of something for which another group can provide assistance.
