So you’ve decided to rescue an animal… that’s great!

The first step to having a spoiled rescue, is to rescue one. Where are you going to find your new family member? The safest places to find a rescue animal is at the local animal shelter and from a 501c3 Rescue. I do not recommend finding a rescue from websites like CraigsList or Facebook Marketplace. Those are not rescues. Those animals are purposely bred to make money from “backyard” breeders, puppy mills, or as bait animals. This is going to sound harsh, but it is reality and I’m all about keeping my information truthful. The more you feel sorry for those animals and try to rescue them from horrible conditions, the more those people will continue to breed and sell them. It’s hard, but the best thing is to not give those people business of any kind.

I always tell people, the “free” ones always cost you more. With all my years of experience in the veterinary field, as soon as I hear someone say they got a puppy off CraigsList, I know they’re about to test positive for Parvo or distemper. Your “free” puppy is now going to cost you several thousand dollars to keep them alive. I could write an entire post on the dangers of where you find your pet, but that is not what this blog is about. Instead, I like to focus your attention on the positive, life saving, and rewarding side of rescuing an animal. As I said earlier, the best places to find your rescue is at your local Shelter and a 501c3 Rescue.

So what’s the difference between a rescue and a shelter?

Local shelters are run by the local city or county government. Animals who end up here are either strays or come from homes of neglect or hoarding. Some shelters are “no-kill” while the more common, often overcrowded, shelters can be “high-kill” shelters. You will often find the “No Kill” shelters in smaller communities or run by local cities. Unfortunately, the shelters that service large areas, like county-wide, often do not have the resources to keep housing animals for extended periods of time. So, they have to make difficult choices about the number of animals they can continue to care for.

I know, a lot of people are against the “high-kill” shelters. The best way to make sure they kill no animals is to prevent the overcrowding in the first place. It’s simple, if there are less strays that are a result of irresponsible people breeding animals they can’t care for, then there will be less need for shelters. I strongly encourage people to fix their animals. I’ll get into the benefits of neuter/spaying in a later post.

So what’s the benefit of rescuing from a shelter?

Rescuing an animal from the shelter save’s lives! When you rescue an animal, it makes room for another animal to be saved by someone else. Most shelters have low cost fees to rescue an animal and will provide updated vaccines. There are shelters who will adopt out an animal only after it has been fixed. This prevents people from breeding more animals that will end up back in the shelter. There are lots of quality pets at shelters who are just looking for their forever home. Ask yourself this simple question, “Will I save a life today?” We all know the answer is “YES!”

There are many types of rescues out there. Some specialize in certain breeds, some restrict their services to local areas, while others rescue only medical cases. There are large and small rescues. And… there are the not-for-profit versus for-profit rescues. How do you know which is which? It’s easy… look for a 501c3 rescue because they are a not-for-profit organization. All donations and adoption fees go back into helping the rescue save more lives. In order for a rescue to get a 501c3 status, they have to file tax forms and adhere to certain criteria to maintain their 501c3 status. When you look for a rescue, make sure they can show you their 501c3 letter confirming they are a legitimate not-for-profit rescue.

How do you choose a rescue?

Well, first you need to know what type of dog or cat you are looking for. Read my post Choosing Your Spoiled Rescue to figure out what exactly you are looking for, then come back here and read more.

Now that you have narrowed down the type of animal you are looking to rescue, lets find your perfect rescue match.

One of the easiest ways to find a rescue is PetFinder.com. You can search by different criteria to narrow down your rescue choices. You can select rescues by breed, location, age, and many other filters.

Don’t restrict yourself to puppies and kittens. Consider rescuing a special needs or a senior pet. (link) Are you afraid that they may be too much work? Read my post on these types of rescues to help boost your confidence that you can handle any curveballs life throws your way. I’ve adopted rescues with medical conditions and behavioral issues. Once you understand more about those conditions/issues, there will be nothing preventing you from saving that animal’s life.

Which rescues did my pack come from?

I rescued Chloe from my job at the time, Mission Park Pet Hospital. She was relinquished by her owner after a suspected coyote attack left her with a broken jaw. The hospital fixed her jaw and I fostered her during her recovery. I fell in love and could not give her up. Proudly, she was my first Foster-Failure.

Sawyer came from New Beginnings for Animals. He was a puppy that they rescued from a high-kill shelter. He was slated to be euthanized because he had kennel cough and demodex. He was considered a “risk” to the shelter population and too costly to keep long-term until he was healthy. So, the shelter networked with rescues to get him out and find a forever home. New Beginnings rescued him, started his treatments and that is when I fell in love with him. New Beginnings rescues all types of cats and dogs in hopes of giving them a second chance in life. They are based in Southern California. Check them out to see if they have your future spoiled rescue.

Ruby and Kylo were adopted from Compassionate Animal Rescue for Medical Aid (CARMA). Ruby came to them with abrasions from being hit by a car and with behavioral issues. Ruby quickly healed from her injuries but she had lingering behavioral issues that resulted in her being returned to the rescue 3 times. Knowing that her behavioral issues just required some training and patience, I fostered her in hopes of finding her forever home. Shortly after I started fostering her, she became my second Foster-Failure.

Kylo came to CARMA with a broken jaw that needed to be set with pins. It is unclear what caused the trauma, but that didn’t matter to the rescue. CARMA’s focus is on rescuing animals who need medical attention. They help care for the animals and make sure they are healthy before adopting them to a forever home. Kylo was fostered by another family while he was healing. Shortly after he had his pins removed, he was available for adoption. That is when he became the most recent addition to my spoiled rescue pack.

Do you have a favorite rescue or shelter you’d like to share? Drop their name in the comments below. Remember to subscribe to the blog so you don’t miss out on the next post!