Should we become an actual rescue/transport group?

[Bunny82]

Just a thought but I was thinking about what is going on with Lizzy (the Fila) has made me wonder how much easier it would be to pull a dog if we were an actual rescue/transport group with 501 status. Seems to me like we could avoid a lot of the BS.

There are bound to be times when help is needed again and if we were a established group that might make things go much smoother for future rescue and transports.

Anyone interested?

Anyone know the procedure and requirements?

[Backward_Cinderella]

I have no idea how we'd go about doing it, but I'd be in!!

[Zoom]

Great idea...I'll start asking to see how one goes about that.

[bubbatd]

With Indy being the cross roads of America I'm in !! Financially can't travel far , but my home is always open to dogs !

[Lilavati]

I'm in.

I know we'd need to set up as a non-profit corporation. I'm not sure how we get the street-cred as a rescue though.

[iwantmypup]

Thats great idea. :D

[Punkygirl0101]

I would be down!! :)

[filarotten]

Wonderful Idea, it would alleviate a lot of stress and tears.

[Buddy'sParents]

To get 501c status is not only lengthy with lots of legal work but it is also pretty pricey. Then you also have to deal with who and which state the "home" of the rescue would be. I have the documentations if anyone is interested.

And, really, Chaz is already much like a rescue... we just go nation-wide and don't have the non-profit status.

Oh, and you do not have to be 501c to be a rescue, but there are other legal matters with that as well.

[Brattina88]

I think it would be awesome. . . ;)

[Punkygirl0101]

Then you also have to deal with who and which state the "home" of the rescue would be
The state the most members are in?

[Buddy'sParents]

Sure, but someone has to be the "head" (think director) of the rescue, you have to have someone handle the monetary dealings, etc.. It can be hard if it's all spread out, so it would be important to make sure that in whatever area is chosen, there are multiple people willing to take on many of the tasks. For instance, you can't have the rescue home be in washington and have the money flow in texas, etc.. etc.. And regulations for 501c status will differ by state as well.

[Bunny82]

To get 501c status is not only lengthy with lots of legal work but it is also pretty pricey. Then you also have to deal with who and which state the "home" of the rescue would be. I have the documentations if anyone is interested.

And, really, Chaz is already much like a rescue... we just go nation-wide and don't have the non-profit status.

Oh, and you do not have to be 501c to be a rescue, but there are other legal matters with that as well.


Do you know how long it takes and how 'pricey' we are talking? If all the fees are not required until 501 status is complete I would be willing to pay the expenses providing I had time to save up if it was very costly.

Could you please send me the documentation you have? :)

[Buddy'sParents]

I believe the process takes at least 90 days and the costs are near $500, at least in California. Give me a couple days to get all the links together for you and I'll send them your way. PM me your email and I will send what actual documents I have as well. :)

[skittledoo]

I think this is a great idea honestly

[Lilavati]

The problem will be the ammount of time, effort and responsibility that some members will have to assume, namely, whoever are the officers. That's the drawback.

[Bunny82]

Good point.

[Gempress]

Hmmm. I think things are great the way they are. Right now, we're just a network of friends and dog lovers who are helping each other out. But if we become a formal "organization", we'll need to elect officers, prepare budgets, decide on protocol, and other such stressful things. I see that as more harmful than helpful.

[Bunny82]

You know that is a good point Gem. What if we could do both? Get the recognition of being an actual rescue group yet keep things the way they are now? I mean all we need are names on paper right? People don't have to really take any official positions if they don't want them. Just be willing to sign a name so we can make it all legal. ;)

I don't mind signing all the paperwork and putting my name on everything. We also don't need really need a budget. People can just help out in whatever capacity they can.

I also mentioned that depending on costs of getting 501 status providing I had ample time to save up I will pay initial expenses to get us started as long as afterwards people would be willing to chip in what they can to help out if there are any yearly renewal expenses or anything like that?

[shadowfacedanes]

http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rbs/ezec/toolbox/501c3factsheet.html

A little reading on how to file for 501(c) status.

If this were to manifest into something, I have experience being an area coordinator so I could lend my experience there if needed.

[Bunny82]

Thanks for posting the link Shadow. :)

If this were to manifest into something your experience would be extremely helpful and appreciated. :)

[Lilavati]

You know that is a good point Gem. What if we could do both? Get the recognition of being an actual rescue group yet keep things the way they are now? I mean all we need are names on paper right? People don't have to really take any official positions if they don't want them. Just be willing to sign a name so we can make it all legal. ;)

I don't mind signing all the paperwork and putting my name on everything. We also don't need really need a budget. People can just help out in whatever capacity they can.

I also mentioned that depending on costs of getting 501 status providing I had ample time to save up I will pay initial expenses to get us started as long as afterwards people would be willing to chip in what they can to help out if there are any yearly renewal expenses or anything like that?


The problem is that if we are ever audited, or sued, and we haven't done things right, we are screwed, because the corporate liability sheild might not work.

[Renee750il]

Maybe it's time to think about something new . . . .

We find a way to make ourselves part of the rescue networks and work WITH the established rescues and THROUGH them. We could be more effective that way without having a cumbersome organizational structure.

[filarotten]

I was thinking the same thing, Renee. We have the fun, they had the legal issues. lol

[Bunny82]

Darn legal stuff! LOL

Renee I think your idea may work a lot better. :)

[bubbatd]

MANY rescue groups need help !

[SmexyPibble]

If somebody needed a dog to be held onto in Washington, I'd totally be in for it.

[shadowfacedanes]

Maybe it's time to think about something new . . . .

We find a way to make ourselves part of the rescue networks and work WITH the established rescues and THROUGH them. We could be more effective that way without having a cumbersome organizational structure.

That's what I was thinking, Renee. Sort of something like the Dane T.R.A.I.N. does - organizes transports of danes in danger to other rescues, pulling from shelters, etc. (although I do believe that they are also a 501(c) rescue now).

We could be the doggie in danger railroad. Say we see a Briard in California, so we send out emails to all the Briard rescues in the country. We find one in Idaho that can take him in. We can pool together to pull him from the shelter, arrange transport and get him safely to the rescue who has agreed to take him in.

Obviously, having the funds to do so will be a huge part of this. And that's something that would need to be decided on - do we do a group fund such as ONE paypal account - if so, who manages it? Or do we individually sponser folks on a case by case basis. Say, member "X" was going to be doing the pulling and the first leg of the transport so that member would need $75 for the pull fee and $50 of gas....We'd need to figure out how sponsoring members would go.

I'm very up for putting ideas together on this, but it would definitely take some careful planning and lots of thought if we were to make it something "official".

[Renee750il]

Shadow, we need, I think, to also come up with a way to be a reliable interface with rescues so that they'll work with us to get dogs out - like in Lizzy the Fila's case - because they know we are an honest source of good placements for dogs and not just another group of flakes, or worse, people doing nefarious things with the dogs.

[Bunny82]

Perhaps email or call some reliable rescue groups, tell them what we are trying to organize and how we would go about affiliation with them?

It might not be a bad idea also to document the journey of any dog we may transport. Like in Lizzy's case. I am sure most of us have cameras. Those of us who are transporting can take pictures at each point she stops in her destination to Linda.

Maybe write a little bit about her, what she is like, where we picked her up and where her next drop off point is. Continuing until she gets down to Linda who will take pictures of her in her new home and write the final 'chapter' in Lizzy's journey home.

[Renee750il]

Great idea, Bunny!

Maybe we do a thread on each of the dogs and post it down here in rescue? We could make sure to put a keyword in the title of each thread so that they would be easily searchable as well. Something unique like "Chazport."

[Lilavati]

I like the "Chazerground Railroad" :D

[Baxter'smybaby]

you could use Wilson's transport as an example :) There are photos.

[filarotten]

I love the picture idea!!! It will so much fun to see who helped her along the way. Kinda strange that subject should be brought up tho.

Yesterday, Ann was telling me a story of a Fila that died while staying with someone during a transport to a new owner situation over a holiday weekend. ( She had me in tears by the time she finished) She was having a few concerns about Lizzy over labor day weekend because of this incident. Anyway I told her I would email pictures to Auntie Ann, as soon as she arrived here, and would continually send her pictures through out her lifetime so she would know she was loved and ok. She loved that idea. Now, she will be able to see the trip in progess as well as at the finish line. I love you gals!

I also told her we would love to have her join Chaz, she could watch the transport thread as it progresses.

[Bunny82]

Another thought with the picture thing. Right now its a bit short notice but in the future maybe we can pull together and get a digital camera that can be handed off to people in line for transport.

When the transport is complete whomever the dog goes to will hold the camera for safe keeping until/unless there is another transport underway in which case they send it to the first person in line of the upcoming transport.

This would serve two purposes.
One if someone did not have a camera there would now be one to use.

Two all the pics would be on the same camera so there would be no worries about when they would all be uploaded.

[shadowfacedanes]

Shadow, we need, I think, to also come up with a way to be a reliable interface with rescues so that they'll work with us to get dogs out - like in Lizzy the Fila's case - because they know we are an honest source of good placements for dogs and not just another group of flakes, or worse, people doing nefarious things with the dogs.

That's one of those things that just kind of comes with time. Like earning your stripes so to speak. I think the idea of documenting all of our success stories is a great idea. Sort of a resume, so to speak. I'm fairly handy with blogs, and seeing how my lame ass is still unemployed :rolleyes: I have the time to do one for us.

Also, we want to make sure that no matter how this all turns out, everyone is one the same page when a "mission" is underway. We want no burnt bridges. Word travels like WILD FIRE in rescue orgs.

[Bunny82]

That's one of things that just kind of comes with time. Like earning your stripes so to speak. I think the idea of documenting all of our success stories is a great idea. Sort of a resume, so to speak. I'm fairly handy with blogs, and seeing how my lame ass is still unemployed :rolleyes: I'd be happy to do one for us.

Also if the rescues we do work with (Like Ann with Fila rescue for example) would be willing to maybe write up a small testimony about us. How did the transport go? Did we keep her updated with the progress? Would she work with us again? Things along those lines.

[shadowfacedanes]

Or, if we keep a blog, we can keep an "affiliates" section of sorts.

This would do two things -

1) Show the groups we have worked with
2) Give those groups a bit of recognition as well, and most rescues LOVE free PR.

I would be willing to coordinate a list of volunteers and what they are able to do by state. That way when we find a dog in need in "X" state, we don't have to scramble for volunteers. I can pull up the list of people in that state and send out a mass email to them. Step one of pulling the dog would be taken care of. Step two would be arranging transport, which I'd like to compile a list of volunteers willing to do travel legs.

(Sorry, not meaning to hijack the idea, just offering my assistance if needed. ;) )

[Bunny82]

LOL actually you probably said what I meant to say but worded it better. :)

Coordinating a volunteer list would be very helpful. It is very sweet of you to offer to do so. :)

[Renee750il]

You aren't hijacking, Shadow :) You're the one with the experience and we're going to be dependent on you.

As far as a blog goes, we could set up a separate registration here that several of us would have access to and be able to contribute to the blog. That would not only get the blogging done, it would maybe bring some of the rescue personnel to Chazhound to get to know us firsthand. Plus, this is an extremely high traffic site already ;)

[Bunny82]

You aren't hijacking, Shadow :) You're the one with the experience and we're going to be dependent on you.



Exactly Shadow. You being the one with experience your help, suggestions, and guidance are both needed and appreciated. Please don't ever feel like you are hijacking. :)

[shadowfacedanes]

Okay, if we come up with an "official" name, I'll create an email account, and all willing participants can email what specifically they can do and what city/state they are in.

I can start compiling a list, by state, of what volunteers we have on board.

I can also, with the help of someone who is perhaps a bit more able on the literary end, help draft up a "cover letter" of sorts that we can use to contact shelters when we are trying to get a dog released.

Let's do be sure though, that when pulling a dog from a shelter, we go at them with the honest approach. Sad fact is, some shelters WILL NOT work with rescue orgs for one reason or another. We shouldn't lie to them to pull a dog under the guise of adopting it. Though I've done it in the past, it can backfire and then we will lose credibility. Just my two cents.

There is a shelter in the county I used to live in, they would not release dogs to rescue. I fake adopted a dane to get her out of there because she was slated for euthanasia, and when they found out I only pulled her to get her into rescue, they blacklisted me from pulling from them anymore. Hard lesson learned, for sure. We can't help if we're blacklisted.

[Renee750il]

True . . . but there's no reason an INDIVIDUAL can't do the deed in a pinch ;)

[shadowfacedanes]

True . . . but there's no reason an INDIVIDUAL can't do the deed in a pinch ;)

You'd need to make sure the shelter doesn't do follow-ups or request any paperwork after the fact.

I got busted because the dane I pulled was not altered. They didn't alter her because they were planning on euthanizing her.

They called me 30 days later asking for paperwork documenting her spay. She was already in her foster home and I couldn't get paperwork with MY name on it from the foster homes vet. I was honest and told them that she was in rescue and they told me that I had violated the terms of adoption.

It was my fault really, but...my heart wouldn't hear of the "read the fine print". So I got blacklisted from that shelter.

I'm such a rebel.

[Bunny82]

Perhaps being honest with shelters is something that needs to be considered on a case by case basis.

I do agree that honesty is the best approach however there are times when you need to bend the rules.

For example some shelters will only work with established rescue groups which works great if one of the rescue groups we affiliate with would be willing to put in a call for us however that also leaves us with the question of even if we have the affiliation and backing is there time to get in touch with someone? Rescues are often flooded with calls and emails and can not always respond right away.

I think in these cases if the dog is in a high kill shelter with only days before euthanizing then I think if we need to pull under the guise of adoption then so be it.

[Renee750il]

Things like you describe, Shadow, maybe we need to make advance arrangements to either get the altering done before the dog is passed to the actual adopter when possible.

And hey, if we save a life, but one individual gets blacklisted, well . . . we have lots of Chazzers ;)

[GoingNowhere]

Firstly, I think that the idea of being a "through group" is a good idea. And it's great that you all want to help! I know that I haven't been able to help with either of the pulls, but I've kept up with all of the threads and wanted to add my thoughts. Great!

To the above posters - I dont think that's such a good idea.

For a one time deal of one person not affiliated with anyone, okay - I get it.

But to send individual after individual out to pull dogs while acting as if they are adopting that all come back to one "group" - bad plan. Not only are there SOOOOO many dogs about to be euthed in shelters that would be willing to work with us, but also it would tarnish the rep that needs to be built in order to get future rescues and shelters to help. There is a fine line to keep. For example - I think that it is easy to get 'attached' to one particular dog at one particular shelter that you've never met. But if that shelter won't work with us, rather than getting the group out of line to save one dog, you need to step back, look at the big picture, and realize just how much more helpful you could be if you just went and found another needy soul at a more accessible shelter. Because, quite frankly, I can't imagine that too too many of the very high kill shelters are as hard to pull a dog from as the PG one. Plus- once you get a good reputation, it will become easier and easier to pull dogs. Tarnish your reputation and it will become harder and harder... until you can do no good at all.

just my two cents. But I think this is a very cool idea overall. :D

-GoingNowhere

[jess2416]

*little humor*

I dont like the idea...

cause before I could look at petfinder in peace, in different states and what not, and know that I wouldnt be able to drive that far...

but now knowing that there are people that would, and that could get them to me well that isnt good.... ROFL

J/K ;)

carry on

[Bunny82]

*little humor*

I dont like the idea...

cause before I could look at petfinder in peace, in different states and what not, and know that I wouldnt be able to drive that far...

but now knowing that there are people that would, and that could get them to me well that isnt good.... ROFL

J/K ;)

carry on

LOL hmmm your in NC?

That's not too far from me. I am sure a transport could easily be arranged! ;)

[Renee750il]

Oh, like that little 'hoola pup, Princess? ;)