Two questions I need help on. 1st about a pitty pup and 2nd starting up a shelter.

[mypy]

Hi I have two questions.
The first one is does any one know any body near Sherman Tx looking to get a female pitty pup? She needs a home that either has no animals or at least just older ones. also either no children or at least no young ones. She is skittish and we are not sure how she would react if she was pushed to far by a young child or young animal. Who ever took her would need to have exp with pitties.

My second question requires some explaining first. A friend of mine ( the same one who has the pitty pup mentioned above) is wanting to open a shelter. She is getting training to become a Vet assistant and is planning on taking business management courses. She isnt sure how to set up paperwork or figure out what rules and regulations would be best for adoptions and the shelter itself. So my question is this: Does anyone have any tips for her?

[lizzybeth727]

Originally Posted by mypy

Hi I have two questions.
The first one is does any one know any body near Sherman Tx looking to get a female pitty pup?

I wish you luck finding a home for this dog. In most of the shelters around me, about 1/3 to 1/2 of the dogs in the shelter are pits (and it may be even worse in DFW)... it's nearly impossible to find homes for them, simply because everyone who would want a pit already has a pit. I'd suggest doing some training or something with this pup to help her stand out.

Originally Posted by mypy

My second question requires some explaining first. A friend of mine ( the same one who has the pitty pup mentioned above) is wanting to open a shelter. Does anyone have any tips for her?

First thing would be to volunteer with a shelter to get a feel for what everyday life is like in a shelter. Then do a ton of research to figure out what would be a good location for a shelter, and I'm not talking about property values. You need a location where it's convenient for people to surrender dogs, and it's convenient for volunteers and adopters to stop in. Most shelters are on the outskirts of town - almost always near a landfill, jail, and/or airport - but the most successful shelters I know of are right in downtown, where they have an obvious presence in the community. But of course, you'll need to make sure there's not already a shelter nearby, as well, since you don't want to compete with each other.

I think that most people who start shelters - not counting Animal Control, which is a government agency - start small rescue groups and grow as they can. They start in a few volunteers' homes, get the kinks worked out as far as adoption contracts and figuring out where to get dogs from, and as they expand then they can buy a property and build a shelter.

Good luck!

[Maura]

Your friend should first contact a pitbull rescue agency. If she works with them she will see how they run things. She should make contacts with other rescue agencies in the area and ask them how they determine a good home from a not so good home, determine who they will allow to foster, etc. She will probably want to form her organization as a not-for-profit, but she will need a board of directors to do this. If she doesn't want to form a board of directors or be a non profit, then she will have to pay taxes.

She needs to contact these people: Rural Texas Economic Development w/ WesTex Allied Communities
She will be able to talk to someone about her plans. The "enterprise facilitator" will meet with her, point her in the right direction, and speak to other people to find someone with similar experience. If no body has similar experience, there are going to be people who may be able to help her get a loan, find grant money, put her books in order, etc.

[mypy]

Thank you for all your advise. My friend was able to find a wonderful home for the pup and is looking into volunteering some place.