Steve

I wasn't ranting about the RSPCA in that thread I said it was sad and that if anyone found anyone in this situation to call us.I was referring to a callous society and a lack of compassion and I offered an alternative. I have no hatred for the RSPCA. In fact I have a very good relationship with people who are pretty high up in the RSPCA in 4 states and work with some who are employed by them. I would hope that the MDBA Pacers would continue to work with them and support each other in what each of us does. Of course they cant be blamed for every wrong in the world but sometimes how one of their employees react to a wrong is in my opinion debatable. My issues are with state laws and the system.

http://southern-courier.whereilive.com.au/...the-pooch-pics/ A Matraville photographer has risen above the pack, with her doggy snaps taking honours at the Dog Owners Choice Awards. Photographers and artists from all over Australia competed for the award but Ruth O’Leary from Ruthless Photos left them all barking mad. Master Dog Breeders and Associates CEO Julie Nelson said: “The Dog Owners Choice Awards are designed to give dog owners the opportunity to nominate, recognise and honour excellence in all areas associated with dog ownership. They provide an opportunity for those involved in any activity or service with dogs to be acknowledged for their achievements and commitment to canine wellbeing.” The fourth annual Dog Owners Choice Awards are now open for nominations. Visit mdba.net.au.

Are you saying that you don't think its sad that someone could be in this position ? Homeless and trying to keep hold of their animals? Are you saying it makes sense to take someone to court to punish them when you have already punished them more than many of us who love our animals could imagine when she got into this spot because she was destitute and poverty stricken - to fine her $5000 when she has nothing ? Well I think its sad and if I had been told about her plight I would have looked after her animals and helped her find someplace to live and supported her so her animals didn't suffer and if you call that standing up for her I guess I have to say I'm proud of the fact that these days in my daily life because of MDBA Pacers I get to see the results of what happens when you help someone to look after their animals rather than ruin their lives to go after a court appearance when they hit hard times. The job of the court is to make a judgement based on the evidence presented and to punish accordingly. Do you think the RSPCA should be allowed to say "she broke the law but she's had a hard time of late so lets overlook that she deprived her animals of the basic necessities of life"? What of a person who beats and tortures his dog BUT was abused as a child and now has serious issues? Should we not take him to court either? I am pretty sure that judges study for a long, long time to earn the right to decide the fate of people who break the law. Don't think I can say the same for everyone who works for the RSPCA. The court takes circumstances into account and hence some people get suspended sentences, community services and/or fines. She was lucky she didn't go to jail - I think they were lenient. Sorry, have gone off topic. MY ONLY POINT IS THAT NOT EVERYTHING CAN BE BLAMED SOLELY ON THE RSPCA. Yes she was lucky she didn't go to gaol,yes something needed to be done,yes she was guilty of neglecting her animals,yes the RSPCA needed to take action and yes the courts make decisions based on whether laws were broken and hand down punishments.That doesn't alter the fact that I think its sad and if that is perceived as me standing up for the person who is in this position rather than me saying I would prefer to take action and help people in this position before the RSPCA has to step in so please if you hear of anyone in this spot to call MDBA Pacers so we can stop animals suffering before it becomes a punishment situation then clearly I am not communicating what Im trying to say. We hear of a woman who is calling around her neighbours and friends begging for any old food they may have because she has had a shattering experience [an accident] and she cant afford to feed her animals.When we met her the dogs were clearly malnourished and the place was a mess.No doubt about it if the RSPCA had of been standing where we were the dogs would have been seized and she would have been charged. We did what was needed to ensure the dogs would be looked after and offered counselling services to her to help her to see her alternatives. We fed her dogs for 12 weeks, we cleaned her house and yards - once we had the place clean again she was O.K. about other welfare agencies coming in to give her a hand with cleaning and daily chores while she put her life back together. We worked with her to help her to see what she could take control of and how to change things. We helped her to put a business plan together and start her own home based business and 6 months later her life is better than ever and her dogs are happy and healthy and still living with her. She now repays us with help in fundraising and spreading teh word about who we are. Is this standing up for the owner - it probably is but our goal was to ensure that we found the best outcome for the sake of the animals. In this case we felt helping the owner was the best way of doing that. Sometimes we have to say the best thing is to find a new home for them but when we do that we give the owner the ability to be involved in the re homing process and put systems in place to be sure its not just a bandaid solution for the sake of the current animals but also any in future. Im not talking about people who deliberately hurt and torture their animals Im talking about people who are in trouble and thats what I felt was the case with a homeless woman who was in over her head trying to hang on to her animals rather than have them surrendered and lost to her forever. I still think its sad.

Are you saying that you don't think its sad that someone could be in this position ? Homeless and trying to keep hold of their animals? Are you saying it makes sense to take someone to court to punish them when you have already punished them more than many of us who love our animals could imagine when she got into this spot because she was destitute and poverty stricken - to fine her $5000 when she has nothing ? Well I think its sad and if I had been told about her plight I would have looked after her animals and helped her find someplace to live and supported her so her animals didn't suffer and if you call that standing up for her I guess I have to say I'm proud of the fact that these days in my daily life because of MDBA Pacers I get to see the results of what happens when you help someone to look after their animals rather than ruin their lives to go after a court appearance when they hit hard times.

No one stood up for the breeder. Some people said they felt it was stupid to seize a homeless persons dogs and cats and also make her face court and have charges laid of over $5000. there is a difference.

I don't think the majority of people regardless of what group they fall into get anywhere near considering a PR campaign - its about a perception of injustice - whether that is real or imagined and some things people are exposed to throughout their lives make them feel passionate enough to shout about it or at least to speak about it to others and take their donation money elsewhere. The majority of people who come in on these threads whilst obviously slanted toward purebred dogs are not purebred dog breeders and so when you say that "the angst felt about the RSPCA you'll note comes primarily from purebred dog breeders" is not something I agree with. I see people who are ordinary dog owners and rescue people with purebred dog breeders but even just looking at news items with SA senators calling for reform,the withdrawal of millions of dollars worth of donations in Tasmania which has almost bankrupted them etc and its pretty clear that its across the board and not something that is primarily a purebred dog breeder issue. Who can say how any loss of support is making any real difference to them? Any of us can only go by our own experiences and I could list hundreds of people who no longer would consider making them a donation and its not something I think about because they get so much money there would need to be massive droves of people walking to see much of a dent. Whether you want to get caught up in individual cases or not and debate whether one is justified or not the huge screaming fact is that people and not just purebred dog breeders think the system is needing to be overhauled and anyone who has any kind of sense of natural justice must see the holes that need to be fixed. I just think that even though you and many others have only been exposed to these issues here on dogz just as purebred dog breeders are in a vast minority in the general community There are several times when purebred dog breeders are accused of being the ones doing the pitching when in fact they are not.

oops choice of boys or girls socks -

We need some funds to help a single Mum who needs help to keep her animals safe while she finds permanent accommodation. We are now raffling a first aid kit 40 Piece First Aid /Emergency Kit for Humans with extra items for your pets. 1 heavy Duty First Aid Box 1 Vetrap Bandage 1 Triangular Bandage 1 2.5cm bandage 2 Sterile Water 1 10mil Syringe 1 5 mil Syringe 5 Cotton Balls 1 Oval Sterilized Pads 1 Scissors 1 crepe bandage 3 Alcohol Preps 1 Betadine ointment 3 Cotton Pads 1 Pack Sponges 3 Kin Swabs 1 standard Tray 145x130x18mm 5 non woven bobs 2x non woven swabs 7.5 x 7.5 cm 4ply 2 forceps - green 1 forceps Yellow 1 towel 2 ply paper 42 x 40 cm 1 sterile field white plastic 50 x 50 cms Bonus pet medical Record Book. Ill also throw in a set of dog socks for winter Tickets $1 a ticket or 15 for $10.Raffle will close on 27th of April at 6pm. Final date for payment is the 29th. Draw date 5pm 29th. Please email [email protected] for reference number for tickets and bank details.

Steve, you're sure dealing with all creatures, great & small, with Pacers work. And this explains why the lady's chi's & rottie are so well behaved. Wish I were closer to do something practical. Seems there's some legal stuff with the possums - something about a certificate and approvals to move them from one place to another - Its a sharp learning curve anyway

There's a lot of koala people banging A drum too in Goulbourne!

The angst felt about the RSPCA you'll note comes primarily from purebred dog breeders. I personally don't think all of it is fair, justified or even factual for that matter and I feel some of it borders on hysteria at best, however it is true that the RSPCA has not been a friend to registered breeders all the time. Historically, the tail docking debate seems to be when the support of the orgnisation began to wane for breeders as they didn't want to be told they could not dock. On DOL, many have personal feelings, such as those expressed by SBT above, due to the case against another DOLer. What I think needs to be pointed out is that the opinions expressed on DOL are often very limited in their focus. DOL members are probably only account for less than 0.005 of the Australian dog owning population, and registered breeders are only about 1%, so this should be kept in perspective. Don't take it to heart Chocolatelover, each to their own. The RSPCA is not about to come tumbling down becuase a minority hate them, although it certainly might help the RSPCA pick their socks up on their failings and become more accountable and it is the accountability issue which I think is the biggest issue. I feel the organisation has its faults, but it also has its many merits. I wouldn't go with that. Perhaps on this forum you get to see what dog people think about the RSPCA but there are a hell of a lot of people across the board who are pretty ticked off by their methods and the twighlight zone they seemed to have entered into. I don't know a single farmer who thinks they are doing the right thing, I don't know a single horse person who has any time for them either. Take a better look at the comments that have been made in this thread - how many are in fact registered breeders who have said they are against their practices? Ive no idea if Ruth Downey owned a dog let alone bred one - her problem was around them shooting her cattle and people across the country considered what happened there disgraceful. Ive no doubt if you duck into a jockey's forum or speak to people about a jockey in the Melbourne cup being in the poo because he raised a whip in excitement the whole world had something to say! Many people who have something to say in this thread have witnessed first hand what happened to a Rescue person who had never bred a dog in her life. Ive no doubt non regsitered mongrel dog breeders are just as affected as any purebred breeder its just that here the purebred breeder is more obvious.

Ive had contact with them. This girl has also done a lot of rescue herself with native animals and we have to do a bit of work with her possums!

We have an urgent call for help from a homeless Mum in the Wagga Wagga Area. She is destitute and is being helped by the dept of housing but she has 3 dogs and a horse which we need to find foster homes for immediately as she has been evicted and is not able to have her animals where they are after tomorrow. So we have two chihuahuas and a Rottie.All are well trained and very easy to get on with. She also has a horse which we need temporary care for. We will also be running a raffle of some description to try to gather some funds to cover this. Please if anyone in the Wagga area can help my number is 0269276707 or email [email protected] the housing dept tells me this should only be needed for a couple of weeks. Julie

Lets just forget for a moment about anything we know or anything that is said about how animals have been seized and how owners have been treated. Since day one not only in England but also in Australia the RSPCA came about because laws were introduced to protect animals from cruelty and the police department weren't interested in policing them. There was an understanding that if this were left to the police department that animals would still suffer and that the laws being bought in would be nothing more than scoff laws with animals still left suffering the same fate. Yes definitely over the last 150 odd years their powers have been increased as laws have been introduced and rather than just going in and taking animals which have been cruelly treated they can prosecute and have those who break Prevention of cruelty to animals act laws punished. New laws and codes of practice were bought into NSW around mid year last year. The guidelines for breeding dogs cover all manner of things including things like each puppy should have it's own bowl. How much time they should get exercising,how often they should be groomed etc. All of these things can be bought into play in a court case. Surely none of us really expect that we would see the police department getting too much joy out of having to do this role. Laws and Codes regarding animal welfare can be used in courts as evidence in cases relating to animal welfare. Can you imagine the police wanting to go in and rumble a 70 year old lady who has broken the law because she took her debarked dog to a dog show? So we are still back where they started the police wont do it and that will make any laws which they have pushed for ineffective so they enforce them. RSPCA act as police but they are not police and have no statutory powers or police training. Animal welfare cases are filed via the charity not via the state as is the case in all other areas of law enforcement.They bring in and pay for their independent experts via their own private solicitors. Their accountability is supposedly via the courts.If you have a dog that has almost anything wrong with it on any given day - such as worms - if they want to push the ticket they can take your dog away and charge you with not seeking vet advice.The court might hear that these charges are unfounded or that you have a good excuse but by then your animals have gone and you have suffered extreme stress. The expert witness is employed by the RSPCA and the attending vet could easily say a dog has worms so bad the dog had to be PTS when it doesn't have a single worm. The evidence is destroyed,there is no opportunity for a second opinion with an expert witness who you choose and your word against the machine and if you have a complaint there is no where to go as it a pending case with the assumption the courts will sort it out. So back to the topic from day one the RSPCA have always had as their first and foremost aim to be the animal police in order to stop to stop animals suffering - in the beginning dead was better than having to fend for themselves out of garbage bins. Saving them and finding them new homes or spending enormous amounts of money on animals needing to live through months of suffering to continue to live in the hope they will be suitable for re -homing at the end of it all to gain publicity and funding is a recent development. Beat up governments for allowing them to talk them into introducing stupid laws and allowing them to operate without accountability with such high risk of corruption to enforce them but people should know that when they donate money to the RSPCA it is donating in the main to a quasi police force. They do some great work and help prevent animals suffering but they are now and always have been about punishing people for breaking animal welfare law. The fact remains if they don't do it who will.Some people do terrible things to animals and they deserve to be punished at law.

The Winner is - Sorry dont know her dogz name Melanie Sweeney Julie

Its about predictability. If I want to know what management issues I have to take into account to live happily with a dog - how much grooming, whether it's likely to wander, how high my fences need to be,what I can expect its prey drive to be like, whether it will love cuddles or be aloof, how much training I need to put in etc then the only way to do that is to select a dog where these characteristics have been known about its ancestors for generations because with a poodle cross lab every one is a pot luck and I cant predict before I take it home what its going to need to live with it. Kate Scoffeld breeds first cross lab x poodles and she tells us on her website that when she surveyed her buyers that they had identified 68 different coat combinations. How could I be sure when I choose a pup that its going to suit my lifestyle ? Dogs have 100,000 plus genes and unless certain traits have been selected for over at least 5 generations every pup is pot luck. Beagle cross pug -puggle - has been toted as the answer to beagles wanting to wander but studies have shown this isn't the case and the desire to wander isn't anything to do with the shape of the nose. Beagles and pugs have completely different personalities and management issues and if I want to be sure of what its going to take to have me and the dog live happily ever after there's just no way of knowing until I'm in the middle of it. Julie

O.K. Im officially an idiot. Ive been calling hesapandabear for days. I left 7 or 8 messages yesterday and thought all kinds of things as to why she wasnt there yesterday when I rang at the arranged time of 9 am too. I just went to send her an email to ask her when I re- read the top line of her last email on the 15th where I asked her to clarify I had the right phone number for her. It said - No - not since 2007 and she gave me the new one. I will try ringing her ON THE RIGHT PHONE NUMBER and hopefully we can get this recipe book done and dusted. lessons read your emails properly,and MDBA members change your member details in the private sections of the MDBA website. MDBA phone number is 0269276707 - MDBA Pacers number is 0269276706 and Im here all day today. Sorry hesapandabear - my mistake. Julie

You're done now Sorry Ive been to the footy and just got back. Julie

Yours are good Julie

Going well. Looks like lots of people want to support openarms and they also love your collars. Julie

As explained via email on the 6th of April, for various reasons, I need to discuss this via phone.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,591128,00.html kisses from man’s best friend could soon be showing us more than love. Researchers have found that the DNA on Fido’s tongue could be the key to new treatments for rare cancers in both humans and dogs. The Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) and the Van Andel Research Institute (VARI), developed the Canine Hereditary Cancer Consortium, to understand why people and their pets get sick. The study used saliva, blood and tumor samples of dogs volunteered by private pet owners for testing in hopes that by studying canine cancer, oncologists can determine the cause of human cancers. "Rare diseases in humans also show up in dogs. By studying the DNA of canines, we expect to more quickly discover the genomic causes of disease and more quickly find ways to better treat dogs, and people,'' said Dr. Mark Neff, director of the new TGen-VARI Program for Canine Health and Performance. The testing will be animal-safe, and is approved by the American Kennel Club and Morris Animal Foundation. Funding will be supported by private donors, and by a $4.3 million dollar federal stimulus grant. Cancer is the cause of death for nearly 50 percent of all dogs older than 10-years-old. "We're proud to be part of such an innovative approach that fully supports our mission of providing total lifetime care for pets, and one that will offer hope to people and dogs who are suffering from these illnesses," said Phil Francis, executive chairman of PetSmart. Click here to read more from theTranslational Genomics Research Institute.

http://scienceblogs.com/thoughtfulanimal/2...cal_evidenc.php evidence indicates that dogs were already a part of human society around the end of the Ice Age. Small dog skeletons have been unearthed in human communities as far back as 6- to 12-thousand years ago in Europe, the Middle East, and China. The jawbone of a domestic dog was found in a late Paleolithic grave in Germany, and dated to around 14 thousand years ago. And there is the famous site at Ein Mallaha (Eynan, in Hebrew), in Northern Israel where an elderly human and a 4-5 month old puppy were buried together, 10- to 12-thousand years ago. Figure 1: From the site at Ein Mallaha. The person's left hand is placed on the body of a 4-5 month old puppy. Some evidence exists that dogs were the first animals to be domesticated, and until now, humans have only succeeded in domesticating around 20 different animal species. Compared with those other species (such as sheep, goats, pigs, cows, horses, donkeys, and camels), only dogs (and to some extent, cats, though at the risk of alienating readers, I maintain that cats are evil) have established for themselves a social niche within human society. Dogs were not only bred for companionship; some dogs were bred for hunting, guarding, or herding. More recently, dogs have worked as service dogs or drug-sniffing dogs. The question remains: Why do dogs have such apparent psychological effects on humans? One hypothesis claims that humans develop positive feelings and behaviors towards dogs as a side-effect of a mechanism in place that forms the bond between parents and children. Attachment, or social bonding, is a sort of behavioral regulation system that exists to reduce the risk of harm (e.g. predation) to a young animal. John Bowlby described two characteristics of the attachment relationship in mammals and birds: (1) Parents maintain physical proximity to their young (and the young to their parents), and if that proximity is broken, they strive to restore it. (2) Parents and their young display special behavior towards each other that they would not display towards others of their species. Parent-child relationships are specific, and characterized by individual recognition and differential behavior. Most studies of dog-human attachment have relied on psychological scales and questionnaires. One group of researchers, however, from Azabu University in Japan, have attempted to provide a biological perspective to this question. They begin with the assumption that individual recognition is essential for long-term bonds between between individuals. This is not as trivial as it sounds. Human adults are extraordinarily bad at distinguishing among monkey faces, for example, though highly skilled at distinguishing among human faces. Figure 2: I promise, those monkey faces belong to different individuals. Previous research showed that dogs are able to discriminate between human beings, and they're able to do it in a multimodal way, combining both visual and auditory stimuli. For example, they tend to look longer at a picture of their owner when it is paired with a recording of their owner's voice than with a stranger's voice. Other research has demonstrated that both human infants and dogs, but not human-reared wolves, behaved differently with strangers than with their owners (or parents). Is there a physiological mechanism that underlies this behavioral pattern? Under normal resting conditions, the heart rate (HR) shows regular variation in beat-to-beat intervals. This variation is referred to as heart rate variability, or HRV. In dogs, HR increases during periods of increased physical activity (as would be expected), but HRV increased when dogs were playing with their favorite toy. So while HR is a measure of activity, HRV may indicate attention. The ratio of the low frequency part of the HRV pattern to the high frequency part is considered to reflect the activity of the autonomic nervous system. Seven adult dogs and their owners participated in the study. The dog was put into an enclosure, and then presented with three strangers and their owner. Each of the strangers was of the same sex and of similar appearance to the owners. Each individual (the three strangers and the owner) were present for 4 minutes each, with 3 minute intervals between them. HR and HRV were measured during each stimulus presentation. They found that HR and HRV decreased significantly between the first stranger and the third stranger, and this was probably due to habituation; the dog became used to seeing strangers. Then, when the owner was presented, HR and HRV both significantly increased. Figure 3: HR when presented with strangers 1-3, and then the owner (top). HRV when presented with strangers 1-3, and then the owner (bottom). As you can see, the difference in HR and HRV between strangers 1 and 3 is significant, as are the differences in HR and HRV between stranger 3 and the owner. This means that not only do dogs discriminate between their owners and other humans, but they also display an emotional response towards them (as indicated by the autonomic arousal). So at least one of the criteria for attachment, individual recognition, is fulfilled. Pretty cool. But there's more. When a social bond is broken, animals exhibit separation anxiety (I have scratch marks on my door to prove it) and a stress response in the endocrine system is activated. It is important to differentiate this form of attachment-based social bonding from a more general form of social affiliation. When separating monogamous animal pairs, separation anxiety and the endocrine response both occur. But separation of mates in a polygamous species does not elicit the physiological endocrine response. Oxytocin is a hormone that occurs in the brain, and is important for bonding between mating pairs and between parents and children (Sci has covered oxytocin exhaustively, if you're interested). Increases in oxytocin levels are implicated in infants' memory formation of their caregiver, and in the process of pair-bond formation in monogamous species (like prairie voles). If you give prairie voles a drug that blocks oxytocin just before mating, the pair-bond won't form. Oxytocin given to stressed out animals (humans included) will cause them to relax, and cope with the stress. Oxytocin has even been called "the most important neurotransmitter that is responsible for social bonding." So you might expect oxytocin to figure prominently in the human-dog relationship. Fifty-five human dog owners participated in this experiment, and all answered a brief questionnaire regarding their relationship with their dogs. Experimental condition: First the owner pees into a cup. Then they play with their dogs for half an hour. Then they pee into a cup again. Control condition: First the owner pees into a cup. Then they are made to sit facing a wall, and not interact with their dogs for half an hour. Then they pee into a cup again. Then the experimental group was split in half on the basis of how long their dogs looked at them while playing. There was a strong correlation between gaze duration and the strength of the relationship, as assessed by the questionnaire. And guess what? Those in the experimental group who had stronger relationships with their dogs also had more oxytocin in their urine, compared with the other group, who reported weaker relationships with their dogs! So the initial hypothesis, that the human-dog relationship emerges out of a mechanism initially designed to stimulate and maintain the parent-child relationship, may indeed be supported! The changes in HRV as well as attenuation of oxytocin are both probably related to activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal, or HPA, axis (which is involved, among other things, in the stress response). There's still a lot left to figure out, but this study was a pretty important piece of the puzzle. It provides a clue as to the neural mechanisms that support the relationship between dogs and humans. It may also suggest a physiological mechanism to account for anecdotal reports of health-related benefits following animal interaction, but a lot more research is needed for that. It may also be the case that the attachment system in both humans and dogs share a similar neurophysiological mechanism (via the HPA axis). That may explain why dogs have adapted so easily to human society, and why humans so readily treat dogs as part of the family. Nagasawa, M., Mogi, K., & Kikusui, T. (2009). Attachment between humans and dogs Japanese Psychological Research, 51 (3), 209-22.1 DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-5884.2009.00402.x

It doesn't matter what you do unless you have systems in place to ensure it runs smoothly it becomes an issue. We now have systems in place to enable us to be sure we are covered and for no one to be disappointed. Also we cant just let any body decide they want to say they are raising funds for us without knowing who they are or what they are doing. Most people do the right thing but we have to be aware that sometimes people will muck it up whether by accident or design and do what needs to be done to be sure its covered. Julie

I didnt mean to make it sound that I was complaining - I just need you to fill out a form - thats all so I know who you really are and that we have a way of following up if we have to. There are already some things up on the pacers site to help with fundraising. Here's the FAQ Frequently asked questions about fundraising for MDBA Pacers. I want to hold an Event or fundraising activity for MDBA Pacers. What can I do? The things you can do to help MDBA Pacers are limitless. All you need to do is decide what you might like to do, fill in an Agreement to Fundraise form and collect your tool kit from MDBA Pacers Why do I need to fill in an Agreement to Fundraise form? The Australian Government has developed legislation governing the conduct of fundraising, meaning that anyone wishing to raise money for charitable purposes needs an authority to fundraise. It also allows us to answer questions from the public and media. All supporters of MDBA Pacers need to register with us whatever the size of the event, activity or donation. It’s a very easy and quick process –. Where does the money go? The funds raised will provide vital assistance for domestic animals and their owners who have been adversely affected by either a personal disaster or a natural disaster and who need help to get back on track in order to retain ownership and proper care for their animals. MDBA Pacers acts as a safety Net for Pets. . What if I can’t hold an event or activity but I want to contribute? If you’re unable to host or organise an event but would like to contribute, you can: • Make an online donation at www.mdbapacers.org.au • Forward information and the MDBA Pacers link to friends and family • Make a donation of goods or services to be used as a competition or raffle prize. • Allocate a percentage of sales on a particular item or for a certain time period which you sell in your business. I want to do something a bit creative. Any ideas? There are lots of great ideas in our fundraising ideas section. Can I sell MDBA Pacers merchandise at my event? If you would like to sell merchandise then you need to purchase it up-front then sell it at your event. For more details, please contact your MDBA Pacers office. Does MDBA Pacers have insurance to cover my event? All aspects of financial and public liability and public safety are the responsibility of the event organiser. As MDBA Pacers is not the event organiser, we do not cover any liability on your behalf. Am I able to share the proceeds of my fundraising activity with non profit groups or other charities? Yes. But you will need to decide before you begin who the beneficiaries are and what percentage of the revenue will be distributed to each one. Legally at least 60% of all funds raised must go to the non profits or charities you have named before you start as beneficiaries You can share this amount out between one or more in any ratio you like if you have made this known before you begin and when you are raising funds. What do I do with the money once the event is over? Count up the money raised follow the instructions for payment in your MDBA Pacers tool kit pack Always use your fundraiser ID number in all transactions Can I pay online? Yes, when you register your event or activity, you can choose to deposit funds via direct deposit/internet transfer. I held an event or activity for MDBA Pacers but didn’t register. What now? If you’ve held an event without registering, you’ll need to call your MDBA Pacers office to register after the event. You will then be sent information on how to bank your funds to make sure your funds are supporting the prevention of animal cruelty.