New Rescue

[Greylvr]

Hey guys wanted to introduce myself. My husband and I are starting a greyhound rescue in Victoria and will be re-homing retired track dogs and dogs that dont make the cut to race. I did rescue for 11 years and am now settled so that I can do rescue again here in Australia. We will be a small rescue that will rely on foster homes and having dogs in our own home. All dogs will be de sexed, vaccinated and temperament tested prior to being adopted. We have met a trainer that is willing to give us the dogs that no longer race and hope to be able to place all sound retirees into their new homes.

We will also be educating the public on this wonderful breed and how they can easily adapt to family life. We have 5 kids and a cat so the dogs will be exposed to these which will give us a great way to see the needs of the dogs and test them with kids and cats.

Well jsut wanted to say hi and hope to get to know you all. If you ever need a home check on the mornington peninsula or frankston area please dont hesitate to ask we will help where we can.

We will have a site up soon and our mission statement should be written up by tonight.

[huntrox]

Great to hear and good luck with it

[ninahartland]

This is great to hear Greylvr...they need all the help they can get thats for sure....

[HazyWal]

Greylvr. Good luck with your rescue

[honeybun]

They are a wondeful breed and deserve all the help they can get.

I was only introduced to them through GAP a few years back when one of their rescue people was also in a rescue group with me,and was most impressed with the breed as a family pet and companion.

Well done for setting this new group up and the best of luck .

Hope you have great success.

[k9angel]

Welcome Greylvr and all the best with your rescue. :)

[Greylvr]

Thanks for the warm welcomes. I love rescuing its such a rewarding experience. Our long term goal is to buy a house with property and be able to house more greys. The kids are really excited too. The cat maybe not so lol but she does really with dogs.

[Maddy]

This is just from my own experience of setting up a rescue so it'd probably be a good idea to do some more research, in case I've missed something (I probably have, it's Monday )

Set up policies for the group (and then stick with them- trust me on that one)

Things such as rehoming and surrender policies. Here's a link to some of ours and although everyone will have different ideas about how to run a rescue, it'll give you somewhere to start from. An accepted standard for greyhounds is that they be small dog safe but do not need to be cat safe (as many aren't).

Consider how the rescue will be run.

This is aimed at adopters but again, some things to think about.

Testing.

Write up suitable temp/prey drive tests and use them each and every time. Make sure you keep records of everything behavioural, even minor things.

Records.

Again, very important. This includes behavioural records and health records. Record chip numbers like your life depends on it and make sure adopter information is retained in each dog's file (in the event the dog gets impounded, etc. and that informaiton is required)

Educate adopters.

I try to do this by adding an article every now and then but also include information packs to adopters and general health information. We get a lot of email from people who have adopted greyhounds from elsewhere and haven't been given the information they need. You don't want to be one of those groups who rehomes and runs.

Dol is also a great resource for rescues and not always as scary as some people claim it to be :p

[Greylvr]

This is just from my own experience of setting up a rescue so it'd probably be a good idea to do some more research, in case I've missed something (I probably have, it's Monday )

Set up policies for the group (and then stick with them- trust me on that one)

Things such as rehoming and surrender policies. Here's a link to some of ours and although everyone will have different ideas about how to run a rescue, it'll give you somewhere to start from. An accepted standard for greyhounds is that they be small dog safe but do not need to be cat safe (as many aren't).

Consider how the rescue will be run.

This is aimed at adopters but again, some things to think about.

Testing.

Write up suitable temp/prey drive tests and use them each and every time. Make sure you keep records of everything behavioural, even minor things.

Records.

Again, very important. This includes behavioural records and health records. Record chip numbers like your life depends on it and make sure adopter information is retained in each dog's file (in the event the dog gets impounded, etc. and that informaiton is required)

Educate adopters.

I try to do this by adding an article every now and then but also include information packs to adopters and general health information. We get a lot of email from people who have adopted greyhounds from elsewhere and haven't been given the information they need. You don't want to be one of those groups who rehomes and runs.

Dol is also a great resource for rescues and not always as scary as some people claim it to be :p

Oh these are awesome thanks. I am toying with the idea of putting all the rescue dogs thru the greenhounds program I know there is one in Victoria but I cant for the life of me find it right now. I know in some states you can do in home training and then have them tested but in Victoria I am sure they need to go to a kennel for a week so still looking into that.

What do you think? Worth it to be able to send the dogs out with a green collar or better to let the owners go through it with their pets?

[tdierikx]

Green collar would be a big point for me if I were an adopter... I'd like to be able to take the dog out in public without a muzzle.

T.

[Maddy]

This is just from my own experience of setting up a rescue so it'd probably be a good idea to do some more research, in case I've missed something (I probably have, it's Monday )

Set up policies for the group (and then stick with them- trust me on that one)

Things such as rehoming and surrender policies. Here's a link to some of ours and although everyone will have different ideas about how to run a rescue, it'll give you somewhere to start from. An accepted standard for greyhounds is that they be small dog safe but do not need to be cat safe (as many aren't).

Consider how the rescue will be run.

This is aimed at adopters but again, some things to think about.

Testing.

Write up suitable temp/prey drive tests and use them each and every time. Make sure you keep records of everything behavioural, even minor things.

Records.

Again, very important. This includes behavioural records and health records. Record chip numbers like your life depends on it and make sure adopter information is retained in each dog's file (in the event the dog gets impounded, etc. and that informaiton is required)

Educate adopters.

I try to do this by adding an article every now and then but also include information packs to adopters and general health information. We get a lot of email from people who have adopted greyhounds from elsewhere and haven't been given the information they need. You don't want to be one of those groups who rehomes and runs.

Dol is also a great resource for rescues and not always as scary as some people claim it to be :p

Oh these are awesome thanks. I am toying with the idea of putting all the rescue dogs thru the greenhounds program I know there is one in Victoria but I cant for the life of me find it right now. I know in some states you can do in home training and then have them tested but in Victoria I am sure they need to go to a kennel for a week so still looking into that.

What do you think? Worth it to be able to send the dogs out with a green collar or better to let the owners go through it with their pets?

We have one adopter who moved to Victoria and she's having her girl assessed through GAP. As far as I know, this does involve the dog being kenneled there for some amount of time but I'm not sure of the exacts.

I don't think Victoria has quite the same thing as NSW but it's worth seeing if you can become an approved assessor. Greyhound Safety Net would be best able to answer questions there. Perhaps send them a PM.

[Greylvr]

Thank you for all your help. Who says this forum is scary you have all been great.

[Greylvr]

Actually I do have another question. Should we go for 501c3 Status charity or a incorporated association or just go it alone but keep all records like we were one of these?

[Maddy]

Actually I do have another question. Should we go for 501c3 Status charity or a incorporated association or just go it alone but keep all records like we were one of these?

It does depend a bit on your situation and goals.

For us, we intended to keep it small and didn't expect donations to be much so we decided to become an incorporated association. I can't speak for Victoria but in Tasmania, it's not legal to solicit donations without at least one of them.

[Alkhe]

This is just from my own experience of setting up a rescue so it'd probably be a good idea to do some more research, in case I've missed something (I probably have, it's Monday )

Set up policies for the group (and then stick with them- trust me on that one)

Things such as rehoming and surrender policies. Here's a link to some of ours and although everyone will have different ideas about how to run a rescue, it'll give you somewhere to start from. An accepted standard for greyhounds is that they be small dog safe but do not need to be cat safe (as many aren't).

Consider how the rescue will be run.

This is aimed at adopters but again, some things to think about.

Testing.

Write up suitable temp/prey drive tests and use them each and every time. Make sure you keep records of everything behavioural, even minor things.

Records.

Again, very important. This includes behavioural records and health records. Record chip numbers like your life depends on it and make sure adopter information is retained in each dog's file (in the event the dog gets impounded, etc. and that informaiton is required)

Educate adopters.

I try to do this by adding an article every now and then but also include information packs to adopters and general health information. We get a lot of email from people who have adopted greyhounds from elsewhere and haven't been given the information they need. You don't want to be one of those groups who rehomes and runs.

Dol is also a great resource for rescues and not always as scary as some people claim it to be :p

Oh these are awesome thanks. I am toying with the idea of putting all the rescue dogs thru the greenhounds program I know there is one in Victoria but I cant for the life of me find it right now. I know in some states you can do in home training and then have them tested but in Victoria I am sure they need to go to a kennel for a week so still looking into that.

What do you think? Worth it to be able to send the dogs out with a green collar or better to let the owners go through it with their pets?

We have one adopter who moved to Victoria and she's having her girl assessed through GAP. As far as I know, this does involve the dog being kenneled there for some amount of time but I'm not sure of the exacts.

I don't think Victoria has quite the same thing as NSW but it's worth seeing if you can become an approved assessor. Greyhound Safety Net would be best able to answer questions there. Perhaps send them a PM.

http://gap.grv.org.au/Portals/16/GAP%20Fact%20Sheets/GAP%20Fact%20Sheet%20New%20Green-Collar%20Assesments.pdf

They have to stay there for a week :) There's a wait though, to get them in.

Another thing to consider is that if you put all your greyhounds through the Greenhound assessment, in addition to the cost ($150 non-refundable) it will add to the waiting list for dogs that will go through GAP. Ie, for every dog that has safe backup with a rescue and goes through it, one that doesn't can't. It isn't as simple as that I'm sure, but it's just another thing to think about. I suppose it depends on what your aims are for the rescue you operate. If your aim is to get as many dogs into good homes as possible, it may be better to spend money, time and effort elsewhere.

One of the good things about greyhound rescues is that they are able to pick up dogs that fall through the cracks, and end up in pounds/on gumtree etc, rather than going through GAP. GAP only takes on so many, and there is a waiting list for that as well, which is a deterrent for some owners/trainers. I suppose it depends on your

I'm not saying that it's a bad idea, just .. there are a lot of elements to think about, I guess.

Also, I really don't mean to be rude, but it sounds like there are a few things to think about before you set it up. Whether to register as a charity, what that means and requires.. there are a lot of things to get your head around, and it's not for the faint hearted. Greyhound Safety Net are based in Mornington already and I'm sure they are always in need of foster carers - I've never seen a rescue that couldn't use a few extra hands, PARTICULARLY if they are able to foster..

Perhaps it would be better to join with an established group and foster and get involved in the running of that before starting your own? I know I said this in another thread a few days ago, about starting a rescue, but I really do think there is value in helping existing groups rather than having a lot of smaller ones. The less competition there is between groups who have broadly the same aims (ie, to help greyhounds), teh better - you don't want to have to fight for people's attention, money, support, time, effort.. and it will invariably happen, because an organisation is an organisation is an organisation. Each has aims and requirements, and particularly when they're involved in dog rescue, there is always a need for more money for vet fees, transport, marketing, .. everything. The less double up there is in terms of admin and overheads among people who want to work for the same thing, the more each dollar can do.

Kay's Greys is another Melbourne based greyhound rescue group - I fostered for Kay in a former life, when she was part of Greyhound Rescue. Which is Sydney based but had a branch in Vic at the time (not sure if it still does). There are others too, perhaps get in contact with them and see what would be really helpful for them?

I do understand the desire to do it yourself and run things your way, etc etc- trust me, I'm an introverted control freak. But I just often see little rescues starting up here and there and think, all the time and money spent trying to establish yourself could've gone so much further. If the aim is to get more dogs into good homes, a critical mass is a really good thing. If the general public need to know more about waht great pets greyhounds can make (and I think they do!), then if people worked together to get that message out, it's better than each group trying to get their own name known. It's better to have a broader focus, I suppose, and focus on the bigger picture.

Despite all of that - if it's possible to become a Greenhjound assessor that would be BRILLIANT. You could do SO, so much good work for all sorts of people. I'm sure all greyhound rescue organisations would love the chance to get their hounds assessed without the requirement that they send them away, pay $150, (and in most cases, I doubt they want to co-operate and give $$ to the industry....).

I really don't want to be a mean, rude person to come and burst your bubble, but I really, really love greyhounds.. I guess I just think in many cases, people's time and effort would be better spent bolstering the things already in existence instead of starting new ones.

[Maddy]

What Alkhe said..

While I'd agree with you on most of those points, it does depend on whether or not the rescue plans to do anything different to existing groups.

There's another greyhound rescue group down here but we operate very differently and with different goals. I could have just fostered for them but I have vastly different ideas as to what makes an ethical group and there would have been conflict (to put it nicely :p ).

Obviously this might not apply to Greylvr's case but it's something to bear in mind.

I know there are a few groups who keep dogs mostly kenneled but some adopters might prefer dogs who have actually lived in a home environment- I know I certainly would.

[Alkhe]

What Alkhe said..

While I'd agree with you on most of those points, it does depend on whether or not the rescue plans to do anything different to existing groups.

There's another greyhound rescue group down here but we operate very differently and with different goals. I could have just fostered for them but I have vastly different ideas as to what makes an ethical group and there would have been conflict (to put it nicely :p ).

Obviously this might not apply to Greylvr's case but it's something to bear in mind.

I know there are a few groups who keep dogs mostly kenneled but some adopters might prefer dogs who have actually lived in a home environment- I know I certainly would.

Yep - totally agree. And I also agree on the home environment thing, I would definitely rather a dog that had lived in one, particularly since I have a small dog. I don't know that much about GSN - basically I have read their website.. but if I were to foster Greys again, I would go straight to them. If you were situated on the other side of Melbourne, it might even be a different story, but GSN is based in Mornington anyway.

One of the things that would prevent me from starting a rescue is establishing what happens when it all goes pear shaped. What if you rehomed a dog and it killed the family's other pet? Or bit someone? What happens if they destroy a foster carer's couch? Or if a foster carer (or 2, or 3) change their mind, have to go away, have a family crisis? Who is going to do the temp testing? What kind of behavioural issues are you prepared to deal with? And what kind of support (physical, financial, emotional, etc) are you prepared to offer the foster carers? What if something happens and a bunch of re-homed dogs come back on to your door stop. What if you find out 6 months down the track that it was a terrible idea, you're in over your head and are responsible for a bunch of dogs? How much money do you have as a back up?

I'm playing the devil's advocate, I know, but the worst-case scenarios really have to be one of the first things you work out, I think.

Edited December 3, 2012 by Alkhe

[Greylvr]

This is just from my own experience of setting up a rescue so it'd probably be a good idea to do some more research, in case I've missed something (I probably have, it's Monday )

Set up policies for the group (and then stick with them- trust me on that one)

Things such as rehoming and surrender policies. Here's a link to some of ours and although everyone will have different ideas about how to run a rescue, it'll give you somewhere to start from. An accepted standard for greyhounds is that they be small dog safe but do not need to be cat safe (as many aren't).

Consider how the rescue will be run.

This is aimed at adopters but again, some things to think about.

Testing.

Write up suitable temp/prey drive tests and use them each and every time. Make sure you keep records of everything behavioural, even minor things.

Records.

Again, very important. This includes behavioural records and health records. Record chip numbers like your life depends on it and make sure adopter information is retained in each dog's file (in the event the dog gets impounded, etc. and that informaiton is required)

Educate adopters.

I try to do this by adding an article every now and then but also include information packs to adopters and general health information. We get a lot of email from people who have adopted greyhounds from elsewhere and haven't been given the information they need. You don't want to be one of those groups who rehomes and runs.

Dol is also a great resource for rescues and not always as scary as some people claim it to be :p

Oh these are awesome thanks. I am toying with the idea of putting all the rescue dogs thru the greenhounds program I know there is one in Victoria but I cant for the life of me find it right now. I know in some states you can do in home training and then have them tested but in Victoria I am sure they need to go to a kennel for a week so still looking into that.

What do you think? Worth it to be able to send the dogs out with a green collar or better to let the owners go through it with their pets?

We have one adopter who moved to Victoria and she's having her girl assessed through GAP. As far as I know, this does involve the dog being kenneled there for some amount of time but I'm not sure of the exacts.

I don't think Victoria has quite the same thing as NSW but it's worth seeing if you can become an approved assessor. Greyhound Safety Net would be best able to answer questions there. Perhaps send them a PM.

http://gap.grv.org.au/Portals/16/GAP%20Fact%20Sheets/GAP%20Fact%20Sheet%20New%20Green-Collar%20Assesments.pdf

They have to stay there for a week :) There's a wait though, to get them in.

Another thing to consider is that if you put all your greyhounds through the Greenhound assessment, in addition to the cost ($150 non-refundable) it will add to the waiting list for dogs that will go through GAP. Ie, for every dog that has safe backup with a rescue and goes through it, one that doesn't can't. It isn't as simple as that I'm sure, but it's just another thing to think about. I suppose it depends on what your aims are for the rescue you operate. If your aim is to get as many dogs into good homes as possible, it may be better to spend money, time and effort elsewhere.

One of the good things about greyhound rescues is that they are able to pick up dogs that fall through the cracks, and end up in pounds/on gumtree etc, rather than going through GAP. GAP only takes on so many, and there is a waiting list for that as well, which is a deterrent for some owners/trainers. I suppose it depends on your

I'm not saying that it's a bad idea, just .. there are a lot of elements to think about, I guess.

Also, I really don't mean to be rude, but it sounds like there are a few things to think about before you set it up. Whether to register as a charity, what that means and requires.. there are a lot of things to get your head around, and it's not for the faint hearted. Greyhound Safety Net are based in Mornington already and I'm sure they are always in need of foster carers - I've never seen a rescue that couldn't use a few extra hands, PARTICULARLY if they are able to foster..

Perhaps it would be better to join with an established group and foster and get involved in the running of that before starting your own? I know I said this in another thread a few days ago, about starting a rescue, but I really do think there is value in helping existing groups rather than having a lot of smaller ones. The less competition there is between groups who have broadly the same aims (ie, to help greyhounds), teh better - you don't want to have to fight for people's attention, money, support, time, effort.. and it will invariably happen, because an organisation is an organisation is an organisation. Each has aims and requirements, and particularly when they're involved in dog rescue, there is always a need for more money for vet fees, transport, marketing, .. everything. The less double up there is in terms of admin and overheads among people who want to work for the same thing, the more each dollar can do.

Kay's Greys is another Melbourne based greyhound rescue group - I fostered for Kay in a former life, when she was part of Greyhound Rescue. Which is Sydney based but had a branch in Vic at the time (not sure if it still does). There are others too, perhaps get in contact with them and see what would be really helpful for them?

I do understand the desire to do it yourself and run things your way, etc etc- trust me, I'm an introverted control freak. But I just often see little rescues starting up here and there and think, all the time and money spent trying to establish yourself could've gone so much further. If the aim is to get more dogs into good homes, a critical mass is a really good thing. If the general public need to know more about waht great pets greyhounds can make (and I think they do!), then if people worked together to get that message out, it's better than each group trying to get their own name known. It's better to have a broader focus, I suppose, and focus on the bigger picture.

Despite all of that - if it's possible to become a Greenhjound assessor that would be BRILLIANT. You could do SO, so much good work for all sorts of people. I'm sure all greyhound rescue organisations would love the chance to get their hounds assessed without the requirement that they send them away, pay $150, (and in most cases, I doubt they want to co-operate and give $$ to the industry....).

I really don't want to be a mean, rude person to come and burst your bubble, but I really, really love greyhounds.. I guess I just think in many cases, people's time and effort would be better spent bolstering the things already in existence instead of starting new ones.

There are very good points but I have fostered in the past and just had too many bad experiences. Dogs placed in homes I didnt think were acceptable and had no say. Rescues knowing I had children sending me dogs that were not good with kids, being stuck with vet bills that the rescue should have paid but never did.

I ran a successful rescue for 11 years and love it. I am very picky on where my dogs go, I had humane societies shipping me dogs that would be put down if I didnt work with them. Some took 6 months to a year to rehab but I was very successful. I have seen rescues bad mouth the race dog owners and I do not think that is the proper way to help these dogs. I want the dogs to come from the track to a home where they are worked with to get over fears and learn to live with a family. I dont ever plan to board a dog or have them in kennels, just a nice warm house :)

I just want to be a small organization that helps dogs. I have a trainer that is willing to send me the dogs they can no longer keep and she may have friends too that need our help. I want to focus on ex racers and getting them into a retirement home instead of them being euthanized.

On the other subject I may look into becoming an assessor it would be great to be able to offer this service free to rescues, I think it would go a long way to helping more greyhounds than just those that find themselves at my house.

Edited December 3, 2012 by Greylvr

[Greylvr]

Yep - totally agree. And I also agree on the home environment thing, I would definitely rather a dog that had lived in one, particularly since I have a small dog. I don't know that much about GSN - basically I have read their website.. but if I were to foster Greys again, I would go straight to them. If you were situated on the other side of Melbourne, it might even be a different story, but GSN is based in Mornington anyway.

One of the things that would prevent me from starting a rescue is establishing what happens when it all goes pear shaped. What if you rehomed a dog and it killed the family's other pet? Or bit someone? What happens if they destroy a foster carer's couch? Or if a foster carer (or 2, or 3) change their mind, have to go away, have a family crisis? Who is going to do the temp testing? What kind of behavioural issues are you prepared to deal with? And what kind of support (physical, financial, emotional, etc) are you prepared to offer the foster carers? What if something happens and a bunch of re-homed dogs come back on to your door stop. What if you find out 6 months down the track that it was a terrible idea, you're in over your head and are responsible for a bunch of dogs? How much money do you have as a back up?

I'm playing the devil's advocate, I know, but the worst-case scenarios really have to be one of the first things you work out, I think.

My contracts have always stated that an adopted dog must be returned to me if they no longer can care for it no if ands or buts. I have had a few people who have had family that want to take the dog which was fine but the dog had to come back to us be reassessed and then the family had to go through the adoption process with us.

I have never had a dog kill another persons pets but I am very aware of the dogs we put out there. In the case of Sm staffs we placed they couldnt have other small pets nor have neighbors that had cats or dogs on either side of them. The risk of another animal being hurt because I wasnt diligent just isnt worth it IMO

[Maddy]

What Alkhe said..

While I'd agree with you on most of those points, it does depend on whether or not the rescue plans to do anything different to existing groups.

There's another greyhound rescue group down here but we operate very differently and with different goals. I could have just fostered for them but I have vastly different ideas as to what makes an ethical group and there would have been conflict (to put it nicely :p ).

Obviously this might not apply to Greylvr's case but it's something to bear in mind.

I know there are a few groups who keep dogs mostly kenneled but some adopters might prefer dogs who have actually lived in a home environment- I know I certainly would.

Yep - totally agree. And I also agree on the home environment thing, I would definitely rather a dog that had lived in one, particularly since I have a small dog. I don't know that much about GSN - basically I have read their website.. but if I were to foster Greys again, I would go straight to them. If you were situated on the other side of Melbourne, it might even be a different story, but GSN is based in Mornington anyway.

One of the things that would prevent me from starting a rescue is establishing what happens when it all goes pear shaped. What if you rehomed a dog and it killed the family's other pet? Or bit someone? What happens if they destroy a foster carer's couch? Or if a foster carer (or 2, or 3) change their mind, have to go away, have a family crisis? Who is going to do the temp testing? What kind of behavioural issues are you prepared to deal with? And what kind of support (physical, financial, emotional, etc) are you prepared to offer the foster carers? What if something happens and a bunch of re-homed dogs come back on to your door stop. What if you find out 6 months down the track that it was a terrible idea, you're in over your head and are responsible for a bunch of dogs? How much money do you have as a back up?

I'm playing the devil's advocate, I know, but the worst-case scenarios really have to be one of the first things you work out, I think.

Issue like the ones mentioned are a good reason for starting small and really focusing on details. A rescuer can't handle these things without some experience but the only way to learn is to actually be involved in a meaningful way, making decisions on placement, etc.

I don't think anyone here is naive enough to think it's an easy path to take. I was thrown in the deep end- very literally had a rescue handed to me by the previous (and very inexperienced) "coordinator" and left to fend for myself so it can be done, it just takes a lot of research and time and care.

Set out plans for every possible situation and get all your basics down before you actually start taking dogs, that'd be the best advice I could offer.