Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I want to start a rescue but I dont have a big amount of space, 1 room for the next 4 months then I am moving so might be 2 rooms. That isnt the problem though I wanted to know if you need to register with the government or something before you can take money/donations and if their are any other requirments I need to fulfill before opening up to rescues. Any other info will be greatly appreciated. thanks

To legally accept donations and give tax deductable receipts for them you do in fact need to file paperwork to become a 501 C-3 non profit rescue. The total money costs varys from state to state. I believe WI is around 500$ which is the average. It is fairly involved, and if you want I can go thru the basic kinds of forms you need to get to go thru all of it and what you need to do to set up the rescue.

That being said, many folks do in fact operate resuces with out being Non Profit. I myself am one however I am in the process of filing my paperwork. I believe if you make less than 500$ you do not need to claim it. You will however need extra stuff like caging in advance and be prepared for the #1 rescue animal. The green iguana. You will get in tons and to keep a good working relationship with shelters (who will refer adoptive homes to you) you will need to assist them with their iguanas.

Some states REQUIRE licensing. I am not sure which ones they are. Your best bet is to call your local shelter and discuss it with them. They can offer the best guidance.

Once again you may want to start now by getting together caging for the future iguanas. I am getting in 4 more here.
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Cindy
PHFaust

Email Cindy

Land of the Outcasts!

Cindy,

I don't think one has to take iguanas from shelters to have a relationship with a shelter. I can think of at least two rescues that refuse iguanas now. Plus, you have to say "no" eventually when you are too full.

I don't take anything but turtles and tortoises from my local shelter, and they understand that. Sometimes I've had to decline sliders when I was too full, or even snapping turtles that were beyond my capabilities in space and experience. A good shelter will understand that a good rescue can't take every animal that comes their way.

Katrina

Katrina,

You dont HAVE to but that is the primary animal in shelters.

No you dont have to take the iguanas, but the shelters will look at the rescues who regularly help with them first when they get the more adoptable animals in such as beardies, corn snakes, ect...

Shelters need the most help with iguanas plain and simple. Occasionally I do get RES in but not that often. And I cover basically the entire state. That does exclude the recent raid of a store where I got the call to help with 76 baby res all smaller than a quarter. You run a specialty rescue, not really an all species reptile rescue. Specialty rescues are set up a bit different. Kinda like dog breed rescues. They only take in a certain breed or type of animal, rather than covering the whole spectrum.
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Cindy
PHFaust

Email Cindy

Land of the Outcasts!

I guess the next question is, what do you do when a shelter calls and you and any potential foster homes are full? Do you tell the shelter you are full and request they euthanize the iguana if they can't place it in a timely manner? Do you take it in and have your vet euthanize? What do you do when you are full?

I've had to say "no" to sliders at a shelter in the past, knowing that they would be euthanized the next day if I didn't take them. But, I can only care for so much at a time, and still retain my spouse! It's tough, and something that anyone wanting to start a rescue will need to consider.

Also, at what point does one euthanize after the vet bill and/or animal's condition deteriorates? Another big question for anyone starting (or continueing) in rescue.

Katrina

>>I guess the next question is, what do you do when a shelter calls and you and any potential foster homes are full? Do you tell the shelter you are full and request they euthanize the iguana if they can't place it in a timely manner? Do you take it in and have your vet euthanize? What do you do when you are full?
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>>I've had to say "no" to sliders at a shelter in the past, knowing that they would be euthanized the next day if I didn't take them. But, I can only care for so much at a time, and still retain my spouse! It's tough, and something that anyone wanting to start a rescue will need to consider.
>>
>>Also, at what point does one euthanize after the vet bill and/or animal's condition deteriorates? Another big question for anyone starting (or continueing) in rescue.
>>
>>Katrina

I can answer both.

When I am full, I am very open with shelters. I also rarely take in direct owner surrenders. I often pay for the food for the shelters or drop off food for them. I also will supply them with stuff like lighting and heating equipment. If I have caging available I take them in. If not the shelters in the area often will wait until I can help. When presented with a take this animal or it dies, I take it with out question. However I have only had that happen once. I do have a few pet stores that will work with me in emergency situations as well. I have yet to have to euth any animal at a shelter due to space constraints. However my husband is VERY VERY VERY patient in dealing with me. He tolerates the fact that we dont have a bathroom anymore. We have a quarentine room that we shower and potty in.

As for judging health. That is always a hard one. MBD is fairly easy to treat. Overall I dont mind dealing with that one. Getting into more harder things to treat, I have a vet assess things with me. Recently I had to make the decision to euth. I had an iguana with a severely necrotic tale, belly was covered with thermal burns, and there was NO fat reserves anywhere on the body. It also had many open festering wounds. That is an obvious abuse case. The entire stomach was rock hard from the burns and the wounds were also pussy. I told AC that I would discuss what chances for treatment were. Obviously putting the iguana was not a possibility. The vet felt it would inhumane to treat everything else with out putting it under. I then wrote up an evaluation report for Animal Control. I did it in case of an owner trying to get back their animal.

Now when looking at the health of an animal, I take in what the vet reads in blood counts. This is very important with iguanas. If we have renal failure, we euth. This is not a treatable thing. I keep a regular stock of renal failures here living out their last days in comfort. Once they begin to really show the effects of the disease, we return to the vet and euth when he says its time. Some of these guys live here for 3 months and some for several years. I do not adopt them out to the public.

Another thing I look at is temperment. I WILL NOT adopt an animal out that needs welders gloves to handle simply because it is too mean. I just cant. I will hold them for quite some time before making that choice. Often times when owners surrender an animal for biting, it is associated with breeding season activities. Knowing when the season is, I let the prospective owners know. I also get them the info they need to deal with it.

Euthing is not an easy decision to make. I have had to make it several times. I do not take it lightly. I stay with the animal until it is gone as I feel it is my job. I often do cry. I usually call the previous owners very nasty names. This is always done either at my vets office or at a local shelter that I work with. I do not claim nor will I ever that I am no Kill. I am however low kill. I do not have animals euthed for space. 95% of the time it is health. One rare occasions it is for temperment.

HOPEFULLY I answered that clearly. I noticed I kinda rambled in places. I do want to point out to all reading this thread that these choices that we in rescue make to euth, make room, deny, or take animals is NOT an easy one. We do our best to make a difference. Those of us in reptile rescue often do it on a VERY shoestring budget.

Here is one of my iguanas that I debated hard on euthing. Her color was horrible and she was very underweight when she came in. As you can see from the pic she had a very severe abcess. She refused food and was VERY nasty. This one has had WAY to much of my blood. HOWEVER when I got her into the vet and cleaned up, she was still a bit rowdy, but began eatting. She has continued eatting and we are working with taming. She will not be adopted to a first time owner and will never be an educational display animal. But this is just one of many of the faces I see.

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Cindy
PHFaust

Email Cindy

Land of the Outcasts!

If you have limited space, you might want to consider being a foster home for another rescue before starting your own. You could help another rescue with transport, fostering, educational events, and the like, without stretching yourself too thin. If you're planning on moving in the next year, then I'd do some research into the local and state laws, develop your paperwork, ect., and not take in animals before the move.

One thing that I think is absolutely needed for rescue of any kind is a P.O. box - unless you want unscheduled strangers showing up at your house to see what's available, or unless you want animals dropped off at your doorstep at any hour. You may also find yourself involved in politics, court cases, and who knows what else, so a P.O. box is a way to keep your privacy.

You might want to ask around with your local humane organizations and animal control as well as the state department of natural resources (or whatever your state calls it) to see what the laws are. DO NOT believe word of mouth on laws - ask to see the actual regulations and ordinances.

Katrina

One word of advice is to maximize the efficiency of the set up before you begin to accept animals. I suspect that a single room could house quite a few animals if the design is good. You should also research some protocols and products that will be useful in preventing or minimizing spread of pathogens (and potential illness) as the greater number of animals housed per unit volume will likely increase the likelood of problems arising. If you plan on accepting snakes and monitors, then a small rodent colony will also be a good idea.