Non-Profit Animal Rescue - advice

[jclaiborne]

My last message came across as a deterrent, and I by no means meant it that way, as I fully support the rescue I work at, and wouldn't have it any other way, but I have seen a lot of rescues fail because they didn't anticipate the revolving cost. We very rarely get in dogs that are perfectly healthy, we get dogs that have been shot, broken bones, sick, on deaths door, it is not uncommon for a single vet bill to hit $5000. Now if you add reptiles into the mix, a lot of the reptiles you will see will be sick as well, you have to worry about transmission with all animals, generally the "unwanted" reptiles will be large snakes, monitors, tegus, are you going to be willing to build proper enclosures for these animals, you can't rehab them if their husbandry isn't being met. You also have to realize that volunteers will come and go, they get burnt out, you have disagreements, so as they leave you take on more responsibility. When I started out I was dedicating about 5 hours a month to the rescue, as I progressed with them it is essentially now a second job for me, I probably dedicate close to 20-30 hours per week on top of my normal working schedule.

Again good on you for wanting to do this, I just want you to be very aware of what is ahead of you....good luck.