Animal Care
A good deal of an animal rescue business's work will be spent caring for the rescued animals. Day-to-day care will involve feeding the animals, administering medication, cleaning out the animal area daily and spending time with the animals. Additional care may be required. An injured animal or an animal given up due to behavior issues may need special rehabilitation. The animal rescue will need to have a veterinarian available to examine incoming animals for illness and communicable diseases, and to spay and neuter animals that are being adopted.
The Business Side
Unless the animal rescue center has been opened by a wealthy benefactor, it will likely be a non-profit. This means that the shelter relies on donations in order to stay open. Non-profits are required to keep meticulous records of donations made, so ideally a non-profit should have an administrative assistant or accountant able to handle the book keeping. However, sometimes this is simply not possible for smaller animal rescue businesses, and the owners must do the book keeping, perhaps with the help of a volunteer. There should also be someone to answer phone calls from people with animals they need to drop off, or those who want to adopt an animal.
When starting an animal rescue business the owner will also have to work out issues such as whether or to lease or own a facility. Owning is preferable, so that the animals have some guarantee of staying in one place. Zoning laws that regulate the number and types of animals that may be allowed in a particular area need to be taken into consideration. Liability insurance is also a must for animal rescue facilities.
Relationships with vets and pet stores will also need to be established. If a rescue is particularly lucky, it may find a vet willing to donate time, or a rescue may be able to negotiate discounts on both medication and pet food.
Outreach and Fundraising
Because a non-profit relies solely on donations, the animal rescue business must have a plan in order to get donations. This can include fund raising techniques such as setting up tables at popular pet stores with pamphlets, perhaps showcasing one or two animals that are up for adoption.
Membership programs are another good way to get donations, with donors "sponsoring" animals while in return receiving newsletters and other material regarding the shelter. Asking organizations to make in-kind donations of food or bedding for the animals is another popular way to get donations.
Outreach and educating the public is also very important. Taking some of the rescued animals into schools and giving talks is one possibility for animal rescue businesses, as is giving guided tours of the rescue facility. Another outreach tool would be to build a website educating the public on the facility and things that they can do to help these animals.
Tags: animal rescue, animal rescue business, animals that, animal rescue businesses, book keeping, educating public