Facts about us:
- We are a charity, registered with the federal government. With being a registered charity comes annual government reporting of funds and expenditures. You can view our listing on the Government of Canada's website here: https://apps.cra-arc.gc.ca/ebci/hacc/srch/pub/dsplyQckVw?selectedCharityBn=706575883RR0001&isSingleResult=false&q.stts=0007
Each year, we tally and create a Financial Report that shows in more detail where donations go. Some of the categories other than veterinary expenses include: Office Expenses & Supplies, Vehicle & Travel Expenses, Education / Training for Staff / Volunteers, and more. We share our Annual Financial Statement once it is complete, between January and June of each year.
NO, we do not pay ourselves and never will. While legally it would be absolutely permissable to pay ourselves a salary out of rescue funds, we decided when we began the rescue that this is something neither of us will ever do. You donate for the animals, and your donations go to animal care and support. Every penny that is donated and spent is accounted for in our Annual Financial Statement as well as our report to the government. We make it well-known and understood that our business is separate from the charity. Daycare, Boarding, and Grooming pay our bills, and help allow us to run the charity.
We have always been, and always will be 100% transparent about anything and everything rescue OR business, and we encourage anyone who has any questions, to ask away.
How many animals can we help at once? Well, it varies. We specialize in abuse cases and power breeds. We accept difficult behavioural dogs, seniors, and medical cases. These often require more intensive care and attention in their rehabilitation than say, a litter of healthy puppies or kittens. We know that each animal is an individual, and we work with them on an individual basis, getting to know them & their quirks / triggers / signals well, and dedicate our time to each one individually. We know our limits and it can be incredibly difficult to turn away animals in need, but we have also seen first-hand, multiple times, how quickly a well-intentioned rescue can get in over their heads and / or become animal hoarding. We refuse to take on more than we can provide a high quality of care for.
We reinvest your donations in the local community. We don’t make any decisions lightly. We have worked for years to develop a wonderful working relationship with our local veterinarian clinic. Yes, we could drive 1-2 hours away for cheaper spays / neuters. This isn’t feasible for us to do. It would require a full day of staying in the area until the animal is ready to go home, along with travel time and gas money. We prefer to support the community that supports our work.
We sometimes receive reuests to help between 20-40 animals in a single day. We simply can not physically take that many animals, though we are gradually growing our trusted foster network, which I will touch on again later on. However, we do our best to respond to every single inquiry and offer the help that we are able to. Usually, this means offering tips in the form of Behavioural Consultation, or recommending other options or services to contact. We prioritize the most emergent cases and work our way down from there. If you don't receive a response from us within 48 hours, send us a nudge and we'll get back to you asap.
We’ve seen an increase in Owner Surrender Requests specifically for aggression issues in dogs. We added to our purpose and mission in 2023, to provide education to encourage responsible pet ownership, and we will be addressing these concerns further in 2024. We've begun to attend local Q&A sessions, and are considering creating videos or podcasts on our social media, where we would share more and answer questions. We will also have guests from recommended businesses (trainers, pet health professionals, etc) We’d love to guage interest, so let us know if you’d participate if we put forth an effort towards this initiative. We’d love to hear your ideas as well!
Quarantine zone: We would love to set up a comfortable quarantine zone in 2024. This would be a separate out-building for 1-2 sick or injured animals / emergency intakes, to offer them a safe place to heal / recover, without any risk to the other animals. We often assist in wildlife rescue and transport, and sometimes this includes staying overnight while finding a driver for them. Requirements for this out-building: Insulated and heated / air conditioned. Large enough for us to walk in, and about 8'x10' to fit 2 large crates with space in between. With our current dog bunkie and cat bunkie paid off, this would be the final out-building for our expansion plans on this property to help as many animals in need as we possibly can. Situations like Captain Morgan recently, accentuated the need for this quarantine zone. We could not have left him to suffer with his wounded eye, but the inn was full and we suspected FIV, so he couldn't just join the bunkie cats. If you come across a structure you think might work for us, please get in touch.
What do you want to see us do in 2024? Any changes you’d like to see implemented that we may not have thought of? We are always striving to improve.
We are purchasing microchip scanners for each of our board members, to help get lost pets home quicker and easier.
We are training volunteers to help keep the empties area tidy: sorting and organizing empties for return will save a lot of time on our end.
We have co-op students lined up for both semesters of 2024! We're so honoured to be able to contribute to education in our community. Rachel's schooling background is mainly in Education, and it's always been important to us to educate rather than judge. We need to build each other up and encourage students to pursue their passions practically.
We’d love to organize a spay/neuter/microchip clinic locally, but there will be some hurdles in getting this to happen. Let us know if you’d like to help!
Focus on animal welfare in Ontario. We want to see change happen. Puppy mills should be a thing of the past. Backyard breeders and accidental litters should not be happening, especially now while litters of puppies are being dumped or shot because they can't be sold. PAWS should enforce the current laws, and those laws should be updated. Sterilization should be affordable. Our area is now lacking emergency veterinary services, which is devastating to the animal lovers and pet owners in the community. There should be oversight for animal control as well as rescue services. These are all things we want to see happen, but we’d be starting from the bottom to try to enact change.
In 2024, we would love to spend more time on professional development and furthering our education to deepen our own knowledge and skills. This may include attending animal welfare conferences, and taking courses. We recently received a certificate from Fear Free Shelters, and Rachel has qualifications in Pet Psychology, Pet Nutrition, and will be pursuing accreditation for Canine Behaviour Consulting in Spring of 2024. We will also be providing our board members with Pet First Aid certification in February 2024.
We are (mostly) keeping our business pricing the same for 2024. The only increase will be for cat grooms (from $75 up to $80 plus tax). It's very important to us that our services are as accessible as we can make them.
Phew! That was a lot to cover. If you’ve made it to the end, thank you for powering through. Please leave a comment to let us know if you’ve read the rant, and share your thoughts.
