Hi everyone!
I wanted to introduce myself as I am new to the forums. Kim Jackson with For The Puppies Foundation Inc. Five years ago, I found myself diving into the world of rescue. I fostered and trained dogs for a local rescue. From there, I became known as the trainer. I took that and formed a for-profit training business while also fostering and training for rescues in my area. Over the last 5 years, I have been fostering dogs and training with positive reinforcement training. We are currently in the process of going force free. July 2023, something major happened at our local animal shelter. I knew I wanted to help them but, was told no numerous time. No charge for helping fostering dogs. At that point, my husband and I decided to start our own 501 c 3 rescue organization to help the existing rescue community. We received a lot of push back from rescue community when we did this. Long story short. We are now adopting dogs out ourselves. We have stated that we do not want to replace the local animal shelter. The shelter is partially funded by the city and county boards. Our Foundation is private with a board of its own. The Foundation has a Guardian home program (foster) that includes training for dogs to help dogs stay with their new adopted family. Leadership changed at the shelter and I can now volunteer there. Currently, I volunteer once a week to train staff and volunteers on handling, training, and being force free. This was a request with both parties. I have listened to a few of the pod cast that were posted for helping the shelter animals. I am doing most of those things but, it seems as though it is falling on deaf ears. No, I did not apply for or want to be the shelter director. Again, long story. Things are looking better for our local shelter but, they still need help. With that being said, we are in the process of leasing land to build an open intake, quarantine, and Veterinarian office. Access to veterinarian care for rescue organizations would be at no charge. Public pet owners will also have access to veterinarian care for their pets but, they will have to pay a fee. Yes. It has been moving along faster than we thought it would. The issue with the existing rescue community is still there. We are at a loss of how to fix this situation. We are offering free veterinarian care for rescue animals to be seen by a veterinarian. A quarantine period to make sure dogs are healthy and receive care if they are not. If anyone knows about the situation in the South, this is North Mississippi. We have done one fundraiser so far with donations less than $4k. It is a start and we will take it to help make a difference. Any and all advice or comments would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you in advance for reading this long post.
#AccesstoCare#AdmissionsandIntake(includingIntake-to-placement)#Behavior,TrainingandEnrichment#CommunityPartnerships*#EducationandTraining------------------------------
Kim Jackson
Dog Trainer
For The Puppies Foundation Inc
MS
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