Animal Welfare Professionals

Hello everyone,

I am hoping to get some advice from the rescue community here. I am trying to understand the correct protocol for contacting rescues, as my current approach is not working.

Here is my situation: I have been doing networking for two specific breeds-first Shar Pei, and more recently Malinois. For each, I identified all the rescues related to the breed and tried to reach out in multiple ways:

• I tagged them on Instagram

• I wrote emails

• I made phone calls

In both cases, the result was the same: no reply. No one bothered to get back to me.

So, my question for the rescuers here is: How do I get in touch successfully? What is the correct way to approach a rescue to ensure my message is seen and taken seriously? I want to be respectful of everyone's time and workload, but I also need to know how to make a connection.

Thank you in advance for any guidance you can offer.

Natalia

#OrganizationalManagement

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Natalia Boiko
President
Hope Paws Support Fund
CA
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Great question. We are a farm and exotic animal sanctuary and don't generally take in dogs and cats but we will try to network with other rescues when someone contacts us about a dog in need. We reach out usually by email or DM but the majority don't respond, the ones that do are the same ones each time. I think that most are just so overwhelmed dealing with calls, texts and emails from animal services and individuals that calls from other rescues, where the dogs may already be safe, are probably the last ones they get back to. That is just my opinion but would love to hear from other rescues as well to see what their thoughts are. Personally I try to respond to every person that contacts us but there are times that it may take a week for me to return calls. 

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Lisa Burn
Co-founder/VP
Farmhouse Animal & Nature Sanctuary
Myakka City, FL
https://farmhousesanctuary.org
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For our rescue, FB messages are the easiest way. But honestly, I think rescues are flooded with requests to take in animals daily.  Key things we look for are photos, vetting status (if animal is already altered, its a big savings to us), house/crate trained, and are they dog/cat/kid/stranger friendly.  If you can include videos of the dog playing with other dogs, meeting new people, etc - it goes a long way.
We are fostered based now so safety for our fosters and their household are top priority. 
The breeds you mention also need very specific adopters that are versed in the breed. Many rescues avoid those type of dogs bc it ties up a space - potentially for an extended period of time. 

I think Malinois are one of those breed right now that everyone thinks they want because of movies or the little reels on FB or IG, but they don't have the commitment to provide whats needed to have a happy, healthy pup. Which leads to dogs with terrible behavior/habits that are flooding animal control and rescues as surrenders. 

It might take research, but for the Mali, maybe try looking for the groups that train for "jobs" like the PD, tracking, search & rescue, etc. A lot of people are realizing you can get a dog well suited from animal control vs paying absorbant fees to a breeder. 

Do NOT be offended or put off if you don't get a response. I try hard to respond to all the requests we get and to provde addition resources for them to try when we are saying no. But its overwhelming at times. For instance, our rescue carries about 45 animals right now (due to recent change to foster only). Of those, we have maybe 10 foster homes for dogs. Yesterday, before 2p, I received requests from local animal control and owner surrenders that totalled 24 puppies. Does not include the requests for adults or for cats. Its so hard to respond with No's over and over, especially when you can "hear" the desperation in the messages. I am guilty of just deleting some of the emails from animal controls bc I know I'm going to have heartstrings pulled and I can't stand to say no - especially knowing euthanasia is on the table.

I know I went way off topic of your question it may not be anything to do with your approach. It may just be that their answer is no and they don't want to say it. 
I have the deepest respect for those that take the time to champion for their animals to find a safe space for them. 

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Sarah
Paws in Middle Georgia Animal Rescue
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It sounds like you are doing all you can. We at Carolina Border Collie Rescue are all volunteers, many with full time jobs. We have an automated response system to ensure everyone gets a response, then the monitors reach out as soon as they can. Recently, there have been several BC rescues that have had to shut down for various reasons. I would first check to see if they are active. If they have websites, those may be more closely monitored. Otherwise, persevere. We have seen a huge increase in BC's needing rescue. They may just be very busy. 

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Rosemary Main
Treasurer
Carolina Border Collie Rescue
NC
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I am doing my best, but in case with malinois  I failed. This dog was killed. And it was young  healthy and cheerful  puppy 😢 

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Natalia Boiko
President
Hope Paws Support Fund
CA
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I am so sorry. Thank you for trying. We all do the best we can. 

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Rosemary Main
Treasurer
Carolina Border Collie Rescue
NC
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Original Message:
Sent: 03-26-2026 02:53 PM
From: Natalia Boiko
Subject: Need advice: What is the correct way to contact rescues?

I am doing my best, but in case with malinois  I failed. This dog was killed. And it was young  healthy and cheerful  puppy 😢 

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Natalia Boiko
President
Hope Paws Support Fund
CA
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Here is what I have found in the 2.5 months I've been doing animal care and control.  When I started my job and reached out to rescues I got the same responses.  You need to get your foot in the door with a rescue.  Offer to do boots on the ground.  When you spend your personal time on the rescue and they get to know you, they are more likely to pay attention.  So many people just reach out to have the rescue take pets.  They need to know that you know what you are doing and that they will get help.  

I started transporting and communicating with the people who help find rescues for our shelter.  That allowed me to meet other transports and rescues locally.  Now I have contacts who know me.  I know what information they need to help them find rescues, fosters or adopters.  

Not sure if that helps you, but it has for me.

Elizabeth Porter

Lyon County Ky Animal Control

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Elizabeth Porter
Animal Control Officer/ LVT
Lyon County Animal Control
KY
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Hello,

I'm the Fundraising director for a cat rescue. I'm sorry you aren't getting responses. We do our best to respond to all our messages. We are all volunteers with fulltime jobs and sometimes it can take 24 hours to get a response. It's not that we didn't read or listen. It's that we didn't have time to respond at that moment.  We have a message on our facebook messenger directing people to send an email to our main email box because that's looked at multiple times a day and the emails are forwarded to the leader who handles that particular situation. 

It sounds like you are looking to have ongoing relationships with the rescues. The best way to do that is to put in a little elbow grease. 

What to do:

• Provide as much information about the animal as possible. Breed, age, temperament, if there is anything wrong with it, where it was foundTake picture
• Go to events where the rescues are. Introduce yourself and tell them what you do.  If you have business cards, even better. Then when they get that call or email they will have a face to put to the request. And recall the work you do.  
• If you have time. Volunteer with them. That could look like helping them run an information table at an event. It seems like something small. But to that person running the table. Having someone else there to help out means the world to them. Again, the rescue is getting to know who you are.

What not to do:

• call and email every hour. It happens. We understand for the person with the animal, it's an emergency to find medical care or placement. But for foster based rescues like us. It's not just can we afford to take it on. But it's also, do we have an open foster. We get so many calls to take bottle babies. But we only have two fosters who bottle feed. We turn away so many and then we get raked through the coals because we couldn't help. In situations like that. If the finder is willing to foster, we are happy to intake and provide education and supplies. 
• Calling over and over also uses up our resources. I can't tell you how many times I've reached out to someone because an email or voice message was forwarded to me. Only to find out someone else in the rescue already made contact. 

I hope this helps a little

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Corinne Forzano
Fundraiser Director
Billy the Kidden Rescue
VA
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