Hi Dianne,
I'd be glad to help! PAWsitive Recovery was actually founded as an independent nonprofit in 2021 before joining SPCA International last year. Our founder is a vet tech and animal lover who has battled lifelong addiction and PTSD and started the program after getting sober, so she had a lot of connections in both the animal welfare space and also in the recovery community.
Those connections have really been the key to growing our program, whether with veterinarians, animal rescues, boarding facilities, treatment centres or sober living facilities. Oftentimes you'll find connecting with the recovery community opens up a new base of potential fosters for your area, as folks who might not normally think to reach out to foster shelter animals will open their homes to animals belonging to people trying to heal.
There are also a large number of grants available for programs like this, from Red Rover's national grants (focused on domestic violence) to local community grants. In our experience, communities are often very receptive to this kind of program, as it does fill a much-needed gap in care that isn't always readily apparent but does make a big social impact when done successfully. We do a lot of outreach setting up booths at animal- and recovery-focused events in addition to trying to get the word out online.
So just making those connections and trying to source funding have been the keys for us, especially early on, and then building a reliable foster base and team of volunteers who can do transport, supply runs, man the booths, etc.
I'd be happy to talk more about our program and your needs if you're interested! Feel free to shoot me an email (owen.laukkanen@spcai.org) anytime.
All the best!
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Owen Laukkanen
Programs Associate
SPCA International, INC
NY
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Original Message:
Sent: 09-07-2024 03:09 PM
From: Dianne Canafax
Subject: Seeking assistance finding temporary foster resources in Cincinnati
Owen:
We are in a rural area of Washington state and in need of a foster program such as this. Any words of wisdom for how to get such started. Any tools you could share such as sample agreements between foster/pet guardian for care while in foster, etc.
Thanks for any help.
Dianne Canafax, CPDT-KA; KPA-CTP
KARE (Kitsap Animal Rescue & Education)
www.nwkare.org
www.Facebook.com/nwkare
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Dianne Canafax
Co-founder, President
KARE (Kitsap Animal Rescue & Education)
WA
Original Message:
Sent: 09-06-2024 03:25 PM
From: Owen Laukkanen
Subject: Seeking assistance finding temporary foster resources in Cincinnati
Hi there,
I work with SPCA International's PAWsitive Recovery program, which helps pet owners find temporary foster homes for their pets while they're in treatment for substance abuse or escaping domestic violence situations. We're Denver based but get requests for assistance from across the country and were recently contacted by an individual in Cincinnati looking for foster help with a senior Staffy and senior cat for about 3-4 months.
As we're not Cincinnati local, I wondered if anyone on this forum knew of any resources in the area that I might be able to call on to help with my search. Any assistance or leads would be much appreciated!
#AccesstoCare
#FosterPrograms
#PetSupportServices*
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Owen Laukkanen
Programs Associate
SPCA International, INC
NY
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