Rescue Matters!
How to Find, Foster, and Rehome Companion Animals:
A Guide for Volunteers and Organizers
by Sheila Webster Boneham, PhD
Alpine Publications, 2009
The first comprehensive guide to
rescuing all kinds of companion animals!
Table of Contents
Foreword by Dean Koontz
Preface
Acknowledgments
Part I: People and Policies
Chapter 1: Getting Organized
Chapter 2: How You Can Help
Chapter 3: Finding, Training, and Managing Volunteers
Chapter 4: Financial and Materials Support
Chapter 5: Spreading the Word
Part II: The Animals
Chapter 6: Animals in Need
Chapter 7: Helping People with Their Pets
Chapter 8: Health Screening for Rescue
Chapter 9: Temperament and Behavior
Chapter 10: Rehoming Rescued Pets
Chapter 11: Optimism
Resources
Index
What Readers Are Saying About Rescue Matters!
- Midwest Review of Books
"Rescue Matters should be required reading for everyone in rescue. It's absolutely packed with great, practical advice."
- Susan Daffron, Founder, National Association of Pet Rescue Professionals
Dog World Magazine
"How I wish I had this book when I started doing Border Collie rescue 18 years ago. Most people who go into rescue, do so wearing rose colored glasses. With topics like "the risk of fostering", "pitfalls of rescue work", and "burnout", this book arms the novice rescue person with the realities of the job prior to taking it on. The book also has sage advice for those people doing the organizing and for those in charge of fledgling organizations. How to find volunteers, get financial support, delegate responsibilities, handle the legal ramifications: all important subjects that few people understand when first starting to organize and they were admirably covered in this book. But for me, the most significant chapter in the book was "The Human Side of Rescue Work"--people skills. This was something I had not been able to master over the whole 15 years that I did rescue, so I was somewhat disappointed that this chapter was one of the smallest. However, author Sheila Boneham does cover other aspects of this topic in other chapters, for example, in the chapter 'Volunteers, The Heart of Rescue,' where she says 'Trust your colleagues...Don't try to micromanage...Be as kind to people as you are to animals. Be slow to judge, avoid gossip, and shun "shark fests"...' It's sage advice. This is a 'must-have' book for anyone thinking about starting or volunteering for any animal rescue program."
- Carole Presberg, Woolgather Farm
- Kelly Drake for Animal Radio
"Rescue Matters! How to Find, Foster, and Rehome Companion Animals is the definitive guide to animal rescue. Intelligent, compassionate, practical, and comprehensive, this marvelous book is a must-read for not only for novices but for experienced rescue people as well. Superb!"
- Susan Conant, Author of All Shots and other novels
in the Holly Winter series of Dog Lover’s mysteries
in the Holly Winter series of Dog Lover’s mysteries
"I confess to a bias going into this book. Sheila Boneham is one of my favorite dog writers, so I was pretty sure I'd like this one too. Her 2002 Complete Idiot's Guide to Getting and Owning a Dog remains the best general care book I've found and I recommend it wholeheartedly to new and experienced dog owners alike. But back to Rescue Matters!
"What makes this book different is the emphasis on human relationships and why good ones are critical to helping animals. Boneham stresses the importance of recruiting the right volunteers, showing compassion for people who surrender their pets to rescue, and maintaining relationships with shelter personnel, other rescuers, rescue pet owners and other people the rescuer encounters.
"From conversations with many, many pet owners over the years, I've learned that the biggest problem rescue faces today is its public image. If enough people read this book and take it to heart, Rescue Matters! has the potential for changing the way rescuers interact with people and vastly improving the overall impression the public has of rescue organizations.
"The first part of Rescue Matters! deals with starting a rescue organization -- finding, training and managing volunteers, getting through the initial paperwork, recordkeeping, fundraising, and more. All the basic information you'd need to start your own group is there.(Boneham strongly recommends working with a group as opposed to going it alone for many reasons, which she also details.)
"The second part of the book is a sensible guide for handling the pets and people you will encounter in this venture. She covers everything from picking up the animal (how to hold and transport), to health and temperament screening, to rehabilitating and rehoming. Along the way she again touches on the human side: dealing with shelters, the people who surrender pets, the people who come to you looking for a pet, and even helping people keep their pets out of rescue!
"Boneham addresses many important aspects of pet rescue that are seldom touched upon: how to recognize and deal with burnout, the effects on the rescuer's family, emotions involved in taking in mistreated pets and in letting them go, community education, euthanasia...in short, everything you'll need to know to become involved in this rewarding volunteer activity.
"No one involved in rescue (or interested in becoming involved) can afford NOT to buy this book!"
- Sharyn Hutchens, Whippet Rescue
"Rescue Matters should be a part of every rescuer’s equipment -right beside their cell phone, computer, leash, and treats. Thank you Sheila Boneham, for such a thorough look at the ins and outs of rescue."
- Jody Young, Ridgeback Rescue of the United States, Inc.
Indiana Director
Board of Directors,
Policy and Procedures Committee
Policy and Procedures Committee
Former Assistant National Director
"Rescue Matters! offers essential advice to anyone wanting to start a rescue, and worthy advice for experienced rescuers. I particularly appreciate her comments on recognizing and dealing with 'burn-out.'"
- Mara Melton, Beagle Rescue in Maryland
“This will be an important book that should be in the library of everyone involved with rescue.”
- Liz Palika, CPDT, CABC
Award-winning author of Purebred Rescue and Dog Adoption
"[Rescue Matters] will be enormously helpful to all individuals or groups who want to do reputable and responsible rescue efforts. Sheila Boneham has thought of everything! She leaves no stone unturned and no bone un-eaten. Companion animals all over the world will benefit from this book. Go Sheila!"
- Allison Miller, Adoptions Director
Fort Wayne Animal Care and Control
"Rescue Matters includes balanced and thoughtful consideration of the many difficult and complex issues rescuers face: which animals to take, how to assess prospective adopters, and how to educate the public about animal welfare. Dr. Boneham discusses the stresses on rescuers' families and theri own pets and how to manage them and presents diplomatic solutions to some of the thornier problems resuce groups face: turning down applications, educating someone who needs to understand animals better, and helping volunteers avoid burnout.
"The appendix contains samples of the kinds of documents every rescue effort needs.
"Rescue Matters is clear, accessible, and thorough, an essential guide for any rescue group."
- Linda Coleman, Volunteer, Partnership for Animal Welfare
