Afghan Hound National
Policy for Rescue
Guidelines
MISSION STATEMENT
The
mission and purpose of Afghan Hound
Rescue:
-
Provide for and
promote the welfare, protection and humane Treatment of Afghan
Hounds.
-
Encourage
owners to retain their hounds rather than give them up, and
offer advice, training and support to attain that end whenever
possible.
-
Assist Afghan
Hound owners who must give up their hounds in
-
Returning them
to the responsible breeder or finding suitable new homes in lieu
of releasing the hounds to animal shelters or throwing them
away.
-
Bring Afghan
Hounds into rescue given up by their owners, found stray, in
distress, or in animal shelters.
-
Return strays
to the owners or breeders if they can be found and are willing
and able to take them back.
-
Find good homes
for the remainder where they may live out their lives as altered
pets.
-
Educate people
about Afghan Hounds, their unique qualities and their care.
-
Provide mutual
physical, mental and emotional support to all Afghan Hound
rescuers.
RECOMMENDED GUIDELINES
1. You and Shelters:
Administratively, the easiest rescues are those that you acquire
from an animal shelter or pound. With these dogs, no owner has come
to recover the dog, nor is there an identifiable breeder.
Nevertheless, there are things to consider.
Develop
an openly honest, friendly and working relationship with Animal
shelters, city pounds and humane societies. Become a volunteer or
assist when you can. Shelter staffs and volunteers can be some of
your strongest supporters if they know and trust you.
Shelter
standard operating procedures may differ slightly from city to city,
county to county and state to state. Become familiar with the
policies of the shelters in your area. Know whether a facility is a
"kill" or "no kill" operation, and what their track record is in
working with rescue groups. When dealing with a "kill" shelter,
speed is essential in getting a dog out before its' "clock" runs
out. Don't fault the shelter staff for the policies you encounter.
They hate to see animals perish too.
Comply
with their requirements, and obtain whatever records and information
they can or will provide with the hound, and always thank them for
supporting you. Then take the hound to the Veterinarian for a
thorough checkup and shots. Always ask that the dog be checked for
tattoos and scanned for microchips. Not all shelters are equipped
or have the time and training to do this. Spaying or neutering will
follow after any other medical problems are taken care of, and
you've had a chance to evaluate the hound.
2. Strays:
If an Afghan Hound is found stray and turned over to you instead of
animal control, comply with state and local laws on holding strays.
Time requirements vary from none to up to 90 days, according to the
circumstances and local laws. In the meanwhile, have the Afghan
Hound vetted but do not spay or neuter until you have legal control
of the dog. Ask your vet to scan for microchips and check for
tattoos. If there is no identification tag, tattoo, or microchip,
proceed as you would with an Afghan Hound from a shelter (see above)
after the required "holding" time is up. You may want to run "found
dog" ads in the local newspapers while in the holding period. In
some locales, law requires this.
If you
acquire a stray whose owner can be identified through tag, tattoo or
microchip, make every effort to return the Afghan Hound to the
owner. Most people do want their Afghan Hounds back. If the owner
declines to take the Afghan Hound back, obtain a release form if
possible and follow the procedures in Paragraph 4 below, or document
the conversation declining to take the Afghan Hound back and proceed
as you would with an Afghan Hound from the shelter. Coordinate with
a local attorney on required documentation if possible.
3A. Owner Releases:
Before accepting an owner turn in, ask if the owners have papers on
the Afghan Hound and are required to contact the breeder incase of
returns, based on the terms of their purchase contract. If so, ask
them to contact the breeder about return policies. If the breeder
cannot be found or is unable or unwilling to take the Afghan Hound
back, there are no impediments to treating this as a rescue. Nor
are there impediments if there are no contractual provisions in the
sales contract concerning return of an Afghan Hound to the breeder.
Always get a release from the former owner giving complete ownership
and control of the Afghan Hound to you. A sample release form is
attached. Please have this reviewed by a local attorney before use
to ensure that it complies with the statutes of your city and state.
Some people may have lost the sales documents on the dog or
purchased the Afghan Hound without a contract. If so, obtain a
signed release form from the owner, which permanently gives you
ownership and total control of the Afghan Hound. Get medical
records, shot records, medications if the dog is taking any,
bedding, crates, toys and anything else that may ease the transition
for the Afghan Hound. Items from "home" frequently ease a dog's
anxiety in an owner release situation. Then proceed with vetting,
rehabilitation and rehoming. If a breeder is involved with an owner
release that comes to you, and cannot or will not take an Afghan
Hound back, talk to the breeder if possible, and find out why. In
many cases, there may be a valid reason (illness, death in the
family, overload, relocated, no longer in dogs, etc.). The
situation may be permanent or temporary. If possible, cultivate a
good working relationship with breeders and explain what rescue
does, and how. If you can work out a modus vivendi with them, do
so. Breeders can be a real asset to rescue when they learn that we
are part of the same family of Afghan Hound Fanciers as they are.
With a bit of reason, you can develop relations with breeders that
may provide future transport, fostering, and other help for rescues
as a "thank you" for your assistance to them. If a breeder is
involved who can and will take an Afghan Hound back from are leasing
owner, that is part of the contractual agreement between the owner
and the breeder. You can offer to assist, but remember, you are not
a party to the contract.>
3B. If you know the breeder:
Call the breeder, tell the breeder you have the dog and also a good
home for the dog... and ask permission from the breeder to place
this dog in the good home.
4. Reimbursements:
The AHCA will reimburse Afghan Hound rescuers for required shelter
fees and reasonable medical expenses for an array of medical
procedures including, but not limited to:
-
Physical examinations
-
Vaccinations
-
Fecal examinations
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Blood screening for heartworm
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Dental work
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Spaying / neutering
-
Micro Chipping
Such
expenses will be reimbursed up to a maximum expenditure of $300.00
as of the date of this document.
Medical
procedures should be determined jointly between the rescuer and the
veterinary staff. If it appears that these expenses will exceed the
$300.00 cap, please contact the Rescue Chairman (Russ & Barb
Hastings) to determine if the Afghan Hound in question qualifies as
a special needs case (medical expenses in excess of the cap).
5. Special Needs Cases:
An Afghan Hound may be considered for special needs status depending
on a variety of factors which begin with the rescuer’s personal
assessment of the Afghan Hound, its age, general physical condition,
nature of the illness or injury, willingness and ability of the
rescuer, and his or her regional club, to conduct and participate in
special fundraisers for the Afghan Hound. Such cases will be
presented on the website as stand-alone or joint special fundraising
events if there are two or more Afghan Hound's involved at the same
time. Final decision on AHCA funding for a special needs case rests
with the Rescue chairman.
6. Regional Clubs:
Club rescue chairpersons should be active in rescue and in
fundraising for their programs. Afghan Hound rescuers are
encouraged to join regional Afghan Hound breed clubs and participate
actively in their rescue activities. Regional clubs provide a vital
source of manpower and money and publicity for local rescue
programs. Rescue programs, in turn, are valuable public relations
assets for the clubs that can garner much favorable publicity for
the club's activities. If you are in a local club, go to the
meetings, make friends, and be useful to the club. The level of
cooperation and enthusiasm for rescue will rise proportionately to
your positive involvement with other club activities.
7. Selecting the Right Home: One of your most difficult jobs is determining the right home for
a specific Hound, for either permanent placement or as a foster
home. Are there children? What ages? Other pets? The list off
actors to consider is almost endless. To this end, a copy of a
general pre-adoption questionnaire is provided for your use and
modification as you see fit for your specific location. Check the
information provided by the prospective adoptive or fostering
family. Call the references provided and, most importantly, make a
home visit, or have an experienced Afghan Hound person visit on your
behalf to make sure that reality matches what is on the form. The
questionnaire coupled with a home visit and much discussion will
screen out most unsuitable circumstances.
8. Contracts:
The adoption contract attached to these guidelines is provided for
your use if you do not already have one. Please note that there is
a mandatory "return to rescue" clause in the contract. This is a
key clause for both rescuer and adopter and is binding on both. You
are urged to have this contract reviewed by a local attorney to
ensure that it meets the requirements of your city and state.
9. Follow-up:
Ensure that adoptive families know that you are available at any
time as their mentor on all matters pertaining to their Afghan
Hound, it's behavior, health, demeanor, training, feeding, etc. Ask
them to contact you weekly with "progress reports" during the first
month. Afterwards, it is recommended that you contact them at least
every six months. Proper follow-up can result in a potential second
adoption or future foster home for your program.
10. Adoption Fees:
Adoption fees should cover your average shelter fees and medical
costs involved in bringing an Afghan Hound into the system. A
nation-wide survey conducted in 2001 revealed that the average costs
for a combination of shelter fees, medical evaluation, laboratory
tests and spaying/neutering for our rescued Afghan Hounds exceeded
$250.00, hence the current cap on expenditures. Some Afghan Hounds
will come to us in good health, already altered, and up to date on
their shots. Others will not. The age of the hound may be a factor
in considering a lower adoption fee. You are in the best position to
determine what your local fees should be.
11. Working with Others:
Most Afghan Hound rescuers find themselves working alone to cover
large geographic areas. Unfortunately there simply aren't enough
rescuers for the number of abandoned Afghan Hounds, nation-wide.
There are solutions to this problem, however. Get acquainted with
your nearest Afghan Hound rescuers by phone, email or in person, and
support them in any way you can. Sure, the nearest other Afghan
Hound rescuer may be 300 miles away, but she, or he, is a part of
our nation-wide network of rescuers. If they need help, offer it.
Split transportation runs, share ideas, trade home visits and just
be there for them! We all need a shoulder to lean on or a hand up
from time to time. This is very stressful work and to succeed at it,
we have to operate as a team.
Throughout the United States there are a large number of other
breed-specific and all-breed or all-species rescue groups. They can
be your greatest assets in getting the job done. Get acquainted
with them. Introduce yourself, offer to help them (then do it) and
you will begin to develop the network you need to cover far more
territory than you can alone. Certainly, you may find yourself
picking up or fostering a Borzoi, Irish Wolfhound or a Greyhound
occasionally, but the amount of help you receive in return will be
worth the small effort expended. Link up with a local "Station" of
the Canine Underground Railroad (CUR), an organization that develops
and executes all-volunteer rescue transportation runs from one end
of the country to the other. Check the websites for other National
Breed Clubs, visit your local shelters or go to the Adopt-A-Pet
section of your nearest large pet store and introduce yourself as a
rescuer to the staff and volunteers. It works! To help this
process, an introductory letter to shelters and other volunteers is
enclosed. Cultivate the people in your club and those who have
adopted Afghan Hounds from you. They are always a valuable resource
to both promote your program and provide help in numerous other
ways; picking up from shelters, making home visits, fostering,
transporting, fundraising. The possibilities are endless and
limited only by your own initiative.
12. General Comments:
The Afghan Hound Club of America supports the rescue program through
fundraising efforts, voluntary club donations, and individual
contributions. It should be the goal of each rescue group or, if
not affiliated with a regional club, individual rescuer to become
self-sustaining. There is no guarantee that there will be
sufficient donations in a given year to support the demands placed
upon the system. You can help. Raise funds for your own program
first. Then, help raise funds for the National program by
encouraging club donations and sales of fund raising items from the
AHCA Rescue Website, such as the annual rescue calendar and yarn
products knitted by other rescue volunteers.
RESTORE, RECOVER,
REHABILITATE, RETRAIN, REHOME
REIMBURSEMENT POLICY AS OF APRIL 2001
Afghan
hound rescue will assist rescuers by reimbursement of reasonable
medical expenses up to a total of $300 for the following items, or a
combination of those items as determined appropriate by the rescuer
and the veterinarian used:
-
Shots (all required)
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Spay/neuter
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Blood work
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Fecal exam
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Treatment of minor injuries
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Treatment of intestinal worms
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Nail trim
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Shave-down & first bath
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Dental cleaning
You and
the vet determine what is best for the afghan hound. If the
projected cost exceeds $300, contact:
1-814-628-2707
