Rescue Matters 1st (first) edition Text Only

by Sheila Webster Boneham

Part I of Rescue Matters! covers the legal, organizational, and paperwork needs of rescue groups, as well as finding and working with volunteers. Part II deals with the animals how to evaluate (health issues, personality assessment, type of home needed) foster homes and veterinary care, assessing potential adopters, training, and dealing with behavioral problems. The book offers something for everyone interested in saving homeless pets, from those wanting to help out a few hours a week to those willing to provide foster homes or volunteer their organizational, office, or publicity skills.

Genres: Animals, Nonfiction

Paperback

First published July 1, 2009

About the author

Sheila Webster Boneham writes fiction and nonfiction, much of it focused on animals, nature, and travel. She doesn't like to be labeled -- just as she reads across genres, Sheila also writes across genres. She is currently working on a novel, a series of short stories, a series of essays about traveling the U.S. by train, and a book-length meditation on the human-canine connection. Sheila teaches writing workshops and classes, and often speaks about writing, creativity, and related topics.

Sheila's debut mystery novel, Drop Dead on Recall was named on the Top Ten Dog Books of 2012 by NBC Petside. The sequel, The Money Bird , was released in 2013, and Catwalk is scheduled for September 2014.

Sheila holds a Masters of Fine Arts (MFA) in Creative Writing from the Stonecoast MFA Program/University of Southern Maine, and a Ph.D. degree in folklore from Indiana University. She has taught writing, folklore, and literature at universities in the U.S. and the Middle East. She is a member of the Associated Writing Programs, the North Carolina Writers Network, and several other professional organizations.

Sheila and her husband and dogs have enjoyed getting to know different parts of the U.S. over the past few years. They currently live in Wilmington, North Carolina.

Reviews

[Bowdoin]

Reader in group - Being involved in A Paw in the Door, which is a Bath-based cat rescue group, I am always looking for reading pertaining to rescue work so that we can improve our "processes." This month I have been reading Rescue Matters! by Sheila Webster Boneham PhD. I borrowed this on Maine Cat from the Bowdoin Library which has been an invaluable resource to me during my time at Bowdoin.

Rescue Matters! has provided great advice on how to run, fund, and promote our rescue. There are even some generic sample forms in the back of the book that help with adoption and foster family applications, as well as a link for a template that you can modify.

It was a great read with many new ideas regarding fundraising, recruiting and keeping volunteers, organizational issues, cutting cost without cutting care, and looking into the human side of rescue work.

I often borrow books from the Bowdoin Library or Maine Cat as a preview to books that I can purchase for the organization so that volunteers and board members can read them to gain perspective and insight into what we do. This is definitely one of those books that I will purchase for the group.

One of the themes of the book is to "never miss an opportunity for widespread publicity, fundraising, or to recruit volunteers"; on that note, A Paw in the Door is an all-volunteer 25-year-old cat rescue organization in Bath, Maine. We take in stray and abandoned cats as well as cats who are losing their homes for a variety of reasons, sometimes health or behavioral-based. We take the cats that the shelters turn down. We also provide low-cost & no-cost spay and neuter services to low-mid income clients in our area. We assist with debilitating medical situations to diagnose and assist with treatment through our vets at the Yarmouth Vet Center. If anyone is interested in volunteering please contact us through our website at: www.pawinthedoor.org

[Elise · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book through Goodreads First Reads.
The forward by Dean Koontz is a good beginning to the book. It was moving, and it made me feel like I want to start fostering.
As for the rest of the book, it reads like a textbook and a powerpoint presentation. The format makes it easy to read, though. And it touches on Everything. It goes over the legalities of animal rescue and fostering, how you can help if you can't foster, finding volunteers, managing volunteers, financial advise, health issues and behavioral problems with the animals, how to find the right home for rescued animals, and many, many more things.
At the end of the book are samples of documents. There's an adoption application you can use and a foster caretaker application. Both are highly detailed.
The book is useful for those who are starting a rescue group, or for those who are managing their own already. Much of the information is also good for volunteers as well.
I think if you have any interest at all in fostering or animal rescue, this is a wonderful book to read.