Transcript
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Welcome to the Starlight Pet Talk podcast, where we'll talk about and explore ways to help pet parents and future pet parents learn everything they need to know to have a happy and healthy relationship with their pet.
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So sit up and stay for Starlight Pet Talk rescue, adoption and pet parenting done right.
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If you're a fan of Starlight Pet Talk, you'll love our new line of merchandise.
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We have t-shirts, hoodies and more, all featuring your favorite podcast logos and designs.
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Plus, we're offering a limited number of Starlight Outreach and Rescue items where a portion of the proceeds go directly to Animal Rescue.
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Our merchandise is the perfect way to show your support for your favorite pet podcast and Animal Rescue at the same time.
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So what are you waiting for?
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Just visit our website at wwwstarlightpettalkcom to order your merchandise today.
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Hi, welcome to Starlight Pet Talk.
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I'm your host, amy Castro, and, wrong, i am the sub host for Amy.
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She is now become not the host but the interviewer.
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I'm going to be interviewing Amy on what it's like to actually run an Animal Rescue The nuts and bolts looking from 30,000 feet above.
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I know a little bit about the workings.
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I get to hear some tough to listen to stories.
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I get to hear wonderful stories, i get to see pictures of all the animals and so I'm kind of involved.
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I kind of know what it takes.
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I've actually been down there on my vacation scooping litter boxes, doing the stuff that needs to be done, especially when she was injured and COVID had hit and all that.
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I was kind of helping them catch up.
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So I do know a little bit.
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But for most people they might not know the inner workings of what it's like, what it takes to actually run a rescue, the behind the scenes work that a lot of people aren't aware of.
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All the commercials on TV are about sweet little puppies and petting puppies and kissing kittens And it's really not.
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It takes a lot to get a rescue up and running.
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So Amy the interviewed person, no longer the host I took over.
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I took over everything.
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I'm a little afraid.
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What are some of the most challenging aspects that you found since you really started it from?
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let's get it off the ground.
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I don't know what I'm getting into, but I'm going 50 miles an hour into it.
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What have you found has been one of the most challenging things about running a rescue?
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In the beginning.
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Obviously it's getting the whole thing structured properly, i mean in order, and one of the things that I always recommend to people when you're looking for a rescue is to at least start with an organization that has its 501C3 nonprofit status.
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That means they've gone to the trouble to go through the legal requirements to be a charity so that they can take charitable donations and things like that, and oftentimes somebody who has taken the time to do that.
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It's just one piece of whether an organization is legitimate, but it's an important piece because there are people out there who call themselves rescuers and they may not have good structures in place Or sometimes it's even hoarding situations.
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So it's definitely something that adds some legitimacy to your organization.
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So there's that whole.
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But it's only one part of it.
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It's only one part of it.
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Is it relatively easy to get that status, or is there licensing and work like that that is required to get that?
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At least in the state of Texas, there's no licensing requirement for being an animal rescue, but there is some paperwork.
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I mean we just a friend of mine who's an attorney did it for me at a low cost Just to make sure all the paperwork is done right.
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It can be done on your own, but it's probably something that's worth consulting an attorney on getting the structure set up properly, because you've got to have.
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You know you've got to do that.
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You've got to decide what kind of business structure are you going to be?
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you know like we're a limited liability corporation, so we have to have a board of directors.
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Way over my head.
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Nobody cares about it.
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It's work.
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That's a part of running a rescue that people don't realize There's a lot of gibbledy-goof that goes behind it.
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You better mind your P's and Q's to get it done right and not run into problems down the road Right.
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And on that same line of you know, money and fundraising you know that's probably one of the first challenges is raising.
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You know, raising money is a whole aspect, a whole chunk of our time that we spend in rescue.
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What would be a challenge in fundraising that you find?
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I mean there's many of them.
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You know, when you're getting started, it's people don't know you and they're hesitant to just give their money to some random organization.
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So, again, having that nonprofit status and being able to prove that to people is definitely helpful.
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You know, different people go about fundraising in different ways and each one has its pros and cons and it really depends on your organization and your people power, for lack of a better term.
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So, for us, as a relatively small and we're talking about Starlight Outreach and Rescue, which is why the podcast is called, you know, Starlight Pet Talk You know we're a relatively small organization compared to some.
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We're foster based, So we don't have a big facility where people can be invited to a location and say we're going to put on this big fundraising event.
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So it's really it's determining how you're going to go about fundraising For us.
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We do a lot of our fundraising on Facebook.
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It's not labor intensive, It allows us to reach our audience And, thank goodness, We have fantastic supporters who trust us, who know us and are willing to make those donations through Facebook.
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The other or the other advantage to the Facebook donations is, you know, a lack of fees, because if somebody does a donation through some of the other.
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I won't name any names, but larger money receiving entities that organizations can use, they're going to take a percentage.
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Or if somebody makes a credit card now you've got to pay credit card fees, things like that, But Facebook doesn't charge any fees.
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So if you donate $10, all $10 is coming to me.
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Oh really.
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I didn't realize that.
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Yes, coming to the animal rescue.
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So we love Facebook and we love people that just will just mail us a check because obviously there's no fees.
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It staggers my there's so many times when I've been staying with Amy at our house and when envelopes come in with checks and they're like I'm not even sure who this person is I might have met them at an event for five minutes and they send a generous check.
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It never ceases to amaze me how generous people can be.
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We just did a podcast the other day at where I volunteer over at Wild Care in Orleans, massachusetts, and I am shocked.
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Some guy came in off his work site in his you know overalls and his work boots, with a shoebox with some injured animal and he had 40 bucks in his hand, yeah, and I was like I'm getting it over.
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I'm like, oh, my God, it just.
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The community supports Wild Care so heavily And I see, since you don't have a centralized place, how the internet is your friend, yeah, and just to be able to click and people who know me, my friends on Facebook, they trust me.
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So they're going to say, oh, bev donates, i'm going to donate too.
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So the grassroots word of mouth is the way to go through the internet, i would imagine.
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Yeah, i mean there's there's a lot of different ways to go about it, but certainly, you know, working.
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Your network is big.
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So the social media aspect and marketing for lack of a better term then obviously there are a lot of organizations that run anything from small events They'll do up in animal rescue, people will do dog washes and car washes or a bake sale.
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I mean, we're all kind of familiar with those different types of fundraising, raising events on one end of the spectrum.
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And then you've got fundraising events on the other end of the spectrum where you're running a big fashion show and you've got some gala that celebrities are coming to and people are wearing fancy clothes and it raises hundreds of thousands of dollars.
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And you know it's interesting because a lot of times people will make suggestions to us.
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As you know, you guys should, you know you guys should do this, you should do a barbecue, you should do this event.
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But I think what people don't realize is and this may just be me, but events are very labor intensive And so if I'm going to spend six months planning an event, i've now put six months amount of my time into planning that event.
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That could have been going to something different.
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I'm not saying better or worse, but different that in the end could turn out to be a better use of my time, because that fundraiser, you know, raised $1,000.
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Now you can say $1,000, you don't have to sneeze at absolutely.
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But when you've had 50 people planning an event for six months and it nets $1,000.
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When you could do a fundraiser on Facebook that nets $1,000, it's you've got to.
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You've got to think about the people power that goes into it And what your community is willing to support to Right.
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And so what I try to do and every organization struggles with this, what should we do?
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and being consistent in the way that you fundraise.
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But you know, the bottom line is fundraising is our bread and butter.
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We don't, you know we don't get state funding.
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That's something that sometimes people don't realize about most animal rescues is that they're not funded by the state.
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City shelters, things like that, are funded by the city that they're in, and that's good.
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But they can't do a fundraiser because they can't, and that's you know then that's a challenge too, so they're limited to what the city is able to give them.
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The bottom line, what I would say about that is that it is a challenge, it's a constant effort of fundraising and, you know, we always like to hope that people don't think we're constantly begging them for money, but what I have found is that people have different things that that appeal to them.
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So and you had mentioned this earlier like you, you're a regular donor.
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So you, you, you give us a donation every single month and we greatly appreciate that.
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But every once in a while there's that heart string story or that particular animal that you say I really want to do something extra.
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And so by us basically continually to put that information out there, it allows people to basically donate towards something that they're passionate about.
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I also think being able to provide different levels.
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We do $5 Fridays because if you could afford that Starbucks or run through McDonald's and have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and make your own coffee that day, that $5 adds up with other people's $5.
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So we've got people that donate $5 and we've got people that write us a check for $5,000.
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I wish we had more of those, because it would just it would make things a lot less work.
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But it's a constant process of keeping the funds coming in, because that's the only source of funds 100% donations.
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I can see how it would have to be varied, whether it's internet or doing those in-person things, because everybody wants to see the kitten, everybody wants to see the puppy.
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So you do have to do that And I know firsthand, when you do those in-person events, all those puppies that you want to see and all those kittens that you want to kiss.
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they got to go from the foster home or from her house into a carrier, into a car driven by a volunteer, go to the event, set the event up, go through the event, tear the event down and bring them back.
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I mean, it's so labor intensive and yet the rewards of it are staggering.
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So they can be.
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They can be, they can be, and sometimes they're a bust and you're like why did I go through all this?
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So you go through these events and whether they're, like you said, six months of work for netting $1,000, you might not continue doing that event.
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Let's get more creative, yeah.
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So whether it's in-person or on the internet, you're always looking for something to be creative about gleaning ideas from anywhere.
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To be more creative about raising money Yeah.
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Well, and the challenge too, in any type anyone.
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I'm sure there's a lot of people listening to this that are involved in different organizations.
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As with any organization, you might have 100 people quote unquote on the books volunteering for the organization, but as far as actively volunteering it's usually a significantly smaller number, which it is for us, and we love our volunteers that are active, but a lot of times people don't want to be that money person.
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And so it ends up with like now I'm responsible for fundraising in addition to the other responsibilities, So it's a lot to struggle.
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I know you're many, hats many hats for sure, stop talking about money.
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Well, the one thing I will say about the fundraising, where it's difficult when an organization that you donate to is constantly asking for money.
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But think about your own home, how you're running a home.
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We're out of paper towels.
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Got to go to the store and get more paper towels.
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Just because you bought paper towels doesn't mean you're done.
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There's always another mouth to feed And once that mouth is fed, it's going to want to eat again tomorrow.
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So that's why it's constant.
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You can't look at it as like I already gave $15.
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What more do you want?
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Yeah, it's all the time And that's what keeps it running smoothly.
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Yep, got to keep doing it.
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All right, that's with the money.
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Yeah, you touched on volunteers.
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I would imagine if you're working out, a rescue that rescues snakes might not have as many volunteers as a rescue that wants to keep.
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People love snakes, people love snakes, but I bet you it's more appealing to work with puppies.
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So how do you get volunteers?
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How do you glean volunteers?
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How do you keep them actively involved?
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Yeah, That's a good question.
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So obviously we use social media and word of mouth to gain volunteers.
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We try our best to, when we're recruiting volunteers, to kind of give them I think it's important to give them a realistic expectation of what we do and what the opportunities are.
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So we do we try to provide an orientation, whether it's one on one or a group, if we get a chunk of volunteers that sign up for the at the same time, because I think sometimes, especially in animal rescue, people have a different perception than the reality And so people will perceive I'm going to volunteer and it could be at your local animal shelter or it could be at an animal rescue or whatever.
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I'm going to go volunteer at the shelter and I'm going to get the opportunity to play with play with animals, And a couple of things come up.
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Number one as much as we would, we love you playing with animals, We probably really need help with, at least in some organizations, because we don't have a paid staff to scoop those litter boxes And we're trying to fundraise and do everything else.
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So I would be much happier if you came and scooped some litter boxes or took some dogs for a walk that needed some exercise than just kind of playing with kittens or taking pictures or whatever it might be.
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I mean, all of it's in need but it's in balance, And so I think it's important for people that are going to volunteer for an animal organization to find out what the need is.
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What are the jobs that are available?
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for me, whether it's fostering in your own home, whether it's coming to a facility to clean or to exercise animals or socialize animals, Is it going to that fundraising event And most organizations are going to have all of those opportunities And it's just a matter of finding the fit for that person, what they like, what they're comfortable with, Because the bottom line is we go through a process to bring people on board.
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There's a training process, that our insurance, because you're covered by our for us.
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We have insurance for you when you're a volunteer, if, God forbid, something was to happen to you.
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So our insurance does require a lot of training.
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Our insurance does require a certain level of animal handling training, And once that's complete and you're kind of ready to go, we try our best to not only get you in the position that's a good fit for you or give you opportunities to do things that you want to do within reason, but also to provide you all the support And that's something that I think volunteers should be very careful about when they're picking rescues.
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Especially to volunteer with is what kind of support am I going to be provided?
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So, for example, if you were fostering pets in your home, does that organization, whatever it may be, are they going to provide you with all the food, the bedding, the formula if you're feeding bottle babies, medication, paying for the vet or you on your own?
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And then there's everything in between along the way.
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Really there's going to be a rescue that we'll just say here's the pet, it's up.
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it's your responsibility to take care of everything else like all that, and your rescue provides that We basically provide anything within reason I'm not going to provide you something that's illegal, but everything that you need, but everything that you need.
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I mean I get, i get fosters that will call me and say I need more litter And if I can't get it from my house to their house, i'm going to Amazon Prime it to their front porch the next day and we're going to make sure that they have that.
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So basically, there's no reason not to volunteer and be a foster Right.
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The other thing.
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Well, the other thing I would say, and I think this is something that drives volunteers away, because it's not just getting the volunteers, it's keeping them active and keeping them on board.
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And when they have a bad experience, like I was told I could take this, I was going to take this puppy for two weeks but then they found out it had XYZ diseases, And now I've had it for six months and they can't take it back because they have no place to put it.
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And it happens, And I don't.
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It's not malicious or trying to trick somebody, but it's not thinking the whole process through, Right?
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You know so what we try to do, and I'm not saying we're better than anybody else, but in order for me to even get people willing to foster, they like a time limit.
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So I can say, hey, Bev, can you take this dog for me for two weeks, And I will take it back on the 14th.
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And then, if you decide, hey, I'm loving having this dog around, I'm really enjoying him and he hasn't been adopted yet and you want to keep him longer?
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God love you, You can have him longer.
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That's a really good point.
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I think you mentioned that in one of your other podcasts, like think of it as a pet sitting for two weeks And then all of a sudden it makes it so much more palatable.
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Yeah, Like I don't know, I don't want to get roped into something I don't want to keep.
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But if you say it's like no two weeks and we'll take it back, no questions asked.
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Let's I assume other rescues do the same thing.
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Yeah, i mean to varying degrees.
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I think what happens sometimes is people over, and this is going to lead to some other challenges that we're going to talk about in rescue is that the whole process is a flow.
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Right, i accept something off of the street, i process it medically And then, because we don't have a facility per se now, i have to move it to a foster.
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So if I'm smart, i'm not going to take something off the street unless I know I have a foster spot or a place at my house, because what am I going to do with it then?
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So, but then I also have to think about the process as to how that can back up.
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So Beth has two puppies at her house She's maxed out.
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Susie has two puppies, puppy's.
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Mark has two puppies, kittens, whatever it is.
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Now my fosters are all full.
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Do I keep taking animals in, like you know?
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I can't.
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I have a place to put them And that's where some groups will get in over their heads.
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Now we've got my garage is full of cat cages or whatever you know, and it kind of expands to, and I see shelters do this too.
00:18:19.961 --> 00:18:39.035
You know they have enough facility a boarding facility, an equivalent of a boarding facility for 16 dogs, but they've got 42 because they've got 16 cages with two dogs in each one And we've got cages lined up, temporary cages lined up in our hallway and there's dog living in the bathroom And it absolutely can get out of hand.
00:18:39.035 --> 00:18:42.445
And now we're getting into something beyond the volunteering.
00:18:42.445 --> 00:18:52.099
But for groups that are foster-based, that don't have a facility, our ability to take in animals is directly proportionate to how many fosters we have.
00:18:52.099 --> 00:18:59.438
I think the key thing with the whole element of volunteers is number one making sure volunteers know what they're getting into, making sure that they have an out.
00:18:59.438 --> 00:19:03.907
You know that you're not sticking them with an animal permanently.
00:19:04.234 --> 00:19:11.203
Because not only that, not only is it going to be more comfortable to hear those words saying like oh, there is an end to this, this is okay, i'm not roped in anything.
00:19:11.203 --> 00:19:12.800
I might do it a second time.
00:19:13.015 --> 00:19:16.644
Yes, yes, yeah, if you make the experience good for them.
00:19:17.316 --> 00:19:18.540
It kind of keeps it fresh for them too.
00:19:18.540 --> 00:19:19.196
What's next?
00:19:19.196 --> 00:19:19.698
What's coming down?
00:19:19.698 --> 00:19:19.798
the?
00:19:19.798 --> 00:19:21.964
oh, maybe this will be a ginger cat.
00:19:22.277 --> 00:19:24.315
Hey, that's one of our, that's one of our recruiting things.
00:19:24.315 --> 00:19:26.983
It's like you like kittens, you can have kittens forever, Forever.
00:19:26.983 --> 00:19:30.317
Your cat will never grow up because we're just going to keep giving you more kittens, right?
00:19:31.201 --> 00:19:32.968
So I think that's a big piece of it too.
00:19:32.968 --> 00:19:45.509
And then you know it's just a challenge to keep people on board, because people's lives, you know, even if they have the best of intentions, their lives get busy or sometimes people might feel like they're not, especially in foster-based rescues.
00:19:45.509 --> 00:19:52.587
It's because we don't have a building where everybody comes every morning and we get to see the same people and we get to build human relationships.
00:19:52.587 --> 00:19:56.305
That now that's another reason why I wanna come to the facility and volunteer.
00:19:56.839 --> 00:20:01.507
When you're foster-based it can be a little bit lonely And so people can feel disconnected.
00:20:01.507 --> 00:20:11.904
And you know it can be real easy once you move that last puppy or kitten out of your house to, you know you go on vacation and now it's out of sight, out of mind, and you don't get back to it.
00:20:11.904 --> 00:20:20.385
And you know we try to do what we can to encourage people to keep doing it, because otherwise you're starting all over again with a new person, and that's you know.
00:20:20.385 --> 00:20:28.628
So I try, we try to, you know, create social events and we have meetings to try to encourage volunteers to have that connection with us, all of us.
00:20:28.628 --> 00:20:30.467
You know we're a team, as human beings.
00:20:30.619 --> 00:20:34.069
I would imagine a lot of the volunteers are self-motivated.
00:20:34.069 --> 00:20:37.787
They must come with a big heart to get involved in a rescue of any sort.
00:20:37.787 --> 00:20:40.885
Yeah, you have to rely a lot on self-motivation.
00:20:41.480 --> 00:20:41.942
Yeah, they do.
00:20:41.942 --> 00:20:44.727
But it also, you know, you talk about having a big heart.
00:20:44.727 --> 00:20:50.162
Some of it can be really heartbreaking as well, you know, because not every kitten that I give you is going to.
00:20:50.162 --> 00:20:54.788
I mean, i try my best not to give anything that I think is questionable.
00:20:54.788 --> 00:20:58.471
I just I'll keep that heartbreak, but I can't, you know.
00:20:58.471 --> 00:20:59.262
I mean, who knows what's?
00:20:59.282 --> 00:21:14.329
going to happen And sometimes, especially with baby animals, things happen or you, you're fostering a dog and that leg that we thought was broken turns out it's cancer and now it needs to be euthanized, and so there is heartbreak involved with that, And sometimes that's the thing that somebody says I can't do that again.
00:21:14.440 --> 00:21:16.067
Right, I completely understand that.
00:21:16.220 --> 00:21:26.087
I respect it, but it is something to think about as to you know, can I handle those types of things when you're volunteering, and if it's snow, then maybe you don't foster.
00:21:26.087 --> 00:21:27.143
Maybe help me with fundraising.
00:21:27.945 --> 00:21:28.568
Right, well, that's true.
00:21:28.799 --> 00:21:32.567
Or help with events you know, for screening, adopters or whatever it might be.
00:21:33.279 --> 00:21:39.344
I would imagine that some of the people that volunteer for you, fosters included, turn into adopters.
00:21:39.344 --> 00:21:40.307
They do.
00:21:40.700 --> 00:21:43.128
There are organizations and I used to be like this.
00:21:43.128 --> 00:21:44.364
Well, i might still be.
00:21:44.364 --> 00:21:46.846
I have to be honest, i'm not sure when the last time I used the term.
00:21:46.846 --> 00:21:48.767
They refer to it as foster failing.
00:21:48.880 --> 00:21:52.945
Yes, Okay, yes, she's totally a foster fail.
00:21:53.380 --> 00:21:55.327
Well, yeah, i've been a foster fail, absolutely.
00:21:55.327 --> 00:22:02.627
I was even an inadvertent foster fail when I picked up a kitten, thinking surely I can just go run this over to this rescue and they're just gonna take it.
