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What is animal rescue?

Often times, when people hear the term "animal rescue," or more specifically "dog rescue," they immediately think of search and rescue--that is, animals employed in the use of locating people lost in the wilderness or by some other peril, such as natural disaster.  Animal rescue (dog rescue, cat rescue, horse rescue, etc.) is different.  It is people rescuing animals from peril, such as threat of euthanasia by animal shelters and other at-risk situations.

Are there costs involved in adopting a dog from North Bay Canine Rescue & Placement?

Yes, there are costs involved. The adoption fees you pay help us defray costs we incur when pulling dogs from shelters. We are charged by the shelters the same as you would be charged. The others costs we incur include spay & neuter fees and other miscellaneous medical expenses.  We must also pay for the cost of advertising the dogs in order to find new homes, transporting animals, phone bills in responding to potential adopters (many of which are long distance calls), and food and supplements for the dogs. 

All of the money you donate is used toward dog rescue.  Our volunteers receive no pay.  Usually, the amount requested for a particular dog does not even cover the cost of having rescued that dog. 

Do the dogs who go through rescue demonstrate behavioral problems or have medical problems?

Some dogs have problems and will continue to have them to some degree; others come to us with problems that we have been able to successfully eliminate.  Others come essentially "ready to go" with no serious problems at all other than they have been unjustly abandoned. Most rescued dogs have had little or no formal training, and most have had poor care.  Sometimes the dogs have been abused in one way or another and come with some degree of “baggage” (a lot like people).  

We assess each animal on an individual basis and are able to determine what we have to work with.  Most medical issues have been either resolved or constructively addressed by the time the dogs are ready for adoption. Generally speaking, most behavior problems simply require time, training, tender loving care and, mostly, commitment on the part of the people who are giving the dog his or her new lease on life.  

We will always disclose to you all we know about an animal.  If an animal has a serious medical condition or behavior problem, we will discuss this with you so that any decisions you make regarding adoption will be informed decisions.  There have been occasions when animals who have come to us were eventually assessed as “unadoptable,” mostly due to aggressive or unpredictable behavior.  In this event, these dogs remain in our care. 

Do you ever rescue pure bred dogs?

We often encounter and have available for adoption pure bred dogs; however, in most cases you will not receive official pedigree paperwork because such paper work is not available or the pedigree history of the animal has been lost or impossible to locate.

If you are looking to rescue a pure breed dog, there are many pure breed organization that take up the cause of rescue of that breed to some extent and if you contact those organizations they will be able to direct you to the rescue component of their organization.

We concentrate on the herding breeds and the mixes of those breeds as we believe the hearty “mutt” is often overlooked in adoption situations.  If we encounter a pure bred animals in the course of our work and that animal appears to be in a high-risk situation, we will of course assist that animal without prejudice.  When at all possible, we will appeal to the purebred organizations to take on the care of these animals so that we can focus on and make room for the herding breeds and the mutts. 

Once adopted, do you ever take back the dogs who were once in your care?

We have a lifetime commitment to all of our dogs. Should any unforeseen situations arise with the adoption party and the animal can no longer be cared for by them, we will always accept the dog back into our organization.  In fact, our adoption contract includes a “return to rescue” provision in which the adoption party must agree to return the animal to us if or any reason the proper care of the animal becomes impossible. 

 Do you place dogs with renters?

Yes, if we are able to include the landlord in the entire process. The Landlord will also receive a copy of the adoption contract. 

If you have concerns about your ability to adopt because of your rental situation, see page three of our Last Resort page where we offer tips and constructive ideas of how to approach the often delicate landlord/tenant relationship.  The more proactive and thorough you can be in addressing the issue of adoption with your landlord, the more likely it is that he or she will see you as a responsible person, therefore a responsible pet owner.  A reluctant landlord can often be persuaded to let you adopt an animal.  Once you have convinced the landlord to allow you to adopt, it’s important that you stick to your agreements to ensure a successful outcome.  If your landlord experiences a positive outcome with your situation, he or she will be more likely to allows pets in the future for others. We believe that more animal adoptions would occur if folks in rental situations were allowed access to adoption by their landlords; and we feel it is essential that pet owners take on the cause of demonstrating responsible pet ownership in order to help reverse the negative spin given to the concept of living with animals. 

Do you rescue dogs from private owners? 

We will take a dog from a private owner when we have the space, but this is rare. Because of the terrible shortage of foster homes and the abundance of dogs who are at risk of being killed, most often we cannot do this. We prefer to rescue from the pounds that are “kill facilities,” that is, where animal euthanasia takes place (and most of these facilities kill on a daily basis). 

However, if we know of a situation where a private party is about to give up their dog to a shelter, we try to convince them to hang on to the animal a bit longer (providing the animal the benefit of a familiar environment) and to work with us as we attempt to get the dog placed.  We hope that the private owners who are trying to place their dog through North Bay Canine Rescue & Placement are committed enough to their animals that they will be that animal's "foster home" until a new adoption situation can be found. 

All of the dogs on our 3rd Party Assisted Adoption page are either animals in this situation or animals in the care of other rescue organizations with which we are working. 

Under what conditions do you rescue from the pounds?

We try to refer potential adopters directly to the shelters because these facilities are usually the “last stop” for animals in their “care.”  Most of our dogs come from shelters.   When the shelter is unable to hold the dog any longer due to conditions of space, or because of the health of the dog, we will pull the animal as we can.  Our ability to pull dogs from shelters rest entirely on whether or not we have a foster home in which to place the animal on an interim basis until he or she can be placed.  Foster homes are very hard to come by.  Foster homes buy the animals time, something they don’t have in a shelter.  It is not unusual for animals to be euthanized the same day they are surrendered to a shelter simply because there was “no room in the inn.”  For this reason, the availability of foster homes is an essential component of the rescue effort.  

If you feel you might like to have a pet but you’re unsure, providing foster care to an dog is an excellent way to spend time with a potential pet to see if it’s a good match for you and your life style.  If you would like to consider being a foster care provider, please get in touch with us to discuss the matter further.  Our phone numbers: 705-763-7736 .

Do you only rescue & place certain types of dogs?

We try to focus on the herding breeds and the mixes of those breeds: Australian Cattle Dogs, Australian Kelpies, Australian Shepherds, Border Collies, Louisiana Catahoula Leopard Dogs and McNab Shepherds.

Will you help with other types of dogs? 

Most certainly!

How can I help?

This might NOT be one of our most frequently asked questions, but we WISH it were.  There is so much to do that our volunteers have a hard time getting it all done.  The need for safe and loving foster homes is enormous - but this can't be just a couple day commitment.  We need homes who will watch the dog until he or she is placed.  We need phone volunteers to return calls and, when trained, counsel people on how to place - or even better - how to work with their dog to try to keep him or her in the family.  We need people to copy, collate, and prepare adoption packets.  We need collars, toys, bedding, flea and heartworm medicines.  The list is long.  Do you have a particular skill to offer?