Please help us continue to help them

We currently are needing immediate community support. We have had an influx of dogs that had to be taken out of terrible situations immediately - they are now in the shelter, in vet clinics and in my home and the situation is out of control. Also, we have an abundance of cats needing placement or foster care and we need MONEY.

Since our fund raiser we have had relatively no donations. When we started planning and preparing our fund raiser we were deep in a financial hole, so the fund raiser, although a success, only got us partially out of the ditch. And when we started receiving money for the fund raiser, our costs didn't stop. We still had payroll, dogs still ate everyday, dogs and cats still needed medical care, the dumpster still needed picking up...


Even though we ended up better than we were, we are quickly going back into that ditch. Add that to the new influx of dogs needing immediate rescue, our being out of space and more dogs meaning more overhead, we find ourselves in need of support from the community.

Being a young organization, we don't get the press coverage or have the name recognition of the two larger organizations in town. We are not the first place people consider when making a donation for animal welfare. Being a no-kill we don't put animals down due to the inconvenience of having them. I believe in my heart, that the word RESCUE in an organizations name, euthanasia is not the easy way out - that life should be a consideration. We do euthanize when the animal is beyond help health wise or aggression wise ( I have not had that situation as yet, every dog that was deemed aggressive, with a bit of love and compassion quickly turned into a loving animal with the hope of finding a home). 48 of the 49 animals taken from Michael Vicks home were determined to be redeemable, if those dogs are able to be saved, there is hope for many.

I hate begging for donations, I don't do it well. I like the part of rescue and turning a dog or cat into a trusting healthy animal ready for a new lease on life with a family. But, I (we) can't continue without funds. it is an unfortunate necessity with non-profits, funds must be raised.

so. that being said; here is how you can help:

1. Donate. We have on the website - a paypal connection if you ebay you know how it works, if you don't know how it works click on the button and it will walk you through the donation process. or you can mail us a check at the address on the website. Also, you can when you google or search on your computer for information, go to GOODSEARCH.com and register your non-profit as Animal Rescue Fund of Mississippi. each time you use that search engine it will give a penny to ARF. You can also shop through GoodSearch and we will be given a percentage of the sale with no additional cost to you.

2. Adopt an animal for us. If you have a good, clean, safe home and yard with a secure fence, a heart for loving animals, the financial ability to provide good medical care (including heartworm preventative and flea/tick preventative), and you have a good vet reference, you qualify to adopt. If you have pets in your home already, they need to be altered and up to date on their vaccines and you don't need to have an abundance of animals in your home. We don't want you to be out of compliance with local regs on number of pets in your home.

3. Foster an animal for us. Perhaps you aren't quite ready for that commitment of adoption, but want to help in a temporary way. We have a foster agreement, much like the adoption agreement, but there is no cost as with the adoption, we cover medical costs and you provide our recommended dog/cat foods for the animal. this is usually no more than a three month process.

4. Finally. We need our own shelter. We have located the land. We are in negotiations for the land, but are shy of the final costs. If you have or know of family who has a foundation, we will provide a letter of request for funds to go toward the building fund. $1,000.00 is the beginning point of building fund donations. We can get there, we just need your help. this is a community need, your community and mine.

thank you.

posted by Elizabeth @ 8:19 AM