Animals depend on their caretakers in their final years.
Farm animals, circus animals, racing animals, service animals and animals used in the entertainment industry work throughout their lives. When these animals grow older, most remain under the loving care of their owners, but some are unable or unwilling to provide a proper environment for an animal after it can no longer work. For individuals who have the time, patience and financial resources, starting an animal retirement home opens an opportunity to provide love and care to some very special creatures.
Instructions
1. No safe place to live when they age
Decide what types of animals your retirement home will care for. Ranch-type homes offer a lot of wide open space to accommodate large animals, such as donkeys and horses, two species which often have no safe place to live when they age. Smaller shelter areas can serve as retirement homes for dogs, cats, reptiles, and even birds.
2. Contact AnimalSheltering.org, a program of The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). Animal Sheltering works with individuals starting an animal retirement home to provide advice, guidelines and recommendations on operations, procedures and policies.
3. Get experience working with animals in a shelter. In addition to learning properly care for animals, the experience will help provide you with contacts and resources in the animal care community.
4. Visit animal care facilities for layout ideas.
Design your animal retirement home. Check animalsheltering.org's suggestions for animal care facilities layout. Visit other animal retirement homes, if possible. Visit area animal shelters to get an idea of what works and what doesn't. Ask animalsheltering representatives to assist with the home's layout. Design decisions will vary, based on the available space and the types and sizes of animals who will live in the home.
5. An animal retirement home needs the good will of community members who can help reduce costs and subsidize the animals' care. Work with community professionals, including veterinarians, lawyers, and animal supply companies, as well as professionals in public relations (PR), advertising and media. Many professionals will volunteer their services to a good cause, such as a community animal retirement home.
6. Contact the local municipality or county to research laws and regulations relating to maintaining a large number of animals. Many localities give this responsibility to the local humane society. Find out how many animals the law allows and what conditions they expect. If the animal retirement home maintains a good working relationship with the humane society and the local animal welfare authorities, everyone will benefit, especially the animals.
7. Make PR of the animal retirement home a priority
Develop a relationship with the local media to keep the animal retirement home in the community's consciousness. Bring the animals out whenever possible, along with signs stating that they receive care from a non-profit animal retirement home. Do "bark sales" in local malls, sports events and community centers whenever possible. Be blatant in asking for contributions to keep the animal retirement home running. Set up a blog or simple website and frequently upload pictures of the animals. Keeping the animal retirement home running depends on funding and funding depends on promoting the work of the home, so make PR a priority.
Tags: animal retirement home, animal retirement, retirement home, animal retirement, retirement home, animal care, animal care facilities