It’s official: Magneto is a good citizen. This New Yorker strolls the streets calmly, unfazed by the sights and sounds of the busy city. Horn honks, sidewalk trash, subway smells, touchy passersby—Magneto takes it all in stride. Magneto is a good dog. And his owner has the papers to prove it.
The American Kennel Club (AKC) officially recognizes dogs that demonstrate good citizenship. The official title for these city-wise pups is Urban Canine Good Citizen. The Urban CGC is one of four titles the AKC gives for doggie citizenship.
Dogs must have a registered AKC number and pass the basic Canine Good Citizen test before being allowed to take the urban version of the exam.
The basic test has been around for about 25 years. More than 700,000 dogs have passed. The urban version requires a bit more self-restraint on the part of the pooch.
AKC officials administer the Urban CGC test in tough city settings. Streets, cars, noises, elevators, outdoor cafes, and other distractions are all part of the real-world exam.
Dogs perform a 10-step test of skills. For example, they must wait patiently for “walk” lights at pedestrian crossings, clamber in and out of cars or taxis, and ignore tempting street food. Two of the most difficult parts of the test involve a dog’s tolerating hugs and strokes from strangers and remaining still while its owner browses in a dog-friendly shop.
Some people think the test of doggie etiquette is barking up the wrong tree. “It’s more that the owners could step up their game,” observed one New Yorker.
Why do owners put their dogs through these urban paces? For one thing, it’s a way to “consider others,” as in Philippians 2:3. But additionally, from a practical point of view, some people believe good dog behavior will pay off. Some homeowners’ insurers have agreed to cover certain breeds with the basic canine good citizen title according to the AKC. Further, some think the Urban CGC title might help get a beloved pet into the best co-ops and condos.
What does the pooch get for its efforts? The AKC awards each dog that successfully passes the citizenship test the suffix “CGC” after its name—that and a doggie treat.
Some canines will do anything to stay out of the doghouse.
Gabrielle p.
Thank you! :) The contract is pretty long and extensive, so let me know if there are any changes you think I should make. I came up with a shelter called Precious Paws Puppy Rescue and that is what the adoption contract is for.
Precious Paws Puppy Rescue ~ Adoption Contract
________________________________________
Today’s Date:
________________________________________
Animal Information
Animal ID: Name: Estimated DOB: Current Age:
Breed (s): Gender: Altered: Vaccinated:
Microchipped: HW tested: Colors: Patterns:
Approximate Weight:
________________________________________
Be aware that this is one of the last steps to adopting a dog. If at any time during the last part of the adoption process that we at Precious Paws Puppy Rescue feel that the adoption is not in the best interest of the animal, we have full rights to stop the adoption process as is.
You, the undersigned “adopter”, must read, understand, and agree to the below.
1) Precious Paws Puppy Rescue can not guarantee the health or temperament of any animal in our care, nor can we guarantee the breed, age, or lifespan of any of our animals.
2) The dog must live inside the adopter’s home (excluding the garage or basement) and will be treated as a family member, receiving lots of love and care.
3) The dog must never run loose or roam, be chained, or left alone outdoors.
4) The dog is not to be left alone in the car for time periods over 10 minutes nor is to be left alone in the car in warm weather (65 degrees and above) or cold weather (under 45 degrees).
5) The dog is to be adopted for the person adopting him/her and is not to be given away as a present, gift, or anything of the sort.
6) The dog must be trained using reward-based training methods. The dog must not be trained for any dog-fighting activities, attack-training activities, or used for any other purposes than for companionship.
7) The dog’s ears must never get cropped nor the tail docked.
8) The dog must visit a licensed veterinarian for wellness checkups yearly and must receive all necessary vaccinations and medical care. The dog must also receive heartworm and flea prevention tablets every month.
9) The dog is not to be euthanized unless he/she is in constant pain and there is nothing that will help.
10) The adopter agrees to keep the dog’s license tags up to date.
11) The adopter agrees to never abandon, neglect, or abuse the dog in any way, nor will the adopter allow anyone else to do so.
12) The adopter agrees to never discipline the dog using abusive physical “discipline”. The adopter also agrees to never let anyone else discipline the dog using abusive physical “discipline”.
13) The adopter agrees to keep the dog on a leash whenever taken to an area that is not safely enclosed. The adopter also understands that rescue animals can be unreliable when outside of the adopter’s home.
14) The adopter agrees to abide and comply by any neighborhood, city, state, or country laws and ordinances concerning household animals.
15) The adopter agrees to release Precious Paws Puppy Rescue from any and all liability arising out of possession and ownership of the dog.
16) The adopter agrees to take total financial responsibility of the dog as of the date of adoption.
17) The adopter is aware that he/she is making a lifetime commitment to provide healthy and nourishing food, proper exercise and mental stimulation, medical care, monthly heartworm and flea prevention tablets, and loving care for as long as the animal is in the adopter’s care.
18) The adopter understands that Precious Paws Puppy Rescue has disclosed all known information about the current health and temperament of the dog. The adopter also understands that any animal possesses a risk of biting, scratching, or otherwise causing injury.
19) The adopter understands that if the adopted dog is found running loose on more than one occasion and Precious Paws Puppy Rescue locates and retrieves it, the dog may not be returned to the adopter.
20) The adopter agrees to pay the adoption fee of $ . The adoption fee includes vaccinations up to date, a spay/neuter surgery, a microchip, heartworm testing for dogs 6 months and older, and any and all medical care necessary while the dog was in our care. Any remaining medical costs are to be provided at the adopter’s expenses.
21) The adopter agrees that for any reason if the adoption is not working out, the adopter must bring the dog back to Precious Paws Puppy Rescue. Any dogs adopted as pairs must return as pairs. The adopter also understands that there will be no refund or trade of equal, greater, or lesser value whatsoever.
22) The adopter understands that violating this contract gives Precious Paws Puppy Rescue the right to retrieve the animal, taking back ownership immediately. The adopter also understands that any suspicions of the adopter violating this contract also gives Precious Paws Puppy Rescue the rights to retrieve the animal, taking back ownership immediately.
23) If there is any violation to this contract and the case must go to court, Precious Paws Puppy Rescue is entitled to pay for any court costs and attorney fees.
I, the undersigned “adopter”, have read, understood, and agree to everything stated above and realize that signing this contract grants me permission to adopt an animal from Precious Paws Puppy Rescue.
I, the undersigned adopter, also realize that this adoption contract is now property of Precious Paws Puppy Rescue and that any false information whatsoever is denying an adoption.
Adopter Signature
Printed Name of Adopter
Signature of Staff Member
Adopter Information
Name:
Phone Number (s):
E-mail address:
Physical address:
Best way to get in contact:
The staff at Precious Paws Puppy Rescue remain interested in the welfare of the adopted dog. If you have any questions, comments, concerns, or updates that you would like to share, please contact us at any time.
News, photos, and video clips of the adopted dog are always immensely appreciated.
gabrielle p.
The contract looks a lot better on a Word 2013 Document than on WorldTeen!
gabrielle p.
On Best Friends' website, I came across an article titled "How to Start an Animal Rescue or Other Nonprofit Animal Organization". If you type it in the search box it should come up.
Anyway, on a part of the article it tells you to set your goals. My idea for goals is listed below--please tell me your idea for goals! :)
1) Ultimate goal: have a facility, paid staff, and have reduced the kill rate at a high-kill shelter
2) Intermediate goals: to reach the ultimate goal, there has to be a good adoption rate so we can pull more dogs from a high-kill shelter. We will also have to partner with businesses and fundraise. To get a higher adoption rate, the dogs have to be noticed. To get the dogs notices, we could sent out newsletters, take good photos and/or videos, and get the dogs to a point where almost anybody could adopt them; this would include lots of training and socialization.
3) Goals for first and second years: for the first year, get a solid foundation and get the word out. See if the local TV station will introduce us. Also, set up a website, send newsletters (if possible), partner with businesses and gain donors. Make sure that people know that we exist and what our mission is. If possible in the second year, gain a small facility so people can come and visit the dogs without having to schedule an appointment.
Rebekah
Bays and Clydesdales
gabrielle p.
Sorry for my typo! I meant to say noticed instead of notices!
Preston H.
Cool! How many horses do you have in total? What breed are the bays?
( Emily H)
Do you mean bay Clydesdales? That is really cool! My Grandpa had like, 8 horses but he just sold all of them expect for three, Paint, a brown and white paint quarter horse and Miss, she is a boarder a chestnut quarter horse ad something else, we don't know yet. Magic, a palamino quarter horse
gabrielle p.
So it's official....Abby has been adopted!!! Hopefully this will be a forever home! :) Here is a picture of her and her new family:
https://scontent.ford1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/13240103_101538739349835...
Rebekah S
Maybe on No. 13 add that a rescue animal could be unreliable and/or unpredictable outside of the adopters home.
1) My goals for the third year - Be able to rescue not only dogs and cats, but maybe add on to our rescue efforts with livestock, horses, reptiles, or birds.
2) - (I have to agree with you on the ultimate goal)
We might want to set up a social media account and website the first year. Your goals are awesome, and I'm excited to see this animal shelter form over the next few years. :)
Rebekah S
I pray so, Abby really needs that forever home!!
gabrielle p.
Sounds good for No. 13.
Depending on how successful the shelter is, we could add on other types of animals at any time. Maybe the first animals we could add on, after dogs and cats, could be rodents like rabbits, mice, etc. Then, as we gain knowledge or people that have knowledge about other species of animals, we could add those on to. Maybe for the birds we could just rescue cockatiels, budgies, and other small birds ; I don't think we would be fully equipped to rescue (or house, for that matter) large birds like macaws and cockatoos.
Best Friends also rescues goats, sheep, and pigs, but I've never heard of them rescuing cows. Horses would be a nice addition, but once again, we would need to be fully equipped to care for and house horses.
Sometimes animals shelters take in snakes and other reptiles, but maybe those could be some of the last types of animals our shelter could save. I don't have any experience caring for reptiles. Do you?
Yes, we would definitely need to have a website and possibly a Facebook account. We could also post our adoptable animals on pet adoption websites.
gabrielle p.
Yes, I'm hoping that Abby stays in this home! :)
gabrielle p.
Tonight I just stumbled across an article that has about everything you need to know about starting a shelter! Google "animal shelters articles of incorporation" and click on the search result that's a PDF file that says "Rescue 101: Getting Your Organization Off the Ground".
Rebekah S
Okay, that sounds good. Yes, we would definitely need to be equipped to house more rescue animals as well as different types. While I have never cared for a reptile myself, I do know some things about how to care for them.
Rebekah S
That sounds great, I will take a look at that PDF. Thanks so much! :)
gabrielle p.
No problem! :)
Rebekah
20 bays and 17 Clydesdales.
Preston H.
What breeds of horses are the bays? Or are the bays Clydesdales?
(Emily H)
Wow! That is a lot of horses! Does your family run a stable or something? Is it a ranch?
gabrielle p.
I'm currently reading the PDF file and have written up a mission statement for the future shelter. I'm not too sure about the second paragraph, the one about providing low-cost spays and neuters. Let me know what you think--maybe you can write a mission statement from what the PDF file says as well so we can compare ideas.
Mission Statement
(Some animal shelter) is a no-kill, non-profit, 501c3 animal rescue and adoption organization. We rescue our animals from high kill shelters, save strays, and accept owner relinquished animals with the goal of turning them all into loving companions. To accomplish this we provide a special kind of care and training and work with the animals using reward-based methods to the point where almost anybody can adopt them! Our ultimate goal is to reduce the number of homeless animals that die in nearby kill shelters yearly.
(Some animal shelter) also provides low-cost animal spays and neuters. When you go to (some vet clinic) to get your dog or cat spayed or neutered, we chip in and will pay half the price!
(Some animal shelter) is a foster-only based shelter working in the (some area) and we don’t have any paid staff for the time being. Future goals include growing the shelter to a point where we can have a facility, paid staff, and are saving more animals.
We believe that to reach the goal of no more homeless pets more animals have to be spayed and neutered and the adoption rate of animals in shelters has to go up. To help us accomplish this you can foster, adopt, volunteer with us, or donate.
Thank you!
gabrielle p.
I added something else to the adoption agreement. What do you think?
11) The adopter agrees to never get the dog debarked/devocalized.
Preston H
Wow, that is a lot of horses!! So cool! :)
Rebekah S
You can get a dog devocalized?!! I had no idea!! That is so horrible!
Rebekah S
Yes, I think that we should add that to the adoption contract.
Rebekah S
Great job on the Mission Statement; I think it all sounds great! :)
gabrielle p.
Yes. Not all vets will devocalized a dog, but some will. When a person has their dog devocalized and the dog tries to bark, all you hear is a little sound. It's a very sad procedure and I think it should be illegal.
gabrielle p.
Do you have anything to add to the Mission Statement? Maybe you could write one up so I could see what you're thinking.
gabrielle p.
Shelter update-
Turns out, CoCo is not pregnant! Her lactating was just a weird thing that happened.
Tonight Loving Heart is getting two more dogs and five 4-week-old kittens from a kill shelter. The dogs are Chihuahua mixes and the kittens are absolutely adorable from their picture!
All of the puppies have approved applications. They get spayed and neutered tomorrow; after they recover from their surgeries they will get to go to forever homes (after home visits, of course).
gabrielle p.
How much have you read in the PDF file? I'm around the Bylaws and Building and Managing Your Board of Directors.
gabrielle p.
When it's time for LHAS staff to do home visits for the puppies, I may be able to come along on one! If I can, I'll tell you all about it! :)
gabrielle p.
I'm not too sure of the second paragraph of the Mission Statement. What do you think?
( Emily H)
I saw on the website the horse named Laura! She lookes very pretty!
( Emily H)
Soory, I meant to type looks.
Emily h.
That's fine! :)
Have you seen Prince, the foal, and the other two new horses, Chief and Billy Bob?
( Emily H)
Yes! I just saw them, is prince a nurse mare foal? The horse I ride is a quarter horse like Billy Bob expect he is a paint, His brown in the paint coat is much lighter then Cheif's
Emily H.
No. I believe his mother was a stray, and she rejected Prince at birth. Now the staff at Best Friends are trying their best to raise him.
Gabrielle P.
Shelter update-
The two new dogs' names are Garfunkel and Simon. Garfunkel is mostly white with some black and Simon is brown and white patched; Simon also has an adorable under bite! Garfunkel and Simon are Chihuahua mixes are said to be brothers.
Today I helped to clean the kittens off. There are two gray and white ones, one black one, one cream one, and one brown spotted one. Although they can't be sure of their genders until they are a little bit older, one of the staff members at LHAS thinks that the black one and one of the gray ones are females and the others are males. You can see a video of the kittens on Loving Heart's Facebook page; I was at the shelter while the video was taken.
All of the puppies except Sherman and Sawyer got spayed and neutered today. Sherman wasn't neutered because he still has a cough and Sawyer needs to grow a bit more.
gabrielle p.
I meant to say "Garfunkel and Simon are Chihuahua mixes and are said to be brother". Sorry I left out the and!
Gabrielle p.
Sorry I didn't add the "s" to brother in my last comment! :(
( Emily H)
Have you seen or heard about last chance corral? They should have a website, it is a place were the take care of nurse mare foals.
Emily H.
I stumbled upon their website a little while ago, but now I just looked it up.
Emily h.
They have so many foals up for adoption!
( Emily H)
Yes, they have a lot of foals up for adoption! I want to help the foals, but I don't think there are any horse racing stables or trainers in VA, Here is some more info I found on the foals
Every year, thousands of racing Thoroughbreds are born in the US. Even with the declining economy, over 23,000 mares were reported bred in 2012. Every thoroughbred must be registered with the Jockey Club to be registered to race. And every thoroughbred has the same January 1st birthday regardless of their actual date of birth. Due to the horses 11 month gestation period mares are often bred in February and March in hopes that the foal will be born in January or February of the next year. In order for the mare to have a foal the same time next year she will need to be rebred only a month after giving birth. Some mares must travel to a stud farm as the Jockey Club has a rule that states that Thoroughbreds cannot be registered (and cannot race) if they were not conceived by live cover. This prohibits the use of artificial insemination (A.I.), a common technology used throughout the horse world. A.I. allows more mares to be impregnated from each stallion collection. While much more convenient, A.I. devalues the semen, which is a “no can do” in the Thoroughbred industry where stud fees often surpass $100,000 per collection. Due to the value of their semen, many stallions are insured for millions of dollars. To keep the cost of insurance down many stallions do not leave the stud farm, requiring that the mares be brought to them.
Thoroughbred brood mares are highly valued and are insured as well. After all, the breeder is expecting to get a “Lil Seattle Slew” out of her. The newly born foal will also require insurance, but the often the cost of shipping the foal cross country with the mare is too high... not to mention risky. Foals are often not welcomed at the stud farm. So what is a Thoroughbred breeder to do when he wants to send a mare to be rebred to produce yet another “Seattle Slew Hopeful”? Separate mama and baby. Without the mother, the Thoroughbred baby obviously won’t survive. Their solution? A nurse mare, of course! The decision is then made to get a nurse mare. After all, she has milk that she’s not doing anything else with, right? WRONG!
In order for the nurse mare to have milk, she must have given birth. Bringing a mare into milk without breeding her is substantially more expensive than breeding her to whomever and bringing a life into the world. That life is a nurse mare foal. There are farms that specialize in leasing nurse mares to breeding facilities. The foals are considered a byproduct of the industry, and once it is born; its purpose has been served. The nurse mare foal is then disposed of several different ways. Foal meat is considered a delicacy in some places, and pony-skin has become quite popular in Europe. Many nurse mare foals are born and are simply destroyed, not necessarily using humane methods. Whether or not it is legal does not matter- it still goes on. If the nurse mare farm gets a call for a mare and they do not have one ready inducing a labor, though illegal, is common practice.
The Last Chance Corral rescues between 150-200 foals every year. The biggest year was 2008 when 207 foals were rescued! January through June is known as “foal season”, and for good reason. The foal barn is its own intensive care unit where a small team works to save the helpless foals twenty-four hours a day. Once the foals are stabilized and drinking milk well, they are put up for adoption. Then we try to save more. The summer and fall is the preparation time for next foal season, both financially and mentally. It is a never ending cycle.
People ask why we do not go after the nurse mare farms and try to shut them down. The problem lies not with the nurse mare farmers, but with the Jockey Club. If artificial insemination were allowed, the mares could stay at home with their foals and there would be no need for the nurse mare foals to exist. The problem is kept ‘hush hush’ by the big guys with… you guessed it… the money, making it an extremely tricky situation to solve. Until the Jockey Club decides to make some adjustments, the most important thing to do is to be there for the foals that are being born to die. People like you can help us help those that cannot help themselves.
emily h.
That's terrible! I just wish that there were more horse rescues out there that would save the nurse mare foals and do something about that nasty Jockey Club.
( Emily H)
Yes it is a terrible thing to face, knowing that these nurse mare foals are being killed for clothes and food! I wish to help them in some way, I don't think there is many nure mare foals in Virginia though, The horse racing stables are more common in Maryland and Kentucky, Have you heard of the triple crown? It is one of the biggest horse races in history, There are three races. The first one is the Kentucky derby then is the Preakness last is the belmout stakes. If one horse wins all three of the races, he is a triple crown winner and gets millions of dollars. Having a triple crown winner is not very common. But last year, a horse named American Pharaoh won the triple crown, I think he was the first horse to win in like, 27 years! I think ( Don't think all this is right because I don't know much about horse racing) That the last horse to win was a horse named citation.........
Emily H.
Yes, I have heard of the Triple Crown. :)
gabrielle p.
I came across this video called "600 Miles Dog Rescue Documentary". It's a very touching 14 minute documentary, but you may cry during it! (I didn't cry, but I almost did.)
gabrielle p.
You can see it on YouTube.
gabrielle p.
Or you can Google it.
( Emily H)
Sorry about all my commenting, I did not know this many people own and love horses, so got a little carried away with the commenting!
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