Being involved in A Paw in the Door, which is a Bath-based cat rescue group, I am always looking for reading pertaining to rescue work so that we can improve our “processes.” This month I have been reading Rescue Matters! by Sheila Webster Boneham PhD. I borrowed this on Maine Cat from the Bowdoin Library which has been an invaluable resource to me during my time at Bowdoin.
Rescue Matters! has provided great advice on how to run, fund, and promote our rescue. There are even some generic sample forms in the back of the book that help with adoption and foster family applications, as well as a link for a template that you can modify.
It was a great read with many new ideas regarding fundraising, recruiting and keeping volunteers, organizational issues, cutting cost without cutting care, and looking into the human side of rescue work.
I often borrow books from the Bowdoin Library or Maine Cat as a preview to books that I can purchase for the organization so that volunteers and board members can read them to gain perspective and insight into what we do. This is definitely one of those books that I will purchase for the group.
One of the themes of the book is to “never miss an opportunity for widespread publicity, fundraising, or to recruit volunteers”; on that note, A Paw in the Door is an all-volunteer 25-year-old cat rescue organization in Bath, Maine. We take in stray and abandoned cats as well as cats who are losing their homes for a variety of reasons, sometimes health or behavioral-based. We take the cats that the shelters turn down. We also provide low-cost & no-cost spay and neuter services to low-mid income clients in our area. We assist with debilitating medical situations to diagnose and assist with treatment through our vets at the Yarmouth Vet Center. If anyone is interested in volunteering please contact us through our website at: www.pawinthedoor.org
Thanks Joanne,
I always enjoy your thoughtful and informative postings! You are initiative and generosity incarnate! Bridget