West Virginia rescue help needed
As a West Virginian and someone who helps multiple breed rescue groups and my local shelter, I can tell you that we do what we can through networking and getting to know the humans involved through conversations (phone calls and e-mails). I happen to be the one rescue coordinator for my primary breed in the entire nation. I have met most of the people who volunteer to foster through dog shows and Specialties and the rest I have met through e-mails, phone calls and referrals from friends.
When adopting and/or checking fosters, we get breeder or vet references (or both) and get club members or breed pet owners in the area to do home checks.
Thankfully, I am involved with one of the AKC's more rare breeds and don't have many rescues annually. More than ten dogs annually nationwide is a lot of rescues. For the ones that we do have, it takes a good deal of time and networking to coordinate the shelter pull, transport, foster care and adoption. I rely heavily upon a few committed club members and they can often refer me to someone in the area in which the rescue is needed. I personally never see the dogs and may not see the rescuer or transporter or adopter, however, I either know them from past association or through referrals and networking.
In West Virginia, transports can also be a challenge and, once again, networking helps fill in the runs. There are many people here that are dedicated to helping and, once you begin working with them, it begins to come together.
Shannon
