Questions and Answers

[samadmin]

#11. Question from Pam: What policies/ procedures does RPOA have in place to remove a rescuer who has proven through "due process" to not "subscribe" to RPOA's guidelines after the rescuer has been approved and listed on your website?


We have two co-chairmen of our Rescue Committee since it is such a large program. It is their duty to verify the accuracy of any complaints by talking to all parties involved and documenting the information. Then they present the information to the RPOA board of directors for a final resolution. This way the injured party doesn’t harbor any resentment against any one individual because it is a board decision.

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#12. Question from Jim: Along with the validation and listing process what is envisioned by the RPOA Board as their future role in the Texas Rescue Community?

Responsible Pet Owners Alliance is the sum total of all our members do. We’re an umbrella organization and this gives us leverage in many areas; legislation, fundraising and public relations. There’s strength in numbers. Our local newspaper did a great story on our all-species Rescue Program several years ago. Everyone is impressed at our listing of rescuers and all they do in our communities, which saves taxpayer dollars. Our slogan has always been: “None of us is as good as all of us.” We now receive phone calls to our office from people who want to adopt a purebred instead of only wanting to give us another unwanted purebred pet. We want to do everything we can to make the rescuers’ job easier. We hold our Third Annual Rescuers Conference this April which is a chance for the rescuers to put faces behind all the email addresses on our RPOA Rescue E-List. It recharges their batteries and let’s them know that they aren’t the only ones dealing with some very irresponsible pet owners many times. Rescue can sometimes be very depressing and this is their support group.

Rescuers and breeders continue to be targets of legislation requiring registration and contain provisions that can’t be met in a home environment. RPOA defeated a state regulation about 10 years ago that would have closed down every home-based rescuer in Texas. Animal shelters, especially the very large ones in the San Antonio area, perceive Rescuers to be competition many times and support this type of legislation. These shelters always have room for purebreds, especially the small dogs. We find smaller animal shelters in Texas are more eager to work with rescuers than the larger shelters. At the present time, our San Antonio Animal Control isn’t working with rescuers at all and put the purebreds in their Adoption Kennel to bring in more adoption fees for the city. The administrator told me personally they have really increased revenue to the general fund over the past year. We continue to monitor this situation.

RPOA will continue adding more qualified rescuers until we have the best listing in the country. We have definitely been blessed thus far and let’s hope it continues.

[samadmin]

#13-- Question from Janet: I wasn't aware that AKC had state federations. Can you explain more about what role RPOA plays in that relationship with AKC?

Almost all the states have a federation and sometimes more than one, which can be confusing I would imagine. We received the AKC Community Achievement Award in 2004 which included a check for $1,000. AKC provides some excellent pet educational materials. We’ve placed them in all the elementary school libraries in Bexar County over the years. We take all species of pets to the elementary schools in the areas where the most animals are picked up and make presentations on pet care, treatment and bite prevention.

Our 3rd Annual “Responsible Pet Ownership Day” is held each September in conjunction with AKC’s “Responsible Dog Ownership Day” which is held all over the country in September. This year the City of San Antonio is our co-sponsor and provides the location for us. We offer low cost microchips and rabies vaccinations, Canine Good Citizen (CGC tests), heart tests, conformation and obedience fun matches, and a canine drill team which offers a performance, pet educational materials, ask a vet, etc. It’s a fun day.

Most of the AKC state federations are formed to oppose bad legislation and do nothing else. But RPOA goes way beyond that. We work closely with our local city officials and animal control administrator to solve our animal problems which are legion. We are promoting microchips for ID and the AKC CGC Tests as that will return more lost pets to owners and dog training increases the human/animal bond. Last state legislative session, our House of Representatives passed a Resolution supporting the use of AKC’s CGC Test!

It is the state federations who do the footwork for AKC. We are in the trenches monitoring local and state laws that are detrimental to pet owners, attending hearings, meeting with city officials and state legislators, etc. The “Animal Rights” Movement is opposed to the use, breeding, and ownership of animals for any reason, including pet ownership. In the last six years, they have spawned an increasing amount of legislation. And it will only continue to worsen. Rescuers sometimes think all home based breeders (often call “backyard breeders”) should be shut down, but fail to realize that much of the legislation would also shut down home based rescuers. The only laws needed are strictly enforced Leash Laws, Animal Nuisance and Animal Cruelty Laws.

AKC writes city officials and state legislators supporting the federation’s position on legislation. They provide us with a list of all Texas AKC Clubs which we have in a database for mail outs. They’ve also provided us with a list of state legislators each session. AKC has one person who handles state legislation and another person for local legislation. There’s so much going on in Texas that we are in constant communication. It has proven to be a beneficial relationship for both sides. It gives us instant credibility to be an AKC state federation and we make AKC look good.

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#14-- Question from Jim: Earlier you mentioned that RPOA was in the process of developing an "umbrella" insurance coverage for rescues who have gone through the validation process. Will you explain how RPOA envisions this to work for the benefit of rescuers while at the same time "diminishing" the liability for RPOA?

Our Liability Insurance Policy was written especially for us by the Hartford Insurance Company. Insurers pay $10 in addition to $15 annual RPOA dues for coverage. We can only cover individual rescuers, not a group by name. Our dues run from January thru December. Our Rescue Program only covers Texas as we’re a very big state and that’s all we can handle.

There will always be a liability for RPOA as a group and for each individual rescuer. You can’t predict the behavior of animals under all types of circumstances, no matter how hard you train and socialize them. They are animals and all animals bite. They could bite or worse yet kill someone years down the road and all of us in the paper trail would be sued. You could lose everything you own. There are too many ignorant people out there who do the dumbest things sometimes where animals are concerned. Would you own a home without Homeowners Insurance? I think not. Nor should any rescuer be without Liability Insurance. It is peace of mind which is the best benefit of all.

[Jim Becklund]

So ends the first part of our very first in the ongoing Webinar Series. The whole idea oif a question and answer webinar was new to most of us so we were all holding our breath for the entire week . I'd first like to thank all of you who sent in questions for Mary Beth to answer. You definitely had some questions that made us all stop and think.

To Mary Beth a fabulous lady and to RPOA with projects on behalf of rescues and dog owners a large THANK YOU. To Mary Beth personally I would, as Jan Cooper would say, "kudos" to you and you get the dog biscuit award for your participation .

Later this evening Jan will post a few final comments I hope you enjoy them.

Part Two of this webinar begins on Friday. Well, actually it begins on Friday but goes on as long as the thread is active. Starting Friday there will begin a general discussion thread on the topic open to forum members, guests and the general public. If you have any questions or need to voice an opinion (in a respectful manner, of course) feel free to post and come back often to review the discussion. Mary Beth may pop in now and then to offer her, the RPOA organizations and the RPOA boards advice and insight.

It is our sincerest hope that you all enjoyed our first effort. More to come soon .

[Jim Becklund]

Hi Again,
Please excuse the typos and a few slips in the previous message. I'm just so excited that this went sooooo well

[samadmin]

General Comments from Mary Beth:
It has been a pleasure hearing from all of you. Please don’t hesitate to contact RPOA at any time if you need more information or if you have suggestions to make our Rescue Program better. You provide such a public service in your community and do a much better job of re-homing pets than any shelter can because of the individual attention you give the animals: living in a foster home for rehabilitation, the evaluation and socialization. I know all of you do follow up to make sure the placement is working and if it isn’t working, take back the animal with no questions asked. No shelter or animal control does all that you do. Rescuers are very special people. Keep up the good work and thanks for inviting me to participate in your Webinar.