How to Start a Pug Rescue in North Carolina

Fun-loving and affectionate, pugs make excellent companions. Families abandon their dogs for many reasons, most having nothing to do with the dog. Most North Carolina animal shelters operate on small budgets, have few volunteers and need rescues to take dogs out of the shelter. If a rescue does not take a dog from most North Carolina animal shelters, the dog will die. Starting a Pug Rescue Group will be challenging but worth the effort--and will save many lives.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

1. Learn about running a rescue group by volunteering. Rescue groups are non-profit businesses. Try to take on as many jobs as possible for the group. Foster dogs, run fundraisers, process adoptions, recruit volunteers and arrange adoption events. Spend at least six months working for the rescue. Pug Rescue of North Carolina needs volunteers and foster homes.

2. Set up your non-profit corporation. Visit the North Carolina Secretary of State website, which provides a guide to forming non-profit corporations. The forms and fee schedule are online. If you intend to solicit donations, review the information about Charitable Solicitation Licenses on the Secretary of State website. In order to open a bank account, you will need an Employer Identification Number from the Internal Revenue Service. The IRS website has the form online.

3. Investigate whether you need a kennel or animal shelter license in order to operate a rescue out of your home. The state of North Carolina, Department of Agriculture licenses animal shelters. Contact your local city and county animal control department to find out if there are limits on the number of animals that your may house on your property. The North Carolina Animal Rabies Control Association maintains a list of animal control officers on its website.

4. Create a website. Most rescue groups use the Internet as a virtual shelter, a place in cyberspace where visitors can see photos, movies and descriptions of your adoptable Pugs. There are free services such as petfinder.com and adoptapet.com that give rescue groups free web pages, space for photos and movies. The groups are listed by state and breed. For example, your rescue would be found under "North Carolina" and "Pugs." Visitors from North Carolina searching for Pugs will see the dogs closest to them because of the zip code search feature.

5. Contact shelters and rescue groups and offer to help with Pugs. Shelters usually require that rescue groups provide veterinary references, other rescue groups as a reference, a copy of an adoption contract and website address. Fees to pull animals are determined by the individual shelter. Establish a working relationship with other rescue groups by joining the Best Friends Animal Society North Carolina web Network.

Tips & Warnings

• Meet with a lawyer to discuss liability and federal 501 (C) (3) status. If you need a business lawyer, contact the North Carolina Bar Association for a referral.
• Contact the North Carolina Veterinary Medical Association from referrals to vets in your area. You will need a vet willing to give discounts for routine services such as vaccinations, parasite control and spay/neuter surgeries.

Resources

• Pug Rescue of North Carolina
• North Carolina Secretary of State -form non-profit
• North Carolina Department of Agriculture
• North Carolina Animal Rabies Control Association
• North Carolina Veterinary Medical Association