Courtesy Listing Policy
Background
When dealing with rescue, there are many situations that arise in which IHCUS rescue may not be able to take in a dog. In some situations, potential rescues can be aided without IHCUS getting directly involved. This spares rescue resources. In these situations, Courtesy Listings may be appropriate.
It is very common for breed rescues to have courtesy listings. The following are just a few rescues that offer courtesy listings:
- Afghan Hound Club of America Rescue
- Akita Rescue of Western NY
- Alaskan Malamute Assistance League
- Australian Cattle Dog Rescue, Inc.
- Aussie Rescue & Placement
- BONES Beagles of New England Rescue
- American Belgian Malinois Club Rescue
- American Bouvier Rescue League
- National Brussels Griffon Rescue
- English Cocker Spaniel Club of America Rescue
- English Setter Association of America Rescue
- Flat-Coated Retriever Society of America Rescue
- German Shepherd Rescue of Rochester, NY
- American Manchester Terrier Club Rescue
- United States Neapolitan Mastiff Rescue
Rescue Resources
Rescue resources for this purpose are defined as IHCUS Rescue funds and time (of the volunteers). The Rescue Chair must be conscious that rescue funds come from donations and are not limitless. It is the responsibility of the Rescue Chair to try to conserve funds when possible, while keeping the best interest of the rescue dogs in mind. Time is equally as important as funds because of the common problem of volunteer burnout. Often a core group of people perform the majority of the duties. As time passes, volunteers tend to get burned out. The less work we can create for volunteers while still helping the dogs, the better rescue volunteers work together. It prevents volunteers from being lost to burnout which is a common problem for rescue groups.
Courtesy listings would be the free listing of a dog that is not in the direct care of IHCUS Rescue. The listing would appear on the IHCUS Rescue "available" web page and any outlet utilized by Rescue to advertise available rescues that do not require a fee. At this time, the only place (other than the IHCUS Rescue page), would be Petfinder.com.
Content and requirements, as well as the situations in which a courtesy listing would be considered by the Rescue Chair are outlined below.
Disclaimer
The rescue chair shall not allow a courtesy listing for any dog that they have reason to believe is aggressive.
Courtesy Listing Types
Shelter Referral
In the event that a shelter refuses to cooperate with Rescue or surrender the dog to IHCUS Rescue, or Rescue cannot find a foster home or representative to pull the dog and care for it, the Rescue Chair shall offer a courtesy listing. When it comes to dogs in a shelter, the courtesy listing should be a last resort after every possible attempt to extract the dog from the shelter has been made.
Rescue Referral 1
In the event that another rescue group refuses to cooperate with Rescue or surrender the dog to IHCUS Rescue or Rescue cannot find a foster home or representative to pull the dog and care for it, the Rescue Chair shall offer a courtesy listing.
Rescue Referral 2
In some cases, a dog may be in a rescue group that is equally qualified as IHCUS Rescue to care for a dog and may be willing to keep the dog in their group. The Rescue Chair has the discretion to decide when it is mutually beneficial for both the dog and IHCUS Rescue to allow the dog to stay in its foster home with the other rescue group. IHCUS Rescue will provide a courtesy listing in this case.
Owner Referral
In the event that a dog owner asks rescue for assistance in placing their dog without having to surrender it to rescue, a courtesy listing may be done if the dog meets certain requirements and the rescue chair has taken certain steps. The dog may be listed if the breeder is not known or the breeder refuses to take the dog back.
Requirements
The dog must be neutered or spayed before the listing will be done. The dog may NOT be sold at a price higher than Rescue's standard adoption fee. The owner must provide the name of the breeder or previous owner who sold (or gave) them the dog. The owner must affirm that they have offered to give the dog back to the breeder and the breeder must have refused.
Steps the Rescue Chair Must Take
The Rescue Chair must request that the owner contact the dog's breeder if owner has not done so. If the owner refuses to contact the breeder, the Chair must do so and give the breeder the opportunity to step in. In the event that the breeder is not known and the Chair is unable to make an "educated guess", the Chair must post the dog's photo or description, sex, age and city/state of residence to the IHCUS member's online forum and ask if anyone can identify the dog as their breeding.
Ibizan Mixes
IHCUS Rescue does not accept mixed breeding. However, it is acceptable to assist another rescue group or shelter by allowing a courtesy listing for known mixes. Owner referrals for mixes are not allowed so as to avoid encouraging the intentional breeding of mixes.
Courtesy Listing Content
The courtesy listing shall include the following information about the dog: Call Name, Age, Sex, Coat Type, Color, City/State of residence. The type of listing shall be specified as one of the following: Shelter Referral, Rescue Referral, Owner Referral. The listing must have a contact name and email or phone number for more information.
The courtesy listing shall include a photo and bio of the dog whenever possible. The bio will include information such as: level of training, likes, dislikes, temperament and home restrictions (ex. Not good with cats).
Courtesy Listings on the IHCUS Web Site
There shall be a special section at the bottom of the IHCUS Rescue web page for courtesy listings. The courtesy listings may NOT be more prominently placed than listings for dogs that are currently available for IHCUS Rescue. At the discretion of the webmaster, a separate page for courtesy listings may be instead created, with a link to that page that is easy to find on the available dogs page.
The courtesy listing section shall have a disclaimer that states, "This is only a courtesy listing. IHCUS, IHCUS Rescue, and their volunteers are not responsible for the dogs or parties that listed or referrenced." The section shall then be divided into three categories in the following order: Shelter Referral, Rescue Referral, Owner Referral. Shelter dogs are usually the most critical so they should be listed first to give them priority. Rescue group dogs should be listed next then followed by owner referrals.
Listing Duration
Courtesy Listings may remain posted for 6 weeks. During the 6th week, the Rescue Chair (or their delegate) will contact the owner to determine if an extension is warranted. The listing may be extended for another 6 weeks as directed by the Rescue Chair.
Listing Disclaimer
The following disclaimer shall be listed on the IHCUS Rescue web page:
The following dogs are not part of the IHCUS Rescue program. They are available through shelters, other rescue groups or owner referrals. Some are purebred Ibizan Hounds and some are mixes. IHCUS Rescue is not affiliated with the organizations or individuals whose dogs are listed below and cannot attest to the temperament or health of these dogs. IHCUS Rescue takes no responsibility for the actions of any other organization, owner or prospective adopter. If you are interested in one of these rescues, please contact the organization or individual in each listing, NOT IHCUS Rescue.