| Do you have a purebred Labrador Retriever in need of a new home, or perhaps a stray has wondered up to your doorstep and you want to know what we can do to help. For starters, our program depends upon volunteer foster homes of which each volunteer can only foster between 1 and 5 Labradors at a given time. Each of these volunteers accepts the responsibility of proving excellent care for rescued Labradors and this includes medical attention such as surgery, preventative care such as regular inoculations, monthly heartworm prevention, good food and proper shelter along with proper socialization and training if needed. Here is what we can offer you. If we have an available foster home, we will gladly accept your Labrador under the following conditions. All shots including rabies are current. Your dog must also be spayed or neutered. If your dog has neither current inoculations or has previously been altered, then we require you to donate a minimum of $150.00 to LRRMT of which will be used to have your Lab spayed or neutered by our Veterinarian and inoculations brought up to date immediately. A donation of one 20 or 40 pound bag of your pet�s current diet is also needed. Why do we require this? For starters if your companion Lab has not been altered and inoculations are not current then you have not been very responsible as a pet owner. It cost between $800.00 and $1500.00 per year to provide the absolute basic up-keep for just one dog. If the dog happens to get sick, need surgery or have some other unforeseen thing happen, then those cost can more than triple. Our Volunteers work strictly for the benefit of the animals and spend their own money to care for these rescued Labradors and are never compensated for their time and personal expense. If you care about the placement of your Labrador and choose LRRMT to foster your pet, then we must ask that you do your share by either providing the spay/neuter and shots or donating the minimal amount to assure your Labrador will have this done is a timely fashion. For Labradors that are up to date on all inoculations and have been previously spayed or neutered, we will need all of your pet�s medical records, history if available and the donation of at least one 20 or 40 pound bag of the current diet your pet is eating. What if I prefer to keep my Labrador but I want LRRMT to assist me in finding a new home? LRRMT position is too help any Labrador owner the best way we can but individual owners cannot use our name as an endorsement when placing your pet. If you prefer, you can send us 2 or 3 good pictures of your Labrador via regular mail or e-mail with a list of particulars about your Labrador and we will gladly post your dogs information on the LRRMT web-site under the heading �Available By Private Individuals�. One rule that we have before we place your dog is that you agree not to offer your pet �for sale� nor for an adoption fee. The use of LRRMT web-site for placement of your dog is strictly for volunteer purposes and no profit shall be made from such services by you or LRRMT. What if I have found a stray? We discourage people from picking up dogs along roadsides or parking lots etc, unless the dog is in danger of being run over or killed by someone. Also, it is wise to be cautious of stray dogs, as their temperaments can be unpredictable. If you have young children, perhaps it is best to swallow your pride and leave the dog be as the old saying �better safe than sorry� can hold true. Most strays have temporarily run away from home and if given the chance will return. Dogs have an excellent sense of direction so don�t be fooled. It has happened too many times�.the kids left the gate open or the UPS man dropped off a package and did not latch the gate properly, so Sparky is now missing. Now you come home and Sparky is in your yard, the only thing is that you don�t know is where Sparky came from or even if he has an owner because he is not wearing a collar. Now, you like most people decide one of four things. A) Keep Sparky and if no one claims him then he automatically becomes your dog, which is the �losers weepers/finders keepers� scenario. B) Lock him up in the garage or chain him in the yard and call the dog pound, shelter or breed rescue till you find someone to take him away. C) Shoo him out of your yard and threaten to shoot him if he returns. D) Fall in love with him, keep him for a while; realize the responsibility and then your ready to call us up so we can �please� take the dog. If you decide to take in a stray remember these guidelines. 1. Look in the paper everyday for the next week to see if someone did not take out an ad for �lost dog�. If no luck, then place an ad for a �found dog� and carefully screen all callers to make sure they can identify the dog as well as give you the dog�s name. Ask the caller to give their name, phone number and name of their Veterinarian so you can call and verify the dog as being owned by them. Tell them you will return their call shortly. If they have correctly identified the dog, check to see if the dog responds to the name they gave you. Then call their vet. 2. Call all Vets� offices in your area and ask if any of their clients have reported their dog missing. 3. Take the dog by a local vet or shelter. Explain the dog is a stray and ask if they do not mind scanning the dog for a microchip. If the dog is found to have a microchip then the vet can put you in touch with the proper organizations such as Home Again and Avid, both of which maintain national databases for all microchipped pets. Then you can find whom the dog actually belongs too. If all else fails, then contact us and we will offer our assistance. |