Annual Review 1 st September 2011 31 st August 2012 Some of the 66 Dogs that have been rehomed this year.
Message from the Chairman Setting up any rescue is a difficult task but some would say attempting to do this in one of the worst recessions is sheer madness! Well I am pleased to say that we have now survived our second year and while it has definitely been an extremely difficult year, with a record number of requests to take dogs in, we are still here. It is a credit to everyone who supports K9focus that during the last 12 months we have rehomed no fewer than 66 dogs in fact taking into account dogs that have been returned and second homes found we have secured 76 loving homes. Sadly, for a lot of people dogs are still seen as a disposable commodity and during the last year we have seen 15% of our dogs being returned which is a higher percentage than our first year. Looking at the various reasons for the dogs being returned it is difficult to identify a pattern as to why that is, but I believe it is in some respects to be expected, firstly because of the higher number of dogs being placed, secondly because of the different variety of breeds we are now taking and thirdly due to the economic climate which definitely has an impact on personal relationships. Dare I mention the weather? Summer is usually our best months for fund raising but obviously the weather has had a major impact on the number of events cancelled and also the number of people attending those events that have actually taken place. The average income for each of our events has been 85. Pets at Home continue to support us but like many corporate organisations their funding is going to be reduced in this coming year which will undoubtedly have an impact on our income. With this in mind the rescue is definitely going to have to look at other means of raising funds and reducing overheads during 2012/13. Our second year has also seen a definite rise in our profile locally having secured good relationships with various organisations. Many of you will know that we now have a monthly slot on The Voice which although only local to North Devon, is growing in popularity and coverage, and should be a good source of publicity in the coming year. We have also secured monthly Dog of the Week slots in the two local papers, The North Devon Journal and The Gazette, both of which have a high circulation. I also understand that our monthly spot in the Torrington Cryer is very popular and I do receive lots of positive comments. One of the highlights of the year was getting a slot on the popular Spotlight programme. The response from the short interview was simply amazing and resulted in donations in excess of 1,600, and a home for our Handsome Hector, who is now quite a celebrity. It was lovely to receive the numerous cards and letters of support and at a time when things were particularly looking quite grim it was a real boost to know that there are still people out there that do care and love their animals. There is no doubt that 2012/13 is going to be another challenging year but I believe with your support we can continue to make a difference to the lives of many more dogs. There are 66 dogs that are now in a loving environment because of K9focus supporters and on their behalf I say a massive THANK YOU. Lynne Hall
Housekeeping You will see from Appendix A that over the last 12 months we have raised a massive 23,759.64 which is a great achievement in the current climate. However we have also had operating costs of over 24,000 resulting once again in a loss for the year. In addition, the accounts do not reflect other costs incurred by the Trustees i.e. phone bills, printing, transport which have been donated to the rescue. However this is a situation that cannot continue and moving forward the rescue has to operate within its own means. This is going to be quite a challenge for 2012/13 and inevitably will involve some changes in the method of operation. The largest items are of course kennel fees, vet fees, foster fees and transport costs and these are areas that are the main area of concern for the coming year. Planning for our Continued Success At the Trustee Meeting held on Saturday, 15 th September the following items were discussed and unanimously agreed: Kennel Fees As a rescue we are extremely lucky to have secured kennel space at a reasonable cost taking into account the additional services which they provide at no additional cost i.e. vet runs. Over the previous year we have had up to 12 dogs in kennels at any one time but in order to reduce our operating expenses we will be budgeting now for only 6 dogs at any one time. Vet Fees One of the advantages of having our dogs in local kennels is the locality of Market Vets who have once again agreed set fees for vaccination, neutering etc. It is pleasing that during the last year over 90% of our dogs went out fully neutered, vaccinated and microchipped. It will remain the policy of the rescue to rehome ALL dogs fully vaccinated and microchipped and where funds allow we will continue to neuter. Our target will be 100% of dogs are neutered before being rehomed. Foster Fees In the past the rescue has in some cases paid fosterers for caring for some of our longer term dogs. At the recent Trustees meeting it was decided that moving forward no payment would be made to fosterers with the exception of food and vet bills. It was felt that payment to fosterers was a conflict of interest and that only licensed boarding kennels should be used if payment is required. It was also identified that dogs generally are rehomed quicker from a kennel environment where people have the opportunity of meeting several suitable dogs and have the space to let their existing pets meet in a secure environment. Transport Costs K9focus has, since inception largely taken in Local Authority pound dogs that are due to be put to sleep, together with many German Shepherd Dogs from Ireland. In the past it has been possible to organise transport for these dogs at little or no cost, however this is now proving difficult resulting in extremely high transport costs. Transport costs will need to be contained and therefore the decision has been taken to concentrate on local dogs only and for the
foreseeable future not to take any dogs from outside this country. Dogs will continue to be taken from Local Authority pounds where they are able to organise transport at no cost to the rescue. Fund Raising As previously mentioned, fund raising in the current year is undoubtedly going to be harder than ever and therefore more inventive ways are going to have to be undertaken. This last year has seen us raise substantial funds from Easyfundraising, Recycling Factory, Rag Bag collections etc and (pardon the pun) but our focus for the coming months will be to increase the number of volunteers we have in order to be able to run more in store collection days at various supermarkets and stores throughout the South West. In addition we will be looking to find a volunteer who can run and co-ordinate an ongoing campaign to locate more charity boxes as these are also proving to be a successful and cheap way of raising funds. In essence the campaign is on to recruit more hands! Increasing the turn round time On average most dogs are with us for 12 weeks + which is obviously a massive commitment in terms of cost. While we need to continue to ensure that dogs are thoroughly assessed before being put up for rehoming, we need to look at ways of increasing the exposure of dogs ready to go into their forever homes. Our aim over the coming 12 months is to look at no healthy dogs staying in kennels for longer than 4 weeks. This is going to involve creating much more awareness of the dogs. The website continues to be a major source of enquiries with over 4,000 hits per month however the last few months have seen that most dogs have been rehomed from posters displayed in vets, local pet shops and offices. While Facebook is a good media for spreading the word, this tends not to result in many enquiries. Non-Destruction Policy Since our inception we have always had a non-destruction policy but this has never been formally documented which we have now done and is attached as Appendix B. Operational Procedures Manual This has been an ongoing exercise for many months but movement is afoot and it is currently being prepared by one of our volunteers and will be available by the end of October. The manual will include the following areas: Roles & Responsibilities Re-homing Procedures and Guidelines Homecheck Guidelines Transport Guidelines Foster Guidelines Forms Non-Destruction Policy
Neutering Policy Conflict of Interest Declaration Volunteer Declaration Volunteer Resignation Declaration All K9focus forms are being amended and so any stocks of existing forms should be destroyed and these are now void. Conclusion While we have had a very good year in terms of fund raising and also raising awareness of K9focus we believe the next twelve months are going to prove extremely difficult. There are still many areas of fund raising that we have not attacked due to lack of resource and so as previously mentioned our initial focus must be on increasing our base of volunteers especially volunteers who have good communication and technology skills. The rescue world will no doubt continue to be an emotional roller coaster over the coming year and continue to present many challenges but we believe that by being adaptable and adhering strictly to the measures above we will meet these and be in a position to continue helping many more dogs.
Appendix B K9focus Non-Destruction Policy We accept that we cannot help every animal in distress, but we believe those that we take into our care at K9focus are entitled to the same standard of care that we would demand of our own animals. We therefore pledge as a rescue that no animal in our care will be destroyed except for the following reasons:- On veterinary advice for reasons of ill health or accident If an animal is proven to be a danger to humans or other animals by repeated and incurable vicious behaviour For any exceptional reason and only after reference to a meeting of the Trustees. Difficulty in rehoming or length of stay SHALL NOT constitute an acceptable reason for destruction. A record of all animals destroyed will be kept.