What’s Involved In Animal Rescue?
Stuff To Get Before the Floods Hit
May 11, 2022
What’s Involved In Animal Rescue?
What does it take to help a severely abused dog or neglected horse and what’s involved in animal rescue?
There is much more that happens after the initial animal rescue. Yes, that’s the important step, but what happens when they get to Hollow Creek Farm Equine and Canine Rescue in South Carolina?
The First Step Is One Of Many, Many More
The first step is the initial rescue, whether from hoarders, dog fighting rings, severe abuse and neglect situations, puppy mills, or other forms of animal exploitation.
- Extraction from the horrific places they’re being abused, neglected or exploited
- Transportation — to the vet for initial care, follow-up care, and ongoing medical care
- Nutritional consultation
- Training – from day one handling, obedience, groundwork, grooming
- Socializing – beyond love and care to ensure the animal feels safe, acts appropriately
- Rehabilitating the animals that have been abused, testing to ensure saftety of all
- Finding Forever homes – applications, checking references, home visits, follow-up care, returns that don’t work out, marketing, posting, shooting pictures and video
- Shelter – building, maintaining, heating, cooling, pest prevention, cleaning, protecting, insuring
- Feed & Feeding –nutritional consult, buying, cleaning, preparation, storing
- Maintenance of barns, runs, pastures, fences, food storage, kennels, roofs, floors, walls
- Repairs – fences are ongoing as they wear in the weather and from big strong animals
- Cleaning – 24-7 for all animals, all venues indoor and outdoor
- Fundraising – never stops
Constant Repairs, Cleaning, New Skills
There is a constant list of repairs, cleaning, and skills needed to do the above and the energy through any illness, exhaustion, and weather, and days off.
Lack Of Money Is The Hard Part
The hardest part of it all is knowing you have to do all these things on a shoestring budget. Can YOU figure out how to get a $3500 project done for $400? We do it all the time.
But if we knew that money, food, medical care, and shelter were covered, we could get through the rest. Fundraising, asking, and trading services never stops. It’s a full-time job.
Carpentry, Welding, Heavy Equipment
But you also have to know about carpentry, welding, running equipment, repairing it. As you can see, the video shown here is the first step to installing the new fences to make sure they are not washed away in hurricane season.
Hurricane Season
FYI: Hurricane season is March through November every year. Hollow Creek Farm Rescue is located directly on top of Hollow Creek.
We’ve got to put new cross cut fencing in for Marengo and Olive Oyl our two new equine guests so they can have a private pasture and shelter. They cannot upset our senior horses that are on a different feeding program.
Coupon and Deal Hunters
In order to get what we need on the cheap, we spend time looking for promo codes, coupons, rebates, sales, and scan craigslist for materials and deals.
Clearing Tree Lines
We have been busy clearing the tree line for the new fence as the current fence is 20 years old. We are always in need of building materials of all sorts:
- Treated lumber
- Siding
- Metal panels
- Fasteners
- Posts
Grateful For Those That Help Us Help The Animals
We are so grateful for those that help us help the animals. The tasks like the one in this video are needed by rescue organizations. Skilled individuals willing to donate a few hours a year are so greatly appreciated by us and other organizations.
Do You Have a Talent To Share?
If you have a talent, share it with an organization in need in your area. If you don’t have a skill, offer to dig in and get dirty just a couple hours a year. It helps more than you could ever imagine. Want to donate? We’re so thankful to our #FarmFriends!
