Mid-Atlantic German Shorthaired Pointer Rescue is an all volunteer operated rescue. Without volunteers, our organization would not be able to save the GSPs in need in our area. This means many GSPs would be euthanized as we are the only safety net to keep them alive. GSPs are turned into us by their owners but the GSPs most in need are in local area shelters and SPCAs. These dogs face certain death without us. We assist the owner turn-ins also as we feel these dogs could possibly end up in a shelter without our assitance.
The GSPs we rescue are altered, updated on vaccines, tested for heartworms and parasites, started on heartworm prevention, microchipped and registered with the AKC microchip database. The average stay in foster care is 3-4 weeks, of course some dogs stay longer if there is a serious injury or illness, and other dogs stay a very short time. We do request a donation at the time of adoption to help defray our costs as stated above and this donation is based on the dog's age.
2001 was a record year for our rescue, we took in 50 dogs, held 5 microchip clinics for the community and microchipped hundreds of dogs in doing so. Microchipping your dog helps to save them should they for any reason end up in a shelter. We also held 2 rescue reunions where we brought together previously rescued dogs & their owners for a day of fun. This amount of work takes time and effort and with more volunteers it would make the large burden on a few, a small amount of work for several. We are a very small rescue with 12 volunteers spread from Richmond, Va to Wilmington, De. We currently have 4 foster homes fostering all these GSPs.
If you feel you can assist us in any of the following areas please drop us an e-mail - Rescue E-Mail.
Home Visits: Want to get out of the house with your pet and visit some new areas? You and your pooch can help us evaluate potential adoptive families. We can let you know what we look for in a home check and will provide you the adopter application to take with you for any questions you might have.
Foster Homes: Foster homes are always needed in rescue. You can be a full time or temporary fosterer. If you can only hold on to the dog for a week or so that gives a full time fosterer more time to find a permanent home for their foster dog. With the 50 dogs we did last year, thats more than 4 dogs coming into rescue each month and with only 4 foster homes you can see we could use some help saving GSP lives.
Mid-Atlantic GSP rescue pays for the dogs care at an 'approved' veterinarian. An approved veterinarian is one which offers us a discount as a rescue. We can lend you a crate if you don't have one since we believe this is a good tool for housebreaking and other areas. Our fosterers literally take the GSPs into their homes and treat them as their own. Starting a dog on acceptable house manners, housebreaking if needed, and other areas are usually what we do. We also ask that you evaluate the dog while it is with you as knowing the dog can help you find the perfect permanent home. Learn its habits, its temperament, its likes and dislikes.
We have a senior foster home representative in Maryland, Virginia & Delaware who will work with you. We will provide you the name and numbers of Board members should you have any questions or need assistance. The senior foster homes have all kinds of tips and tricks for housebreaking, etc to ease the work.
Transportation & Event Assistance:
We need people who can help transport dogs and/or supplies, assist at Microchip
and other fundraisers and organize new fundraisers so that we can continue
to treat even the most serious GSPs who need help.