#rescueismyfavoritebreed

Fetching Tails Foundation is a 501c3 non-breed specific rescue based out of Itasca, Illinois. We are 

committed to saving the lives of our canine companions regardless of breed, age, or physical ability. We 

often share the before & afters, the happy endings, and even the struggles along the way of a rescue dog's journey. However, there is a lot that I’m goes on in-between all of that that we want to shed some light on. What does it take to run a rescue in order to get to all those happy endings? Well, it certainly takes a village, and a lot of behind the scenes work that you've likely never thought about. Here are just a few of the things that we need in order to keep the doors open:

1. Technology. It takes a lot to keep 2,000+ dogs, foster homes, volunteers, applications, supporters, and more organized! It couldn't be done effectively without the help of technology. Fetching Tails uses an application management site, canine database, auction & fundraising tool, website manager, email management platform, donor database, donation platforms, and much more to stay organized. We spend over $6,000 every year on technology to keep us organized and maintain open lines of communication.
2. Insurance. Fetching Tails spends over $8,000 annually to insure all of our dogs, transport vehicle, drivers, facility, and organization to be protected from accidents. Accidents happen for various reasons, especially when there's so many players in the game (because again, it takes a village!). While we do everything in our power to prevent accidents from happening, we also need to be prepared for when they do occur!
3. Property. Did you know that Fetching Tails rents an intake facility? That's right! There is a building where we take many of our new dogs to get to know them and place them in an appropriate foster home, as well as store all of our supplies. That means rent, utilities, maintenance, and regular cleaning, adding up to over $25,000 annually. On top of that, we also have a transport van! Tack on gas, maintenance, registration fees, and more for another $7,500.
4. Regular Animal Care. Now we're getting into more of what's "expected." All of our dogs have to eat! They need collars, harnesses, leashes, winter gear, monthly heartworm & flea/tick prevention, food bowls, beds, crates, treats, toys... you name it! Many of our dogs require grooming, training, dog walkers, etc. All of you pet parents know how much it costs to have a dog; now multiply that by 100! Plus to top all of that off, depending on jurisdiction, many of our foster homes require registration expenses. Regular animal care & supplies amounts to $30,000 and climbing each year.
5. Medical Care. This one's the big doozy, which is why you'll see us fundraising for this more often than not. On a normal month with no big surprises, Fetching Tails spends over $20,000 on regular vetting. That consists of intake/annual exams, spay/neuter procedures, GI parasite/heartworm testing, microchipping, and routine vaccinations. However, you know FTF can be far from typical! We love to take on medical cases, the ones who need help more urgently than others. We've seen dogs with Heartworm disease, Parvovirus, dogs who have been hit by cars, dogs with extreme URIs requiring hospitalization, cancer, broken bones, amputations... you name it and watch the bills climb! So far in 2020 we've already spent over $200,000 on medical care for our precious pups.

As you can see, there's plenty going on that we don't share on social media, and this is not an all inclusive list! Did any of this surprise you? Remember, adoption fees can't cover everything. They don't even fully cover 1 dog's average medical expenses. If you'd like to see more canine friends in homes and out of shelters, please consider contributing to our #GivingTuesday campaign. Our goal this year is to raise $30,000 in total, only 10% of our regular expenses! We know many of you will be keeping the holidays small this year, and zeroing in on what is most important for your families. We think 2020 could use a few more tail wags and lots more families made whole; so far we've rescued 587 dogs this year, and we'd love to make it 600. We're counting on your support to make that happen! Can you help us give the gift of rescue to a few more dogs before year's end?