We Really Need Your Help

Our volunteers have had discussions the last few days about how to help, how to combat puppy mills, how to educate people about animal welfare, and how in general to help combat the issue we have in this country with animal overpopulation. I realize that many of you are frustrated because you want to do more and need some direction. I understand that frustration to want to do more - it's why Dreamweaver Farms was born.

Before July of last year, we had minimal overhead at the farm. We had one part time person that helped with cleaning and caring for the animals. I did the rest. Cleaning, feeding, grooming, medicating, running dogs to the vet, opening the kennel, closing the kennel, choosing which dogs to come here, listing dogs on the internet and working with adopters. Volunteers filled in and were cherished but I was in the kennel every day, 7 days a week with very rare exceptions. That was my life for 2 and 1/2 years. I loved it but I knew I was wearing out.

In July we hired our first full time kennel manager. In September, we doubled our population by accepting the Salisbury dogs in - 44 dogs, all needing extensive social and medical rehabilitation, descended on our farm. We needed more room and help to handle all this. I looked at the situation, talked to the board, bit the bullet and said a prayer, opened the back half of our kennel building and started hiring staff.

In January, one of our long time volunteer's, a dog trainer and veterinary assistant accepted a position as kennel manager and medical liaison. Our staff is looking very good and starting to move together as a cohesive team. For three weeks now, I've not had any specific assigned hours in the kennel. I'm starting to get caught up and actually able to step back and assess our needs and start working on them. Needs like a volunteer training program. Improvements. Fundraising. Covenant Pet Care.

All this help is expensive. With benefits, payroll alone runs close to $2,000 per week. Add to that lights, food, heat and water and we are spending over $10,000 per month just to pay the routine bills. Adoption fees do not come close to covering this and notice, I've not even talked about medical and veterinary bills yet.
The best support for a small, grass roots organization like CPR is from caring individuals. That is all of you.

In September when we started hiring, we rolled out the poodle patrons program. I had high hopes for this program but so far, it has been slow to catch on. We have 28 active patrons, donating monthly. We need 250. Of these active patrons, only a handful are also active volunteers. The rest are adopters and friends who want to support us.

http://www.carolinapoodlerescue.org/poodlepatrons.shtml

Will explain the program and guide you to "easy buttons" to make contributions simple. There are also links on this page to our current patrons and to our current budget. We tell you where the money went every month on our webpage. There are no secrets here about money. It comes in, we spend it on the dogs.

Please help these precious pups. I'd love to have no room left on our wall of thanks in the office because it is covered with names. I'd love to be able to say with pride that CPR is funded by people who care deeply for animals welfare and have found a place where they can be active in making a difference.

No one knows more than I do that we are in a financial crisis in this country. Adoptions are way down - and requests to take in dogs are up. Making regular donations can be tough in good times, much less challenging ones yet I am a firm believer that you reap what you sow. Giving comes back to you in ways you can't even imagine.

What can you do? If it is at all possible, become a patron. Then email cpr@carolinapoodlerescue.org to send you a pdf file of the patrons brochure, print some and take them to your friends who love dogs and would consider donating. Talk our program up to your groomers. Ask if they would consider letting you leave some brochures on their counter.

Add a note to your signature line on every post - "please consider becoming a poodle patron" with a link to the web page. Or "ask me how you can become a poodle patron" and when someone does, send them to our webpage or have them call me - or if you will call me I'll walk you through how to describe the program and what our goals and dreams are for Dreamweaver Farms. Mine now says - "poodle patrons are our lifeline of support, ask me how you can become one." I am going to start that today.

The alternative is unthinkable to me but I have to think about it - slim down Dreamweaver Farms to just the number of dogs that I can care for again by myself or close all together. I don't even want to go there yet but I know that it is a likelihood if things don't change quickly and positively.

We need your help.

Donna Ezzell
Director
Carolina Poodle Rescue