Start animal shelter. Have you ever gazed into the pleading eyes of an abandoned animal and wished you could make a difference?
Opening an animal shelter can be a fulfilling way to turn that yearning into action. But where do you begin? This comprehensive guide walks you through the essential steps – from finding the perfect location to navigating legalities and building a supportive team.
Prepare to embark on a rewarding journey of transforming helpless animals’ lives. Unleash your inner hero, and let’s build a haven for furry (or feathered) friends in need!
Enquire at kennels and other shelters.
Getting information about what is involved in setting up a shelter and taking in various animals in distress is undoubtedly a first and fundamental step. Don’t be afraid to visit kennels and animal shelters already in your area.
Ask for advice, and find out about basic needs and management. If you are not already one, volunteer. By helping them, you will understand on the ground what is helpful for your future shelter, and you will be able to establish future collaborations.
If you are an animal lover and hate to see animals in distress, abandoned or abused, it might occur to you to open an animal shelter.
Make contacts with municipal kennels; they are often overcrowded and might also be interested in collaborating with you.
Find a suitable location.
An animal shelter requires a place suitable for the animals’ needs, with open spaces and appropriately sized stalls.
The space should be commensurate with the number of animals you can accommodate in your shelter, the species housed and their ethological needs.
All of this will have to align with detailed regulations at both state and local levels and health and safety requirements for these facilities.
First, you must find a plot of land and ensure it complies with local zoning regulations for animal shelters. Then, if you still do not have a place, contact a commercial real estate agent or search online.
If you have found a suitable location, it is time to build the shelter structure or retrofit an existing one. However, you will need the municipality’s approval before making even at this stage. In addition, authorisation will be required from the local health services, which are responsible for assessing the suitability of the spaces and boxes for the animals housed in the shelter.
Think of the costs of setting up an animal shelter
Setting up a shelter from scratch can entail several charges, which will increase with running the facility and caring for the animals.
Shelter guests must always be adequately fed and receive veterinary care. To meet these costs, you may want to look for lenders or partners who are willing to help you financially.
Found an association
In addition to the location and costs, you have to think about the administrative aspect of your animal shelter. You can set up one on a non-profit basis or the contrary, as a commercial activity, but in that case, you will need a licence from the local authority.
In this case, get help from an accountant if you are unfamiliar with these bureaucratic mechanisms. Investing a little more at the beginning is better, but be sure to do things correctly without mistakes that could harm you later.
Difference between shelter and kennel.
Kennels and animal shelters are not the same things.
Kennels are institutional facilities; they can be run by public bodies such as municipalities or private individuals.
Their purpose is to house stray or abandoned dogs. The local municipality subsidises them to take care of the rescued animals.
The undertaking is not that simple and requires attention to some local regulations and health provisions.
The animal shelter is usually run by volunteers, organised in a non-profit association that survives thanks to donations and funders.
Protecting the animals is also the main objective, and the guests are never put down, except in agreement with veterinarians in the case of incurable severe diseases or situations of great suffering that are also incurable.
Shelters take in animals that are lost, rescued, abandoned, or, for various reasons, can no longer live with their owners.
The activities of the shelters are more diversified. In addition to rescuing and taking in animals, they manage and solicit adoptions, using space at volunteers’ homes to give the animals the best possible living conditions while waiting for permanent adoption.
Useful Links
- Dog kennel boarding licensing: statutory guidance for local authorities
- Home boarding for dogs licensing: statutory guidance for local authorities
- Licensing conditions and advice for dog boarding kennels
- Run your Animal Shelter.
- How to Start a Dog Rescue: Making Your Shelter
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