Dog and Cat home, Caars Animal Refuge Sanctuary

eve every animal is redeemable and deserves a second chance because of our PRO-LIFE stance it is CAARS policy to keep all STRAY DOGS for 14 days before re-homing rather than the standard 7 day regulatory period that local authorities adhere to this is extended to 28 days for dogs carrying Micro Chips. We make every effort to rehabilitate every dog or cat which comes into CAARS care. It is CAARS Policy to keep ALL stray dogs for a MINIMUM of 14 days before seeking to Re-Home. Where dogs are Micro-Chipped this period is extended to 28 days, this is to allow owners plenty of time to find a pet which may for any number of reasons fallen from the various Micro-Chip Registers. This does of course incur CAARS with extra cost; please bear this in mind when making comparison to our contemporaries. CAARS occasionally have for re-homing: ‘Pedigree’ and Cross bred Dogs Cats Puppies and Kittens needing new caring permanent homes. We are a voluntary organisation, a Registered Charity No. 1147495, relying solely upon the goodwill of the general public (Please be aware that sometimes we can only estimate the age of a given animal, this is because often we do not have very much information about them and particularly if they are rescue cases. We do however have to state ages when placing our adverts on the Preloved listing form). Unlike the majority of our counterparts, we receive no funding whatsoever over and above the donations we receive from public support. Please be aware that each pet will have been assessed by the sanctuary and a recommended donation amount will have been allotted, the suggested donation is however negotiable within sensible limitations and offers will be considered upon this basis. It is essential to CAARS existence that donations are arrived at in the above way otherwise if we were to accept derisory offers we would not be able to finance the vital work we do. CAARS reserve the right to choose whether or not a donation offered is suitable for any given pet and also reserves its right to refuse any donation however large or small if it so wishes. We try to recover our outlay and expenses in rescuing the animals, from the donations recommended by CAARS committee. Please, Please do take into careful consideration that CAARS is a Rescue Sanctuary, a Shelter and NOT a Pet shop and it is for this reason that animals offered for adoption may be compromised in some way, which may require a great deal of effort and sometimes expense to redeem them to a reasonable standard to make them suitable as family pets. Please be aware that adopting from a Rescue Sanctuary is quite a different concept to obtaining a pet from a Pet shop or a breeder. (Dogs adopted from CAARS do come with vouchers for free 1st consultation with Companion Care Vets and Vouchers covering 25% of Neutering costs at the same practice).CAARS strongly recommend the Neutering practice where it is safe for the animal and recommended by a reputable vet. Every precaution is taken on an hourly basis to ensure that all animals entering the kennels are provided with a safe and germ free environment, our standards of hygiene are second to none. This is accomplished at considerable cost by regularly bleaching and disinfecting with powerful, proprietary virucides, nothing is left to chance. You will appreciate this element alone does involve very considerable expense. CAARS was first established in 1981 after it was discovered that local authorities were sending many healthy animals for euthanasia. CAARS then management (our founders) offered to take the dogs on and keep them at the sanctuary’s own expense whilst seeking new homes for them. We are proud to claim a 100% success rate in our re-homing efforts. Our Mission
To provide a safe sanctuary and refuge for ALL distressed or unwanted Dogs and Cats. We do try to help where we can with any animals large or small. We particularly try to seek homes for animals which may have special needs, such as elderly or infirm animals that might otherwise be sent for euthanasia (destruction).Our average cost of rescuing a dog including transport, medicines, treatments, cleaning and grooming, kennelling, fostering, heating, advertising, stationery and general day to day running costs, are constantly rising. We are located in a rural position; hence there are many miles of pleasant footpaths for us to exercise the dogs. Once the rigorous daily cleaning routine is over, CAARS staff looks forward to walking with the dogs regularly. We are also blessed with the support of some very enthusiastic and reliable volunteer dog walkers who kindly donate a great deal of their own valuable time to exercising the animals. Many of our volunteer staff are drawn from local agricultural colleges; they are mostly engaged in animal care or veterinarian courses. CAARS try to raise as much as possible by way of donation, which are always negotiable, on the small more sought after dogs, this then enables us to keep and look after the large older type of dogs which no one seems to want. We are a voluntary organisation, a Registered Charity, relying solely upon the goodwill of the general public. CAARS provide a safe sanctuary and refuge for ALL distressed or unwanted Dogs and Cats (This is of course governed by the limits of our capacity); we do try to help where we can with any other animals large or small. We particularly try to seek homes for animals which may have special needs, such as elderly or infirm animals that might otherwise be sent for euthanasia (destruction) some of these cases may require ONGOING veterinary care and we ask prospective adopters to take this aspect and particularly the expenses this may involve, into serious consideration before making a decision to adopt from CAARS. There are often cases where palliative care is required, for instance where pets are coming to the end of their lifespan and have found themselves homeless for one reason or another, we are very fortunate in that there are so many kind and selfless people out there that will take on an elderly or infirm animal and will provide the loving care needed for a quiet, comfortable, peaceful end. Before you decide to offer one of CAARS pets a new home PLEASE read the following
This is CAARS standard procedure, of course there will always be exceptions and we will always do our best to accommodate
So please make contact if you feel you don't meet the criteria but you are kind and caring and feel certain that you can offer a loving home to one of our animals. Documentation proving home visits/checks by other approved organisations or recommendations from veterinarian practices will always be taken into consideration particularly for those living at distance. On your first visit to the sanctuary you will be asked to provide your full address/contact details and postcode; and to confirm that you are willing to allow a random welfare visit within the first 3 months of adoption.
• Ideally the members of the household that will be living with the new pet should visit the rescue, including any other dogs you may have.
• If you are thinking of re-homing a puppy we strongly recommend them not to be left alone for long periods of time, the time older dogs can be left varies according to the dog in question, its nature and temperament.
• We ask you to fill in our Home Check form to confirm that the animal will be kept securely and appropriately, we have a home checking procedure that basically is to ensure you have a secure rear garden with a suitable secure fence depending on the type of dog, also to check any hazards which may be present.
• We sometimes have dogs that have lived with other pets and would be suitable for a shared or communal garden please ask.
• We do not re-home an animal if you are about to move house or go on holiday unless proper boarding arrangements are made.
• If it is a cat you want, we need to know if a cat flap will be provided, if not how the cat will seek shelter in bad weather we do sometimes have indoor cats who would be very happy to live their lives in flats etc.
• If you live in rented accommodation we will need you to sign to confirm that animals are allowed.
• We have a pro neutering policy and we provide a voucher to cover part of neutering costs for any animal old enough will be neutered, if you are homing a pup or kitten you will be asked to have the animal neutered once the pet is of a suitable age to do so..
• We do not home animals to households where they may be exposed to another animals may which represent a risk.
• If re-homing a puppy we will, strongly recommend your enrolment to a puppy socialisation class or training group.
• Obviously space at the rescue is at a premium and a full kennels/cattery could literally mean life or death to some other needy animal, therefore we do not hold animals that have been reserved indefinitely please advise us of any delays. We ask that you collect during our opening times 9am-4pm.
• Rabbits are highly social animals and are happiest living in neutered, bonded pairs or groups. Except in very rare circumstances, we would prefer that a rabbit that was going to have company.
• Rabbits are natural athletes and require plenty of space. If your rabbits are going to live outside, they need a sturdy hutch of at least 6ft x 2ft x 2ft and permanent access to a secure exercise run of at least 8ft x 4ft.