Behind the Scenes of Animal Rescue: Challenges, Triumphs, and the Search for Forever Homes

Announcer: 0:02

Welcome to the Starlight Pet Talk podcast, where we'll talk about and explore ways to help pet parents and future pet parents learn everything they need to know to have a happy and healthy relationship with their pet. So sit up and stay for Starlight Pet Talk rescue, adoption and pet parenting done right.

Amy Castro: 0:25

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Beverly Brooks: 0:56

Hi, welcome to Starlight Pet Talk. I'm your host, amy Castro, and, wrong, i am the sub host for Amy. She is now become not the host but the interviewer. I'm going to be interviewing Amy on what it's like to actually run an Animal Rescue The nuts and bolts looking from 30,000 feet above. I know a little bit about the workings. I get to hear some tough to listen to stories. I get to hear wonderful stories, i get to see pictures of all the animals and so I'm kind of involved. I kind of know what it takes. I've actually been down there on my vacation scooping litter boxes, doing the stuff that needs to be done, especially when she was injured and COVID had hit and all that. I was kind of helping them catch up. So I do know a little bit. But for most people they might not know the inner workings of what it's like, what it takes to actually run a rescue, the behind the scenes work that a lot of people aren't aware of. All the commercials on TV are about sweet little puppies and petting puppies and kissing kittens And it's really not. It takes a lot to get a rescue up and running. So Amy the interviewed person, no longer the host I took over. I took over everything.

Amy Castro: 2:08

I'm a little afraid.

Beverly Brooks: 2:10

What are some of the most challenging aspects that you found since you really started it from? let's get it off the ground. I don't know what I'm getting into, but I'm going 50 miles an hour into it. What have you found has been one of the most challenging things about running a rescue?

Amy Castro: 2:25

In the beginning. Obviously it's getting the whole thing structured properly, i mean in order, and one of the things that I always recommend to people when you're looking for a rescue is to at least start with an organization that has its 501C3 nonprofit status. That means they've gone to the trouble to go through the legal requirements to be a charity so that they can take charitable donations and things like that, and oftentimes somebody who has taken the time to do that. It's just one piece of whether an organization is legitimate, but it's an important piece because there are people out there who call themselves rescuers and they may not have good structures in place Or sometimes it's even hoarding situations. So it's definitely something that adds some legitimacy to your organization. So there's that whole.

Beverly Brooks: 3:13

But it's only one part of it. It's only one part of it. Is it relatively easy to get that status, or is there licensing and work like that that is required to get that?

Amy Castro: 3:23

At least in the state of Texas, there's no licensing requirement for being an animal rescue, but there is some paperwork. I mean we just a friend of mine who's an attorney did it for me at a low cost Just to make sure all the paperwork is done right. It can be done on your own, but it's probably something that's worth consulting an attorney on getting the structure set up properly, because you've got to have. You know you've got to do that. You've got to decide what kind of business structure are you going to be? you know like we're a limited liability corporation, so we have to have a board of directors.

Beverly Brooks: 3:51

Way over my head. Nobody cares about it. It's work. That's a part of running a rescue that people don't realize There's a lot of gibbledy-goof that goes behind it. You better mind your P's and Q's to get it done right and not run into problems down the road Right.

Amy Castro: 4:09

And on that same line of you know, money and fundraising you know that's probably one of the first challenges is raising. You know, raising money is a whole aspect, a whole chunk of our time that we spend in rescue.

Beverly Brooks: 4:22

What would be a challenge in fundraising that you find? I mean there's many of them.

Amy Castro: 4:28

You know, when you're getting started, it's people don't know you and they're hesitant to just give their money to some random organization. So, again, having that nonprofit status and being able to prove that to people is definitely helpful. You know, different people go about fundraising in different ways and each one has its pros and cons and it really depends on your organization and your people power, for lack of a better term. So, for us, as a relatively small and we're talking about Starlight Outreach and Rescue, which is why the podcast is called, you know, Starlight Pet Talk You know we're a relatively small organization compared to some. We're foster based, So we don't have a big facility where people can be invited to a location and say we're going to put on this big fundraising event. So it's really it's determining how you're going to go about fundraising For us. We do a lot of our fundraising on Facebook. It's not labor intensive, It allows us to reach our audience And, thank goodness, We have fantastic supporters who trust us, who know us and are willing to make those donations through Facebook. The other or the other advantage to the Facebook donations is, you know, a lack of fees, because if somebody does a donation through some of the other. I won't name any names, but larger money receiving entities that organizations can use, they're going to take a percentage. Or if somebody makes a credit card now you've got to pay credit card fees, things like that, But Facebook doesn't charge any fees. So if you donate $10, all $10 is coming to me. Oh really.

Beverly Brooks: 5:59

I didn't realize that.

Amy Castro: 6:00

Yes, coming to the animal rescue. So we love Facebook and we love people that just will just mail us a check because obviously there's no fees.

Beverly Brooks: 6:07

It staggers my there's so many times when I've been staying with Amy at our house and when envelopes come in with checks and they're like I'm not even sure who this person is I might have met them at an event for five minutes and they send a generous check. It never ceases to amaze me how generous people can be. We just did a podcast the other day at where I volunteer over at Wild Care in Orleans, massachusetts, and I am shocked. Some guy came in off his work site in his you know overalls and his work boots, with a shoebox with some injured animal and he had 40 bucks in his hand, yeah, and I was like I'm getting it over. I'm like, oh, my God, it just. The community supports Wild Care so heavily And I see, since you don't have a centralized place, how the internet is your friend, yeah, and just to be able to click and people who know me, my friends on Facebook, they trust me. So they're going to say, oh, bev donates, i'm going to donate too. So the grassroots word of mouth is the way to go through the internet, i would imagine.

Amy Castro: 7:03

Yeah, i mean there's there's a lot of different ways to go about it, but certainly, you know, working. Your network is big. So the social media aspect and marketing for lack of a better term then obviously there are a lot of organizations that run anything from small events They'll do up in animal rescue, people will do dog washes and car washes or a bake sale. I mean, we're all kind of familiar with those different types of fundraising, raising events on one end of the spectrum. And then you've got fundraising events on the other end of the spectrum where you're running a big fashion show and you've got some gala that celebrities are coming to and people are wearing fancy clothes and it raises hundreds of thousands of dollars. And you know it's interesting because a lot of times people will make suggestions to us. As you know, you guys should, you know you guys should do this, you should do a barbecue, you should do this event. But I think what people don't realize is and this may just be me, but events are very labor intensive And so if I'm going to spend six months planning an event, i've now put six months amount of my time into planning that event. That could have been going to something different. I'm not saying better or worse, but different that in the end could turn out to be a better use of my time, because that fundraiser, you know, raised $1,000. Now you can say $1,000, you don't have to sneeze at absolutely. But when you've had 50 people planning an event for six months and it nets $1,000. When you could do a fundraiser on Facebook that nets $1,000, it's you've got to. You've got to think about the people power that goes into it And what your community is willing to support to Right. And so what I try to do and every organization struggles with this, what should we do? and being consistent in the way that you fundraise. But you know, the bottom line is fundraising is our bread and butter. We don't, you know we don't get state funding. That's something that sometimes people don't realize about most animal rescues is that they're not funded by the state. City shelters, things like that, are funded by the city that they're in, and that's good. But they can't do a fundraiser because they can't, and that's you know then that's a challenge too, so they're limited to what the city is able to give them. The bottom line, what I would say about that is that it is a challenge, it's a constant effort of fundraising and, you know, we always like to hope that people don't think we're constantly begging them for money, but what I have found is that people have different things that that appeal to them. So and you had mentioned this earlier like you, you're a regular donor. So you, you, you give us a donation every single month and we greatly appreciate that. But every once in a while there's that heart string story or that particular animal that you say I really want to do something extra. And so by us basically continually to put that information out there, it allows people to basically donate towards something that they're passionate about. I also think being able to provide different levels. We do $5 Fridays because if you could afford that Starbucks or run through McDonald's and have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and make your own coffee that day, that $5 adds up with other people's $5. So we've got people that donate $5 and we've got people that write us a check for $5,000. I wish we had more of those, because it would just it would make things a lot less work. But it's a constant process of keeping the funds coming in, because that's the only source of funds 100% donations.

Beverly Brooks: 10:24

I can see how it would have to be varied, whether it's internet or doing those in-person things, because everybody wants to see the kitten, everybody wants to see the puppy. So you do have to do that And I know firsthand, when you do those in-person events, all those puppies that you want to see and all those kittens that you want to kiss. they got to go from the foster home or from her house into a carrier, into a car driven by a volunteer, go to the event, set the event up, go through the event, tear the event down and bring them back. I mean, it's so labor intensive and yet the rewards of it are staggering. So they can be.

Amy Castro: 10:56

They can be, they can be, and sometimes they're a bust and you're like why did I go through all this?

Beverly Brooks: 11:01

So you go through these events and whether they're, like you said, six months of work for netting $1,000, you might not continue doing that event. Let's get more creative, yeah. So whether it's in-person or on the internet, you're always looking for something to be creative about gleaning ideas from anywhere. To be more creative about raising money Yeah.

Amy Castro: 11:18

Well, and the challenge too, in any type anyone. I'm sure there's a lot of people listening to this that are involved in different organizations. As with any organization, you might have 100 people quote unquote on the books volunteering for the organization, but as far as actively volunteering it's usually a significantly smaller number, which it is for us, and we love our volunteers that are active, but a lot of times people don't want to be that money person. And so it ends up with like now I'm responsible for fundraising in addition to the other responsibilities, So it's a lot to struggle. I know you're many, hats many hats for sure, stop talking about money.

Beverly Brooks: 11:56

Well, the one thing I will say about the fundraising, where it's difficult when an organization that you donate to is constantly asking for money. But think about your own home, how you're running a home. We're out of paper towels. Got to go to the store and get more paper towels. Just because you bought paper towels doesn't mean you're done. There's always another mouth to feed And once that mouth is fed, it's going to want to eat again tomorrow. So that's why it's constant. You can't look at it as like I already gave $15. What more do you want? Yeah, it's all the time And that's what keeps it running smoothly. Yep, got to keep doing it. All right, that's with the money. Yeah, you touched on volunteers. I would imagine if you're working out, a rescue that rescues snakes might not have as many volunteers as a rescue that wants to keep. People love snakes, people love snakes, but I bet you it's more appealing to work with puppies. So how do you get volunteers? How do you glean volunteers? How do you keep them actively involved?

Amy Castro: 12:52

Yeah, That's a good question. So obviously we use social media and word of mouth to gain volunteers. We try our best to, when we're recruiting volunteers, to kind of give them I think it's important to give them a realistic expectation of what we do and what the opportunities are. So we do we try to provide an orientation, whether it's one on one or a group, if we get a chunk of volunteers that sign up for the at the same time, because I think sometimes, especially in animal rescue, people have a different perception than the reality And so people will perceive I'm going to volunteer and it could be at your local animal shelter or it could be at an animal rescue or whatever. I'm going to go volunteer at the shelter and I'm going to get the opportunity to play with play with animals, And a couple of things come up. Number one as much as we would, we love you playing with animals, We probably really need help with, at least in some organizations, because we don't have a paid staff to scoop those litter boxes And we're trying to fundraise and do everything else. So I would be much happier if you came and scooped some litter boxes or took some dogs for a walk that needed some exercise than just kind of playing with kittens or taking pictures or whatever it might be. I mean, all of it's in need but it's in balance, And so I think it's important for people that are going to volunteer for an animal organization to find out what the need is. What are the jobs that are available? for me, whether it's fostering in your own home, whether it's coming to a facility to clean or to exercise animals or socialize animals, Is it going to that fundraising event And most organizations are going to have all of those opportunities And it's just a matter of finding the fit for that person, what they like, what they're comfortable with, Because the bottom line is we go through a process to bring people on board. There's a training process, that our insurance, because you're covered by our for us. We have insurance for you when you're a volunteer, if, God forbid, something was to happen to you. So our insurance does require a lot of training. Our insurance does require a certain level of animal handling training, And once that's complete and you're kind of ready to go, we try our best to not only get you in the position that's a good fit for you or give you opportunities to do things that you want to do within reason, but also to provide you all the support And that's something that I think volunteers should be very careful about when they're picking rescues. Especially to volunteer with is what kind of support am I going to be provided? So, for example, if you were fostering pets in your home, does that organization, whatever it may be, are they going to provide you with all the food, the bedding, the formula if you're feeding bottle babies, medication, paying for the vet or you on your own? And then there's everything in between along the way.

Beverly Brooks: 15:36

Really there's going to be a rescue that we'll just say here's the pet, it's up. it's your responsibility to take care of everything else like all that, and your rescue provides that We basically provide anything within reason I'm not going to provide you something that's illegal, but everything that you need, but everything that you need.

Amy Castro: 15:52

I mean I get, i get fosters that will call me and say I need more litter And if I can't get it from my house to their house, i'm going to Amazon Prime it to their front porch the next day and we're going to make sure that they have that.

Beverly Brooks: 16:02

So basically, there's no reason not to volunteer and be a foster Right.

Amy Castro: 16:06

The other thing. Well, the other thing I would say, and I think this is something that drives volunteers away, because it's not just getting the volunteers, it's keeping them active and keeping them on board. And when they have a bad experience, like I was told I could take this, I was going to take this puppy for two weeks but then they found out it had XYZ diseases, And now I've had it for six months and they can't take it back because they have no place to put it. And it happens, And I don't. It's not malicious or trying to trick somebody, but it's not thinking the whole process through, Right? You know so what we try to do, and I'm not saying we're better than anybody else, but in order for me to even get people willing to foster, they like a time limit. So I can say, hey, Bev, can you take this dog for me for two weeks, And I will take it back on the 14th. And then, if you decide, hey, I'm loving having this dog around, I'm really enjoying him and he hasn't been adopted yet and you want to keep him longer? God love you, You can have him longer.

Beverly Brooks: 17:00

That's a really good point. I think you mentioned that in one of your other podcasts, like think of it as a pet sitting for two weeks And then all of a sudden it makes it so much more palatable. Yeah, Like I don't know, I don't want to get roped into something I don't want to keep. But if you say it's like no two weeks and we'll take it back, no questions asked. Let's I assume other rescues do the same thing.

Amy Castro: 17:18

Yeah, i mean to varying degrees. I think what happens sometimes is people over, and this is going to lead to some other challenges that we're going to talk about in rescue is that the whole process is a flow. Right, i accept something off of the street, i process it medically And then, because we don't have a facility per se now, i have to move it to a foster. So if I'm smart, i'm not going to take something off the street unless I know I have a foster spot or a place at my house, because what am I going to do with it then? So, but then I also have to think about the process as to how that can back up. So Beth has two puppies at her house She's maxed out. Susie has two puppies, puppy's. Mark has two puppies, kittens, whatever it is. Now my fosters are all full. Do I keep taking animals in, like you know?

Beverly Brooks: 18:06

I can't.

Amy Castro: 18:08

I have a place to put them And that's where some groups will get in over their heads. Now we've got my garage is full of cat cages or whatever you know, and it kind of expands to, and I see shelters do this too. You know they have enough facility a boarding facility, an equivalent of a boarding facility for 16 dogs, but they've got 42 because they've got 16 cages with two dogs in each one And we've got cages lined up, temporary cages lined up in our hallway and there's dog living in the bathroom And it absolutely can get out of hand. And now we're getting into something beyond the volunteering. But for groups that are foster-based, that don't have a facility, our ability to take in animals is directly proportionate to how many fosters we have. I think the key thing with the whole element of volunteers is number one making sure volunteers know what they're getting into, making sure that they have an out. You know that you're not sticking them with an animal permanently.

Beverly Brooks: 19:04

Because not only that, not only is it going to be more comfortable to hear those words saying like oh, there is an end to this, this is okay, i'm not roped in anything. I might do it a second time.

Amy Castro: 19:13

Yes, yes, yeah, if you make the experience good for them.

Beverly Brooks: 19:17

It kind of keeps it fresh for them too. What's next? What's coming down? the? oh, maybe this will be a ginger cat.

Amy Castro: 19:22

Hey, that's one of our, that's one of our recruiting things. It's like you like kittens, you can have kittens forever, Forever. Your cat will never grow up because we're just going to keep giving you more kittens, right? So I think that's a big piece of it too. And then you know it's just a challenge to keep people on board, because people's lives, you know, even if they have the best of intentions, their lives get busy or sometimes people might feel like they're not, especially in foster-based rescues. It's because we don't have a building where everybody comes every morning and we get to see the same people and we get to build human relationships. That now that's another reason why I wanna come to the facility and volunteer. When you're foster-based it can be a little bit lonely And so people can feel disconnected. And you know it can be real easy once you move that last puppy or kitten out of your house to, you know you go on vacation and now it's out of sight, out of mind, and you don't get back to it. And you know we try to do what we can to encourage people to keep doing it, because otherwise you're starting all over again with a new person, and that's you know. So I try, we try to, you know, create social events and we have meetings to try to encourage volunteers to have that connection with us, all of us. You know we're a team, as human beings.

Beverly Brooks: 20:30

I would imagine a lot of the volunteers are self-motivated. They must come with a big heart to get involved in a rescue of any sort. Yeah, you have to rely a lot on self-motivation.

Amy Castro: 20:41

Yeah, they do. But it also, you know, you talk about having a big heart. Some of it can be really heartbreaking as well, you know, because not every kitten that I give you is going to. I mean, i try my best not to give anything that I think is questionable. I just I'll keep that heartbreak, but I can't, you know. I mean, who knows what's? going to happen And sometimes, especially with baby animals, things happen or you, you're fostering a dog and that leg that we thought was broken turns out it's cancer and now it needs to be euthanized, and so there is heartbreak involved with that, And sometimes that's the thing that somebody says I can't do that again.

Announcer: 21:14

Right, I completely understand that.

Amy Castro: 21:16

I respect it, but it is something to think about as to you know, can I handle those types of things when you're volunteering, and if it's snow, then maybe you don't foster. Maybe help me with fundraising.

Announcer: 21:27

Right, well, that's true.

Amy Castro: 21:28

Or help with events you know, for screening, adopters or whatever it might be.

Beverly Brooks: 21:33

I would imagine that some of the people that volunteer for you, fosters included, turn into adopters. They do.

Amy Castro: 21:40

There are organizations and I used to be like this. Well, i might still be. I have to be honest, i'm not sure when the last time I used the term. They refer to it as foster failing.

Beverly Brooks: 21:48

Yes, Okay, yes, she's totally a foster fail.

Amy Castro: 21:53

Well, yeah, i've been a foster fail, absolutely. I was even an inadvertent foster fail when I picked up a kitten, thinking surely I can just go run this over to this rescue and they're just gonna take it. It doesn't work that way. People Just for those of you who are listening that find animals and we'll talk about intake in just a minute but yes, people do foster fail. Sometimes it's almost intentional, like I'm not normally a foster but I wanna foster. Like we had a great pier knees I think her name's Sky, and she had come in, somebody had shot her in the face And nothing mortal, thank God at Mr Eyes. I mean, she had pellets all over. She even had a shell casing in her cheek And but it wasn't a life threatening injury. But we got her all cleaned up and somebody, a brand new volunteer, said, hey, i wanna volunteer to be a dog foster. Well, she did, but at the same time, what she really wanted was to test drive a dog And it's like, okay, that's great, because if that's a way to get you in as an adopter. So she fostered Sky and eventually, and still has her, adopted her, oh, cool, but she's still on our books and she still comes and helps with events. She helped us with a Halloween haunted house thing last fall, oh wow. So she's not necessarily a daily volunteer, but she's involved in, she shares all social media stuff. She's still part of the team. She donates, she does things And I'll take you. I'll take you.

Beverly Brooks: 23:09

Anyway I can get you Nice, very nice.

Amy Castro: 23:11

Along the way. The challenge just so that you know of foster failing is that if you foster fail too much, now you're gonna be, you're gonna have your hands full and you're not gonna wanna. I've already got two puppies because I couldn't let go of those two puppies that I had, and now I've got my hands full training these puppies And so now Amy needs you to take more puppies and you're like and you can't. And no judgment, but it's something to think about. And so what? I try to encourage people because volunteers will often say, or even strangers will often say, i don't know how you do it, how could you? because I've had easily I think I stopped counting at 2,500 animals that have come through my house And that was years ago that I stopped counting. So in the beginning it's hard to let go of them And as time goes on it's like sometimes it's good riddance from the standpoint of I've had 19 kittens and been bottle feeding them. Thank God they have their own home, or it's. Wow, i really didn't need a great pair of knees in my. We just had another great pair of knees in my dining room And it's like that was a lovely dog, but, holy moly, i have no business having a dog that big in my small house. Thank goodness he's out in his own home. So what I try to tell fosters is don't think about that, as I've got a puppy. It's my puppy, this is my baby for the next two weeks. If you start having that dialogue in your head of my baby, my baby, it makes it a lot harder to let go. So what I tell people is don't think of it as your baby. You're not taking this puppy. Amy has two kittens or puppies that she needs you to watch while she goes on vacation for the next three weeks. So they're not yours And I think that's important to tell your children.

Beverly Brooks: 24:55

Like I said, it's just that verbiage, it just takes the weight off your shoulders And it's like I can do that.

Amy Castro: 25:00

I can definitely do that I can babysit somebody's bed Instead of like.

Beverly Brooks: 25:03

I want to care for it so desperately and I want to be involved so desperately. Nope, it's a window and there's a beginning and there's an end, and I think that's key to keep those fosters fresh.

Amy Castro: 25:14

And one last thing I want to say on that too, is that, along that same line, when people like how do you let them go? kind of thing is to realize and I've said this so many times is that you could at least in the state of Texas you could stack your house floor to ceiling with stray pets, you know, or foster pets, and there'd still be more knocking at your door needing help, that's true. So the best thing that you can do for them is to keep the pipeline flowing and not become the clog in the drain, kind of thing.

Beverly Brooks: 25:42

You jogged my memory When you first started doing this and we were talking about it on the phone and I'm thinking about how can you let a kitten go? They're so cute, i'm telling you, i'm telling you, and now, years later, i've gotten into the groove and the rhythm of the whole thing and I'm thinking to myself it's kind of like flipping a house. You're taking these pets that may not be the healthiest, may not be the best socialized, whatever the case may be, and you're fixing it up to adopt it out. You're flipping animals is what you're doing?

Amy Castro: 26:10

That sounds terrible, but no, it is But for me.

Beverly Brooks: 26:13

That's what makes it palatable for me too, because to me it would be like ripping your heart out every day. But it's not. You're really not.

Amy Castro: 26:19

You're just giving them You're just a fixer up or interim stop, you're the fixer up, or exactly, you're the interim stop, for sure.

Beverly Brooks: 26:25

So now the pet is fixed up, ready for adoption. What walk us through the adoption process?

Amy Castro: 26:31

Oh yeah, good question. So for us we do things a little bit differently in that because we're foster based and if you went to an animal shelter, you're gonna walk in, you're gonna look at all the animals, you're gonna get the opportunity to take them out, play with them in most instances, and then, if you like one, you do your application and you walk out the door, and that's how the process works For us. We used to do that and we would set up what we refer to as meet and greets, only to find out here's just an example You set up a meet and greet, so you ask a person to drive 40 minutes because I live in middle of nowhere, 40 minutes out to our rescue ranch.

Beverly Brooks: 27:08

Yes, she does.

Amy Castro: 27:09

To meet a cat and then during the course of the conversation you hear something that you say, wow, this is not a good fit. Or you get a call from a person who wants to come out and meet a kitten and then during the course of that conversation they tell you they have triplets under the age of three and they want the kitten to be for these triplets to play with. Now the logic in me says that a small kitten is not a good pet for very small children for a lot of reasons. If you wanna focus only on the child, that kitten's gonna scratch the heck out of those little kids. When they try to pick them up. They're grabby, they're scramble-y, they're. You know it's just not a good fit from that perspective. Plus, kittens are much more likely to be hurt by a small child who's grabbing it, squeezing it, holding it too tight, whatever it might be. And if you really wanted a pet for a small child, you'd be better off getting an older kitten that has been super socialized, that is so relaxed, that hangs like a sack of potatoes when you pick it up and you know we don't allow, or we, you know, certainly talk to people in great depth about not allowing their children to manhandle. I don't think animals should have to put up with anything. But there are some that are completely tolerant with riding in a you know a baby carriage or having a hat put on its head or whatever, and that's the cat that you need to make for a good experience for the cat and your child. But I hate to tell you that now that you're standing in my living room and now I've gotta tell you you can't have this kitten. You drove over here for so that's my long version of the story. To basically say at our rescue, we ask you to do an adoption questionnaire it's actually really your application, so you don't have to do a second application but I wanna know who you are, a little bit about how you live, what you're looking for in a pet who else lives in your home, so that I can guide you to the pet that you're gonna have the best experience with and that the pet's gonna have the best experience with you. That's the way I look at it. Oftentimes people look at it as you know, a screening tool. I'm trying to screen people in or screen people out, and if you wanna look at it that way, that's great. But I'm only doing that for the best interest of everybody involved. Not, it's certainly not my best interest. I mean, my best interest would be to give away whatever to whomever and move them out as fast as possible, but that's not what it's about.

Beverly Brooks: 29:25

Not for the pet, and this is a more objective way. It's standardized. Put it that way everybody gets the same form.

Amy Castro: 29:31

Same form, same questions, et cetera, et cetera.

Beverly Brooks: 29:34

Do you get people that sometimes are completely offended by the questions that are there and actually walk away from the process? has that ever happened?

Amy Castro: 29:43

There are people yes, there are definitely people that have refused to give certain information, like we used to ask for driver's license number, because you know it's like if you run off with our cat, we can at least report the theft of property because they're considered property in Texas. It's more a matter of we do get people that like this is a really long, a lot of questions like it's just a cat, why so many questions? and I think we phrased our questions well enough so that they don't come across as offensive, so that we don't get too many complaints of people saying to the questionnaire Now you get into the rejections. when people are basically told I'm sorry, we can't adopt to you, then people get offended for sure.

Beverly Brooks: 30:25

What would be, for instance, of why somebody wouldn't be able to adopt?

Amy Castro: 30:29

Well, an easy one that makes it easy for us to back up is they already have in their home The number, or exceeded the number, of legal pets. So, for example, in a lot of communities in the Houston area you're only allowed to have four pets. It doesn't matter dog cat, you know whatever, i don't know. If they can't, they probably don't count a goldfish, or you know, hamster this in a cage. But now would anyone know you had four indoor cats in your house? No, but You know that that can be a reason for us to say you know, sorry, we're not going to break the law by giving you that cat and we're assuming people are telling the truth. That's true. They might have 20 cats and they only said four because they know the law says four. They'll say three Because this will be number four, but I've got 55, you know and I don't know that you know. I could certainly. It could certainly happen. Other instances that get a little bit dicey would be Situations like the, the parent with the with the little children. Right, you know that they believe that their child is not going to manhandle a kitten or whatever it might be. And What it comes down to for us is that and I had to tell somebody this the other day not in as direct a way is that it's not I. I am not in this business To make you happy. I am in this business To to do the best by an animal that I've put blood, sweat and tears sometimes into and Find it the best possible home that it's gonna stay in forever and it has to be that way, Yeah and I can't guarantee that anything could happen. You know, and I might know and not know a lot about you because we don't know go and inspect your house or do, because some Organizations will do home. Really, oh yeah, absolutely, they're allowed to go into your home. And well, you give permission by, by going through because you really want that dog or cat.

Beverly Brooks: 32:17

Yep, I didn't know that people will.

Amy Castro: 32:19

Oh yeah, and it's a big bone of contention, you know, because it's like I can see how people might perceive that as if you really want that great. Pyrenees. You're gonna jump through who's? yeah, so we want to see your fence in your yard And we want to see how you're gonna contain where's. You know, if you're not gonna keep it indoors, where is it gonna live? Is it gonna have proper shelter?

Beverly Brooks: 32:36

It's. And who wins? yeah, the animal, yeah, that's. That's the, the hoops that you have to go for to make sure, the animals.

Amy Castro: 32:42

That's what it's, that's what it's about, and you know some of the more challenging ones, you know, or even age, age of people on both ends of our life spectrum, you know, and as a person that has had cancer Not not a horrible case, but it's like I do think about my mortality and, and you know, but I, as a 57 year old person, i wouldn't, probably if I didn't have an animal rescue Yeah, and a and a daughter who I know For a fact, not an assumption, a conversation that would take my animals regardless, i wouldn't adopt a kitten or something that I think could outlive me. I mean, it's probably I'm a little borderline age-wise, but when we get applications from people who are, you know, a 79 year old person living on their own Who shows up to meet an animal wearing a hospital brace bracelet, oh, i mean, i'm not exaggerating, it's a true story and God love you for wanting a companion and I will find you a companion. I'll try my best to find a companion, but probably that kitten is not best for you when you're on blood thinners and when you're 97 right, because the odds are you're gonna Outlive that pet and if you have a plan for what's gonna happen to that animal afterwards? like we had an elderly lady one time that wanted to adopt a younger cat and she had an through some organization through. We'll have to clarify the organization, but it's. It's an organization in Texas that you pay a fee, a pretty hefty fee Or whatever it is, to secure a spot for your pet and when you pass away. Oh, interesting, they will take your pet and they will either find it an appropriate home or it lives forever at this sanctuary.

Announcer: 34:17

Oh my god, I'll say really so.

Amy Castro: 34:19

If I had an elderly person who was on their last legs, you know, I might say Yeah, but I wonder if they adopt out from their place. I, you know I don't know all the details.

Beverly Brooks: 34:30

Oh, that's so interesting.

Amy Castro: 34:31

I never thought of something like that. But you know, the problem is is that people assume that when they pass, that their kids will take care of it And they will take it right to the shelter And and I know that not not not all children obviously there are a lot of people that take in their parents pets. You did it, yeah, you know, and even though it wasn't the optimal situation. You did it right, but I Get calls Probably six or seven calls a week from people. My brother passed away, my uncle passed away, my grandparents passed away, my mom passed away and You've got their three dogs, two cats, one perky whatever it is, and nobody in the family wants it, can care for it, needs it, likes it.

Beverly Brooks: 35:12

Yeah when you first told me that you get owner Surrenders, I'm like who would give up their pet? and I never even understood these scenarios. So it's another battle that you deal with on a daily basis.

Amy Castro: 35:23

I mean, that's it must be emotionally taxing, Yeah and I well, i do want to mention the other end of the spectrum too. So you don't think I'm an age is just against other people is Younger people too, is that when we get somebody who you know I'm an 18. I'm a freshman in college, i live in the dorms, my dorms allows pet allows pets. We have to have pretty extensive conversations with somebody like that because You know you're 18 and you're in college for the summer. Does your mom want that cat in the house also? right when you graduate and go back home permanently until you find a job. Does your mom want that? or your whoever you live with? or you get a boyfriend, girlfriend, some other significant other, and now they're allergic to pets. I'll give you an example. We had a young lady that adopted if she was a college student, a junior in college. She adopted a cat in February, returned it in May Oh, because, once you know, she was a senior. Sorry, when she graduated She was gonna be living at home her parents for the next couple years and her parents were like no, not bringing that cat home and you have a policy that you will take them and we do a lifetime return.

Beverly Brooks: 36:23

So now we get the cat back is a do other rescues Do you think have lifetime returns? I'm sure some do Yeah.

Amy Castro: 36:30

I'm not sure everybody has the luxury There's, you know, especially the ones that do. You know we do 300 and something animals a year, the ones that do 300 and something a month.

Beverly Brooks: 36:37

I don't think there's a new way they could yeah.

Amy Castro: 36:40

Yeah, okay. Yeah, people are not always happy when you reject them.

Beverly Brooks: 36:45

So you've gone through the adoption process you brought. Somebody makes it through somebody makes it through, yay, they get it's. They get no, okay, so that someone has gone through the adoption process. They bring the kitten home, everything is hunky-dory, and then they discovered that The kitten, for whatever reason, has a litter box issue. Short of bringing that kitten back to you because they don't want pee on their carpet, what, what, what are their options? What do they do?

Amy Castro: 37:09

Yeah, i mean, you know the lifetime, our lifetime return is obviously a Great safety net for that, but most people we find are pretty willing to, to work, to work on the problem. What I find and this is a good note for you all, as anyone who might be listening that's potential adopter is When you're being handed that animal and you're getting all this last paperwork, you're probably getting a lot of instructions about what to do when you get home with that animal. Right, whether it's on paper, whether it's verbally or both, Make sure when you get home, what put? put the animal someplace safe, and there is, you know, put the animal in the bathroom or sit there with the dog on the leash or whatever it might be. I don't want to be in the bathroom, i want to be here in the liver.

Beverly Brooks: 37:52

I'm watching TV with me do that in a minute.

Amy Castro: 37:55

But you know, really read through that paperwork and make sure you're understanding how to acclimate that animal to your home and Follow, you know, trust the organization, that they know What's the best way to make that transition. Because some of our litter box challenges, for example with cats and kittens, is, despite the fact that we tell people to go home, find a spare bedroom, bathroom, whatever, set that up as the cats headquarters for a few days, and then you know, we give them a process to follow to start acclimating and letting the cat out and about in the house. They will come home, they will open the cat carrier and, boom, there goes the cat. And now I'm over there searching under their beds for it, because we have done that before. Or You know that I don't understand why the kittens not using the litter box. You know it's, but the kittens litter boxes down in the laundry room on the first floor and The kittens living up with your daughter in her bedroom with the doors closed. Oh my god, i never even thought of that kind of thing or even if the doors aren't closed, the kitten doesn't remember how to get back to the litter box. Or same thing with puppies, you know, letting them have free run of the house, you know. Let a new dog, adult or puppy, you know, it might be house-trained, but not to your house right smells new things.

Beverly Brooks: 39:02

You can encourage a new adopter to contact you.

Amy Castro: 39:04

Yes, so yeah the bottom line is but you know, follow whatever instructions, do your homework beforehand And then, yeah, if you're having trouble, call the rescue and ask for help. Before you, you know, say, hey, i'd like to return this animal, but we try to. We provide a lot after shoot. I provide support to people who haven't even adopted from us, that are That want to surrender something and it's like well, tell me why you want to surrender it, what's going on?

Beverly Brooks: 39:25

and you can help them through the problem.

Amy Castro: 39:27

Yeah, I just did that. The other day I spent an hour and 45 minutes on the phone with a guy answering 900 questions. Oh my god, I love him. He cared that much to ask all the questions. I know he's done a lot of things right and a couple of things wrong that just Do with the whole thing is that a common thing, that people can contact a rescue that they adopted from? I think most people will continue to give advice. You know where we run into. The okay, it's been a year is when they want medical support. It's like if you call me a week after you adopted an animal and something's going on, like you're concerned about some behavior or it's throwing up. You know, but it wasn't doing that here. You know I might pay for a vet visit for that, because whatever's wrong with it is likely something that was wrong with a here. That just had me merge. I see but you call me a year down the road because the cats throwing up. It's like that is your pet. Okay, so that is your.

Beverly Brooks: 40:16

They can call for advice. Absolutely, it's Overwhelming. I guess it's like getting diagnosis from a doctor and you're getting all that information throwing at you. So it's nice to be able to refer back to you, because once you start searching on dr Google, Yes you get, you can have inflicting information. So it's good to go, be able to go back to the source, whether it's a phone call or, i assume, email or whatever.

Amy Castro: 40:37

Especially if you can talk to the person that actually fostered your pet. They know the foster, they would know best They know best, they spent the time with it.

Beverly Brooks: 40:44

I had a little yeah.

Amy Castro: 40:45

So I mean we do a lot, a lot of you know the Basic animal behavior, but if it's something like she seems really shy about this or I can't get her to do that, whether dog or cat, i'll put them in if as long as the fosters okay with that. We put them in touch with the foster, because they've been working through that same thing and I Didn't you didn't you heard of me and the fosters open to helping them. Yeah, I mean most of us so cool I didn't even think of that, yep. So you know we try to do our best to find the right adopters and then support them once they've adopted from us.

Beverly Brooks: 41:14

Huh, so you're supporting the four fosters that are doing all their work. Now You're supporting, supporting the adopters, you know.

Amy Castro: 41:21

Who supports Amy. There's a lot of phone calls. There's a lot of phone.

Beverly Brooks: 41:25

There's been times when I visited her in.

Amy Castro: 41:27

Regio supports Amy.

Beverly Brooks: 41:29

Yeah, the phone calls do come and lots of phone, and she answers the phone a lot Yep, a lot Yep. So all those phone calls and the tucking at the heartstrings I'm sure is taxing. You know the downside of all the good that you do. What are, what are some emotionally taxing things that you find? or is that a big, big issue for you in a rescue?

Amy Castro: 41:51

I mean that definitely is a huge thing. I think. I think you know you talk about volunteers and adopters not knowing what they're getting into. I think rescuers We under, we underestimate when we get started the level of horrible decisions we have to make, horrible people you might have to deal with horrible conditions of animals, things like that. So I mean it is it's. There's daily challenges and this is a you know we keep at least in our rescue, unless if you're a foster and you're directly dealing with, let's say, an animal that's dying, then obviously there's no hiding that from you. But we try to keep a lot of that away from our volunteers as much as possible. Like I had mentioned, we, you know I'm not going to give something if I get a two ounce bottle baby kitten. You know there's a there's a weight limit where under under three ounces I think it is somewhere in that zone, let's say it's an ounce and a half I'm not going to give that to a foster because the odds of that making it are slim and I don't want you to have to go through that from the get go. No one it's going to do that. Or if you call me with certain symptoms that I realized that that kitten's fading, i well at least give you the opportunity to return it to me and I'll take the care from there. You do see, you see a lot of death, you see a lot of illness, you see a lot of suffering that you can't alleviate because there's just nothing to do for it. And then you know juggling the decisions of life, life and death decisions for for animals with financial considerations. You know which every, every pet owner has to make, that you know has to do that same thing. But you're doing it on a mass scale in comparison to a pet owner And there is a little bit of and maybe it's just because I've been doing it so long there's a little bit of decentralization. It's not my own pet, so it's sometimes it's a little easier to make that decision. For some people it's not, it's just like every one of them is their own pet and they feel that that's going to be so draining. It would eat. It would eat. It would definitely eat my lunch if I, if I, if I did that. But yeah, we struggle. You struggle with making those decisions because, although fundraising has been good to us, it's still finite and you have to make decisions about is this life worth spending the amount of money where I could save a hundred other lives and things like that? So that's, that's a challenge. It's also one of the things that I think in rescue that's a big looking at other rescues and as well as our own is making the decisions about quality of life. And how do you define that? So there are some people that feel like every animal should be saved And so we're going to spend whatever amount of money to save that animal's life. But then where is that animal 10 years down the road? Let's say you get a dog that comes in that has fairly advanced cancer that's managed by chemotherapy. Are you going to spend thousands and thousands of dollars on chemotherapy to put an animal in remission, to adopt it out now to make it that? well, because again, there's a lot of factors that feed in. It's not just saving that animal. So what are you doing to the person that you're putting that animal into their care, whether they feel like they can handle that or want to handle that or not. And then there's the whole and we had the episode on dog aggression. You know there's safety issues that come up as to whether an animal is an appropriate animal to go out into the community or into a certain type of home or whatever it might be.

Beverly Brooks: 45:16

So that was a very powerful episode And initially it was tough to hear but in the end it made sense. It made a whole lot of sense. Yeah, y'all need to be listening to the dog aggression episode. I think she even said in that podcast if you don't listen to any others, you need to listen to that one. That was pretty intense and chock full of information, nuts and bolts good information. You need to listen to that one.

Amy Castro: 45:40

The beauty of rescue is if you do it right and you have good relationships with a veterinarian. It's not like Amy Castro is making these decisions in a vacuum. It's whether it's with the board of directors or whether it's just me and the vet having a conversation. We pretty much go with what the best veterinary advice is on top of you know what is the long-term outcome for this pet. But it's definitely a challenge. And then dealing with the people that want to surrender pets too, that's another daily challenging situation. It can be incredibly frustrating the situations where animals are in trouble because you didn't make good choices along the way. There are situations where it's you didn't have the financial means to make good choice, like spay and neuter. Let's just say So. When I get a call from a person who says I've got a dog in my house, it's not really my dog, my boyfriend. It was my boyfriend's dog, but he moved out and left me with this dog and now it just had 12 puppies. Can you take them all Because I can't afford to care for them? You know, some human along the way could have prevented that and they didn't, and now it's going to be my problem And then I have to say no, because I don't have room for a mother and 12 pit bull puppies And not just pick on pit bulls specifically, because I don't have a problem with them, but they are harder to adopt. If it had been a mother Chihuahua with three Chihuahua puppies, i could put those in a bathtub. So you know, it's a size issue, it's a quantity issue, it's an adoptability issue And all of those things come into play when we're making decisions about intake. So that's before we even get into our system, and having to tell people no, i can't help you. Here's a list Try these other groups. But they're going to tell them the same thing And you hate to tell them that. But And every rescue goes through that, every rescue, and it's that that is probably more daily than anything else. You know, and again we're a small rescue and we probably I personally probably take six phone calls and probably four or five emails a day, And that's just me. I'm not the only one taking those, taking that information in.

Beverly Brooks: 47:43

But for these tough decisions do rescues in general have a standardized process of intaking.

Amy Castro: 47:49

I'm sure every rescue operates differently. I mean the ones that I know of. you know there are certain ones that are only that will only take in certain breeds, so there might be a gold retriever?

Beverly Brooks: 47:58

Oh, that makes sense, that makes sense.

Amy Castro: 48:00

But even though, as I love it, when you go to their websites it's not like you're seeing things that look like golden retrievers, like there are golden retrievers but then there's like that ain't no golden retriever, because you know either, because maybe they think, well, it's got a little of this, it looks like it could be or it's highly adoptable. So you'll find that there are mixed things. There are certainly rescues that will only take in smaller dogs, or one of the interviews that I did recently with Sherry Franklin, who's the director of Mutville out in San Francisco they only do senior dogs. Oh, i agree with that one.

Announcer: 48:30

But then the question is how do you define senior?

Amy Castro: 48:32

You know, because some, some will say seven and I wouldn't necessarily consider that senior And I think their numbers are kind of down there. So it gives you. you want to have wiggle room, because who wants to be hard and fast about saying I will or won't? and you know, don't bother call me if this is what you have.

Beverly Brooks: 48:48

But it also directs the adopter I don't want a Chihuahua, i want a golden, so let me go in this direction. So if they're concentrated someplace, it's going to be easier to adopt, right.

Amy Castro: 48:56

Yeah, yeah, if they're looking for something, certainly if they're looking for something specific. I mean, for for us we have kind of two different types of intake, right. So there's the rescue intake, where it's just an animal that's out there, that needs to not be where it is, you know, stray or whatever, and then there's actually it's probably three. Then there's the owner owned animal that is in a bad situation, or the owner's in a really bad situation, and if you can help that person by taking the animal and we always try to offer other kinds of help so they can keep their animal But if there's no way they can keep the animal, then there's that. And then there's the medical, whereas you know the animal might not fit any of your other criteria as far as what we you know what we normally take in, but it's an animal in need and you have the funds to provide medical care for that animal or God forbid, even euthanize the animal humanely because it's been run over by a car or something like that, right, and that, to me, is part of the outreach in the title of your group, right, because it's not just about fostering, it's not just about adopting out, it's somebody gets you know, god forbid, they get arrested or something and they need someone to help them out and care for them.

Beverly Brooks: 50:07

That's part of the outreach. It's not just about adoption.

Amy Castro: 50:09

Right, there you go. So that's why we field all the calls. You know we put our phone number out there so people can call us. And you know people fill out a form on our website and put in requests for things. But we don't have a specific like. We only take this. You know we only do cats, we only do dogs, we only do things under 50 pounds, we only do something that doesn't look like a pit bull. I mean, we, we it's a case by case And a lot of it has to do with not just what we want to do but what we have this space for, and that's why we've been so low in numbers as far as taking in dogs over the years. Because I have no dog fosters, zero zip up. Why should I have one? They can. They can foster in the summer because she's a teacher and she's fantastic, she trains them and everything. But so all dogs end up at my house, so I can only have so many dogs in my house eating my loss and whatever else is happening. So we're building our shelter facility. And even then, it's got six, six dog runs.

Beverly Brooks: 51:00

So, now I can take six dogs at my house, but yeah, it's still a limit And you can see so much is involved in these rescues, whether it's my best friend's rescue or any. Wherever you're listening to this podcast, support your local rescue. This is what they go for every day. It's not just about adopting a kitten and bringing it home. She does this every day and it blows my mind that she still moves forward in fifth gear, working on that building, getting things done, doing another fundraiser I mean it's just unbelievable And this is one person doing one rescue. They're nationwide. Help them out, support them.

Amy Castro: 51:38

Yeah, it's definitely a passion project, for sure. You have to have a passion for it, well, and you have to see that you're doing some good, and I think that's a, that's a don't start. You have to see that you're doing doing some good in the world too, because otherwise the other aspect and the you know the other things can really really tear you down.

Beverly Brooks: 51:55

It's. It's kind of like spooning against the tide, no matter how many rescues, no matter how many animals our rescue takes, and there's always more coming down the pipe. So this is where these heartbreaking decisions come in. But the alternative is not having a rescue.

Amy Castro: 52:09

Really, you're not going to help an animal, yeah, or the opposite extreme alternative is you overwhelm your rescue or yourself with floor to sit, literally floor to ceiling animals, and now you're not doing anybody, and now it's imploding And now now the rescue is defunct.

Beverly Brooks: 52:24

Yeah.

Amy Castro: 52:25

Yeah.

Beverly Brooks: 52:26

Well, i hope everyone enjoyed this podcast. I'm going to have Amy do the sign off because I'm going to mess it up, but you can see how hard this stuff is on a daily basis. So support your local rescues. If you're allergic to cats, don't help with cats. If you don't are afraid of dogs, don't have a dog. Go to Amazon and look at their wish list. Find another way to support It. Doesn't matter where you are. Thanks to the internet, it doesn't matter how wealthy you are. Also, thanks to the internet, you can do other things. Tell your friend about a rescue. Find a way to support them. Have a car wash. Support them. That way, you don't even have to get involved with the animals. If you're afraid or allergic, doesn't matter. It's hard work. We all know what hard work means. You got to reach out and support them.

Amy Castro: 53:04

Well, but that's and that's. the beautiful thing is that there are so many ways. Sharing a Facebook post I mean that's huge for us because you're 100 friends and then your friends 100 friends. I mean it just helps get the word out. So there's a lot of things that definitely can be done. If you care at all about animals, you know, find some way to get involved that's at a comfortable level for you and you know, and not and not going to overwhelm. So, yeah, definitely. Thanks for the interview.

Announcer: 53:28

That was deeper than I thought it was going to be, but it's good.

Amy Castro: 53:33

I mean it's. It's actually somewhat cathartic to let people know. I don't even tell you half of it but I'll let you at least get a glimpse into it, because it's a lot.

Beverly Brooks: 53:42

Yeah, and it's not just her rescue, it's all the rescues. They're all working their patooties off.

Amy Castro: 53:47

Yes, they are, yes, they are So, so yeah. Thank you so much for listening to another episode of Starlight Pet Talk. Support your local rescues And, if you don't do anything else this week, make sure you give your pets a hug from us.

Announcer: 54:00

You've been listening to the Starlight Pet Talk podcast. We're glad you joined us to gain new insight on the many loving ways to adopt and care for your pets. Be sure to subscribe so you'll never miss an episode, and if you want more information, go to starlightpettalkcom. Because your pet can't talk. Be sure to join us next time for Starlight Pet Talk.