Guidelines for the BCCA Rescue Program

Revised July, 2016

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Purpose

Since its inception in 1985, the Beardie Rescue Program has had one guiding purpose: helping a beardie in need!!!!

Organization & Structure

1. The Adoption Administrators function as the chairs of the committee that administers the Beardie Rescue program of the BCCA.
2. The Adoption Administrators encourage members to be active supporters of the rescue program by signing on as local or regional representatives of the program, and approve expenditures for rescued Beardies.
3. The Adoption Administrators are responsible for sending all the information regarding a dog in the adoption program to the Database Administrator for recordkeeping.
4. The Database Administrator receives all expenses and data regarding each rescue, enters the information into the Rescue database, forwards copies of receipts for payment by the Treasurer, shares all data with the Adoption Administrators and produces a yearly report for the BCCA board, with an overview of the information on dogs rescued during the previous year.
5. The BCCA Treasurer oversees and dispenses the funds designated for the rescue program from a number of sources. These funds finance the costs involved in getting a Beardie out of a shelter, finding proper
   medical/veterinary services, and boarding until a final home can be found. While a healthy Beardie coming out of a shelter may cost only minimal shelter fees, others with serious medical issues may cost the program much greater sums. Reimbursement for covered expenses incurred by regional/local representatives is made on a timely basis by the Treasurer.
6. Funds for the program come from many sources. The major ones are
   1. Contributions by persons receiving a Rescued Beardie
   2. Proceeds (30%) from the annual auction held at the National Specialty of the BCCA
   3. Donations from local Beardie clubs
   4. Donations from the Memorial Program of the BCCA
   5. Donations & bequests from members and friends in estate wills and other special bequests
   6. Grants available from the BCCA Charitable Trust
7. The Database Administrator and Treasurer coordinate and submit an annual report to the BCCA board and submit the report to the Bagpipes. This report lists all the activities of the program for the fiscal year; the Beardies rescued and placed, the financial statement of income and expenses for the fiscal year and highlights of special or significant items that happened that year (i.e., the rescue of a group of Beardies from a ‘puppy mill’ that claimed to be ‘going out of business’).
8. The rescue program does NOT exist to place dogs from active BCCA members, but exists to find new homes for dogs that are abandoned (for whatever reason) and find themselves in shelters or other facilities for lost or stray dogs. The rescue program tries to place only purebred Beardies, or as close to purebred as we can determine. (Other rescue groups work to place ‘Neardies’ while another informal group tries to place purebreds that have been returned to a breeder and the breeder wishes to find a new home for that dog). In addition to these groups, the BCCA Rescue Program cooperates with other rescue organizations, especially the Old English Sheepdog Club of America, since Beardies and Old English are often mistaken for each other in shelters, etc.
9. A Beardie that has been determined to be physically healthy but exhibits (or has been known to have exhibited) aggressive (biting) behavior cannot be placed by the rescue program. We make every effort to determine the soundness of the beardie’s behavior and temperament before considering any placement. All rescued Beardies are required to be spayed or neutered either before or immediately after adoption.
10. Mindful of the litigious society in which we live, the program makes every effort to protect the lost Bearded Collie as well as the organization responsible for the program.