We are closing our doors for intake indefinitely

This is a difficult post to write.

With this big white screen and a demanding, blinking cursor staring back at us, we can feel the tears coming. But here we go…

We are closing our doors for intake indefinitely. Please keep reading.

Our outstanding bills sit at over $25000 with 4 dogs medically managed but still in need of orthopaedic surgeries as well as regular day-to-day vet care for dogs already in our care. Since we are being asked, we estimate that we need to raise at minimum $45000 to open our doors again. As hard as it is to face such a debt, it is harder still to know that this could mean that the hard-luck dogs that we normally intake, will be left without options. We don’t want that. We hate that. But we have fallen short of our fundraising goals and we recognize that we need help. If we continue as we are, we risk having to close our doors for good.

We are committed to raising the funds, and we will get there, but it will take time, and we cannot keep on fundraising for current debt while adding more.

So what does closing our doors for intake indefinitely mean?

The dogs in our care are safe. They remain our priority. We do have dogs in board and train which we will continue to fundraise for and seek out appropriate foster homes. Expect to see more pleas for specific types of foster homes soon. We will continue to exist but we are not sure at what point we will be taking in urgent dogs again in the same way we have been.

We are going to continue to network dogs that are in need in local shelters. This is something we have been doing behind the scenes for several years when we assess local shelter dogs. We networked over 200 dogs last year alone into local rescues and we are going to continue to do so. If a dog is left without an option for rescue, we are floating the idea that we could post on our social media sites that a dog is in need of a full sponsor. This means we would need to fundraise in a very short time the funds needed to fully cover the dog’s medical expenses before we commit. We can no longer intake medical cases unless the bill is also covered fully prior to intake. We know this might not be a popular consideration, but at least we could try to help the dogs most at risk while we work on getting back on track.

The hardest reality of all is that the size of our hearts will always be outweighed by the emptiness of a bank account.

What can you do?

If you can donate (tax receipts for $20 and up), here is an easy link:
Canada Helps: Donate

We have an online baking auction going on here:
Facebook: Baking for the Dogs

We have a puppy party online auction going on here:
Facebook: Puppy Party

We also started our annual campaign of kindness early this year, and if you are not in a position to donate, you could start a campaign of kindness by doing kind things for others and requesting a donation. Read more here, where you can also sign up: 
Canada Helps: Campaign of Kindness

We feel defeated, but we know the work we do is important, and we will continue to work as hard as is needed for each and every dog in our care and for each and every dog that is waiting to come into our care.

With heavy but determined hearts,

Sit With Me Rescue

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Opal is smart, silly, playful girl who has so much love to give to her forever family. She can be shy on initial meetings but offer her a treat and you are her best friend.

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