Our Subsidy Policy � For NEEDY Caregivers Of Street Animals

Saturday is always a day to reflect on things, especially since it has become our “Speak Up” day now.

Allow me to talk a bit about who qualifies for our medical subsidies (including spay-neuter) and food fund. I was motivated to start AnimalCare in 2009 because I knew there were many caregivers, rescuers and fosterers out there who already spend a lot of money on food, and do not have enough to pay for the medical needs of their animals. The purpose of our fund was (and still is) to help these NEEDY caregivers of street animals.

Of course, as expected of the human behaviour, we’ve had a plethora of people applying for help. From the really needy caregivers (like flat dwellers from the lower income group, homemakers, retirees, etc.) to salaried people, and occasionally, even the Datins (we did not get to subsidise for them because they could not even get their children or secretaries to send a photo – Step No.1 not done. So, sorry, Datin, no money for you.)

Who actually qualifies then?

http://myanimalcare.org/subsidy/

It’s written very clearly in the policies in ONE word – NEEDY.

So, instead of me checking around to find out if the applicant is needy or not, why don’t I just leave it to the applicant’s conscience? If the applicant is really needy, please apply. If the applicant is not needy but still applies, I hope you can sleep peacefully every night for the rest of your life.

Ultimately, as our Chief Reverend told me before I launched AnimalCare (when I sought his blessings) – Expect 20% of the people to abuse your goodwill. Never mind them, ultimately, you are still helping the animals.

He’s right.

So, what kind of people have applied?

Gee…ALL kinds!

I think I have written (and vented) about some of the more interesting types before in the past so I shall not repeat those unless they are the most unusual cases. Here are some recent ones, though.

1. A rescuer who had been blacklisted by us for refusing to pick up two newborn kittens and insisting that I do it (even though I was not in town), recently applied…but used her daughter’s name! But….when I typed in the bank account no, it was HER account number! �Aha…see, you can run, but you cannot hide. So, I called her and of course, she did not pick up her phone. Then, I called the daughter and asked if it was mum who asked her to apply, and she said “yes”. Ok, I said, next time, please ask mum to apply on her own. I’d like to speak with her.

2. This is an old case, but needs to be told. We blacklisted this girl because during the time when sponsored in full at our panel vet, she lumped food items into the bill. �Later, when I settled the bill, I told her we do not sponsor food items. She promised to pay (it was only RM42), but of course, the payment never came. She said to wait until her salary came in. I waited…about one year. Looks like her salary never came in. THEN, after about a year, he asked for help again, to neuter her cats, but through one of my friends. Oh well, alright, it’s for the cats, fine. Then, I texted her – Hello….you still owe us money from last year, remember, for the food you lumped into our bill? “Yes, I know, I’m going to pay you when my salary comes in,” she said. Familiar? Of course her salary never came in. Still hasn’t…

Financial management – sigh, why can’t some people just manage their money and live within their means? Having a low salary is NOT an excuse, please. I was earning peanuts as a government schoolteacher when I first started out, but I never owed anyone any money nor did I ask for any handouts. And no, my husband wasn’t an airlines pilot then, he was with the RMAF and they paid peanuts as well. But we managed. Our children got sick so often and would end up in hospital. We paid all the bills immediately upon discharge. So I find it extremely hard to sympathise with people who owe others money. We have to realise that when we owe others money (whether an individual, an organisation or a business), we are passing our problem to them. Is that fair?

The other day, an old friend from the hometown called me. She knows what I do now and she too is a cat-rescuer. She asks me why I’m funding so many people without any filtering process. Sigh…how do I filter? She says she is a cat-rescuer, but she would not ask me for funds because she too earns a living (as a schoolteacher). If you want to do charity (rescue work), do it within your means, save up money and do it, she said. Charity is only for those who have absolutely no means of earning a living or raising funds.

Of course she has a point there which I don’t deny.

But the reason for setting up a charity is to HELP, and help, we will. There will always be those odd cases, those exceptional cases where a salaried (or even rich) person is short of funds and thus becomes NEEDY. Can’t check on people’s circumstances, don’t have time to do that – so I’ll work on trust. That way, I can sleep easy at night!

3. And there is the case of rescuers who belong to established rescue groups who do their own fund-raising but still apply to us for subsidies. We’ve had this type as well.

I don’t know where to place them – yes or no? �I’ve dccided to give them the benefit of the doubt since we do not have any policy that says if you belong to another rescue group (with your own funds), you cannot apply to us. I also don’t know how their internal policies work – do they help their own people? And there is always the exceptional case (our group is running low on funds now, I look after so many animals, I just got fired from my job, my house just got burnt down, my bank was robbed last week, etc. – all valid reasons, of course.)

So for this category, I’ll just direct the rescuer to our policy:�http://myanimalcare.org/subsidy/

Are you NEEDY?

If you are, please apply. We’ll help you.

If you are not but still apply, may you sleep well every night…for the rest of your life.

Source: http://myanimalcare.org/2012/03/03/our-subsidy-policy/

Tweet

AnimalCare

AnimalCare is a registered society that promotes caregiving to street animals and helps in their neutering and medical needs. AnimalCare has a Medical Fund, Food Fund and Education Fund.

More Articles   |   Pets For Adoption   |   Website