Community, People, and Partnerships

+ Our Commitment to Our Core Values

At Muddy Paws Rescue, we acknowledge, embrace, and value humanity and human fallibility. We understand that there will always be more to learn and new problems to solve. We are committed to keeping an open mind and embracing change proactively and productively. With this in mind, we make every effort to always embody our core values - being Positive, Welcoming, Responsive, and Supportive.

• Positive: We assume goodwill, foster trust and collaboration, and maintain an uplifting and optimistic tone.

• Welcoming: We embrace not only new community members, but also new ideas, feedback, and diversity of perspective.

• Responsive: We respond quickly to the needs of our dogs and our community, and actively adjust operations appropriately.

• Supportive: We commit to offering exceptional support to our staff, adopters, foster parents, and volunteers through every step of their respective journeys.

+ Transparency and Professionalism

We are committed to transparency in all aspects of our operations, including gathering and sharing accurate data, open discussions surrounding our policies and procedures, and acknowledging and correcting mistakes in a timely manner. We have committed to transparency as part of our larger commitment to organizational professionalism and our core values.

+ Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

We aim to maintain an authentic commitment to social responsibility, social justice, and inclusivity throughout all facets of our operations to best achieve our mission. We commit to driving and engaging in an open and continuous dialogue with our ever-growing community, while approaching gaps with the intent to learn, understand, and change. We believe that everyone should have equitable and unbiased access to our programs, services, employment opportunities, and leadership opportunities.

+ Community Partner Guidelines

Because partnerships may give the appearance of an organizational endorsement, we make an active effort to partner with companies and organizations that align with our mission, core values, and positions. This practice applies to partners of any nature, including corporate, sponsorship, pet care industry partners, public relations and media opportunities, and sending and receiving animal shelters and rescues.

+ Open Adoptions and Minimizing Barriers in the Adoption Process

At Muddy Paws Rescue we support and practice an open-adoptions process that removes barriers to include adopters from all backgrounds. We practice a conversation-based approach to our adoption process, which encourages a discussion between the organization and the adopter, and cultivates trusting, long-lasting relationships during all stages of the process. We believe that the open adoptions process facilitates successful matches and ultimately maximizes lifesaving.

+ Waived or Fee-Free Adoptions

Muddy Paws Rescue charges a full adoption fee for each dog that is adopted from our care in order to support the care, both behaviorally and medically, for that individual dog. While not every dog requires extra care, some dogs require additional resources to treat and/or manage more complex behavioral or medical needs. While we do not typically waive or reduce our adoption fees, we understand the benefit of doing so when it is feasible and will allow for increased lifesaving.

+ Giving Pets as Gifts

We aim to make adoption the first option when someone decides to bring a dog into their family. Therefore, we believe that forbidding pets as gifts altogether encourages other methods of dog acquisition. In addition, research shows that those who receive pets as gifts have the same attachment to that animal and are no more likely to relinquish that pet than those who acquire the pet on their own. We support the following guidelines:

• The recipient should always be aware of and prepared for the responsibility of dog ownership as the primary caretaker.

• The dog should not be given to the recipient as a surprise. Rather, the recipient should be involved in the adoption process to ensure that the adoption is a good fit for them and the individual dog.

• Pets are often given as gifts to immediate family members in the same household. If a guardian wishes to gift a child a dog, the guardian should be fully aware of the responsibility of dog ownership and should be prepared to be the dog’s primary caretaker.

Animal Care

+ Veterinary Standards of Care

Muddy Paws Rescue provides standard medical care for all dogs who enter our care including all of the following with exceptions for medical waivers and age limitations.

• Spay/Neuter Surgery
• Heartworm test within past 6-12 months depending on age
• Monthly heartworm preventative
• Monthly flea/tick treatment and/or preventative
• Up-to-date DAPP, DA2PP, or DHPP vaccine or equivalent
• Up-to-date rabies vaccine
• Broad spectrum dewormer treatment
• Microchip implant and registration

We follow the guidelines for Mental Health & Physical Well-being as laid out in the [Guidelines for Standards of Care in Animal Shelters] 1 per the Association of Shelter Veterinarians

+ Spay/Neuter in Companion Dogs

Muddy Paws Rescue supports spay/neuter whenever medically possible in order to reduce pet overpopulation and animal homelessness. As long as medically cleared and of age, all dogs who are placed through Muddy Paws Rescue are spayed or neutered. We educate our community about the importance of spay/neuter rather than alienate those with differing viewpoints, questions, or concerns related to the procedure. We encourage and welcome discussions about spay/neuter and in order to build trust and unity within our community.

+ Pregnant Spays

We support pregnant spays as a means to reduce both overpopulation and animal homelessness, and to prioritize the care and allocate resources first to those already born. If a pregnant dog enters our care, Muddy Paws Rescue will consult with a veterinarian to determine how far along the pregnancy is and will perform a pregnant spay if the dog is in the earlier stages of pregnancy. If a dog is in the latter stages of pregnancy and a spay would be a higher risk surgery, we will assess our capacity for care and identify an appropriate foster home to care for the mama and puppies until they are able to be placed for adoption.

+ Medical Euthanasia

Muddy Paws Rescue provides all veterinarian-recommended care for dogs and considers quality of life as the primary factor in all medical decision-making. Although the dog’s well-being is always the highest priority, we take into account secondary factors such as capacity for care and external resources and placement options as necessary. If a dog suffers from a debilitating medical condition and veterinarians determine a poor prognosis and quality of life, we consider medical euthanasia as a a humane and compassionate option. If medical euthanasia is necessary, Muddy Paws Rescue deems FDA-approved euthanasia solution and prescribed sedatives as the only acceptable methods.

Animal Behavior

+ Dog Training Methodology

Muddy Paws Rescue recognizes that training is an essential tool in helping to achieve our vision of a world in which adopting a dog is a positive, accessible option for all. Training is used to modify behavior to help dogs succeed in foster homes, increase their adoptability and give them the tools to be successful in an adoptive home. It is also used to help owners understand how to communicate better with their dogs to increase successful placement rates.

We also recognize that there are many methodologies and philosophical approaches to training, and believe that the approach taken should be tailored to the individual dog, his/her history and current circumstances. Muddy Paws Rescue is committed to using the Least Intrusive, Minimally Aversive (LIMA) method to resolve behavior issues whenever possible, in consultation with well-vetted, professionally certified dog trainers and behaviorists.

Muddy Paws Rescue does not stand behind training methods that use excessive force or cause pain. We do acknowledge that there are techniques that cause mild temporary discomfort that may be acceptable in some scenarios. We recognize that there are risks that come with some training techniques, such as aversion, and to minimize those risks, these techniques should only be used in certain situations with very skilled trainers.

Muddy Paws Rescue does not exclusively practice or endorse one specific methodology. In our support of adopters, foster parents, and our animals, we engage trainers who use a variety of methods to achieve positive results. In every instance, our primary goals are to keep dogs safe, get them adopted and keep them in loving homes.

+ Dogs Who Pose a Danger to Other Animals or Humans

Muddy Paws Rescue believes every dog is an individual and deserves to be treated as such, to the extent that is reasonably possible while maintaining a safe environment for other animals and the public.

If a dog poses a safety risk to humans or other animals, the dog should be managed appropriately to protect the public and other animals while discussing possible outcomes for the dog. Such management might include confinement to a qualified foster home, shelter, boarding facility, or veterinary office, and muzzling while in public if appropriate or necessary. If the resulting outcome is attempted rehabilitation for the dog, every effort should be made to protect the public during this process.

When considering placement options for the aforementioned dogs, many factors must be considered, including but not limited to:

• The dog’s history in regards to aggressive and/or dangerous behavior

• Any medical concerns that might contribute to this behavior

• The circumstances in which the dog has displayed the behavior

• The time and resources previously invested in behavioral rehabilitation or training with a certified professional and whether these attempts have been aligned with MPR’s dog training position statement

• The severity of any bites (using Dr. Ian Dunbar’s Bite Scale); the existence and availability of a caretaker and housing for the dog whether temporary or permanent that will provide the greatest opportunity for success

• The resources currently available to the rescue as well as any other current demands on resources that must be taken into consideration

If a dog causes harm to a human or another animal resulting in serious injury, or it is determined by a behavioral professional that such an attack is more likely than not to occur without behavioral intervention, and the necessary management protocol is so restrictive as to seriously compromise the animal’s quality of life, Muddy Paws Rescue would consider euthanasia as an acceptable option. A behavioral consultation should be obtained to ensure that experts in care and behavior are helping to make this decision, along with a veterinary consultation if necessary. Such a decision would be made by animal care management and a veterinarian, after careful consultation with the animal’s caregivers.

+ Animal Intake and Placement

Muddy Paws Rescue is committed to responsibly sourcing the dogs we intake to ensure that we have the available resources required to meet their needs. We look for partners who are able to fulfill our medical and behavior requirements and who have similar standards for care. As a foster-based rescue, it is critical that we intake dogs who are behaviorally and medically appropriate for our program and current capacity for care. Our available capacity will fluctuate as dogs enter and exit our care, though we always aim to increase our overall capacity in the long term.

Muddy Paws commits to providing, to the best of our knowledge, objective behavioral and medical histories for dogs in our care to potential adopters. We actively support the adopter and the dog to the best of our ability, and provide resources, useful information, and advice as appropriate, throughout the life of the dog but especially during the transition period.

+ What Responsible Pet Ownership Means to Us

When a dog is added to a family, Muddy Paws Rescue believes that it is the caregiver’s responsibility to ensure that their pet’s Five Freedoms are also met: freedom from hunger and thirst, freedom from discomfort, freedom from pain, injury or disease, freedom to express normal behavior and freedom from fear and distress. We believe that pets are family and while we always hope that each well-matched placement lasts for the duration of the dog's life, we understand that unforeseeable life circumstances may not make this possible for everyone. In these cases responsible rehoming should always be prioritized.