Welcome to the Happy Staffie Rescue Bark Appeal website Happy Staffie Rescue is about to embarking on our most ambitious plan to raise funds for our own rescue centre We know that the journey ahead will present many challenges but with the help, ingenuity, enthusiasm, drive and determination of a diverse group of people we believe together we can achieve this goal. Why do we need a rescue centre of our own? Without our own rescue centre we have to pay private boarding kennels to care for our dogs. This is expensive and often does not enable us to offer the full range of services we would like for the dog and potential new owners. We believe that we can deliver a complete and better service from a single site. Boarding kennels adhere to the Animal Boarding Establishments Act and are generally designed for short term occupancy, and this can lead to increased anxiety and stress for the dogs that remain in them for long periods. This is why most dog rescue centres differ in appearance to the kennel environment of traditional boarding kennels. Kennel costs At present the amount we pay to board a dog in private kennels varies greatly. Kennel space is a premium and while some kennels offer reduced rates their spaces are often limited or non-existent during spring and summer. The main kennels that we currently use charges us a rate that is higher than what it costs other dog rescue centres to keep dogs in their care. Therefore there is clearly a long term cost effective reason to open our rescue centre, as well as the improved standards of care and environment for the dogs and the service we can provide the public. Proposal The easiest way to acquire a rescue centre would be to buy an existing boarding kennel. This however would not be the best use of the donations raised by members of the public and business. By buying a boarding kennel we would purchase a large and entirely unsuitable house, and kennels that may meet the legal requirements for short term occupancy but do not provide for the best environment for dogs that could be there for many weeks (or longer). We would also be paying for the going-concern value of the boarding business, and still have to pay to convert the house into a centre that would include a reception, offices, and related rescue centre facilities. The average price of a boarding kennel is now in excess of £650,000. The alternative is to acquire either serviced or unserviced land and build our own rescue centre. The costs would be considerably less than buying an existing boarding kennels. We believe we would need around £500,000 to do this at current prices. We hope to achieve the goal of raising £500,000 by 2013. Bark Appeal This is why we have lauched the BARK APPEAL website to help us make our dream of having a rescue centre for the Staffies a reality. Click here to find out more.