We Can Help

Community Cats

Ruff House Rescue cares about our community cats!  We can help…

trap/neuter/release, we have loaner traps

we can help with kittens and moms.  If a cat is adoptable, we can try to place the cat in a permanent home.  Kittens can be fostered, spayed and neutered, and adopted through Ruff House Rescue.  Read here what to do if you find newborn kittens

If you have a cat or kittens in need please email us at ruffhouserescue@gmail.com

Spay and Neuter

Do you need your pet spayed or neutered?  We can help!  Please email us at ruffhouserescue@gmail.com

Resources

Attention pet parents!  Are you struggling to care for the basic needs of your pet, such as food and supplies?

Ruff House Rescue is fortunate to have donations of dog and cat food, cat litter, toys and treats arrive, usually, on a regular basis.  We are happy to assist whenever these supplies are available.  Local drop-off may be available with the assistance of one of our volunteers, or you can pick up at our location in Freeport by appointment.  Appointments are made via email at ruffhouserescue@gmail.com

We can provide low-cost micro-chipping for the safety of your pet should they get loose.  A micro-chip is a valuable and necessary precaution that we highly recommend.  Email us at ruffhouserescue@gmail.com

 

Need help with Wildlife Rescue?

Found a bird, skunk, hawk, squirrel, etc?

Please contact our friends at: https://www.facebook.com/WINORR-Wildlife-In-Need-of-Rescue-and-Rehabilitation-113685721999067/ WINORR WILDLIFE RESCUE!

 

Surrendering Your Pet

If you can answer “YES” to any of the questions below, please take the time to explore these options before surrendering your dog.

Did you acquire him as a puppy from a breeder?

  • If so, have you contacted that person? If he or she is at all reputable, you would have signed a contract at the time you purchased your puppy, stipulating that the dog should be returned if you decide to no longer keep him. Please contact your breeder first before contacting Ruff House Rescue.

Did you acquire your dog from a Rescue Organization?

  • If so, have you contacted that rescue organization? If they are reputable, you would have signed a contract at the time you adopted your dog, stipulating that the dog must be returned to them if you decide to no longer keep him or her for any reason.

New baby in the family?

  • How lucky for you that most dogs are fantastic family pets!  If you can take care of your new little human baby, you can take care of a dog.

Moving?

  • There are plenty of apartments, townhouses, condos and hotels that accept medium and large breeds of dog. Many places will even allow you to spread payment of your pet deposit over multiple months as part of your rent.

Think you don’t have enough time for your dog?

  • Experts in the animal field agree that a dog requires a mere 15 minutes of one-on-one time with his master per day, to be happy, healthy, and well-adjusted! That could be simply spent laying in bed at night watching t.v. together, playing ball in the backyard for 15 minutes while dinner is cooking, or going for a walk or jog! Surely you can spare 15 minutes per day.  Pets reduce personal stress and can add years to your life – make the time for you AND your dog.

Are there behavioral issues?

  • Is your dog having trouble getting along with other animals in the household or are there other behavioral issues that have led to the decision to give up your dog? If so, let us help you. See a list of local trainers below. If you didn’t socialize your dog as a puppy, it’s never too late to enroll him in obedience school. It’s fun and can count as your 15 minutes of bonding time!

Experiencing financial issues?

  • The following groups exist to assist people who truly want to keep their pets, but are experiencing financial difficulties. They may be able to help you.
  • A credit card company for health care:
  • Help owners that need urgent veterinary care, emergency vet visits or expensive surgery:
    • The pet fund
    • Banfield locations within Petsmart stores
    • Vetco clinics within Petco Stores
  • Assistance for caretakers of disabled pets:
  • Pet Food stamps Aid for Struggling Owners

Surrender Your Pet

If you haven’t found any solutions after carefully considering the information above, then you are welcome to email us at ruffhouserescue@gmail.com

We are almost always at capacity so we may not be able to take your dog but we review all inquiries.  We may be able to post your pet for adoption on our social media and website to help you place your pet safely.   We receive many each day and cannot help everyone, unfortunately.

Please strongly consider before deciding to surrender your pet.

Thank you.

RHR

What Should You do if Your Pet is Lost?

1. Call your local police precinct and report your lost pet

2. Call your local shelters to report your lost pet

3. If your pet is micro-chipped, contact your microchip company immediately

4. Hang flyers EVERYWHERE

5. Email us to post a courtesy post on our Facebook page

ALWAYS keep your pet’s microchip information up to date. 

ALWAYS keep an ID tag on your pet’s collar with your phone number and address

(Even better, get a collar with your pet’s name and your phone number embroidered on it, here’s an example:

Personalize Martingale Collar)

Dog Trainers on Long Island

Dog Obedience Club of South Nassau 516-623-2913

Fido Fitness Club – Woodmere – 516-569-3647 boarding and training

Positive Canine Training & Services LLC Linda Keehn 917-865-2609 LkeehnPCT@gmail.com (therapy dog training, basic obedience, puppy training, early socialization, rescue dogs)

Happily Waggin’ Tails Training Debbie Collins 9177673062

Petco Oceanside Lisa Fiorvante Basic dog and puppy training, socialization (516) 561-1491

Wagmore Dog Training 631-731-DOGS (3647) Basic Dog and Puppy training

K9 Advanced Training:  Jolean Clarkan  (516) 633-4024 https://www.facebook.com/K9Advanced-Dog-Training-452706391441483/

Pooch Professor: www.poochprofessor.net, 516-312-6378

 

What to do if you find newborn kittens:

by Valerie Sicignano, NYC Feral Cat Initiative

During high kitten season in the spring and summer, it’s not unusual to discover a nest of unattended kittens or a single kitten seemingly abandoned by the mother. You want to help, right? Before jumping to the rescue, consider these recommendations.

First: Wait & Watch

You might have come across the kittens while their mother is off searching for food, or is in the process of moving them to a different location. Try to determine if the mother is coming back for them, or if they are truly orphaned.

To do this, stand far away from the kittens — 35 feet or more. If you stand too close, the mom will not approach her kittens. You might need to go away completely before the mother cat will return to attend to the kittens. It might be several hours before the mother cat returns — until she no longer senses the presence of humans hovering near her litter.

If you need to leave before the mother cat comes back, carefully evaluate whether the kittens are in immediate danger: Is it raining or snowing? Are dogs or wild animals that might harm the kittens running loose in the neighborhood? Does the neighborhood have kids or adults who are likely to harm the kittens? Are the kittens located in an area with heavy foot or car traffic?

To help with your decision, it is important to know that it might take several hours for the mother cat to return, and healthy kittens can survive this period without food as long as they are warm. Neonatal kittens are much more at risk of hypothermia than they are of starvation. During spring and summer months, waiting a longer time to see if mom will come back is much safer than during frigid winter months.

The mother cat offers her kittens’ best chance for survival, so wait and watch as long as you can. The best food for the kittens is their mother’s milk. Remove the kittens only if they are in immediate, grave danger.

The mother cat offers her newborn kittens their best chance for survival, so wait and watch as long as you safely can for her to return before removing them.

The mother cat offers her newborn kittens their best chance for survival, so wait and watch as long as you safely can for her to return before removing them.

If the mother cat returns…

If mom returns and the area is relatively safe, leave the kittens alone with mom until they are weaned. You can offer a shelter and regular food to mom, but keep the food and shelter at a distance from each other. Mom will find the food but will not accept your shelter if the food is nearby, because she will not want to attract other cats to food located near her nest.

Six weeks is the optimal age to take the kittens from the mother for socialization and adoption placement, and any time after eight weeks for Trap-Neuter-Return (spay/neuter, vaccination, eartip, and return to their colony). Female cats can become pregnant with a new litter even while they are still nursing, so don’t forget to get the mother cat spayed or you will have more kittens soon!

If the mother cat does not return…

If you discover that mom has been hit by a car, or if for any reason it appears that she is not coming back, then you should remove the kittens. This is crucial to the kittens’ survival. But you must be prepared to see this project through to weaning if you decide to intervene!

If you take the kittens in, it is unlikely that you will find an organization with available staff or volunteers to take on bottle-feeding on short notice. Some organizations do have experienced bottle-feeders, but prior logistical planning is necessary. Animal shelters and veterinarians generally do not take in newborn kittens, since they do not have the staff to feed and stimulate them for elimination around-the-clock.