New Rattitude, Inc. 2019 National Rat Terrier Rescue and Adoption ANNUAL REPORT ANNUAL PO Box 14064 Lansing, MI 48901 404.692.7288 [email protected] Ember (GA), Adopted March 2019 NewRattitude.org CONTENTS Mission 2019 Board of Directors ...................................................................................................... 3 Message from the President .............................................................................................. 4 Accomplishments in 2019 ................................................................................................. 5 2019 Foster Parents ........................................................................................................... 6 New Rattitude's 2019 Canine Clinic Dogs .................................................................... 7-9 Financials .................................................................................................................... 10-11 Fundraising/Jamboree Report .......................................................................................... 12 Donations/Donor Recognition .................................................................................... 13-14 2019 Adopted Dogs ..................................................................................................... 15-16 Testimonials.................................................................................................................17-18 The Chesapeake Six—Mission Accomplished! ........................................................ 19-20 Lend a Paw, Save a Life........................................................................ ...................21 Jasper (IL), Adopted February 2019 2019 ANNUAL REPORT PAGE 2 NEW RATTITUDE, INC MISSION NEW RATTITUDE, Inc., a non-profit charitable corporation incorporated in 2008, is a 100% volunteer-operated, nationwide group dedicated to the rescue and adoption of abused, abandoned, neglected, sick, or unwanted Rat Terriers and Rat Terrier mixes. In private foster homes, the dogs are nurtured, socialized, trained, supported medically, and provided with professional veterinary care while we work diligently to find them new and permanent adoptive homes where they will be safe, loved, and properly and humanely cared for the rest of their lives. Each dog brought into our network receives a veterinary check, all required vaccinations, heartworm test and monthly preventative, and spay or neuter. Other medical care is sometimes necessary, such as treatment for mange, heartworm disease, infection, gastrointestinal worms, allergies, broken bones, or surgery to correct a variety of ailments. Each dog is wormed, microchipped, and given a martingale collar, along with a collar tag printed with a unique ID number and our toll-free Lost Dog Hotline. New Rattitude is licensed by the Georgia Department of Agriculture, registered with the Georgia Secretary of State as a charitable organization, and recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as an approved 501(c)3 non-profit Salsa (GA), Adopted November 2019 organization. 2019 BOARD OF DIRECTORS Terry Beale Mallory Kratimenos Susan Beard Sue Kangas Bethany Adams Anna Kozlov Kathy Puckett President Vice President Secretary Treasurer Director Director Director 2019 ANNUAL REPORT PAGE 3 NEW RATTITUDE, INC MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT Dear Friends, New Rattitude has a lot to be thankful for as we look back over our past year. • The new website that we had yearned for and been working toward for so long is now a reality. It is already delivering on its promise of being more secure, more easily navigable, more mobile friendly, and more easily maintained. Traffic to our site has increased, and we're now visited over 7,800 times per month and 60% are first time visitors. • On Facebook, we now have over 10,400 followers, with our "likes" having increased almost 50% in recent months. • Our donations in 2019 were by far our highest ever. • We welcomed eleven new foster homes in 2019 and five other new members lending their hand in a variety of other ways. We also welcomed back several former members who had been on break. It's always wonderful to "grow the family" with familiar faces as well as new ones! • Attendance was high for our biggest annual fundraising event, as Rat Terrier enthusiasts from 16 states came together for our April weekend in Sweetwater, Tennessee. The 2019 Rat Terrier Jamboree welcomed 93 registered participants—coming from as far away as California, New York, Michigan, and Florida—along with their 117+ dogs! To accommodate all of that enthusiasm, we expanded the size of our Jam field and spread the fun out over a full half acre. Our revenue from Jamboree (fund-raising plus donations) was over $5,500, one of the highest years ever. And 2020 is gearing up to be an even bigger blast, with 59 people already pre- registered by January 31, 2020! This is wonderfully exciting, because in past years only a small handful of people were registered that early. (If you are considering joining us, go to our Jamboree webpage for details and a slide show of past Jamboree fun.) New Rattitude's on-going challenge is to find and engage more "new blood" to step up to the vital day-to-day and month-to-month administration of the organization. The time and energy required to run the programs and processes that sustain our rescue efforts are quite substantial, and turnover can be high. We lost a few great volunteers in key positions last year and are still trying to replace them. And we would love for our intake and adoption numbers to be higher, which depends on a steady influx of new foster homes. We are ALWAYS eager for motivated people to raise a hand and commit to a role where they can become dedicated stakeholders of New Rattitude and make a real difference. If you have a couple of spare hours a week, reliable Internet access, good self motivation, and a heart that yearns to help save the lives of needy Rat Terriers, we can sure use you. New volunteers can submit a membership application at https://newrattitude.org/support/volunteer/membership-application/. Current members who are interested in deepening their level of involvement can email [email protected]. We hope to hear from YOU! Yours respectfully, Terry Beale, President 2019 ANNUAL REPORT PAGE 4 NEW RATTITUDE, INC 2019 ACCOMPLISHMENTS Our labor of love begins and ends with the heart and soul of New Rattitude—our volunteers. New Rattitude is a national organization, completely run by volunteers. Our network of foster homes is supported by a “staff” of other members who manage a variety of necessary tasks, including administration, application screening, fundraising, transportation coordination, publicity, technology, and so on. Outside of New Rattitude’s membership, we have another amazing support network of volunteers who help us drive dogs from shelters to foster homes, between foster homes, or from foster homes to adoptive homes, or assist with home visits to ensure our foster Rat Terriers are placed in safe and suitable environments. We are also grateful for those who support New Rattitude by contributing generously, participating in our fundraisers, and by spreading the word to let other dog lovers around the country know about New Rattitude and our efforts! Our volunteers are not paid, but they are priceless. We couldn’t carry out our mission without them. So, what did we collectively accomplish in 2019 through this network of dedicated volunteers and supporters? • 123 Rat Terriers were rescued. • 116 Rat Terriers were placed into adoptive homes. • Cumulative rescues and adoptions since New Rattitude’s 2008 incorporation total 2,347 and 2,357 respectively! • 16 new volunteers were approved for membership. • 535 adoption applications were processed—an average of 45 per month. • New Rattitude’s Transport Team coordinated 40 transports, carrying 49 dogs. • We paid for 200 vaccinations, 76 spays and neuters, 12 other surgical procedures, 21 dental cleanings and extractions, 5 heartworm treatments, numerous x-rays, blood panels, and other diagnostic and laboratory tests. • We sponsored the 14th annual Rat Terrier Jamboree in Sweetwater, TN in April (see related story on page 12). These achievements and more were made possible Stanley (WI) by all of you! Thank you for believing in Adopted April 2019 our mission and for trusting in New Rattitude to carry it out. 2019 ANNUAL REPORT PAGE 5 NEW RATTITUDE, INC NEW RATTITUDE'S FOSTER PARENTS In 2019, 46 individuals in 16 states opened their hearts and their homes to a lost or abandoned Rat Terrier whose only ticket out of the shelter was rescue. Safe in their foster homes, these dogs were nurtured and loved, and taught the basic skills that every good dog needs to know. They learned to trust; their self- confidence grew; and when they were healed and ready, carefully selected, loving homes were found where these precious reclaimed souls would be cherished "furever." Corky (MI), Adopted December 2019, It's what they do, this and foster mom Bethany amazing group of individuals— New Rattitude's foster parents! Bethany Adams (MI) Nicole Dossey (WA) Vickie Kauffman (GA) Elizabeth Rohn (VA) Terri Banner (NC) Martha Dowling (SC) Kelly Kirk (SC) Wendy Rosner (IN) Terry Beale (GA) Lorie Dunn (GA) Marisa Kluth (WI) Mindy Shapiro (NC) Frank Bennett (VA) Ann Eskew (GA) Anna Kozlov (IL) Karen Stewart (GA) Janell Brown (WA) Amy Felkins (NC) Karen Marfurt (MI) Samantha Twyman (SC) Juanita Chalmers (TN) Debbie Finley (TN) Drew Maute (PA) Angela