You must include 'your review' (minimum 50 words please) in order to submit and enter the prize draw.
Fraudulent reviews:
Prejudiced or false reviews by managers, employees, volunteers or others directly involved in animal organisations offering adoption or purchase of animals are subject to penalties. Do not write your own reviews or attempt to denigrate other organisations. All reviews are checked for appropriate content prior to publication on this site therefore your review will not be immediately available to read.
Rescue Review FAQs:
How did you come up with the Rescue Reviews project? Anyone can start up a shelter or rescue in the UK as no qualifications are required and the sector is unregulated. There are many organisations that are doing a fantastic job and manage excellent adoption volumes with very low return rates*. However there are also many more who are struggling due to lack of experience or knowledge and despite best intentions, are not achieving their aims. The focus of Rescue Review is to gather and collate useful information as an aid to improve standards in animal rehoming shelters and within adoption organisations in the UK. It is hoped that the dissemination of this information will result in improvements, sharing of best practice, rewarding of excellence and will increase successful adoptions and reduce the number visitors going elsewhere (puppy farm etc) to obtain a pet.
How did you decide which questions to ask? By speaking to numerous individuals directly involved in rescue organisations (over the last 18 months) to develop the questions that would be of most use to them.
Why do you ask about the choice of animals available? To determine and gauge success of open or subjective admittance and potential for breed or specie transfer.
Why do you ask about signs and directions? If people can't find a shelter - there is no way they can adopt, shop or give a donation to that shelter. Increased footfall means more donations, neutering, vaccinations, chipping, treatment, education etc. Signs are also a constant source of advertising to remind people you are there.
Will the shelter/rescue find out that I wrote the review? No. Although you must submit your email address and I may contact you for further detail/justification about your review, your information is not made public. Strict data-protection is adhered to and your details cannot be passed on to the rescue/shelter.
Are the review categories given equal weighting in the star award that is allocated? There is slight weighting in the ranking of questions with a bias on animal welfare however parking and merchandise are obviously important. I've seen cars turn away in frustration at an entrance, as no parking space was available. I've also seen very poor quality merchandise which I wouldn't recommend using on animals. On the flip side - merchandise sales can be an excellent source of income - which could then be spent on improving animal environs etc.
Are rescues/shelters notified when a review is published about them? If necessary, I contact the organisation being reviewed to gain clarification on a policy or their views on a particular comment prior to publishing a review. When there are 5 or more reviews, I notify the rescue to provide them with their feedback.
Can I review a shelter/rescue that is outside of the UK? No sorry. This project is UK only.
Do you screen or verify the reviews before they are posted? Yes. I personally read each review. I also have a checking system whereby I may contact the reviewer or shelter directly and request further information. I withhold all reviews that do not withstand scrutiny.
When you give the feedback to the shelters or rescues, do you sell them services or products? No. Nor am I making any product or service recommendations. I'm purely feeding back the information. It will be up to the individual shelters to make their decisions on how or whether they reward excellence, implement changes etc.
Do you help rescues or shelters to finance improvements? No. Although there may be financial implications i.e. resolving a sign issue if people are unable to find the shelter, there may also be areas for improvement that are of no cost i.e. a policy or SOP modification (rehoming policy/cleaning procedure).
What about foster and breed specific organisations? I appreciate the current questions are geared towards actual ‘shelters’. Based on suggested received to date, a new review form is being written and should be live in September ‘10. This will provide greater useful information to foster and breed specific organsiations.
Is a drug/food/pet supply or other company financing Rescue Reviews? No. This is a project that I have personally developed. I carry it out in my spare time and am not getting paid.
Why are you using this format? Rescue Reviews is based on a number of tried and tested review sites such as TripAdvisor. This decision was made after consultation with a number of review site professionals and a website legal specialist.
What feedback will the shelters/rescues get? My analysis will pinpoint repeat problem or areas of excellence. This information will be sent back to the shelter/rescue. Organisations are obviously free to check on site to read individual reviews and comments whenever they like.
What are return rates*? Finding someone to adopt an animal is a relatively easy task however finding the ‘right’ someone to adopt the ‘right’ animal is difficult, takes skill, knowledge and understanding. Organisations will often publish their adoption rates, but the really important figure is actually the return rate. This is when the animal is returned to the shelter/organisation because the situation has not worked out. There are different return rates for different species – cat return rates are low, small furries are the lowest etc. Organisations should be looking regularly at their return rates and focusing on how to reduce them.
End.
Terms & conditions:Free draw to win a year's supply of James Wellbeloved pet food:
No purchase necessary. Automatic entry is only available online at www.mirandaluck.com by providing your current information on the Rescue Reviews form and submitting. The draw is limited to one application per registered email address, per household. When submitting multiple reviews, your name will only be entered into the draw once. No applications from agents, third parties or applications automatically generated by computer will be accepted.
The draw is only open to residents of the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man and Republic of Ireland aged 18 years or over, without prejudice. Exclusion will be applied to employees and immediate families of Miranda Luck, agents and anyone else professionally connected with the draw.
The entry period is from August 1st 2010 to August 31st 2011. The winners name will be drawn by September 31st 2011. Incomplete applications or those not submitted in accordance with the entry instructions will be invalid. One winner will be selected from among all eligible entries received in a random draw to be held within 30 days after the end of the entry period and notified by email. The odds of winning depend on the number of eligible reviews received.
James Wellbeloved pet food (for either one cat or one dog) not exceeding 12 x 2 kg of dry cat food or 12 x 15 kg of dry dog food will be delivered to the winner within 28 days from the draw. Miranda Luck reserves the right to offer an alternative product of equal or greater value, amend or withdraw this draw at any time without prior notice if circumstances make this unavoidable. No cash alternatives will be offered.
No responsibility will be taken for non-receipt of registrations due to technical problems or network difficulties. Proof of sending does not constitute proof of delivery. By participating in this draw, participants are deemed to have accepted these terms and conditions. Other than as required by law, Miranda Luck will not disclose information about you to any third party without your permission. These rules are governed by English law and subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English Courts.
