Annual Report 2004

Our Vision: Pit Bull Rescue Central envisions a compassionate world where pit bulls and pit bull mixes reside in responsible, loving homes and where their honor and positive image is restored and preserved. Our Mission: As an organization, Pit Bull Rescue Central (PBRC) will: • Help relieve suffering of and prevent cruelty to dogs

identified as pit bulls and mixes thereof, through the public dissemination of educational information

• Help reduce the number of homeless pit bulls and mixes thereof, through the public dissemination of educational information

• Facilitate the rescue and placement of homeless dogs identified primarily as pit bulls and mixes thereof, into responsible homes

• Participate in fundraising in order to provide caretakers of pit bulls and mixes thereof, with the means to:

1. seek veterinary treatment 2. spay or neuter 3. provide food, shelter, and other basic necessities 4. assist a dog to prevent it from being treated in a cruel or inhumane fashion

Meet Piggy! Piggy was rescued by Kristin Loomis and Amiela Brooks. Kristin saw a dog on the side of the road. The dog was so pregnant she could barely move and it also seemed like she had been hit by a car. Kristin took the dog home with her. After a thorough exam, she was told Piggy had indeed been hit by a car and that she also had some sort of burn on her back. Ami had to make the decision to spay the mother to save her life, or to allow her to go through a risky delivery and face the daunting task of finding homes for pup-pies in a world that is already full of homeless pit bulls. The decision to abort the puppies was not an easy one, but it was the most responsible decision she could have made at that time. Though the vet gave a generous rescue discount, the dog’s medical bills were pretty hefty. Ami applied to the PBRC fund for financial assistance. Without the compassion of people like Kristin, Piggy may have died on the side of that road. Without the networking and passion of rescuers and animal lovers, Kristin and Ami would not have had the support they needed to help Piggy. Without the financial assistance, knowledge and moral support of Pit Bull Rescue Central, Piggy may have never known just how good life can be.

Message from the Board of Directors: This past year was a year of growth and restructuring for PBRC. Business that had traditionally been conducted via the entire volunteer group, became unwieldy with the increase in volunteers needed to meet the increased demand for PBRC’s ser-vices. To support the general growth of the organization, vari-ous committees were formed to allow PBRC to make the best use of the time offered by its talented volunteers. The Marketing Committee, Education and Outreach Committee and Fundraising Committee hit the road running in early 2004. The Spay/Neuter Committee was formed mid-year and has been shaping this new area for PBRC. Our two standing committees, the Fund Committee and the Volunteer Committee, continued their work to help needy dogs as well as ensure that PBRC is fully staffed to handle its continued growth. We hope you enjoy this review of PBRC 2004. We look forward to a very successful 2005 as we work together to improve the lives of the dogs we love. The PBRC Board of Directors ***** PBRC Board of Directors 2004: President – Holly Bukes Vice President – Dawn Carroll Secretary – Sanya Dunn/Sue Gauthier Treasurer – Tiffany McBee Director of Fundraising – Cynthia Castillo Director of Marketing/PR – Marcy Setter Director Education/Outreach – Penny Vaughn/Marcy Setter Director of Volunteers – Pam Fradkin and Amy McGarrigle

2004 in Review: Daily Operations: With no paid staff, PBRC’s 30 volunteers are the lifeline of the or-ganization. They answer an average of 140 emails from the general public each month, with an average response time of less than 24 hours. The Doglistings web team processed 4,628 dog-submission re-quests in 2004, up 200 submissions from 2003. Processing in-cludes writing caretakers for additional information and clari-fication of certain issues, verifying alter status, educating caretakers and building web pages. The team maintained pages for an average of 1,100 dogs on a daily basis. To keep the listings current, team members sent out "update request" letters monthly, asking caretakers for status updates, new pictures and dog-bio edits. The team also maintained the home page and "feature" dogs posted throughout the site. Not surprisingly, we’ve seen an increase in the number of homeless dogs posted on the site for adoption. 2004 saw approximately 100 more dogs listed on the site daily. This meant more adoption applications to be processed, which kept the Applications team busy 7 days a week. In fact the Applications team proc-essed over 5,000 adoption applications during the year. This past year was a demanding one for our com-puter system and website. We experienced some downtime during the year due to some challenges with our databases. This past summer we moved our server to a new storage location, causing some periods of up and down time. We are forever grateful to our very dedicated tech-nology volunteers who keep PBRC operational. The team has put into place some new weekly routines to increase performance and stability of the system. Marketing: PBRC was featured in Issue IV of Fully Bully magazine (www.fullybully.com). Fully Bully is described as a sanctuary for re-sponsible pit bull owners - those seeking fun, positive, truthful

information concerning pit bulls. Thanks to the generous support of Diane Jessup, Fully Bully’s creator, PBRC was given the opportunity to provide articles about PBRC’s mission and the specific problems facing pit bulls today -- all written by PBRC volunteers. This enabled us to reach out to individuals who otherwise may not have been aware of the enormity of these issues and of the work that PBRC is doing to help.

Education & Outreach:

We greatly expanded the number of educational ma-terials on our site. These materials are available to the public for download and use. We encourage animal welfare agencies, pit bull rescues and in-dividuals to share them with adopters, local shelters, or anyone who might need some pit bull education. You can find these materials here: PBRC Flyers .

Fundraising: The year began with our annual PBRC calen-dar, designed by PBRC volunteers, using pic-tures sent to PBRC by the proud owners of res-cued pit bulls. Over 400 were sold! Our first

online auction, Poppy Mart, was held in August. This was our biggest fundraiser for the year, rais-

ing over $6,000 for pit bulls in need. Over 75 businesses and individuals generously donated

auction items to this effort. Poppy Mart has become an annual event.

Spay/Neuter:

The spay/neuter committee began with an update of the PBRC spay/neuter web page, which now lists spay/neuter programs of-fered exclusively to pit bull type dogs. In order to determine prevail-ing spay/neuter policies, an update of the PBRC “pit bull friendly” web page was done by surveying all listing organizations. A new online assistance application was created and the committee began to take requests for financial aid. In all, PBRC funded the spay or neuter of 45 dogs in 2004.

Fund Committee: The Fund Committee had a busy year of processing requests for help. The purpose of the committee is to help rescuers, shelters and owners who are unable to afford needed medical care for their bullies. It is a challenging job, but often allows a dog to stay in its home or allows a homeless pit bull a chance to find that permanent place. As the fund has grown, so has the need for aid. In 2004, the following disbursements were made: • $700.00 in Charitable donations to animal welfare groups working on behalf of pit bulls • $16,560.62 in contributions to Rescuers & Shelters, assisting 70 dogs • $5,164.29 in contributions to Individual Owners, assisting 14 dogs Volunteers: Being an Internet-based organization presents some unique chal-lenges to a nonprofit organization. PBRC currently has 30 volun-teers in 15 states, and 2 located internationally. This past August, 15 volunteers met up close and personal in Massachusetts. Each year a gathering is planned and volunteers attend, at their own ex-pense, in order to enhance the spirit of teamwork and camaraderie. 2004 PBRC Volunteers: Megan Alexander, Desiree Bender, Amiela Brooks, Katie Burbage, Rob Chesser, Chris Cook, Michelle Daigle, Sanya Dunn, Melinda Fayette, Stephanie Feldstein, Sarah Finney, Noreen Ford, Kate Fraser, Susan Gauthier, Amy Hendrickson, Andrea Jones, Andrea Kilkenny, Arlene Larsson, Salette Latas, Anna Marchy, Nely Men-doza, Pauline Mercier, Ilene Reid, Sue Scime, Lindsey Smink-Evans, Gina Taei, Merry Young, David Wemmer, Dana West, Melissa Zarda

Wyatt Earp reportedly jumped out of the back of a truck going 70 MPH when he was 7 weeks old. He was surrendered to animal control, by his owners, 2 weeks after the "accident" because they thought he would get better on his own and they didn’t want to deal with getting him veterinary care. An orthopedic specialist had to do surgery on his left hind leg twice. He was in foster care for about a month when his foster Mom decided she had to keep him. He still has a few problems with his leg, but is a happy boy.

2004 Income & Expenses

Donors: Amanda Teague, Amy Marsh, Anna Kaper, Ariana Mohit, Barend Smink, Barry Morgan, Benjamin & Jessica Marcum, Beth Gillian Raps, Brenda Whelan, Bruce Howard, Bryan Hatcher, Bully Boy Tattoo Studio, Carla Holusha, Caryn Kelly, Cassandra Thomas, Charlotte Evens Mulford, Cheryl Swent, Chris & Tracy Kim, Christelle Harris, Christie Minsterman, Clara Harding, David Alsobrooks, Dawn Carroll, Denise Galindo, dieseldigital.net, Elizabeth Matthews, Eugenia Velazquez, Flavia Downs, Gillian Canty, Glynis Covino-Madaglia, Heather Grime, Heather Wilson, Holly Ann Brand & Gustin Seawell, Holly Bukes & David Wemmer, Holly Whiting, Jackie Hertz, James & Judith McMillan, James & Merance Adams, Jason Masson, Jennifer Beres, Jennifer Flake, John Donnell, John Oaks, Joseph & Jill Lam-kin, Judith Marcellot, KBLF Fortin, Kelly Credille DVM, Kenneth Foster, Laura Graham, Laurier Pungitore, Lee Nichols, Lion Gardiner Anderson, Lisa Wiese, Lynn Howe, MS Bukes Inc, Marcy Setter, Mark & Crystal Owens, Mark Evers, Mark Muramoto, Mary Teti, Megan Bafford, Merrick & Tony Morgan, Merry Young, Michael & Mary Fugi, Michael Swift, Michele Leon, Michele Ursino, Michelle Sechler & Metro Credit Union, Milt & Jan Bukes, Mindy Levermann, Molly Yilk, Nancy Perman, Nely Mendoza, Nicole Lindquist, Nicole White, Noah Gans, Patty Ann Korob, Paul LaRocca, Phillip Benfield, Phillip Kenny, Priscilla Maglieri, Rachel Beers, Richard Weise III, Rick Preston, Rocket Sportbike, Roy Geesey, Sara Roach, Scott Brandt, Scott Frazier, ScriptAlert Inc, Sherri Harrison & Ward Rumans, Stacey Ryker, Stephanie Baldwin, Sue Frilot, Tanya Marquez, Todd Daigle, William Lowrey, Working Assets & Zoe Garlick Thank you to our Auction Donors: Aaron’s Watches, Abi Cushman, Amy McGarrigle, Animal Star, Anisa International, BA Barker, Bergsma Gal-leries, Big Dog, Blocky Dogs, Boyds Bear Country, Celene Clark, Chris Cook, Christine Newman, Collar Corner, Crazy Dog Lady, Critter Gear, Cynthia Castillo, Dawn Carroll, Desiree Bender, Diane Jessup, Doctors Foster & Smith, Dog Ramps.com, Doggone Good, Dogwise, Express Pet Supplies, Frank’s Nursery, Georgia’s Gift Gal-lery, Glass by Rox, Greenhawk Harness & Equestrian Supplies, Holly Bukes, Idea Factory, Illusions in Silk, Janet Beres, Jennifer Beres, Kamala Dolphin-Kingsley, Karen Delise, Kong Company, Kris Crawford, Kuranda, Laurier Pungitore, Lenox Pharmacy, Linz Smink-Evans, Lupine Collars and Leads, Marcy Setter, Marine Dog, Maryann Wilkins Design, Merry Young, Metro Co., Nickerbaskets, Old Mother Hubbard, Paco Collars, Pampered Pet Nook, Paw Prints, Peaceable Paws LLC, Pei-Per Company, Pet Pails, Premier, Pup Life, Righty-Lefty Roofing, Ruff and Meow, Ruff Rider, Sanya Dunn, Silk Roads, Sue Coe, Sylvan & Sons, T&S Pet Memorials, Teresa Meltzer, The Barkside, Tiffany McBee, Wendy Thibodeau, Wiggles, Wags & Whiskers, Wonderbull Design

The Year Ahead:

The PBRC team looks forward to the year ahead! Already this year, Education & Outreach Committee members are hard

at work to complete and unveil “Poppy’s Place,” an interactive web site created specifically for children.

Games, puzzles, stories, and educational material will round out this exciting venture. The Spay/Neuter Committee is working to expand spay and neuter efforts, through increased funding as well as offering a small grant program to already existing spay/neuter programs – to be used specifically for pit bull type dogs. PBRC believes that increased spay/neuter efforts are key in working toward our vision. The PBRC Fundraising Committee is in the middle of a very successful Spay Day USA fundraiser to assist with this effort. Watch for Poppy Mart 2005 in July!

Another exciting project in the works is an automated doglisting program. This program

has been in development for quite some time. Caretakers will submit information on a dog for

adoption. This information will generate a web page for the dog. Currently PBRC volunteers spend

hundreds of hours creating individual webpages for each homeless dog submitted for listing on the PBRC site. The

new program will allow PBRC to greatly increase its efficiency, while allowing these extra-dedicated volunteers to be involved in other aspects of PBRC. PBRC’s Board of Directors extends it gratitude to PBRC’s loyal, dedicated and hardworking core of volunteers. We also extend our thanks to our donors and supporters, without which we could not continue to operate.

This is Tura! Tura is fostered by Lois Sylvester of Chino Hills, CA. It became evident that something was not right with Tura as she limped on one of her hind legs. A vet discovered ruptured ligaments in both knees and Lois was quoted $500 per knee. Lois applied to the PBRC Fund for assistance and was granted funds to pay for the first surgery. This surgery was successful and Tura is already walking around better than before. Her second surgery should be scheduled soon.

Pit Bull Rescue Central, Inc. a 501(c)3 Organization

PO Box 335 Fulton, MO 65251

www.pbrc.net

pbrc@pitbullinfo.net board@pitbullinfo.net

All of the dogs pictured in this annual report were either listed for adoption on our site or were assisted financially through PBRC’s Fund.