VGSR Elections

The Virginia German Shepherd Rescue annual meeting and election for the VGSR board of directors is coming up soon. I've been a director for the past year and was debating whether or not to run again. I just decided to do so this evening. One of the things I wanted to express was my committment to rescue. I counted up dogs I had fostered in 2008 and came up with 41 German Shepherds! There were probably a few more that were holdovers from 2007; I just based the count on the dates of the photos on my computer. I just did a quick survey of non-shepherds for 2008 and it looks like there were about 20 or so. That's more than I expected because there seemed to be long stretches of time with no adoptions. Then there was the weekend that 5 dogs got adopted, so I guess that overall, things were better than it seemed. Anyway, here's what I just submitted for my pre-election statement. I've thrown in a few random pics because they are more interesting than what I have to say.

My name is Brent Jacques. I've been involved with dog rescue for almost 9 years now. It's a part of my life and probably always will be as long as I'm able to do it. I've fostered for VGSR for much of that time and have served as a Director for the past year.

I believe strongly that our board members should be active participants with the rescue, not mere armchair quarterbacks who want to make rules for other people to follow. According to my records, I have fostered at least 41 dogs for VGSR in 2008, including a few that are still with me, and probably at least half that many for the other rescue groups that I work with. I am firmly and fully committed to rescue. I attend adoption events nearly every weekend and spend far too much of my time during the week on rescue work as well-- transporting, trips to the vet, meetings with applicants, picking up and evaluating incoming dogs, answering emails, doing home visits, etc. I've developed good relationships with at least 4 shelters in my area, such that they contact me first if a shepherd comes into their facility.

I am not a bureaucrat by inclination or by profession and I tend to think that less structure is better than more. We are a volunteer organization and organizing volunteers is a bit like herding cats. I'm probably not going to favor any rule or bureaucracy that doesn't have a direct relationship to our goal of adopting dogs.

I am pleased that over the past year we have stopped rejecting both applicants and foster homes based on a single factor without a full evaluation of their situations and qualifications. We have several new, active, and greatly qualified foster homes as a result. I believe that each applicant, whether an adopter or a foster, should be considered based on the totality of their circumstances, and with the realization that what may be appropriate in a rural area is not necessarily the same as what is appropriate in an urban environment. We are a state-wide organization and we now attract applicants from all over. We need to broaden our horizons further still, not revert to a social club mentality.

I'm in this for the long haul and I'd like to continue to serve on the Board of Directors. In any event, I will continue to foster and do what I can to find the best possible homes for my dogs.

Brent Jacques