Tuesday, February 18, 2020

CACI Crowdfunding project page translation

Translation of Gundog Rescue CACI's Crowdfunding Mission Statement
Please think about donating to this wonderful birddog rescue:

Let’s talk about bird dogs
Bred to find and flush birds in the wild, these beautiful hunting dogs are also known as gundogs, named after the weapon hunters carry. There are different types of birddogs aka gundogs depending on their separate tasks hunting in the field.
Setters are named after the way they crouch down or “set” as they let the hunter know they’ve found a bird.
Pointers will literally point in the direction of game with their bent front paw.
Birddogs are working dogs, partnering with hunters to find and shoot game. Yet so many of these intelligent creatures are brought to the pound with excuses like: he’s too old to hunt now; she’s useless, she’s injured; he wasn’t birdy enough; I can’t afford the upkeep until the next bird hunting season.
Many of the dogs have not been properly trained and get lost when they are let loose in the field and expected to perform based on breed-specific expectations. Most haven’t been micro-chipped, so owners can’t be contacted once they end up in the pound. If they don’t come to look for their dog, the gundogs end up being put down.
Faithful companions waiting to be picked up by their owners…
Japanese birddogs have little socialization as puppies and are often shy of strangers. Once they get lost, this makes them hard to find and rescue. Even when they are finally found, some are so weak and malnourished they can’t be saved. The irony is that gundogs are by nature faithful and bond strongly with their owners: a well-trained birddog will heed owner commands perfectly in the field.
Gundog Rescue CACI is one of only a few birddog specific rescues in Japan, partly due to the image of hunting dogs as being hard to train as household pets. Our mission is to rescue and rehome these intelligent and beautiful dogs.
The hunting season starts in November. There’s an immediate surge in the number of lost or abandoned dogs deemed “unfit” for the field. A few irresponsible hunters are making a bad name for the sport, and responsible hunters in Japan are aghast at the fate of these faithful companions.
Last year we were just able to keep the rescue afloat with the profits from the calendar and the sale of charity goods along with individual contributions. This year we have our backs to the wall with debts of over US$50,000: we need to find a way to keep the rescue running. So we have set up this project, with the hope in our hearts that we will be able to keep on saving birddogs, one beautiful life at a time. And that our work will help break this seasonal flood of gundog abandonment and make waves of change in birddog lives- we need your help!
Update February 5th 2020: Thanks to your overwhelming response from the get go, we have been able to reach our second goal. It’s not over yet! We still need and welcome your support. You are making such a difference, warming hearts and minds and making this rescue mission possible. Thank you so much!
We have set the next goal at 10million Japanese yen (approximately US$90,000). The funds you are donating will be used as indicated below:
-       CACI Shelter: repair and maintenance of ageing facilities
-       Purchase and repair of large size dog crates.
-       Fixing the shelter doors - some newly rescued pups panic and things can get broken as they try to escape. Right now we are using multiple layers of plastic sheeting over the doors.
-       Subfloor work to fix dangerously sagging and soft shelter floors
-       Funds for emergency and routine veterinary care (as the hunting season ends soon, a huge influx of often sick, injured or ageing birddogs mean vet bills stack up rapidly)
For more details and photos of how your money will be used, click here (Japanese only).
Help CACI help birddogs here in Japan: we need your support! Your generous donations are making such a difference. Please join in this wave of love.
Birddogs abandoned by the owner they trusted

Thank you for reading our crowdfunding page. I’m the Gundog Rescue CACI CEO, Rie Kaneko. Our birddog rescue is located in Ichikawa City, Chiba Prefecture, just north of Tokyo. CACI keeps the rescued pointers and setters in a safe shelter during the vetting and retraining process while they are being matched with forever families and a loving home.
The story of our rescue began with my stepping in to help pups from a hoarding situation in Sanbanse in Ichikawa City. In 1993 I set up a volunteer dog rescue organization named Companion Animal Club Ichikawa (CACI for short). At that time we weren’t breed specific, but during my work in our local area I came across a particularly dire and prevalent issue…
I realized the numbers of abandoned birddogs landing in the pound in Chiba Prefecture were far higher than anywhere else in Japan. Birddogs were misguidedly believed to be unsuitable as household pets, so there were hardly any breed-specific rescues and their fate was sealed. Soon after being abandoned they were being put down in the pound. I watched this tragedy unfold so many times before my eyes.

 Video: a birddog stray adopted by a hunter for half a year being brought to the pound because he allegedly bit someone. Dogs brought in individually are put down the following day. Maybe the true owners were still looking for him. The trusting dog is wagging his tail in blissful ignorance of his fate.
Faced with this brutal reality, the idea came to me to prioritize saving these unlucky dogs with a lower chance of surviving death in the pound, and above all to somehow stop bird dogs being treated like disposable objects.
Without raising awareness in society, without talking about training and ownership responsibility, nothing was going to change. So we switched course to become a breed-specific birddog rescue.
In 2008 we reinvented ourselves, and Gundog Rescue CACI came into being. To date I’ve been involved in canine rescue for about 30 years of my life, and right now I’m working with our team of about 40 volunteers.
CACI rescue statistics
▶︎23 dogs in 2020 (17 currently at the shelter, one with a volunteer foster and 5 placed with partner rescue organizations)
We do our best to comply with special requests for rescue in collaboration with the authorities, even if the dog is not a gundog.
▶︎Grand total of rescued dogs：1,090 (Some of the pups crossed the rainbow bridge in our care)

▶︎Grand total of adopted dogs：1,050
How to help birddogs become the perfect pet

By nature, birddogs are warm, people friendly creatures who like to be spoiled. In cultures where dogs live as companion animals together with their human families, they have lots of opportunities for healthy socialization and learning good canine citizen manners.
However, in Japan most birddogs live a life in outside cages, separated from the home environment. They often lack proper socialization, may have developed compulsive alarm barking issues, and have often not been trained to walk politely on a leash.
These are dogs that have been bred to hunt, and the hunting instinct stays with them all their lives. But the good news is that a well-organized training program can help these intelligent animals with the ability to react quickly to the slightest movement and the savvy to navigate mountainous terrain to become great household pets.  
Retraining
Our task is to help the dog widen its focus from one single hunter to embrace family members and become a good canine citizen. Sadly since birddogs need ample and regular exercise, not so many families step up to take them in. But although it’s no mean feat, our positive reinforcement training results show that a birddog can indeed rehabilitate as a warm furry beloved family friend.
Retraining in Action
The most important thing about retraining a rescued birddog is to nurture effective communication. The stronger the hunting instinct, the more important it is to get the dog to calm down and work with its human. Once a pattern of awareness and interaction has been established, things can get going.

First up, gundogs need to be crate trained and toilet trained (to use potty pads). They learn basic manners like “sit”, “wait” and “down”, how to walk politely on a leash, and how to “heel”. Encouraging the dog to repeat positive behavior and reinforcing with rewards such as treats, we slowly but surely build up good canine habits.
Vetting Fees
Unfortunately, almost none of the rescued birddogs are in good health when they come in to the CACI program. Often they are heartworm positive, malnourished and emaciated, with matted fur or hair loss. Bitches often have mammary tumors or are suffering from pyometra (a life-threatening womb infection). It breaks your heart to see them in such a sorry state.
The first step to rehabilitation is to have a thorough vet examination.
Vetting fees pile up as the dogs need not only spaying or neutering, vaccinations and heart worm meds. Some dogs have a pre-existing condition and need regular meds, or are injured and need urgent surgery.  
The average cost of rescuing one birddog is  JPY150,000, approximately US$1350.
We simply cannot ask adopting families to pay this amount. We’d be out of families looking to take on a rescue in no time.

Our motto is to find happiness for birddogs in all stages of life and health. When the dogs find their forever family, we ask the new family to pay basic vetting fees and spay/neuter costs up front. The remaining rescue costs are covered by CACI funds. As already mentioned, rescue vetting fees rack up fast and it can feel like you’re chasing a moving target. 
End of the Road? Financial Straits.
The annual operating expenses of CACI Gundog Rescue are approximately 9 million Japanese yen, or just over US$80,000.
Monthly breakdown:
Fixed costs: Shelter Rent JPY300,000/US$2700; Water rates JPY20,000/US$180; Electricity Utilities JPY40,000/US$360; Kibble JPY90,000/US$800; Training JPY80,000/US$700
Monthly Total Fixed costs: JPY530,000/US$4800
Variable costs: Vetting Fees JPY150,000/US$1350; Extras (transport costs, potty pads, bleach, towels, blankets, waste disposal etc.) JPY70,000/US$600
Monthly Total Variable costs: JPY220,000/US$2000
Monthly Total Operating Costs: JPY750,000/US$6800

To date we have been funding the rescue based on sales of the calendar, Tshirts and individual donations. However the escalating variables together with the rise in rent due to the consumption tax hike meant we kept getting further and further behind. As CEO I kept adding personal funds to keep us afloat, but this is unsustainable longterm. We’ve been forced to cut back on the number of dogs we can rescue to try and make funds meet.

 That’s where you come in: join in the crowdfunding and help us save more of these unique and precious animals. Your donation will give a birddog a new lease on life, and help us to continue to help them find a loving forever family! Your funds make a difference every step of their new path, from a warm shelter and nourishing kibble to expert vetting and training. Please give generously and open your heart to birddog love!
Reaching our first goal: 2million JPyen/US$18,500 dollars
Hunting is seasonal-Birddog rescue is ongoing
By law, the Japanese hunting season runs from November 15th through to February 15th (depending on the area it can run longer, from mid-October to mid-March). Each year at the end of the season the rate of birddog abandonment rises. It’s an ongoing problem.
We continue to rescue these dogs even though we have debts of 1.8millionJPY/US$16600. The monthly financial reports are available in Japanese at the CACI homepage.
▼Monthly Financial Report
https://centro387.sakura.ne.jp/Main/CFRP/CMS_ReportByM.php

Under current circumstances we not only have difficulty running the shelter, but we will be forced to give up taking in new rescues come February. If we manage to reach this goal, we will be enabled to move forward taking rescued gundogs into our care.
Reaching our second goal: 6million JPY/US$55,500 dollars
Even after paying 2millionJPY/ US$18,500 in vetting fees from the sales of our 2020 calendar, we are still behind. With these funds we can settle our vetting debts of 3.8millionJPY/US$35,000, incurred by rescuing birddogs needing complex surgery or with unexpected urgent care issues. We can also begin to fix up the ageing shelter facilities. Every cent counts.

We can begin to upgrade the rescue environment for efficiency and ease of use. Help us to help give these birddogs a bright future.
A forever home: Life with a birddog
Rescue adopter story- the Tachikawa family in Kanagawa Prefecture

Our family has had dogs for a long time, so I wanted to give back and adopt a rescue. That’s when I discovered CACI.
We adopted our two furbabies, a setter and a pointer, and they’ve been with us eleven years now. The name gundog is kind of forbidding, but actually they have an ability to self-regulate, acute and focused in the field, mellow and affectionate in the home. So outdoors they are high energy and playful companions, and indoors they walk by you gracefully wagging their tails, always close by. I can’t imagine life without them.

I didn’t know much about the abandoned gundog issue until we adopted them. I was shocked when I learned they get put down because they supposedly won’t hunt, even when they make such perfect and adorable pets. I really want to support CACI in rescuing these dogs in any way I can. I’m really hoping that not only can we make good on our crowdfunding mission financially, but also that through this campaign many more people will become aware of the plight of abandoned birddogs and open their hearts and homes to rescue them.
All working dogs, whether guide dogs, search and rescue, or birddogs, give their all for humans. Birddogs, too, deserve a happy and fulfilled life: help give them a future.

We at Gundogrescue CACI have a dream. Someday, there will be a world where no gundogs are abandoned.
The current situation, relying on volunteers and donations to rescue birddogs, is not a viable longterm solution. We want to address the root cause and think about making changes in society to the way the issue of birddog abandonment is approached.
To help birddogs, we want to raise awareness in collaboration with public authorities, hunting organizations and other rescues. We want to broaden the focus of our activities from not only saving abandoned birddogs, but to include helping owners who are unable to keep their birddogs.
Hunters who are getting to old and frail to hunt…  
No use in the field any more…
The birddog was more trouble than I bargained for…  
We want to get ahead of the issue, at some point in the future be able to provide some kind of lifeline.
Until then, we will work together as one, forever families, birddog lovers, dog-loving hunters, canine rescues, to save the lives we can.

And raise awareness, so that we get closer to the society of our dreams, where birddogs can live a rich and fulfilled life. Please join the campaign, cheering for Gundogrescue CACI with your generous donations, spread the word, share the love, so that we can make this dream come true!
To those who donate, our heartfelt gratitude
 Your generous donations will go in full to rescuing birddogs: you are making a difference. That’s why in return you get reports detailing how the money has been spent saving gundog lives, rather than thank-you gifts.

Gundogrescue CACI CEO Rie Kaneko
I began rescuing dogs after helping out with a hoarding situation in 1993, and since then I just keep going. As the leader of CACI, I’m out there striving to make a difference every day for birddogs.
Chiba Prefecture Animal Protection Center Registered Volunteer
Ibaraki Prefecture Animal Protection Center Registered Volunteer
Type 2 Licensed Animal Handling Business CEO
Animal Processing Plant Permit Holder


▶︎Twitter  : ID  @RescueCaci

▶︎Instagram  :

▶︎LINE：ID @646cghpv

▶︎Adoption
https://centro387.sakura.ne.jp/MildWans/index.php

Profile

GUNDOG RESCUE CACI



GUNDOG RESCUE CACI  A volunteer birddog rescue (mainly setters and pointers) with a rescue shelter located in Ichikawa City, Chiba Prefecture, just north of Tokyo. CACI stands for Companion Animal Club Ichikawa, the name of the original non-breed specific canine rescue.

Join in the Crowdfunding Project:Types of Donation
Return/Rewards
3000JPY Supporter
You get:
A heartfelt thank-you email
Your individual/group/company name gets a mention as a sponsor in the official blog/Facebook page (Please apply if desired)
*You can also join the campaign mixing and matching different types of donations or even clicking the same type multiple times to get the total sum you wish to provide.
No. of Users … Number available: No limits Mailed: April 2020

5000JPY Goods Supporter CACI Original Calender 2021
You get:
A copy of the 2021 CACI Original Calendar sent with our gratitude.
A heartfelt thank-you email
Your individual/group/company name gets a mention as a sponsor in the official blog/Facebook page (Please apply if desired)
*You can also join the campaign mixing and matching different types of donations or even clicking the same type multiple times to get the total sum you wish to provide.
No. of Users … Number available: No limits Mailed: December 2020
Please note that the calendar is only available for a Japan address.

10,000JPY Cheerleader: Give the dog a home! A loving family for abandoned birddogs!
We are able to make full and effective use of your donation with your cost-cutting approach to rewards. Thank you.
You get:
A PDF copy of the CACI report detailing how your donations together are helping rescue birddogs.
A heartfelt thank-you email
Your individual/group/company name gets a mention as a sponsor in the official blog/Facebook page. (Please apply if desired)
*You can also join the campaign mixing and matching different types of donations or even clicking the same type multiple times to get the total sum you wish to provide.
No. of Users … Number available: No limits Mailed: December 2020

10,000JPY Goods Cheerleader CACI Original T-shirt
You get:
A white CACI original T-shirt (Available Sizes below)
S) Chest 49cm/19.2”; Length 66cm/26”
M) Chest 52cm/20.5”; Length 70cm/27.5”
L) Chest 55cm/21.6”; Length 74cm/29”
XL) Chest 58cm/22.8”; Length 78cm/30.7”
A heartfelt thank-you email
Your individual/group/company name gets a mention as a sponsor in the official blog/Facebook page (Please apply if desired)
*You can also join the campaign mixing and matching different types of donations or even clicking the same type multiple times to get the total sum you wish to provide.
No. of Users … Number available: No limits Mailed: December 2020
Please note that the T-shirt is only available for a Japan address.

13,000JPY Goods Cheerleader CACI Original T-shirt & 2021 Calendar
You get:
A copy of the 2021 CACI Original Calendar sent with our gratitude.
A white CACI original T-shirt (Available Sizes below)
S) Chest 49cm/19.2”; Length 66cm/26”
M) Chest 52cm/20.5”; Length 70cm/27.5”
L) Chest 55cm/21.6”; Length 74cm/29”
XL) Chest 58cm/22.8”; Length 78cm/30.7”
A PDF copy of the CACI report detailing how your donations together are helping rescue birddogs.
A heartfelt thank-you email
Your individual/group/company name gets a mention as a sponsor in the official blog/Facebook page (Please apply if desired)
*You can also join the campaign mixing and matching different types of donations or even clicking the same type multiple times to get the total sum you wish to provide.
No. of Users … Number available: No limits Mailed: December 2020
Please note that the calendar and T-shirt are only available for a Japan address. 

30,000JPY Mobiliser: Give the dog a home! A loving family for abandoned birddogs!
We are able to make full and effective use of your donation with your cost-cutting approach to rewards. Thank you.
You get:
A PDF copy of the CACI report detailing how your donations together are helping rescue birddogs.
A heartfelt thank-you email
Your individual/group/company name gets a mention as a sponsor in the official blog/Facebook page. (Please apply if desired)
*You can also join the campaign mixing and matching different types of donations or even clicking the same type multiple times to get the total sum you wish to provide.
No. of Users … Number available: No limits Mailed: December 2020

50,000JPY Power Mobiliser: Give the dog a home! A loving family for abandoned birddogs!
We are able to make full and effective use of your donation with your cost-cutting approach to rewards. Thank you.
You get:
A PDF copy of the CACI report detailing how your donations together are helping rescue birddogs.
A heartfelt thank-you email
Your individual/group/company name gets a mention as a sponsor in the official blog/Facebook page. (Please apply if desired)
*You can also join the campaign mixing and matching different types of donations or even clicking the same type multiple times to get the total sum you wish to provide.
No. of Users … Number available: No limits Mailed: December 2020

100,000JPY Champion Mobiliser: Give the dog a home! A loving family for abandoned birddogs!
We are able to make full and effective use of your donation with your cost-cutting approach to rewards. Thank you.
You get:
A PDF copy of the CACI report detailing how your donations together are helping rescue birddogs.
A heartfelt thank-you email
Your individual/group/company name gets a mention as a sponsor in the official blog/Facebook page. (Please apply if desired)
*You can also join the campaign mixing and matching different types of donations or even clicking the same type multiple times to get the total sum you wish to provide.

No. of Users … Number available: No limits Mailed: December 2020
Overseas donations: how to enter your address
Please fill out the Japanese form as detailed below to register successfully:
Enter your Zip Code: Please type 000-0000
Enter the Prefecture you live in: Choose one at random
City/Town: Type in the letter a (no caps).
Street name etc.: Type in the letter a (no caps)
Enter your Surname: Type in your family name.
Enter your First Name: Type in your first name.
Enter your Telephone Number: Please type 000-0000-0000

We are sorry for the inconvenience and thank you very much for your patience with the system.
 ※If you have chosen to have your name mentioned as a sponsor in the official hp and blog, please be aware of the legal restrictions listed in the terms of service (Japanese only) （https://readyfor.jp/terms_of_service#appendix）
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