BARK, AKA Animals Taiwan Kaohsiung

Life Animal Adoptions & Emergencies
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BARK is our acronym for Animals Rescue Kaohsiung. Just recently, we advertised our first meeting. We plan to get as many of us as possible to sit down and throw some ideas at each other. The goal is simple, we want to help animals in Taiwan.

There is a lot that can be done, Kaohsiung is the second biggest city in Taiwan and there are a lot of animal lovers here. It’s time to get together and use the compassion, generosity and free time we have to make it into something that will really make a difference. It won’t always be easy and I’m sure there will be bumps on the road along the way but while I know little, I know enough to know that there is enough potential in this city to bloody move the Tun-Tex tower.

The exact date isn’t yet written down but we plan to have our first meeting either Sat, April 15 or Sunday, April 16. So far more than 10 of us are getting together. Most of us have not met yet, except for trapjaw and hid girlfriend if they can attend and a few other friends.

Among many other things, here’s what we need:

1-Foster homes for puppies and full grown dogs and cats

2-Help with adoptions, ie: Visits, adoption contracts, pre-adoption and post adoption house-checks, etc.

3-People “on call” to help with rescue missions.

4-Help organizing, coordinating and participating in fund-raising/adoption events.

5-Translation help for fund-raising events and other various things

6-Help with baking cookies(Dog biscuits).

7-Help with promotion and digging out good opportunities for exposure at various hip places in Kaohsiung.

Finally but not the least, we need someone that has a bit of time and the necessary computer knowledge to help us set up our own website. You don’t need to be in Kaohsiung for this.

I’m sure we’ll need help with a variety of other things soon but I think the above is a good head-start. Luckily we have AnimalsTaiwan to look up to for a model, for support and inspiration.

Looking forward to meeting you all, you can contact me at the following address.

AnimalsTaiwanKaohsiung@hotmail.com

Best,

bobepine

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You have a much better acronym than Stray Dog’s set up. ARK like in Noah’s ark, he saved animals too, very clever :wink:

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[quote=“Big Fluffy Matthew”]You have a much better acronym than Stray Dog’s set up. ARK like in Noah’s ark, he saved animals too, very clever :wink:[/quote]Hmm. Shot yourself in the foot there Fluffy. Stray Dog thought of it. :laughing: Seriously, we first thought about BARK (Barely Animals Rescue Kaohsiung) but the barely part didn’t help. Try to find a B word to make it BARK, it’s not easy. SD suggested ARK.

bobepine

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Bobepine’s Animals Rescue Kaohsiung ? If you call yourself BARK that would exclude cats and hamsters, Stray dog probably thought of BARK because he’s got something against hamsters. Either that, or he couldn’t think of words for MEOW.

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Well, there’s one b word that always springs to mind, but I don’t think that would be suitable. I also have an f word and a c word if you’re interested.

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[quote=“irishstu”]Well, there’s one b word that always springs to mind, but I don’t think that would be suitable. I also have an f word and a c word if you’re interested.[/quote]What’s the b word?

bobepine

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Bastard Animal Rescue Kaohsiung of course – most strays are from unmarried mums and dads.

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I’m sure he meant Bitch animal rescue, which makes sense as Taiwanese tend to abandon females more than males (since they feel males don’t need to be spayed :loco: ) .

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Hi all,

Meeting is scheduled (finally!)for 12:30 pm, Saturday April 15th. Smokey Joe, on Yucheng Rd is the place. Looking forward to meet you all! Pm or email if you need directions or if you have any questions.

Chris

AnimalsTaiwanKaohsiung@hotmail.com

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Finally, the animal lovers of Kaohsiung got together. We had our first meeting today. An astonishing 20 people attended! It was really good to meet so many like-minded people. Everyone has my sincere appreciation for taking time out of their busy lives. I’m touched and encouraged too see that so many of you have genuine concerns for the wealth of animals in Taiwan. We are now a network of over 30 volunteers. What a start!

10 of us have agreed to meet again next week at one of the volunteer’s house. There is still a lot of work to do but with that many of us involved, it looks like we’ll be moving fast.

We’ve got a few bilingual volunteers and that’s a great help.

We also have two people, one of of which attended today who will soon be working on setting up a website for all of us. The website will have bits of everyone’s work on it. Pets for adoption, general information, promotion and marketing, rescue diaries, etc,etc. Everyone will have a say as to what they’d like to see on our website.

The founders of www.connectkaohsiung.com were also present and I want to thank them personally for their interest and for their help. Their website is by far the best online resource for the foreign community in Kaohsiung and their support is an asset for our newborn association.

Quite a few people who attended are notorious for helping many animals on a regular basis. I can’t tell you how enthusiastic I am to have met you. I know that your strength and dedication helped with the odd hour or two our group of volunteers can offer, your work will be the foundation of our organization. It already is the foundation of Animal Taiwan Kaohsiung. It’s all looking up from here on, things will change because we will change them! :wink:

Jeez I almost forgot…You guys won’t believe it but Stray Dog pulled the dine and dash on us. No, it’s true! Ate his lunch, gave an awesome presentation, answered many questions with figures and clear explanations. Then he got up, excused himself and split! Just like that. I hope that burrito tasted OK. Dine and dash! I ran behind his taxi screaming and waving for two blocks and I know he saw me but he feigned innocence. :unamused: Dine and dash. Did I say dine and dash? Classic! :laughing:

Thank You!!! :notworthy:

I’ll keep you all posted!

Cheers!

bobepine

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I can’t believe you guys fell for the old ‘start an animal welfare organization and I’ll come down and give my support’ trick!

Works every time. :smiling_imp:

Well organized meeting, Mr and Mrs Bobepine, and I was honoured to meet so many people who have already done so much as individuals to reduce some of the suffering we witness on the streets every day.

Have to dash, but I just want to say I think you guys will be huge in no time, and Kaohsiung’s strays and other needy animals are lucky to have you down there.

Make sure you cc me on stuff where I can offer support or resources.

A very big thank you to the Forumosan who sponsored my flight and who made a very generous donation to the newly formed AnimalsTaiwan - Kaohsiung. :notworthy: :bravo:

BTW, sandman will get my lunch bill, thanks. Just send him the invoice. :wink: :slight_smile:

Cheers all!

Sean

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[quote=“Stray Dog”]
A very big thank you to the Forumosan who sponsored my flight and who made a very generous donation to the newly formed AnimalsTaiwan - Kaohsiung. :notworthy: :bravo: [/quote]That sponsorhip was an investment. One that the animals will benefit from. What you said was far more than I hoped for. You brought substance to our first meeting. You brought hope with you on the plane. You showed us all that it can be done.

I also forgot to thank everyone else involved with AT. Thank you for your support, for your help and for being just so darn nice.

[quote]BTW, sandman will get my lunch bill, thanks. Just send him the invoice. :wink: :slight_smile: [/quote] I must have made a mistake. I think you had the Filet Mignon and six beers come to think of it. :wink:

bobepine

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Just a quick note to everyone to thank you for taking time out of your busy lives to attend our first meeting. It

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What a day for ATK! We had our second meeting today and believe it or not, even more people came. We had an astonishing 22 people attend today. :slight_smile: The meeting was much better set up too. It was quiet, with ample chairs and tables, and we even had a white board. Many thanks to Ruby and Charlie for hosting this meeting with such attention to details.

We now have a structure! :yay: We have a general inquiries coordinator, marketing and event coordinators, we have a merchandise coordinator, and a rescue coordinator(me :sunglasses:). Not to mention we have a website coordinator as well and he’s been doing great work already. I’m not done yet, we have a small group of teachers who are going to put together some educational comic strips, and curriculums to educate both kids and adults about pet care and health, the importance of spaying and neutering pets, the benefits and importance of training your pet, etc, etc. And guess what? Each of these sub-divisions have multiple volunteers and a big to do’s list already.

No, it’s true! Hard to believe but this is shaping up fast. One of the volunteers posted the following on our forum:"…this is how avalanches start ya know… hopefully we can have that kind of impact in a positive way!!!"

Like I said it’s amazing how much energy this city has, the above quote shows how much will there is to help animals, but no resources. We’re going to be it! We’re going to be that resource, we already are! I can’t believe the response we are getting down here. It’s amazing and truly heartwarming.

So…we have our first event planned for may 6th. It will be at a local school.(I will post specifics later) It’s a mother’s day event and we’ll have some puppies and adult dogs showing their stuff. :wink: We’ll also have some treats and merchandise that people can buy if they want to contribute. Young students will be involved in selling treats and handling the animals. It will be an excellent first event. We’re not hoping for miracles, we just need some practice before we tackle the real world… :wink:

We are also working with a lady who’s in the process of putting together an oversea adoption program and she gladly offered to use our name and offer her time to ATK. We can’t tell you how honoured we are. Melissa, founder of www.accesKaohsiung.com also attended our meeting today. Her experience, her broad social circle and her extensive knowledge of Kaohsiung is a true asset. Part of what I consider a pretty solid foundation for ATK.

This said and I can’t think of much else to say at the moment, I want to express my special thanks to some folks here. Sean, 914, Dragonbones, havillina, mordeth, Minou, SHARLEE, Ratlung, Ratbrain, trapjaw, Little Yellow Dog, woodsprite, connel, and others.(My apologies if I forgot anyone). :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy: You have all played a part in this and it’s only the beginning.

Special thanks for the good folks at AT for their trust, their support and for the constant inspiration. And once again, thanks to you Sean and to that very special someone who sponsored your visit to Kaohsiung. I think you shook things up down here. We’ll make you proud!!! :wink:

Finally, thanks to Forumosa. We now have a network of over 50 volunteers and sponsors and you had something to do with it. That’s right, I’m talking to you… Thanks Gus, thanks Maoman. :slight_smile:

Stay tuned and put your hat on folks.

bobepine

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You guys are doing an incredible job, and so quickly! :astonished: :bravo: :slight_smile: :notworthy:

Keep it up - I’m looking forward to seeing how you guys and the AnimalsTaiwan Kaohsiung Branch grow.

Nice. Very nice.

Sean :slight_smile:

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This is excellent news for the animals down here in Kaohsiung. They really have something to look forward to now… :slight_smile: :bravo: :notworthy:

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April 23, 2006

Minutes of the second Animals Taiwan Kaohsiung meeting

* First we discussed our new name. We decided that Animals Taiwan Kaohsiung will be our official name and we will be affiliated with Animals Taiwan in Taipei.
* We agreed that we will work to become self-reliant.
* We discussed, in detail, our structure: what are the responsibilities and priorities of each team
* We discussed who would be on each team. This is what we came up with:


Event Team: Natasha, Natalie, Franceska, Paul

Priorities include:

* organize first event to be held on May 6th at YiChing school:

  • Natasha, Lana, Natalie to bake some homemade goodies to sell.

  • Natalie to make a donation box and some signs

  • Chris to bring puppies and an umbrella

* organize monthly event to be held at Pet
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[quote]Hi everyone,

Thank you to all who attended our last meeting. With all those who have attended our 2 meetings and those on our mailing list we are almost 50 people strong! That’s incredible! There’s no doubt that we are on our way to making good things happen for our furry friends.

Attached are the meeting minutes from our last meeting of Sunday, April 23, 2006. I apologize if I have forgotten anything. I didn

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Way to go you guys! I think your going to turn the island on its head :bravo:

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Finally we have our mission statement drafted. :slight_smile:

It looks like this:

"[i]Animals Taiwan Kaohsiung (ATK), is an affiliate of Animals Taiwan in Taipei. Founded in April 2006, we are a non-profit charitable organization run by volunteers who believe animal suffering is unnecessary and unjust. We believe that kindness to our furry friends will make our world a better place.

Our mission has many fronts driven by the passion of each and every one of our volunteers and supporters. We are working with the community to raise awarness about stray overpopulation in Southern Taiwan. We strive to help pet owners better understand their companions, and also to create more hope for the homeless and suffering animals on a case by case basis.

Southern Taiwan has the heart, the compassion and the resources to address this challenge. It’s through the help of kind hearts and generous hands like yours that we are moving forward to see a day where the animals are no longer sick, hungry and homeless.[/i]"

If it sounds good that’s great. If it sounds OK or if it sounds plain bad to you please say something before we post it on our website.

Cheers!

bobepine