HURRICANE MELISSA INFORMATION
We have made connection with the rescue and both Dominique and Les are safe, as are all of the dogs. The rescue, however took on significant damage to the kennels, yard and house that will need to be repaired. We are working on getting the dogs evacuated so that they are safe and ready for new homes and lives and so we can rebuild without the chaos of caring for the animals. We will rebuild and we will come back stronger and with even more resolve for the future.
If anyone has contacts in the USDA Animal Import office (currently shut down due to the government shutdown) or can work with us as a liaison for bringing an evacuation flight of dogs into the US, please reach out to us through this website or on our Facebook page.
A few requests:
PLEASE DO NOT MAKE PLANS TO TRAVEL TO NEGRIL TO HELP:
We are getting a lot of offers for people wanting to travel to Negril and assist the rescue in person. Right now, we are following the guidance of several international relief organizations including Humane World for Animals, Wings of Rescue and others. As such, we are asking anyone who is interested in volunteering to help (in any way) fill out the form at the attached link. There are numerous reasons why we need to control the response of in-person support including safety issues, a crippled infrastructure that will need to support organized relief efforts and diversion of critical resources. I know that everyone wants to help, but we need to be smart about this. The rescue will need rebuilding and there are many things that we will be able to do a bit down the road once we know what we are dealing with and what the plan will be overall. Please fill out this form by clicking on the button below.
Do not be discouraged or disheartened if you do not hear back from us immediately. There are two people in the United States trying to coordinate everything and we have to respond to immediate priorities.
SUPPLIES:
We are already getting word from the Jamaican government that ALL aid coming into the country will need to be registered and cleared through the usual customs process. This is certainly going to slow things down a bit, but we have professionals who are guiding us on how to navigate this process. If you are traveling to Jamaica and would like to try to carry supplies, keep in mind that individuals arriving with aid will be under scrutiny as well and the risk is there for confiscation. We will post a list of needed items on our website on the donation page under Carry Supplies. As this time, we do not have an updated list other than the standard items we always need.
On October 30, the Prime Minister made a declaration designating Jamaica as a disaster area and has granted the relief of import duty and general consumption tax on goods imported by the general public to assist in recovery efforts for a period of 30 days. To learn more – CLARIFICATION ON CUSTOMS RELIEF MEASURES FOR HURRICANE MELISSA RECOVERY – Ministry of Finance & Public Service.
FOR FUNDRAISING — which is honestly the BEST thing that anyone can do right now, there are several ways to support us:
TO DONATE:
Visit negrilpuprescue.com/donate (check on our website if your workplace offers donation matching) or
E-transfer – domchapman68@gmail.com
**The tip is optional on the website. Choose Custom and enter $0 and your donation will be fee-free!
If you prefer to use Venmo:
@Negril_Pup_Rescue — USE THIS LINK – https://venmo.com/u/Negril_Pup_Rescue . There are scam accounts set up. If they are asking for the phone number, it is NOT US.
PayPal: negrilpuprescue@gmail.com
TO FUNDRAISE ON OUR BEHALF:
To start a fundraising campaign, click on the button below. It will ask you how you would like to contribute. Click on “I Want to Help Fundraise”. Set your campaign target, add your profile pic and fill out the form. Once you are done with the process, it will give you your own link to share and an email will be sent with best-case suggestions.
You will setup your own page/custom link that has your fundraising goal. You can disseminate your link via email or social media asking people to donate (be sure to remind them to choose the custom tip and enter $0 so the donation is fee-free). When they donate, securely using credit card, ACH transfer, Google or Apple Pay, the money will be automatically directed to the Hurricane Recovery Fund and will be available to us almost immediately.
Thank you to everyone for your support, prayers, inquiries, offers to help, donations, shares, tags and advocacy. Know this. We will do whatever it takes to rebuild and emerge stronger. Your support now will make it easier for us to move forward when that time comes.