Hello! I know this game probably doesn't need any further guides but I have a huge passion for animal welfare and this game has been a great experience for myself. This guide will be brief, but I'll be giving some very realistic tips that benefit the game and those who may dream of starting their own rescue/shelter. Once we finish our wonderful tips, I'll show you some great animals we have waiting for their forever homes.

A little about myself;
I've been in animal rescue and other animal welfare jobs since 2011 and as of 2022 (I'm 30), I started my own animal rescue called Coming Back Home Rescue. We are a foster-based organization in Ohio(US) that focuses on pulling animals pending euthanization all over the United State. What that means is, there are a lot of animals who were found as strays or surrendered by their owners to find themselves in shelters. Unfortunately, shelters are overcrowded - meaning there are more animals than they can hold. Often times, these animals will be put to sleep because there is no space for them, or funds. That is the very lighthearted way of putting it. Those who are actively in animal welfare know how difficult it is working behind the scenes.

In 2021 - I went to college for Animal Welfare and Shelter Management to prepare me for my own rescue. It was a great course but not required if you ever plan on opening your own shelter/rescue. If you have many years of experience, you probably won't need to go (don't put yourself in debt).


Coming Back Home Rescue

We do travel for adoptions and we help out our community or even our out-of-state friends should they ever have any questions about their pets, training and any general information. You are more than welcome to look up the rescue, reach out and be like; "Are you that person on Steam?" and I will be like, "Yup. That's me."

Now, let's move on to some amazing tips!

You start up the game and your first task is to pick a life to save. That is a very exciting time because there are some many animals in the world needing help and some just absolutely gorgeous animal, while others in serious need of medical help - strong fighters of their life.

So, you run over to the computer and starting out, you'll only have one option but you'll quickly see that list will grow. Now, a shelter or rescue looks for animals to save no differently. We get on our social media, or check our emails and sometimes even receive phone calls to see who needs rescued. Your new animal could be coming from the streets, a shelter, perhaps the previous owner could no longer care for said animal - and each animal has a story to tell. Maybe it's a real sad story or maybe a story that isn't too bad. Now that you have selected your the new rescue, it's time for them to be transported to your facility (or home). But, are you prepared?

Starting out, you won't have a large amount of funds but enough to get the essentials. You'll want to make sure you have the following;

Food
Water
Bowls
Mop

Bowls will already be supplied when you start a new game or troughs if you are starting with the Horse DLC. In the Horse DLC you also don't have to worry about getting water as you would be turning a knob to fill up the water bin. However, for dogs and cats, for every new kennel you set up, you'll want to be sure there are bowls.

I typically start out with 3 things of food/water and place them on a shelf near the kennels. When running a shelter or rescue, you want to be sure you have enough food for the amount of rescues you have. One large bag of dog food could probably last us a month with two medium-sized dogs (and that's not a lot). Food is one area that many rescues/shelters will struggle with especially in a neighborhood that may not be doing well economically (and, yes - where you start your rescue plays a huge part in how much support you will receive). For your animals, you can use tap water as long as it is safe for general human consumption - but it is always better to use purified water as Fluoride can be in your tap water which can have a negative impact on the animals health.

Additionally, you'll want to grab a mop to keep your kennels clean from urine. There is a broom in the office that can be used to clear up debris (dark spots on the kennel floors). Sanitation is HUGE for any shelter and rescue as it can easily make or break your organization. Before a new animal comes into your rescue, always check your stock and funds. If you can afford to save them by all means do so. If not, don't put yourself in a dangerous position. One important thing we teach is;
"We can't save them all."
Listing will expire and perhaps we can say that another rescue saved that animal.

Great, now we know to make sure we are keeping our rescue afloat while making sure we have enough supplies for the animals coming in. Something you'll have to routinely do. I'm sure you'll just want to play and pet your new animals all day, and you can on slow days! However, as you grow, you might start become overwhelmed among the needs of many. Animals will get dirty, horses love rolling in dirt, animals are getting sick for no apparent reason and before long - you have a mess on your hands. Which animal are you suppose to attend to first?

Having a system will be super helpful to keep it under control even if in reality, that won't always be the case. Here is a system I use to keep my panic levels low;

Medical Check-Up: Is the animal coming in sick? Get them to the vet as soon as possible and follow the suggested testing. Personally, I'm lazy and will just send the samples off via mail but you can do whichever you prefer. Always, always make sure you have your medical supplies in stock. You don't want to be out of plaster and have to wait for some more. While in the game, that isn't such a big deal - that may not be the case in real life. Perhaps you accidentally clip a nail too close, it starts to bleed and it turns out you don't have any KwikStop on hand to stop the bleeding. You can't keep everything in stock but definitely keep the immediate important stuff in stock (like first-aid kits). While you are waiting for your samples to come back or maybe the timer to go down before administering the next dose of medicine, I move on to the next step.

Bath Time: Now, not every animal is going to like bath time. There are "lazy baths" to make it as stress free as possible. Thankfully, in the game, you won't have that issue. As you are waiting, give your animal a bath and/or a good brushing. Their hygiene will never be 100% coming in and horses will roll around in their straw or dirt making your life that much harder. Before starting this game, I always wanted to add horses to our rescue. Playing this game, I am rethinking a lot of things. (Putting horses in the exam room will prevent them from getting dirty). If the pet doesn't seem to need a bath right away, it wouldn't be a bad idea to use that time to do stock check in all departments or work on some other areas.

Feeding and Watering: Now, typically, I try to fill food and water BEFORE an animal comes in as one leaves that way I don't have to think about that later. Realistically, you can still that as long as the room is cleaned, and the bowls have been washed. You don't want food or water sitting out to get stale though. It'll lose nutritional value and can make an animals stomach upset. If you did not do that prior, now would be a good time to do so.

Pets and Playtime: If your shelter is not metaphorically on fire, give that animal some TLC before heading off. Shelters and some rescues have a hard time giving animals a decent amount of time for that TLC due to staffing shortages. If you have a shelter or rescue near you, I recommend volunteering when you have free time. Just excuse them if they seem busy or having a rough time.

Your routine is yours alone and however it is set up would ideally work for you. Regardless, routine is important, don't let them catch you slacking. Misfortune is around every corner.

It can be hard seeing them go and wondering if your rescues are doing alright in their new homes. However, for new lives to be saved, your past resident have to find their new forever homes. Adding new animals while your past residents are still present can be a poor choice leading to overcrowding. On the other hand, bringing in new animals brings in new attention to both the new animals and current ones. It's important to evaluate your situation before bringing more animals in.

"Rocket" in Foster to Adopt Starting (3/19/24)

In the game and in reality; you'll be tasked with finding the right home for your rescue. Pay attention to their traits as you don't want to put an active dog in a home that prefers staying home or someone who needs a lot of training in a home that doesn't have a lot of time. You'll head to your computer and start looking at applications taking your rescue animal's traits in mind and sometimes not all traits are pleasant - but could be reasonable given their past. Conduct a virtual home visit to see what your applicants are all about and try to match the applicants desired traits as close to the animals. Home needs are very important to as some may need a home with a lot of free time. This is no exception in reality.

When our organization conducts a home visit, it's not about snooping through anyone's belongings or questioning every fine detail in their home. Instead, we want to make sure of the following things;

"Akeela" Seeking Home since 6/2023

1. Their home is properly secured meaning no broken windows a cat or dog can escape from or broken doors. Fences are properly secured or adopters understand that the dog has to be secured via tie out or leash when outsides.
2. Their home fits the description on the application.
3. The applicant does not keep anything dangerous out for the animals to get into like poisons, or weapons (we have had stories of knives falling on pets).
4. The home is a safe and nurturing environment. If they have pets already, It is important to see if they are they scared of the owners or show a positive attitude towards them.

"Lenny" Seeking Home since 10/23

Many times, we bring the animal to the home visit to see how they react in their environment. If for example, Lenny went to a home visit and we started to see a lot of fearful / stress signals compared to his usual goofy-self - we might take into account that the environment may not be right for Lenny. This isn't to say the people are bad, but something the environment can make animals uneasy. Like, if they have a lot of dark corners to a room or a lot of stairs. Most cases, we offer a foster to adopt where they will take an animal for about a week to see how it goes. If they continue to struggle, they would come back to us. Or, should something else take place. Best case scenario, everything works out and the animals is adopted!

I hope this guide was a nice little read for you. I don't suspect anyone to take this to heart for their game but I know there are a lot of dreamers out there. Hope you continue to save those amazing little virtual lives and perhaps one day, you'll consider saving a shelter pet in need. Remember, keep a routine and you'll have those achievements in no time.