Rescue Me! (Come on and Rescue Me!)
Anyone who knows me knows, I love dogs. I always wanted a four legged friend but inherited 'demon cat' instead, had I not, my plan was to get a rescue dog that didn't wake me up at two every morning. With this in mind, it was with great pleasure that I heard that Judy Goldberg - fellow LSFer and all round good egg - wanted to create a show to help vulnerable canines in need of a good home, hence 'The Rescue Show'. The idea being for a web-based show that gets animals the immediate help, and/or home that they need. Thus, following a lead, (sorry, couldn't resist) I chased Judy through the park, stopped for a scratch and barked some questions.
So, Judy, how did the concept for ‘The Rescue Show’ come about?
I was obsessed with dogs as a child and yearned to be a vet, unfortunately, that plan was scuppered when they discovered I was allergic to cats… whilst living in a house with eight cats! My other love was filmmaking. 'The Rescue Show' is the perfect fusion of both passions, to pair my film skills with my aspirations to save animals.
...and when did you come up with the idea?
I had a lightbulb moment driving to work; I’d recently written a short film / PSA to highlight the plight of dogs in the pound. I was (and still am) intent on getting it made but realistically the process, beginning to end, takes at least a year and I was frustrated because I wanted to help dogs now.
I’ve done my share of TV, mainly magazine format shows. Many of these focused on subjects like travel, sport, or film, with special guest interviews, vt’s and so on. Then it struck me, why not do that show format focused entirely on dogs, where the special guests are rescue dogs and their rescuers?
Anytime I see a rescue dog appeal on terrestrial TV, even if you fall head over heels in love and are fully committed to taking on a dog, the audience is SO vast that the dogs feel completely unreachable and ultimately unattainable. By keeping 'The Rescue Show' web based, the audience responses to the animals can be immediate and direct.
Who inspired you to offer your help?
It all started with a conversation with @RoadmapWriters founder Joey Tuccio, who does great work in the rescue community in LA. During that conversation, I first heard the expression ‘Kill Shelter’ where, in the US, many healthy shelter dogs are routinely put to sleep due to over crowding. I naively thought that it was just a US thing but as soon as the call ended I jumped on google and discovered, sadly, that was not the case - in the UK any dog (healthy, or otherwise) that finds its way into the pound has just seven days to be reclaimed before legally facing euthanasia. This was absolutely devastating to me. That was the moment I woke up!
Not long after that, I volunteered with a couple of Animal Welfare charities and started transporting rescue dogs either from pounds to rescue, or from rescue to new foster or forever home. It is very rewarding work but ultimately I wanted to do more. My social media feeds are FULL of rescue dogs needing new homes.
Pounds and rescue centres are consistently over capacity, the smaller rescue centres are overwhelmed and under resourced, consequently thousands of healthy dogs are put down. This is completely unacceptable to me and if 'The Rescue Show' can help put a dent in those numbers then my mission will be accomplished… far from over but accomplished.
How did you get others onboard with the idea?
Like attracts like! The majority of 'The Rescue Show' team are my closest friends and colleagues. Not only are we are all dog lovers, owners and rescuers, we all work together as well. They were onboard before I even asked. Outside of my immediate professional circle, anyone that knows me or has seen my social media knows that I’m obsessed with dogs, I knew from the likes, comments, follows and what not that there was a dog loving community within my community. All I had to do was to make the commitment and say it out loud. Once I did that, the supporters were quick to raise their hands. Dog lovers aren’t usually shy to come forward when they sniff out a member of their own pack `:0)
What’s your favourite breed of dog and why?
With apologies to my rescues in residence Angus (Terrier cross) and Talulah (Jack Russell), my absolute favourite has to be the Labrador. I had two yellow Labs growing up and there’s just something about them. The Lab of my life is a gorgeous boy called Bailey who’s not even my dog! We fell in love over ten years ago when I was delivering groceries for Asda. We were recently reunited and it was amazing – I love that boy so much! It’s a lovely story, too long for me to repeat here but you can read all about it and watch the reunion here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/therescueshow/permalink/887750064890663/
What are your longer term intentions with the show and how do you plan to achieve them?
I’m laser focused on the Pilot right now, strategically it’s imperative that we produce the highest quality show possible with the budget and resources we have. The aim with the Pilot is to come out of it with a viable product that FIRST AND FOREMOST delivers on the promise of finding new homes for the dogs we feature. That product (the Pilot) will then serve as proof of concept to bring on board sponsors and additional partners. This should provide the backers to facilitate the production of the rest of Season 1 (8 episodes total). This will only be achieved by a shed load of hard work, passion and commitment – from me, from the team and from the backers (present and future). The good news is that, myself and the rest of the team are absolutely loving this. We’re loving the work, loving the challenge and the potential and…we’re not going to stop!
What’s been the biggest challenge in getting the kickstarter going?
The biggest challenge was learning all the stuff I didn’t’ know that I didn’t know. I’m no stranger to crowd-funds, I’ve run one before and have been surrounded at work by filmmaker friends and colleagues running their own – some more successfully than others. I really thought I knew what I was about to embark on but It has been and continues to be a massive learning curve. Luckily for me, one of my closest friends Vanessa Bailey is a crowdfunding genius. She’s been guiding me through the process. Vanessa has four rescue dogs of her own and will be one of my co-hosts on the show. She’s very much invested in the cause and has been a fountain of crowdfunding knowledge and advice from Day 1 – she’s saved me from a multitude of rookie mistakes. Good cause or not, I dread to think the mess I might have been in were it not for her.
How do you keep up momentum when you are juggling other projects?
By going the extra mile... and it’s not hard to go the extra mile when you’re in love, focused and 100% committed to your cause. I always put a lot of pressure on myself to keep creating new, fresh and entertaining content. It's hugely important for a primarily social media driven campaign. However, as I said earlier ‘Like attracts like’ and I’ve found that since I put this concept out into the universe that content and momentum is finding me.
Ree Hee Hee Hee. If you had to rehouse Scooby Doo, or Snoopy which would you choose and why?
Good question! I've got a lot of love and time for both those puppers but if I had to choose…Snoopy all the way. Snoopy was part of my childhood and was definitely wrapped up in past Judy’s obsession with dogs. I love me a little bit of Scooby but my desert island pup would be Snoopy all day long.
(Just as well, Scooby would scoff your budget! Ed.)
If the show's successful, do you think there is room to do this for other animals too and what would you say to those who dismiss taking an older animal on the grounds of vets bills and so forth?
Absolutely, yes, there’s room for other animals. The focus right now is on the dogs because they are my passion and also because, within the rescue groups I’m involved with, that’s where the greatest need lies. These groups rescue all sorts of furries (and not so furries) – cats, gerbils, rabbits, snakes, lizards, you name it. But month on month the data shows that the dogs being rescued out number the other animals by a good 500%. So, yes, we’re definitely up for widening the proposition to other animals in need but for now, while we prove ourselves and find our feet, we’ll focus on the puppers. To anyone dismissive, or resistant to the idea of rescuing a senior animal I would say, please simply open your heart. Go to a rescue shelter, meet some of the older residents, say “Hello”, give them a scratch, look into their eyes and then make a considered and informed decision. If it’s still not an option for you for whatever reason, then fair play. But at least give them a chance. They have just as much (if not more) love to give than the youngsters.
On that note, I grabbed a snack, sniffed a lamp-post and set off for a run round the park!
You can follow the kick-starter by attaching the links to your browser for 'The Rescue Show' here:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/therescueshow/the-rescue-show-pilot-episode https://www.facebook.com/groups/therescueshow/
After all, it's a dogs life
Photos as shown are;
Bailey when reunited with Judy. Transporting Merlin, a gorgeous LAB puppy, The lab of Judy's life, Bailey as a young pup, by her Asda van. Meeting her rescue Talulah at Battersea for the first time and Judy meeting her rescue Angus at Battersea.
