Desperate Paws of Orange County Dog Club

DPOC DOG CLUB FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS FAQs

Welcome to the Desperate Paws of Orange County Dog Club (“DPOC”). Since our founding in January 2010, we have experienced a remarkable increase in membership on a weekly basis. As can be expected, questions and concerns arise. Therefore the Leadership Team has compiled the FAQs below for your convenience and to enhance your experience as a member. Your membership signifies your acknowledgement and agreement to be a responsible dog owner.

Thank You,

The Leadership Team

Q. Who can join the Club?
A. Anyone can join. It’s open to all responsible dog owners and their well-behaved dogs who wish to have fun and also follow the Club’s Mission Statement. There are no restrictions and we Do Not Discriminate. The more the merrier!

Q. Are there any breed restrictions?
A. No. The Club will never discriminate against any members or any breed of dog. It’s available to anyone who wishes to follow the Mission Statement and have fun with their dog with other great dog owners and their dogs.

Q. What are the goals of the Dog Club?
A. Our goals are simple: to create, hold and host fun dog-friendly activities so that the Members and their Dogs can have fun; experience the best of life; and meet new and great dog owners and their dogs. We are also expanding the roles our dogs play in our daily lives by holding events in dog-friendly venues and establishments for you and your dog to enjoy. Because Dogs are People, Too!

Additionally, the Club advocates for dog welfare and adoption so we can help aid our needy dogs in our own community. Not all dogs are as fortunate to have wonderful PARENTS like our PAWS do!

Q. What is the future of the Dog Club?
A. Our long term goals are to have a Not-For-Profit Desperate Paws Dog Club in every major city in the country allowing for members everywhere to have more fun with their dogs while giving back to their own needy and adoptable dogs in their community.

Q. Are there dues or fees to join the club?
A. No, there are no dues or fees. However, in order to keep this Club operating, growing and able to put on fun dog friendly events, we do ask for a $10.00 yearly donation from Members. This donation is less than a dollar a month, to keep the Club holding fun activities for you and your dog.

In 2010, costs to operate The Club, paid by The Club’s Founders, was $1,460.00, which didn’t include the over 30 hours a week our Leadership Team spends working, marketing, advertising, networking, answering emails and correspondence, as well as organizing the Dog Club’s activities.

Cost Estimates for 2011 will be significantly larger with insurance costs, incorporation fees, attorney fees, and State and Federal filing fees plus normal operating expenses and taxes from the 2010 Fiscal Year “PAW IT FORWARD” donations as the dog club is not yet a 501c3 Non Profit Corporation.

Also, some Events, Activities, Outings, and Expos require a fee to participate. However, none of these fees collected goes to the Dog Club, its Leadership Team, or Members. They are strictly paid to the venue for allowing the club to utilize their venue, services or products. We take the utmost care to keep outings FREE or if not free very inexpensive.

Q. How can I donate to the Dog Club?
A. You can go to the dog club site, log in and just above the Leadership Team on the left side of the website, it says donations. Please click on it and you will be given a Paypal Option or if you don’t have a Paypal account you can always mail a check directly to the Dog Club’s Mailing Address listed there.

Q. What is the best way to find that new cherished family member?
A. The Club promotes adoption as the best way of finding that new cherished family member. You can walk into any shelter today in Southern California and find any breed of dog you are looking for, and if not, they can help point you in the right direction. One example is Petfinder.com which has 1,000’s of resources and listings from puppies, young adults and older dogs all in need of homes.

Q. What about responsible dog breeders?
A. The Club neither endorses nor opposes responsible breeders. We do however have a very strict definition of what a responsible breeder is:

“Responsible Breeders only breed their dogs for the betterment of the dog standard. They never breed their dogs until such time as there are new owners who have put down a deposit on the puppies from the litter. They limit the number of litters a dog will have and usually do not breed them but two or three times in their lifetime.

They never breed their dogs for the purpose of profiting off the puppies they sell. They don’t have more dogs than they can properly care for and none of the dogs are kept or housed in cages or chained or restricted in anyway. They are simply treated as fantastic members of the family who also happen to be a terrific example of the breed standard.

They have all their breeding pairs thoroughly examined and tested for genetic diseases, conditions and abnormalities so as to make sure and not pass on any undesirable diseases or traits to their puppies. They will only sell their puppies with limited registration capabilities. By limiting the registration it allows the puppy they are selling to be registered, but not the puppies that puppy would have. They will gladly accept any and all the dogs back at any time which they produce through their breeding operation.

Lastly, they will not ship their puppies; sell them to pet shops, brokerages, or directly over the internet. These practices do not allow for the breeder to make sure that their puppies are a proper fit for the new owner or the home environment they will be going into.”

Q. Who profits from the “PAW IT FORWARD” Campaign?
A. NO ONE, only the needy and adoptable Dogs. 100% of all funds collected goes to funding adoption events from our county’s high kill shelters and is strictly utilized for this purpose. Neither, the Dog Club, its Leadership Team nor any Member of the Dog Club receives one penny from the donations to the Campaign.

Q. Why should I support the “PAW IT FORWARD” Campaign?
A. 100% of the funds collected through the “PAW IT FORWARD” Campaign goes directly to placing dogs into their new forever homes from our local shelters. Many of those dogs placed from the adoption events are on their last days in the shelter.

Also, all the dogs which are adopted through the “PAW IT FORWARD” Adoption Events receive FREE dog training classes, to ensure these dogs will never end up back into our shelter system due to behavioral issues. It also allows for these dogs to lead full and active lives with their new families.

Through the “PAW IT FORWARD” Campaign we are placing the dogs directly into their new forever homes, not into a foster home, and then hopefully into their new forever home.

By donating to this campaign and placing the dogs directly into their new forever homes it limits the stress these dogs experience as much as possible. They only need to make one transition through our adoption events, instead of two or three depending on how many times a foster parent changes hands with that dog in a rescue or the dog being returned to a rescue because the adoptive parents couldn’t deal with the dog’s behavior issues, which is often the reason the dog was placed into a shelter or rescue to begin with.

Most important, by donating to the Campaign, you are helping the needy and adoptable dogs right here in Our Community which desperately need your help.

Q. Where can I see an accounting for the “PAW IT FORWARD” Campaign?
A. Members can see the donations collected from each activity the dog club holds where donations were accepted or received for the “PAW IT FORWARD” Campaign on our Accounting Sheet. To view the Accounting Sheet for the “PAW IT FORWARD” Campaign, look under the More Tab at the top of the website, and then in the Files Pages. There you can also see how much money was donated to a specific adoption event or rescue organization.

Q. Do I need to RSVP and why is it important to update my RSVP status?
A. Yes. By RSVPing it allows for us to have an accurate count of how many people and who will be attending, as well as what is needed for the event. It’s also how we calculate things like dog meals needed for restaurant outings as well as space required.

Our Sponsors who are providing the venue, and helping the Club by PAWING IT FORWARD, are preparing and reserving space in their restaurants, donating Doggie Gift Bags, Joel Robinson of Naturalist For You is donating his time for our hiking series and other activities, so RSVPing and following through with your RSVP is just good common manners. Please be respectful of everyone and don’t RSVP Yes unless you intend on attending. If you did RSVP Yes and your plans change and you cannot attend then please be sure and update your RSVP. There is also no need to RSVP no. If you didn’t RSVP yes, then we would not expect you to attend.

NOTE: Failure to attend any closed outing (not held in a public place or one with an RSVP attendee limit) which you RSVP’d “yes” two times in any 6-month period will result in your membership being removed from our roster. We strongly encourage everyone to be considerate and show up when you have committed to show up at a scheduled event.

Q. Who should I RSVP for?
A. It’s not necessary to count your PAWS as a guest. However, DPOC always welcomes new guests and their PAWS to our events. Please indicate the number when you RSVP. Just remember to update your RSVP in the event of any last minute changes.

Q. Why can’t I RSVP for an outing, event, expo, or activity or see where the event is happening?
A. You must make sure that you are logged into the Dog Club Site on Meetup.com. If you are not logged in, you will not be able to RSVP or see the location of the event.

Q. Why am I getting all these emails?
A. The Dog Club sends pertinent emails when necessary for purposes of clarification or changes. If you receive any email that says, “Meetup” as the sender, it was sent from Meetup Headquarters, not DPOC. Any email that does not show “Stephen and Brandi”, “DPOC DOG CLUB” or “Patricia” as the sender was not sent by the Leadership Team. Members can adjust their email settings within their DPOC profile.

Q. Do I need to vaccinate my dog before attending an activity?
A. The Dog Club cannot require that you vaccinate your dog. All we can do is to inform you that many things like “Kennel Cough” are highly contagious and while the vaccines are not fool proof, they are the best defense available on the market. Also, by law your dog is required to be vaccinated for Rabies and registered with the proper city or county agency.

We take the utmost care in making sure that all the dogs are safe at the Dog Club Activities, which is why there is no communal water available, and we will remove aggressive dogs from any activity.

Fortunately, we have not had a single aggressive dog at any activity or any incidences involving a dog.

If you have any other questions or concerns that weren’t addressed here in the FAQs, please do not hesitate to ask the Leadership Team. We are more than happy to answer any questions or address any concerns you may have. We may also include it here on the FAQs page.

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