Unfortunately, the ravages of age and illness do not always allow us the luxury of enjoying the close-proximity, human-pet bonding relationship. Dog-owners who are handicapped, become incapacitated or are otherwise incapable of caring for their pet-dog, are not able to enjoy the close bond relationship with their pet dog.
People in rehabilitation centers, independent, assisted living facilities or those with other hardships face a similar challenge and find it extremely difficult or impossible to provide a comfortable, safe and loving home for their pet-dog.
With this in mind, the CBF seeks to establish Canine Residences in Supporting People (CRiSP). For those who are incapable of taking care of their beloved pet dog, this program would provide an alternative safe, comfortable loving home.
Pet dogs are extremely valuable companions to their owners. CRiSP will serve as a preferable lifestyle to maintaining what would otherwise become a difficult, or impossible relationship between owners and their beloved pet dog.
The CRiSP program gives dog owners total comfort knowing that their beloved pet and lifelong friend will be well provided throughout the remainder of its life. Keeping dogs out of shelters not only saves the life of the dog, but also brings huge relief to the owners who can still visit with their beloved canine companions during their lifetime.
CBF will be offering opportunities at all levels to participate and encourage others to become involved in the CRiSP program. These range from dedicated volunteer Residence Providers to Regional Directors to C-level executives.
Benefits will be provided by dedicated volunteer Residence Providers who make their homes available for the complete care of these pet dogs. Residence Providers will be selected and vetted from among households who have experience in the care and handling of dogs.
Regional Directors, who will be selected from among the most qualified Residence Providers in their region and will have full responsibility for selecting, vetting and overseeing qualified Residence Providers.
The CBF is in the process of seeking an experienced Chief Executive Officer to implement, promote and grow the new CRiSP initiative as well as administer Jazzy’s Place. The CEO will be responsible for overall management and fundraising, including donor solicitation, event planning, volunteer recruitment as well as selecting qualified Regional Directors.
The CEO will interface with estate attorneys, financial planners preparing their clients’ estate plans, whose clients are potential dog-owner contributors. The CBF welcomes any contributions, funded endowments, bequests or pledges from client dog-owners in their estate plans.
David Reid and Maria Bensley Caplan will sponsor all fundraising expenses for the CRiSP program. The Caplan’s will also make available Millbrook Estate as the operational and fundraising headquarters for CRiSP.
The CBF will cover the client-owner’s dog’s food, grooming, medical and living expenses related to the dog’s well-being during its entire life. However, in certain circumstances, CBF will look for financial participation, support and guidance from dog owners, especially in end-of-life situations.
Financial assistance received from CRiSP beneficiaries will be voluntary from dog owners who are financially able to contribute. Because of more fortunate contributors, others with limited financial resources will benefit, who would otherwise be deprived of this charitable assistance.
Dog owners and all contributors can have complete confidence knowing that 100% of their donations will be totally dedicated to fulfilling the charitable benefits of the CRiSP program rather than for fundraising expenses.
The CBF will provide financial support to ensure the highest standards are met. Operational and administrative expenses for the CRiSP program will be funded by the CBF. This will include compensation to the Regional Directors, and out-of-pocket expenses to Residence Providers as well as costs associated with training emotional support and comfort dogs.
Risks for Residence Providers, Regional Directors and dog-owners will be mitigated by a thorough vetting process to ensure that all parties are protected. Unfortunately, we live in an imperfect world, but the overall importance and benefits of this program should outweigh those risks.
To be accepted into the CRiSP program, owner-client dogs must meet specific maximum size, breed and health conditions. All dogs must be nonaggressive, people friendly with an affectionate disposition and not prone to excessive barking.
It is the hope of the Caplan-Bensley Foundation that the success of this program will encourage other families to foster and enjoy these lovable pet-dogs by welcoming them into their homes. In doing so, many dogs would be saved from being placed in animal shelters and spared from otherwise unfortunate and unmentionable consequences. Instead, these wonderful dogs would live out their lives in a beautiful and loving home environment.