Me and a friend are thinking about setting up a snall rescue kennel. My friend has unused stables which could easily be converted into probably about 5ish kennels.
At the minute its only a thought and idea really- we both have lots of spare time and finances available to be able to do this but we really dont know the first place to start on more of the practical stuff....
IF we did do this we would probably prefer to rescue the dogs on death row at pounds across the country but how do recues go about getting the dogs from the pound...do rescues have to pay as i think the general public do to release the dogs from pounds? or is there some other way??

I havnt looked into how/if we could become a registered charity and how we go about doing so?

We like the idea of only being small so maybe we could give the dogs alot more individual attention therefore helping 'disturbed' dogs more than larger kennels can.

Id appreciate peoples opinion on whether this is a good idea or not and any info people can pass on.
thankyou.

I would wonder that giving a donation to local kennels, already well experienced in rescue, or donating time to walk dogs etc wouldn't be a bad idea? I would imagine it takes a great deal of paperwork to set up a charity, to gain charity status I think you will need to prove a 'need' for the type of charity you are planning.

I think it is a fantastic idea,

If your heart is telling you to do this then let your head catch up with all the details, if you contact business eye
or your equivalent (I live in wales) they can give you all the support you need to get set up and established, your local council,
probably the dog warden would have the responsibility of licensing your establishment so I would probably start there and ask lots of questions.

Setting up a registered charity is not a difficult process.

lots of info here http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/registration/faqpage.asp 

Good luck :D

http://www.petrescue.com/library/start-rescue.htm
Although an American site this covers a lot of the areas you will need to consider

I would also say when you say you have time how much time and are you prepared to work most weekends and into the evenings as it will undoubtably take over your lives ! 

Hi, there is alot more involved then just a space and a charity number. A quarantine area is a must, especially since you plan to take from the pound. I quarantine new arrivals for two weeks before I have them vacc'd, for example. Vet costs can balloon in no time, all it takes is one seriously ill dog. So you need to have a good vet close by. Spay/neuter, full vacc, worm, deflea, feeding and accessories all costs money. You also need to keep a space in case a rehomed dog *bounces* from his/her new family.  Also, you need to have alot of paperwork, i.e. HC questionaires, rehoming contracts, surrender forms (public/owner) and so on. And you need to be prepared that all your spare time will be eaten up with cleaning, walking, assessing, socialising the dogs etc, transport runs, HC's, runs to the vet and so on. I don't even know when I have had a day off last... It IS very rewarding but you need to let your head rule over your heart and you must be absolutely sure that you are able for it. This is a 24/7 job, 365 days a year. I am not sure how it works in the UK but you may have to apply for a licence?

Why not contact a local rescue kennels and say you can offer kennel space for them. Sometime done with Cats Protection if they haven't any cattery space?.

the local dog warden nor council dont need to give you a licence, that is for private boarding kennels only.
there is no licensing scheme for rescue kennels as yet.
you will have to consider noise and neighbours, which is where the environmental health dept of your local council might be involved.

there is a rescue called rochdale dog rescue which frees up dog from pounds and is always looking for places.
as are last chance in edenbridge, or Big GSD in Surrey.
i might be wrong, but i think you can start a charity before registering it with the charity commission.
you gain many benefits by being registered, such as tax exemption.

if taking dogs directly from pounds, you should be very careful.
they will need complete assessing before rehoming (ie, dog to dog, dog to cat, dog to kids, etc etc etc), then you will need to be prepared to take the dog back if it doesnt work out, which cuts into your kennel availability.
which is why going thru RDR helps, as they does some sort of assessment before moving them on to other organisations.

You'd probably need to apply for planning permission as a 'change of use'.

I have taken several dogs from Rochdale and can highly reccomend them.