The Lost Dogs Home is again calling for a ‘pet owner licencing scheme’ on the back of their efforts to develop a short pre-adoption quiz for people adopting from their shelter (I know, screening potential adopters before adoption – it’s ‘revolutionary’).

“Pet Licences issued by The Lost Dogs’ Home should be made mandatory across Australia”.
Lost Dogs Home website

But should they really? Lets look at the ‘reasons pets end up in shelters’;

Adoption returns
We can reasonably assume that there isn’t a huge problem with people returning adopted animals to the Lost Dogs Home. If there is, then certainly there is something wrong with the way they’re matching pet to owner and the follow up support they’ve been offering; because this isn’t common amongst rescues. So that could be fixed by the pound doing a better job.

Lost pets
Most intakes of any pound with a Council contract are the result of pets getting loose. This is why pounds exist and that’s ok. Having photos of each animal up on the internet helps owners be reunited with their animals, so the Lost Dogs’s Home could do a better job by taking photo of each pet on intake and getting it up on the web.

Fines, which deter people from collecting their pets, could be waived to people whose pets have never been impounded before – that again is the pound understanding its public and doing a better job.

Surrenders
The smallest intakes of a pound, despite popular opinion, are owner surrenders.

A percentage of people have a genuine or unforseen reason for giving up their pet; moving house, getting sick, pets not getting along, change of family circumstance, loss of job.

A percentage are less-than-genuine (however still valid because if someone doesn’t want their pet, it’s important to get that pet into a new home); including no longer ‘wanting’ the pet, unrealistic expectations of pet ownership, un-treated behavioural problems and unwanted litters.

And some people have genuine reasons relating to that particular pet (unmanageable aggression, hyperactivity, personality clashes between pet and owner, or pets who don’t cope with a change of circumstance, like moving to a smaller property).

It’s complicated

They’re proposing that of the 6 million owned cats and dogs of Australia, of which only a couple of hundred thousand use shelters each year, where most are claimed – and with the myriad of unforseen, genuine reasons for surrender, with only a tiny percentage of pets entering shelters because their owners are fickle…

…. the easiest way to stop shelters killing these animals is to quiz every single pet owning family before they get a pet.

Sorry, what?

The easiest way for the Management of the Lost Dogs Home to effect the number of pets killed in their shelters – is to stop killing pets in their shelters.

- Not killing young, or sick pets who could be saved by foster care.

- Not supporting draconian and unhelpful owner targeting initiatives like the Frankston ‘desex before release’ pound program, mandatory pet desexing or ‘Who’s for Cats’… all of which have seen impoundments and killing surge.

The idea of a national pet owner licencing scheme is nothing but Australia’s most ineffective shelter – the one who kills a larger percentage of their intakes than any other – expanding their failed programs beyond Victoria (the home of some of the worst pet laws in Australia). We must reject the idea, not just because it passes the buck for shelter killing back to ‘bad owners’ – a theory which has since been exploded as simply an excuse for poor shelter performance – but because those who are driving it, have no experience at all in leading a successful, life-saving community.

Let’s not follow any more ‘great’ initiatives from Victoria until they are able to get even one of their communities away from the bulk-killing of shelter animals. Forget the rest of Australia, so far they only work the leaders of animal sheltering in Victoria need to do, is to drag themselves out of the high-kill mentality.

Graeme Smith – CEO – Lost Dogs’ Home

In today’s Sydney Sun-Herald, is a series of articles about the RSPCA and other animal welfare group’s efforts to have the sale of pets through pet shops banned.

> 250,000 healthy cats and dogs killed each year
> No homes for them
> Pet industry ‘needs regulation’

Tighter legislation is needed to regulate dog and cat breeders to stop the slaughter of more than a quarter of a million healthy animals in Australia each year.

Animal welfare groups backed by Sydney lord mayor and NSW independent MP Clover Moore blamed commercial breeders for producing too many animals, and pet shops for the unacceptably high death rate.

Working on the project Where Do Puppies Come From? I know there are enormous problems with the modern pet production industry. Companion animals living in a battery situation is not only wrong on animal welfare grounds, but because it sets dogs up to fail in their future lives as family pets. I get that puppy farms are a repulsive industry that needs to be booted into the history books. I really do.

But the idea that we can wipe out puppy farms through some inventive law, totally oversimplifies the issue. Certainly we can restrict the people who can breed pets, and we can ensure that the farms are clean, rather than dirty (see a related post ‘Should there be a ‘breeder permit’ system?‘), but the idea that banning pet shops sales will somehow lead to less pets killed in shelters, is simply false.

Banning the sale of puppy-mill dogs from pet stores will not stop people from buying puppy-mill dogs. It’ll just send them to the internet where the puppy mills have even less accountability (if that’s possible). Or to the newspaper to buy poorly-bred dogs that way from someone who won’t ask too many questions.
KC Dog Blog

Until we are in a position to compete with pet shops in their own market – genuinely taking a share of their business – we cannot even begin to offer an alternative to pet shop purchases and this business will simply move from pet stores to internet and newspaper traders.

Why people buy from pet shops

Pet shops are located in convenient places, where people go. Being visible the community attracts potential customers, while the animals are presented in clean, well lit and well ventilated enclosures, all at eye height to maximise impact.

They offer convenient opening hours, 7 days a week 9-5. The offer a ‘late night trading’ nights where they stay open 7pm and later. These extended hours attract customers who work, who have families (and money to pay for lifetime care!) and who are looking for a pet.

Staff greet visitors to the store when they enter, helping to determine the reason for the visit and offer assistance. The friendly, upbeat atmosphere and ‘regular customer’ discounts build a relationship that attracts repeat clientele, until eventually the person either returns to purchase a new pet, or simply can’t resist and takes a particular pet home.

500,000, or half a million, puppies are estimated to be sold in pet shops each year. The idea that there aren’t loving families looking for pets (overpopulation), is blown out of the water, when you consider that there is a constant stream of homes available to these pets. Even in the face of high pet shop prices ($400 – $1,500).

Savvy shelters are realising that they have to adopt some of the retail smarts of pet shops. The RSPCA NSW have built the ‘RSPCA Care Centre’ a customer focused retail space to promote adoptions, while the RSPCA QLD have built a mobile adoption van, to get their pets out into the community. The AWL Queensland use 8 ethical pet stores to help them give their pets exposure, while foster care groups are able to join the PetRescue in-store adoption program.

So while advocates complain that pets shops sell too many pets, while pounds are killing theirs – of the thousands of pounds and shelters across the country, only a handful do much to try and offer an equally attractive level of service to potential clients.

The move to internet purchases

If pet shops stopped selling pets tomorrow, this would be how puppy farmers would continue to represent their pets to the public;

And this would be how pounds show their available pets;

Or you might see one of these pics on their website:

Pound:

Now might be a good time to point out that a photographer would often lend their time for an incredibly low rate, while a student photographer can often be sourced for free; so it’s not cost interfering with this process. There’s no excuse for every shelter pet not to get a gorgeous, engaging photo. Especially when it might save their life…

Overpopulation is a myth; we need to dig deeper

When you consider the hurdles to adoption, the out of the way locales of most pounds, the inconvenient opening hours and the difficulties in getting pounds to work with their communities, rather than against them – it’s a wonder that any pets get adopted at all.

But they do.

Thousands of people hit PetRescue each day, hoping to adopt a pet. The Million Paws Walk sees 60,000 pet owners bring their pets to over 70 events around the country and raise over $1 million dollars for the RSPCA. Pounds who take the time to ask their communities for help, are overwhelmed with offers of assistance. And Facebook groups for animal shelters are becoming one of the most popular and effective on the web.

Shelters need to stop worrying about ‘overpopulation’ and work on the real solutions to the homeless pet problem. Getting as many pets adopted as possible, educating the general public so that they understand the benefits of carefully researching your pet acquisition decisions and assistance in finding advice when faced with the realities of owning a pet.

Banning pets shops is noble, but ineffective in reducing shelter killing

Shelters need to be networking with like-minded local pet businesses, supporting our public, effectively promoting our pets and helping people adopt. It’s only when we stop complaining that pet shops are ‘out-selling’ us, and start taking responsibility for giving the pets we have the very best chance of finding (and keeping!) a new home, that we can finally start to address the real causes of shelter killing.

I delayed posting on this article from last month’s Animal Sheltering magazine, because I wanted the public version to go online – but this article about the importance of exercise for shelter dog’s adoptability is freaking genuis!

One of the first and most essential components of modifying almost any inappropriate behavior is proper exercise. Unless you have a team of fit volunteers who happen to be training for a marathon, it is unlikely you will be able to provide these dogs with enough walks to supply them with the amount of exercise they’ll need to become mentally and physically calm. In the beginning, hard dogs may need long stretches of exercise to make up for weeks or months of inadequate energy release and to combat the symptoms of cage anxiety.

For this reason, I highly recommend a daily, or even twice-daily, supervised, controlled romp or game of fetch in a fenced area, followed by a controlled walk. These supervised play sessions should last a minimum of 20-25 minutes (shorter durations in hot weather) and can involve Frisbees, balls, or other exercise-inducing toys. (My favorite is the Chuckit! line, which can be used to toss a tennis ball long distances without the need for slobbery ball handling.)

It is not important that the dog actually fetch the object—although this time can also be used to teach appropriate play drive and even fetching. What is important is that the dog use this time as an opportunity to appropriately release pent-up energy and get the exercise he needs, and have the opportunity to move forward unfettered, which is an inherent and necessary behavior for all dogs.

You can use a variety of toys and other tools to stimulate the dog to move during this supervised romp. If the dog is friendly and non-aggressive with other dogs, find another non-aggressive, high-energy dog and allow them to romp together (supervised, of course). You can even play a game of tag with the dog yourself, as long as this does not overstimulate the dog and lead to wild leaps at your face or tackling maneuvers.

Once the dog appears to be tiring (and happy!) from his unfettered romp, you now have an opportunity to teach him how to walk on leash and move forward with humans instead of pulling and working against them. Now that he has had the opportunity to release stored energy, his mind will be in a better state to focus on commands and comply with your wishes.

As someone who works in a shelter where the dogs are kept entirely separate and walked by volunteers on leash only, the revelation that this isn’t even close to enough exercise for even a moderately active dog was a bit of a light bulb moment.

Can you imagine cooping your own dog up in your bedroom for a week, then releasing him to someone who’s never met him to take him for a leash walk to judge his personality? No wonder our potential adopters aren’t enamored!

Get this article, print it out and GIVE IT TO YOUR SHELTER MANAGER. It will absolutely save lives.

The big news in WA animal welfare, is the ongoing saga of the ‘Stirling cat ladies’:

City of Stirling Mayor David Boothman said the City first became aware that there was an issue with the property on Sixth Avenue in May 1987 when it received a complaint from a neighbour.

“In the 23 years since the first complaint, the City has made hundreds of visits to the property, issued dozens of formal notices on multiple issues including removal of rubbish, reduction in number of cats on the property, repair of property, maintenance of water supply, electrical and gas services and removal of undergrowth in addition to conducting multiple ratepayer funded cleanups of the site,” he said.

The council and Cat Haven have entered the property to seize the cats and try and force the sale of the property, after support efforts by social services were rejected and complaints from neighbours became too loud to ignore.

Now, there is no denying these ladies need help. Ursula Dueschen is in her 80’s living with her elderly daughter Tatyana in a caravan without sewers, plumbing or electricity. The decision to finally force them into accepting assistance, is nothing but a good thing for both the community and the cats themselves. But here’s where it gets misleading;

Cat Haven spokeswoman Jessica Reid said said the situation highlighted what can happen when cats are neglected and unsterilised.

“Apart from the health issues for the cats themselves when they breed out of control, cat colonies causes massive issues to the environment as well as problems within communities,” she said.

“Unsterilised cats having an increased tendency to start cat fights and mark their territories on neighbouring properties, so you can imagine what a colony of 30 cats that can have three litters of kittens a year each could do.

“It really highlights the need for compulsory state sterilisation laws which we hope to see going through parliament very soon.”

Not only did the major ‘cat advocacy’ group in the state just tell people that “cat colonies causes massive issues to the environment”, then rounded up the cats and killed them – but proposed that a situation that had run on for 23 years, that a myriad of social support services, police, council and ongoing legal action couldn’t resolve… could have be fixed with a law that requires ‘cats get desexed’.

Sorry, no deal.

We need to stop listening to groups who will use an unfortunate situation with a couple of ladies who clearly have medical and personal issues, as a platform to run down the animals they claim to be working to protect.

We need to stop listening to groups who will use the ‘car crash’ media surrounding this most pitiful situation (check out the ‘photo gallery’ CATS, RATS AND RUBBISH) to promote an insultingly oversimplified solution – mandatory desexing – to the complex issue of cat management. One that make no logical sense, has caused more problems than it’s solved in every place it’s been tried and that is rapidly losing support within the industry.

Instead, we need to become involved and offer intelligent solutions to the cat issues of WA. It is being debated now. Contact the Cat Haven and demand to be included.

I’ve always considered PetRescue to be a very charmed project. My best mate JB is a technical genius and an all round nice guy. My shared-brain friend Vix and I both purchased wonky dogs at around the same time (hers from a pet shop, mine from a guy in a pub carpark) who would catapult us into the ‘dog world’, to discover rescue and the myraid of issues surrounding pet ownership. And six years ago around a pint of beer the idea for PetRescue was born.

We would go on to discover not only could we work together, but that our passion for pets would grow an enormous beating heart – the community all pulling together to get the PetRescue project off the ground and build it into one of the most successful animal welfare iniatives in Australia. Little did we know getting pets up onto the web would be the first step in a huge labour of love, working to turn animal sheltering into a little known and misunderstood industry, into one of the country’s most fashionable social movements.

JB, Vix and me! – PetRescue 2009

Capturing the love

Everyone who has a pet, understands the love of a pet. Harnessing that love and turning it into action has been key in bringing rescue pet adoption to the masses. Adoption adverts focused around blaming the pet’s old owner for its current predicament, or designed to shock or horrify the public had long been shown to be building a barrier between rescue groups and their communities. Potential adopters were actively avoiding rescue fearing they would feel sad or guilty after visiting their local shelter.

PetRescue banned all ‘death row’ style advertisements and stories of animal abuse. Recognising the need to promote the positives of animal adoption, the site became a place of happy stories with an emphasis on those things that build bonds between pet and owner. People should feel happy when they’re bringing a new family member into their lives!

Be able to use the power of the internet to reach a new audience was also vital to increasing awareness of just how many adoptable pets are available in rescue. It’s only when the public were able to see each single pet as an individual, most highly adoptable and simply lost, or homeless for one of the myriad of genuine and not-so-genuine reasons that see pets surrendered, that the public were able to make their own determination that shelter pets are in fact, simply pets who need a new home.

So from 2004 onwards, we set out to convince animal shelters that online pet advertisements were the way of the future, overcome fears that it would lead to hoards of ‘irresponsible’ owners acquiring and discarding pets and coaching them to write pet profiles that attracted people to adoption.

Later we would include ‘holiday promotions’, the use of video in pet profiles, effective use of traditional media and the huge different great photography can make in animal adoption.

Nearly 60,000 pets later, PetRescue’s online advertisements are still a testement to what positive attitudes and community engagement can achieve. Adoptions are up in 2010. The number of potential adopters visiting PetRescue has grown immensely this year and we are now seeing over 1,300 dogs and 750 cats finding new homes each month. In addition to those enquiries made by phone, every month over 3,500 email enquires are sent by our mail systems to our rescue group members and a staggering 150,000 pet listing alerts are sent to people looking to adopt a new pet.

Overcoming distance as a barrier to happiness

In 2007, PetRescue coordinated its first ‘interstate adoption’. A small, tufty-haired dog called ‘Penny’ had been taken into care by POOPS (Pets of Older People) when her owner passed away. She had been waiting for two months in foster care with no-one interested in adopting this well-mannered elderly girl.

After a plea for help from Penny’s carers, PetRescue enlisted the generous support of Virgin Blue and Jetpets to give Penny a second chance at life;

And so began Penny’s big adventure!

Penny was offered a free flight to Brisbane to meet up with a carer from Save a Pound Dog, who had a great new home ready and waiting. Penny traveled like a celebrity pet, with a personal pet travel consultant from Jetpets arranging her flights and door to door service to her new digs.

Now settled in her new home, Penny sends licks! and woofs! to the team at Virgin Blue and Jetpets for helping her find a fantastic new forever home.

But that was just the beginning. Jetpets generously went on to donate three free interstate flights for needy pets each month – that’s over 100 pets that have found new homes by flying across the country! By connecting rescue groups with like-minded groups in other states, a safety net can be created and opportunities to move pets from places of low demand, to places of higher demand are discovered.

The biggest boon for this program was in mid 2009, when PetRescue’s first ‘Jet Setting Kitten‘ rescue saw nine death row kittens moved from Queenslands, where they have a year round kitten season, to South Australia where they were adopted in just four hours! 54 kittens would go on to follow in their footsteps that year.

See Vickie waving goodbye to these kitties in this news video:

Getting pets out into the community

One of the easiest ways to overcome myths and misconceptions about rescue pets is simply to let people to meet them. That’s why in 2008, PetRescue developed an in-store adoption program that could be rolled out into pet store in the country. The program launched in 2009, in PETstock stores around the country, and now in 2010 is being expanded to all pet stores who’d like to offer the program.

Working with ethical pet stores nationwide, PetRescue’s In-Store Adoption Program brings pets out of cages and into the community. Giving adopters the chance to meet and interact with rescue pets, learn about responsible pet ownership and speak to an adoption adviser about how to choose the best pet for their family. Rescue groups are offered support that can help improve the client experience and resources on best practice adoption processes.

Redemption – how it changed everything

I remember reading Nathan Winograd’s Redemption and folding corners to highlight paragraphs I wanted to share – it completely blew me away! Finally, everything we had been working on made sense. Suddenly PetRescue’s belief that there was so much more we could be doing, wasn’t some naive dream. We did need more positive promotions, we did need to attract adopters and we did (and still do) need stronger and more dynamic leadership from the management of animal welfare groups in Australia.

But most importantly; we absolutely can adopt our way out of killing.

I was desperate for the plan in this book to become common knowledge. We contacted Nathan and asked if he would be willing to give our shelters a discount on bringing a bulk lot of books to Australia. He instead donated 400 copies; one for each of our shelter groups. We wrapped them in xmas paper and delivered them to every shelter in Australia.

PetRescue also invited Nathan to come and speak at the NDN Conference. His presentation can be seen here:

Being able to harness the momentum of the US No Kill movement has been a huge boost to rescue here in Australia. We are very blessed to have the amazing leadership of Nathan to help lead us into a better future for animals.

The PEDIGREE Adoption Drive brings a new dawn for homeless pets

In PetRescue was blessed to develop a relationship with PEDIGREE® which launched as the 2009 PEDIGREE Adoption Drive. Incorporating TV, print and online media and featuring real-life homeless pets, the campaign was designed to highlight the plight of the thousands of dogs euthanased every year because homes aren’t be found.

In 2010 PEDIGREE has again made an enormous commitment too help support the animal rescue groups of this country. With guidance from PetRescue, PEDIGREE will be investing $4 million into an awareness campaign designed to pull on the emotional heartstrings of all Australians and bring adoption to the masses.

This year the PEDIGREE Adoption Drive will run from the 3rd June to the 30th July. Celebrity ambassadors Tom Williams and Myf Warhurst will launch ‘Yellow Dog Day’ which will see yellow dogs appear across Australian capital cities, officially kicking off the campaign.

Also, the campaign this year doesn’t only focus on awareness. For every person who joins the PEDIGREE Adoption Drive Facebook page, PEDIGREE will donate a bowl of food to a rescue group. They are also offering every single new adopted dog parent a free Adoption Kit. The campaign will also launch the Dog Adoption Index, a report into the issue of Dog Homelessness in Australia, in collaboration with PetRescue.

Foster carer save lives

With the majority of our members operating foster care networks, one of the ongoing needs is more carers. The PetFoster initiative will market pet foster caring to the mainstream, bringing community resources, skills and knowledge to our industry.

Designed to link new carers with foster care groups, provide resources to existing foster care groups and to help new groups develop a program based on the experiences of successful foster groups across the country, PetFoster aims to empower a community that helps save Australia’s homeless pets. The program will be launching this month.

See Vix talking about PetFoster here:

Caring for Cats

Cat ownership is in decline and we believe that this trend must be reversed. In 2010 PetRescue will be working in conjunction with PIAS (the Petcare Information & Advisory Service) to create the first of many programs and campaigns to elevate the status of cats in our society.

A campaign launched through PetRescue’s large email database and social media networks will use viral marketing to bring cats into the spotlight. These guys did a great campaign last year, naming cats Australia’s greatest ‘modern pet’. Check it out below:

What’s the ideal pet for busy people?

It seems these days we’re busier than ever. We work longer hours, there’s more traffic, we even work on weekends. In addition to this, we also seem to be living more than ever in high density living. So where do pets fit into our busy, modern lifestyle?

Video

While, a favourite campaign of mine, the ‘Secret Cat Society’ aims to improve the welfare of free-roaming cats, by empowering carers with simple steps they can take to care for their Secret Cat.

With over 40% of cat owners feeding a cat they don’t own, a movement towards compassionate cat solutions exists through improved vet care, desexing rates and care for these misunderstood animals.

The changing face of communication

- A rescue group has a new litter of puppies, rejected by their mum. A post on Facebook connects them with their community and several foster care options are found within the hour.

- A YouTube video becomes a viral smash amongst supporters of a particular rescue. Within days a dog that had been languishing in the kennels for months, has two new families fighting for the privilege to take him home.

- A post on a rescue group blog about a dog with bad hips calls for donations to the fosters local vet clinic. Within the week, not only is that dog’s life-saving operation paid for, but a family has come forward to adopt the pet and offered to pay too.

All of these examples are real-life situations where clever use of the internet has meant pets who could have been killed, are instead saved.

The internet is changing everything. Things that seemed impossible, are not only happening, but the results are being spread so other groups can also engage in innovative ways. PetRescue is working to bring information from around the world to Australia, through blogs like this (Saving Pets), our informative internet videos and and PetRescue ‘Pet Rescuer’ educational newsletter.

See me speaking about all PetRescue’s projects here:

The modern rescuer; part of something enormous

PetRescue is the definition of a community initiative. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you for your support over the last six years; we honestly couldn’t be fighting this fight, without you. We love getting your feedback, hearing about your successes and where we can, helping you to enhance the amazing work you do for the animals of Australia.

Together, we have come an awfully long way. Companion animal rescue has never been more needed, nor more relevant in today’s animal loving society. The community is coming together to help spread the word, distance has been eliminated as a hurdle to happiness, and homeless pets are being given a second chance by being seen out in the community through great positive promotions.

Advancements that once seemed completely beyond what we could have hoped for, are now gaining incredible momentum. Even those animals that were once deemed unworthy of a happy life, such as Pit Bulls and community cats, are being recognised as deserving of compassion. PetRescue’s programs continue to make this a reality.

With dedicated, fearless modern rescuers driving Australia to be a world leader in innovative animal sheltering, a No Kill future is a certainty