Tag Archives: shelters

01/1/25
Dark image of a crossbreed dog with downcast ears behind bars, with its nose extended in front of the bars. Image has 'leemakennels.com/blog' along the top and 'Tips for Pounds rehoming pets' on the side.

Tips for Pounds Rehoming Pets

Dark image of a crossbreed dog with downcast ears behind bars, with its nose extended in front of the bars. Image has 'leemakennels.com/blog' along the top and 'Tips for Pounds rehoming pets' on the side.

Currently, there is a large demand on pounds and rescues in South Australia. Compared to the ‘boom years’ of COVID-19, there is now a cost-of-living crisis, in conjunction with a housing crisis, which is seeing many households forced to surrender their animals or unable to afford to reclaim animals from pounds.

Personally, I have been contacted by several councils in South Australia looking for surrender options. Excess animals in care is a problem for council pounds in South Australia. This article looks at ways that councils can reduce homeless animals, by:

  1. Reducing impounds
  2. Increasing returns
  3. Rehoming animals

1. Reducing Impounds

Councils can undertaken a number of actions in order to make sure that dogs never end up in their facilities in the first place! This includes:

In-field microchip scans

If an animal is collected in the field, rangers should be equipped with a microchip scanner and the ability to immediately look up the owner details. The ranger should not only use the DACO database, but also use all national databases across Australia.

Utilising any other identification

Some animals may wear identification, and rangers should call numbers on this identification. There are also some QR tags and capsule-like identification options. Rangers should be across all these forms of identification. By contacting an owner while in-the-field, the ranger can then return the animal without it ever being impounded.

Check lost records

Many councils encourage owners to report missing pets to them. These records should be checked prior to impound. Rangers can also check Facebook groups (such as Lost Pets of South Australia and Lost Dogs of Adelaide) or pages (local to their community) to see if there are any lost animal records. Again, if an owner is identified, then the animal can hopefully be returned without impound occurring.

Door knocks

Animals are often found close to where they live. Rangers should door knock homes within the area that the animal was collected to identify ‘leads’.

Note that while an animal may be returned prior to impound, this does not mean that the owner is not due recourse in keeping with the Dog and Cat Management Act (see PDF). Council can choose issue expiation notices to animals who are roaming at large, even if the animal is returned prior to impound.

If an animal is impounded, council should have a proactive system to check ranger process. An animal that is not returned prior to impound should be considered a failure. What went wrong? Was the animal checked for identification? Were lost records checked? Were door knocks completed? Councils need to implement robust processes to prevent animals being impounded.

2. Increasing Returns

If the above fails and an animal is impounded, then councils need to take immediate action in order to get that animal home again. These strategies can include:

Medical care, including vaccination

An animal cannot return home if they are dead. If an animal enters the facility, they should be given preventative care, including worming and vaccination. This helps to minimise the risk of animals becoming unwell while they’re impounded. Additionally, if an animal is impounded with broken bones, significant mange, or open wounds, it requires veterinary management. All medical expenses can be invoiced to the owner on reclaim.

Impound photos and distribution

When an animal is impounded, staff should take a clear image that shows the features of the animal. Photos that are blurry or distorted are not useful for reclaims. Once this image is taken, it should be distributed widely, including the council’s website and Facebook page. (Again, Lost Pets of Adelaide and Lost Dogs of South Australia can be used.) Keep in mind that pets sometimes travel far before they are impounded, so advertising just in one council region may not be sufficient in getting a pet home.

Accurate impound description

Some of my friends have a running game where we share hideous mis-descriptions of dog breeds shared by council. I say ‘game’ but, in reality, this can be lifethreatening to animals. If a dog is impounded and described as a ‘staffy x’, when in reality the dog is a Boxer, then a person looking for their pet may dismiss this animal based on the description. The description needs to be accurate. Research shows that people cannot guess a dog’s breed based on its appearance. Councils need SOPs to help guide them in creating accurate descriptions. Instead of using breed, they may describe coat colour and type, the animal’s size, the set of their ears, and distinctive features.

Additionally, get the sex right! Have a look or a grope for external genitalia and use it in the description. Don’t guess. Put unknown if the animal can’t be handled.

Impound microchip check

Out in the field, it is difficult to do an accurate and comprehensive microchip check. If an animal is impounded, then councils should:

  • scan the dog’s whole body for a microchip,
  • with a reader that is 100% charged,
  • and, once complete, this process repeated by a second person with a different fully charged reader.

That is: 100% of the dog is scanned with a 100% charged readers by two different staff members using two different readers (that is the 100%x100%x2x2 method). Staff should assume that every dog and cat is microchipped, as is South Australian law, and work hard in order to find this microchip.

Following all leads

If identification is found for the animal, but the person contacted says the animal has been moved or rehomed, then keep going. Ask them who they rehomed the animal to. Ask them for the contact details. Contact the emergency contact. Call the private microchip databases and check that there is no microchip change pending. Contact Dogs SA, if the dog is a purebred, to see if the microchip is on their database. Dig and dig and dig until you find who owns the animal now.

If the phone number doesn’t work, send a registered post letter. If they have a residential address, rock up to the address and ask them about their animal. Use the email address listed. Contact the emergency contact. Microchips are mandatory because they’re a valuable resource, but only if animals are checked properly for a chip and then the databases appropriately used in aid of reunification.

Be open for reclaims

So many pounds are open 9-5, Monday to Friday, or worse. For the typical person working full time hours, they can’t get to the pound to reclaim their pet. Your opening hours should not prevent returns. Open late at least twice a week. Open on weekends. If it’s really hard, open on appointment only, or deliver the animal to an agreed location for the owner to reclaim. By all means, charge owners for these kind of services, but don’t deny the service all together.

Animals are not held hostage

It is reasonable for councils to charge a fee for animals who are roaming at large and who utilise council resources. However, animals should not be held hostage until fees are paid. If someone neglects to pay their rates, you don’t repossess their house. Animals are sentient and sentimental and the idea that councils still emotionally blackmail owners to reclaim pets only when fees are presented is at odds with sound animal welfare policies. Let people take their pets home. Implement debt collection processes as necessary, but just let them take their pet home.

If an animal reaches the end of its mandatory hold period, then there has been two failures: The animal was impounded in the first place and, then, the animal’s owner wasn’t reunified with their animal during the impound period. Again, council should have an evaluation at this point. What went wrong? How was reunification attempted? How many phone calls were made? How many enquiries fielded? Collect data in order to ensure that necessary internal processes can change and improve.

3. Rehoming Animals

It’s unfortunate that a council gets to the point that an animal needs to be rehomed. However, if the council has failed to both prevent impound and encourage reclaim, there is a number of ways in which council can ensure animals leave the facility to new homes. This includes:

Advertise pets available for rehoming

The best marketing tool for a pet is an excellent photo. Many professional photographers are willing to volunteer with pounds in order to help animals find homes. However, with the strength of phone cameras, it’s likely that a staff member who can access the animal in a unpressured manner may be able to get some photos that really ‘sell’ an animal. Videos can also be a great advertising tool – especially for animals that are too wiggly for a photo!

An animal also needs to have an honest but positive bio that helps potential adopters imagine their life with that pet.

Once there are great photos and a great bio, councils can advertise the animals available through their Facebook page, their council website, Gumtree, PetRescue, SaviourLife, anywhere and everywhere! Some councils may even have a pet-lovers newsletter where they can send featured animals like this.

Make impounded animals better

Animals in care should be vaccinated and wormed (preferrably on intake), and microchipped and desexed (before sale). People want animals who have been vet checked, who have had prevented health care, and who cannot reproduce. The benefit of getting a ‘rescue’ animal is that all the work is done. If your facility is not undertaking this care, then there is no real advantage of purchasing a rescue animal from your council as opposed from purchasing an animal from any other source.

If behavioural problems have been identified in an animal, have trainers and processes. For example, a SOP could describe how a cat who refuses to toilet in its litterbox can be managed to improve its behaviour. A dog that displays some aggressive behaviour may need to have a trainer engaged to help address these concerns. People want animals that are well behaved. Pounds are often environments where behaviours decline, and so councils again need to take a proactive approach.

Be open for adoptions

Most people work 9-5, Monday to Friday. If your pound is only open at these times, a lot of people are not going to be able to enter the facility to adopt. Make sure the facility is open at least two nights a week. Be open on weekends.

Hold events

Running special weeks, weekends, events, or deals can often help bring adopters in. Many cat rescues, for example, hold a ‘buy the kitten get mum for free’ deal. The individual specials that a council runs depends on their own community needs.

Use rescue groups

Some rescue groups may be able to assist rehoming animals – especially some of the breed specific rescue groups. However, rescue groups should not just be used for the bigger and energetic animals. Make sure rescue groups are appropriately reimbursed if they choose to take an animal from your facility.

But how do we afford this?

For many councils, the expense of these suggestions can be prohibitative. The thing is, animals are an emotive issue and there are many people in the community who are willing to volunteer to help animals find homes. If your impound facility routine kills impounded pets, it’s understandable that attracting volunteers would be difficult. Alternatively, if your impound facility is vibrant, fun, focussed on marketing and improving pets in care, and generally spreading positivity around reclaiming and rehoming pets, many volunteers would be enthused to assist.

The Dog and Cat Management Act specifies that registration fees for animals must go back into councils animal management. Communities deserve to see proactive and innovative pound facilities funded by their registration dollars.

04/6/23

Help! I need to rehome my dog!

help i need to find a new home for my dog

 

With my rescue, I am currently getting a large number of surrender requests with people wanting to rehome their dogs. There seems to be a lack of understanding on what to do if you’re in a situation where you’re contemplating rehoming, so this guide is here to assist.

 

Do you really need to rehome your dog?

Circumstances are tough when you consider having to rehome a dog, but your circumstances are only ever temporary. So the first question I’d ask you is, do you really need to rehome a dog?

If you think you need to rehome your dog for accommodation issues, then boarding kennels are an excellent interim solution until you can find somewhere to live. Many boarding kennels will provide a discount if a dog is boarded for an extended period of time.

Do you need to rehome a dog for behavioural reasons, then have you considered investing in training? Either classes, private one-on-one training, or a board and train. (Even if you are not in a position to keep your dog after training, you have made the dog more desireable to a future home.)

Are finances the reason that you need to rehome your dog? If so, you can consider accessing financial relief services. There are numerous in South Australia in regional and metro areas. Some even are able to provide dog food.

If your situation is quite complex, with perhaps accommodation, safety, financial, mental health, or other situations at play, South Australia has a fantastic organisation called Safe Pets Safe Families. They can assist in select cases.

In 90% of cases, the best home for your dog is the one they already have.

 

I do really need to rehome my dog…

If you have tried all the options above and have decided you do need to rehome your dog, then I recommend…

  1. Contact your breeder or the rescue organisation you acquired your pet home. When you carefully chose the rescue or breeder you purchased your animal before, part of your selection process was an organisation that provides ongoing support. Contact your breeder or rescue first.
     
  2. Is your dog desexed? If so, you can advertise your dog privately. Places like Gumtree, Facebook, and ‘old school’ methods like community noticeboards. How you advertise your dog can make a big difference to the enquiries you get. By rehoming your dog privately, your dog experiences less stress (i.e. they only have to move house once), plus you are able to provide a detailed history and information about the dog to its new home.
     
  3. Breed specific rescues are the best place to start, if you are going to contact rescues. If breed specific rescues cannot assist, then contact local rescues. Work your way up to larger rescues. (Note that you should also ascertain whether the rescue is ethical prior to surrender.)
     
  4. Place your dog in boarding kennels on a temporary basis, if you are not able to secure a place for your dog promptly.
     

With all these options, starting the process as early as possible is your best plan. It may take days or weeks to coordinate the return of your dog to the breeder, or find a suitable home from your ad, or for the breed-specific rescue to have room

It can be difficult.

There’s no doubt that it’s difficult to make the decision to rehome a dog and, then, even harder to actually go through the process. This process is also hard for rescue groups. Keep in mind that most rescue groups in Australia are run by volunteers, with limited capacity. When you are able to find a solution for your dog without contacting a rescue, you are reducing burden on the volunteer system and leaving room for an animal that may be in more dire circumstances than your own.

With that in mind, if you do contact rescue groups: Please be kind. It is not their job to take your animal. It is not your place to make volunteers feel guilty about not taking your animal. Rescue groups are provided by caring individuals who want to help. Their kindness should be returned compassion.

Thank you for caring enough about your dog to try to find the best option for them. Good luck!

06/27/14

“Just stop breeding until the pounds are empty”

A increasingly common rhetoric in the rescue community goes along the lines of, “I’m not against breeding, just breeding when the pounds are full” coming along with the suggestion “just stop breeding for a few years, until the pounds are empty”.

This is a misguided suggestion. While this almost sounds good to the uneducated ear, it seems to imply that the dogs in pounds are exactly the type in demand or that there is a dog in a pound to suit every person. Further, ceasing breeding for 3 years would have an impact on not just breeders, but breeds as a whole, on any organisation with working dogs (guide dogs, custom dogs, farm dogs). Also, placing a ban on breeding is just unenforceable. However, the biggest issue with this suggestion is that it doesn’t target the source of the problem. I’ll look at all these issues in more detail.

 

Pound dogs aren’t for everyone

The dogs available for adoption in pounds is not highly varied. The suggestion that ‘anyone’ can find the dog that is perfect to their household is erroneous. There’s simply not a large variety of dogs in pounds to suit the demand. The reason that breeders (good and bad) are popular is they fulfil a demand that is not met by pounds. Small white fluffies, and indeed small dogs overall, are not well represented in the pound system.

I looked at the first page of dogs available for adoption at Blacktown Pound (NSW). You can see that most dogs are working or bull breed type, and most are medium to large in size. Not a great deal of variety.

I looked at the first page of dogs available for adoption at Blacktown Pound (NSW). You can see that most dogs are working or bull breed type, and most are medium to large in size. Not a great deal of variety.

Some might argue that if someone really needs or wants a particular type of dog, they should just wait for it to end up in rescue. Is it really fair for someone to wait 2 year or more for a dog that may never appear in rescue? Personally, I was waiting 18 months looking for a dog in rescue (with the requirements that the dog be big, with a wire coat, and very good with other dogs). I gave up waiting and went to a breeder. I feel like I was more than patient, but a dog suiting my needs just wasn’t available to me in this period of time.

On the same date, these are the available pets at Broken Hill Pound NSW available on the 26th of June. Again, the dogs are mostly medium-large working or bull breed types.

On the same date, these are the available pets at Broken Hill Pound NSW available on the 26th of June. Again, the dogs are mostly medium-large working or bull breed types

The other alternative is that people may just get the dog that is available instead of the dog right for them. Did you know that at least two studies (see: one / two) found that 22.5% of the dogs relinquished to a shelter came from a shelter to start with? Being from a shelter is a risk factor for relinquishment in itself, and proposals that people should ‘have to’ acquire a dog from a pound actually seems circular to the end goal of clearing shelters of pets.

 

Implications for Working Dogs

Seemingly in Australia, about 700 dogs are bred for customs and guide dog work each year.  These professions have targeted breeding programs to select for characteristics important for that dog’s individual role. They’ve obviously done the maths, and figure that it’s more cost effective for them to breed their own dogs than take dogs out of shelters and pounds. The proposal that breeders should ‘just stop breeding’ until pounds are empty means that either these programs suffer financially, or the community suffers by not having any dogs at all for several years or more (or forever, really).

Another industry that would suffer would be dogs used on properties for herding or as livestock guardians. These agricultural branches have specially bred dogs for their purposes. Many farms find the work of dogs invaluable, and would also be financially impacted by a breeding ban.

 

Enforcement is not going to happen

I’ve blogged at length about all the types of legislation that continually goes unenforced Australia-wide, yet touted as ‘good’. In reality, animal legislation is horrendously unenforced. If microchipping laws get flaunted, breeder licensing flops, and the animal welfare acts regularly are violated nation wide, what hope do we have of ceasing dog breeding for a particular period of time?

 

Dog and Breed Welfare

The idea that breeding should just stop for ‘a few years’ neglects to mention that ‘a few years’ is a long time in a life of a dog.

Let’s say you have a breed that lives until about 12 years old. Three years is a quarter of that dog’s life. That means the dog is middle-aged by the time it is 6 years old.

What I’m getting at is that if you were to ban breeding for a few years, we are going to be breeding older bitches, which we know is riskier. (As bitches age, they have smaller sized litters with bigger individual puppies, which is riskier for the bitch to whelp.)

This means that, for the individual bitches involved, this is bad for their health.

On a broader scope, if breeders choose not to breed their bitches because of a breeding ban, this could put the health of entire breeds in jeopardy. If a bitch is especially important (maybe she has hip scores of 0/0 in a breed with a high incidence of hip dysplasia, or maybe the bitch was imported from Sweden and is important for improving genetic diversity within the breed in Australia), then the loss of this bitch’s progeny to the breed is significant.

Basically, a breeding ban is bad for individual bitches, as they will be bred older, to their detriment. And a breeding ban is bad for breeds, as desirable or important bitches will not be able to make substantial positive impacts on their breed.

 

Is this really where we should focus?

My biggest gripe with this is it is, again, taking the focus away from the pound – the place where killing happens.

Pounds have an obligation to promote and market their animals. Let’s ban pounds from killing and so obligate them to make changes to their approach!

The other gripe is that this proposal works on the basis that there is an overpopulation program – there isn’t an overpopulation problem.

And: pounds will never be empty! Pounds have an important community service reuniting pets to their families. If my dogs got lost, they’d probably end up in the pound (if not scanned for a chip prior), and I’d be grateful for that.

 

A ban on breeding, even for a short period, is not a solution to shelter killing.

  • Shelters do not have a wide variety of dogs available for adoption, so limiting the availability of some breeds may mean:
    • People wait a unreasonably long time to acquire a dog, or
    • People acquire a dog unsuitable to their lifestyle (and the dog becomes at greater risk of being relinquished back to the shelter at a later date).
  • Working dog breeds (including customs, guide dogs, farm dogs) and the organisations that breed them will suffer, as will the people that these dogs benefit.
  • Animal legislation is not enforced and this will be another unenforceable law.
  • This proposal is bad for bitches and breed welfare.
  • And most importantly, this proposal fails to acknowledge the fault of pounds in the shelter-deaths.

05/4/14

How to choose a rescue or shelter to adopt from

Purchasing a dog or puppy: What to look for in a rescue or shelter

 

Congratulations on choosing to add a new dog or puppy to your family.

It is great that you are considering adopting a pet from a rescue or shelter. However, not all rescues/shelters are created equal – indeed, some facilities are merely posing as rescues and are more like an animal-broker than an animal-rescue.

It’s not a ‘black and white’ matter, but here are some suggestions that will hopefully help you when you’re looking at adopting a pet.

 

Green traffic lightNecessities

Do not purchase a dog from a shelter unless the facility:

  • Shows concern and regard to the physical health of their dogs and puppies
     
  • Shows concern and regard to the psychological well being of their dogs and puppies – either in providing enrichment on site, by frequently taking their dogs ‘out and about’, by using Dunbar’s methods of raising puppies (with toilet area, kongs, socialisation), and by providing training to dogs with behavioural problems
     
  • Is willing to provide life-long support to you as a purchaser, and is willing to take their dog or puppy back if things don’t work out. (There should be a trial period of anywhere from 1-12 weeks where a refund is provided.)
     
  • You feel comfortable approaching the rescue or shelter for advice, and feel they would be supportive and give you clear advise you can understand.
     
  • Sells all dogs and puppies microchipped, vaccinated and sterilised (or on contracts to have these procedures performed at a latter date, or with a medical certificate exempting them from these procedures)
     
  • Gives you some time to ‘think about’ adding the dog/puppy to your household
     

 

Niceities

It’s ‘nice’ if a shelter/rescue does these following things, but not a deal breaker.

  • The rescue/shelter asks you lots of questions about your household and what you’re looking for
     
  • There is a sales contract
     
  • The rescue/shelter seems to have a great deal of knowledge about dogs
     
  • The rescue/shelter uses foster carers so they know what the dog is like in a house (instead of just living in a kennel)
     
  • The rescue/shelter has had the dog in care for at least 10 days, to serve as a quarantine period
     
  • Friends, family, or other shelters and rescues have heard of this rescue and have positive things to say
     
  • Identifies as ‘no kill’ or ‘out the front door’ or as ‘saving 90%’
     

 

Red Flags

Have some concern about the shelter or rescue if any of these events take place.

  • The rescue/shelter seems overly concerned about the purchase price
     
  • The rescue/shelter puts the hard sell on – “I might sell her next week if you don’t take her today”, or “I’ll give you 10% off if you buy her now.”
     
  • The rescue/shelter sells puppies together to the same pet family
     
  • The rescue/shetler is willing to sell a puppy/dog to you without you even meeting the dog/puppy to assess it for yourself
     

 

Do Not Buys

If the shelter or rescue does any of the following things, then walk away and source a dog from an alternative source.

  • You cannot meet the dog or puppy before sale
     
  • Dogs/puppies are not microchipped – in most states of Australia, this is a legal requirement
     
  • The dogs or puppies seem unhealthy or in poor condition (dirty, matted, skinny, fat)
     
  • There seems to be no plan to improve the socialability/behaviour of dogs that have problematic temperaments
     
  • The rescue/shelter is not willing to show you all the dogs in their care
     

 

Is there anything you would add to the list?

 

Further reading: See How to Find a Good Dog Breeder

01/17/14

Pets as Gifts – Evidence not Anecdotes

ResearchBlogging.orgPets aren’t gifts. We all know that.

If a pet is given as a gift, the recipient might not be prepared for the financial commitment. The pet might be unsuitable to their lifestyle, or the recipieint may be uncommitted. And this means the pet is more likely to be relinquished.

But are you willing to be wrong about that?

This pretty shar pei has found her home through Adelaide All Breed Dog Rescue Inc.

This pretty shar pei has found her home through Adelaide All Breed Dog Rescue Inc.

“Studies of dog and cat relinquishment to shelters, however, show that the relinquishment of dogs and cats received as gifts is lower than from other sources,” says Weiss et al. in their 2013 paper. While this blog post will concentrate on this article, it’s important to note that this study builds on the research of others. For example (as summarised by Weiss et al.),

  • This article looked at 2600 dogs and 2300 cats, and found “Relinquished dogs infrequently came from pet shops, as gifts and from veterinarians. The study found the odds of dog relinquishment were higher when acquiring an animal from a shelter, friend, as a stray, and from a pet shop compared to receiving an animal as a gift”. Cats had similar trends.
  • This article “identified 71 reasons for pet relinquishment” and unwanted gift made up only 0.3% of dog surrenders and 0.4% of cat surrenders.
  • And this one found that being received as a gift was a protective factor, with dogs and cats received as gifts being “at [a] significantly decreased risk of being relinquished”.

Simply, there is no evidence that pets being given as gifts leads to relinquishment. It is an unfounded myth.

This study even says, “the myth that dogs and cats should not be given as gifts still persists“.

 

How was this study conducted?

A large telephone survey of 1006 adults was conducted, with 222 people saying they received a dog or cat as a pet in the last 10 years.

If an individual identified them self as a pet-gift-receipient, they were asked further questions. Were they involved in selecting the pet? How attached are they to their pet? Do they still own the pet?

 

And what did they find?

Some of the gifted-pets were rehomed – 21 out of the 215 pets. That is, 9.7%.

It didn’t seem to matter if the gift was a surprise or not – it wasn’t associated with people rehoming their pet, or being more or less attached to it.

“These results suggest that there is no increased risk of relinquishment for dogs and cats received as a gift.”

On a side note, this study is different, because it looked at owner retention, instead of shelter relinquishment data. This means that the statistic of 9.7% rehomed is probably higher than shelter surrender intake (as many pets would be rehomed privately instead of through shelter facilities).

 

How does this relate to shelters?

Weiss et al. express their concern about shelters who prohibit adoptions when they know that the animal is going to be given as a gift.  Weiss et al. says, not allowing pets to go as gifts may “impede the overarching goal of increasing adoptions of pets from our nations’ shelter system”.

Significantly, they say (emphasis my own):

“These findings may help animal welfare organisations open options for those interested in obtaining dogs and cats for their family and friends. It is important to note that animals obtained from a shelter are more at risk than those obtained as gifts. Allowing adoptions of dogs and cats to those obtaining the pet as a gift may decrease the risk of return or relinquishment for that dog or cat. Furthermore, it would allow for more animals from shelters to find homes.”

 

The next thing

Briefly, the article suggests that the next area for study is research and planning, and how that relates to pet retention. Current evidence suggests that ‘spur of the moment’ type acquisitions made with little or no research or planning are not associated with higher rates of relinquishment.

 

So have you ever received a pet as a gift? And did you keep that pet for its life?

Reference:

Weiss, E, Dolan, ED, Garrison, L, Hong, J & Slater, M (2013). Should dogs and cats be given as gifts? Animals, 3 (4) DOI: 10.3390/ani3040995