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Read heartwarming tales about wagging tails and warmed hearts.

Pumpkin on the Mend in Her New Home

Pumpkin arrived into our care injured and scared. She’d been found roaming the street without a collar. A scan showed she had no microchip so we had no means of finding her owner and no one came forward to claim her.

Pumpkin’s injuries were immediately apparent upon her arrival at the shelter as she was not putting weight on her left front leg.  The vet team went into action giving this sweet little girl pain relief and organising X-rays.  The X-rays revealed a fractured leg and dislocated joint.  Extremely overweight, Pumpkin was also put on an urgent weight loss program with the support of our sponsor Hill’s Science Diet.

Thanks to the wonderful support of our generous community, we raised over $4,000 through our Emergency Specialist Action fund so that Pumpkin could undergo a specialist surgery to try and save her leg.

Unfortunately, Pumpkin’s injury was too old and despite the best efforts of our team, the bone fragments could not be successfully fitted together and we were unable to save Pumpkin’s leg from amputation.

However prior to her surgery, Pumpkin had lost almost 10% of her body weight, thanks to her adoptive parents, making it easier for her to get around. So within 48 hours of surgery, Pumpkin was up, playing and running on her three legs and reunited with her new loving family.

 

Super Caturday Success

We found loving homes for 20 cats in a single day thanks to our Super Caturday Adoption Event which was held last month. Partnering with PETstock Rockdale we were able to rehome 10 cats from their location as well as clear our cattery of all but one cat – Lettie.

Lettie, we are pleased to report, has now found her forever home too after being in our care for more than seven months! As we head into kitten season being able to empty the cattery is a welcomed event as we will need the space and more in the coming months.

Bottle babies have already started to arrive at the Home and our Foster Care Coordinator Sabrina has created a Bottle Baby Brigade in anticipation of what is to come this kitten season. The Bottle Baby Brigade will be looking after the neonatal kittens – new born to four weeks old – that find their way to us.

Neonatal kittens require rigorous and intensive care. This includes feeding every two hours around the clock as well as stimulating them with a warm moist ball of cotton after each feed to help them eliminate waste. If you would like to join the Bottle Baby Brigade for this exhausting but highly rewarding task or if you are interested in becoming a kitten or cat foster carer please contact Sabrina on foster@sydneydogsandcatshome.org.

Benefits of Adopting an Adult Cat

Everyone loves a kitten, a cute cuddly little ball of fluff, however adopting a kitten may not be the best choice for you or your family.  Kittens have tonnes of energy and raising a kitten may not suit a busy, time-poor person or family.  As we spend the week focusing on all things cats – with our LOVE CATS campaign, we want to highlight the advantages of adopting an adult cat.  Some of these benefits include:

  • Adult cats require less supervision than kittens and are less likely to destroy your home if you are not around to supervise them.
  • Their personalities are fully developed so you know what you are getting.
  • Adult cats are more likely to be litter trained.
  • Most adult cats have come from a home so they may be accustomed to children or other pets (NB: they may initially be shy, but they have experience interacting with humans and are likely to be friendly).
  • Adult cats are better with children as they don’t have the very sharp teeth and claws of a kitten, and they will be more gentle-natured in their play and interaction.
  • Older cats still like to play in-between their naps.
  • Adult cats still need love and attention and are affectionate and loyal companions.

So if you are thinking of adopting a kitten please also consider the advantages of adopting an adult cat.

Before You Pack Your Bags

Imagine coming back from holiday to find that your beloved family pet has gone missing. There are messages on your phone from the local shelter and a notice in your letterbox explaining that your pet is in their care and if you don’t reclaim your pet within two weeks it will become available for adoption by someone else. You call the shelter immediately, but it is too late! Your pet – in their care for 20 days – has been rehomed.

If another 24 hours had passed this would have been the reality faced by Fonzy’s family.  Fonzy’s family had been on the overseas holiday of a lifetime, only to return and find their precious pooch missing.  Fonzy had been entrusted into the care of a family-friend.  Somehow Fonzy ended up wandering the streets and was picked up by a council ranger who brought him to Sydney Dogs and Cats Home when he was unable to reach Fonzy’s owner.  The pet-minder who lost Fonzy, didn’t tell the family he’d gone missing and didn’t know how to find Fonzy.

Fonzy’s story, unfortunately, is not a unique or isolated case.  The following week we had another occurrence of an owner leaving a dog in the care of a friend while they went overseas for three days.  The dog went missing on day number one and the minder didn’t tell the owner.  Thankfully this dog was picked-up, unharmed and brought into Sydney Dogs and Cats Home. We were able to reunite this dog with his owner during the two-week hold period.

These two instances both had positive outcomes for the pets and the owners.  However, this may not always be the case. To help safeguard your pets should you leave them in someone else’s care, we have developed the following precautionary checklist:

  1. Make sure your pet is microchipped and the contact details are current; updating your details is free and can be done at your council or online at petregistry.nsw.gov.au.
  2. Add the carer – or a trusted friend who isn’t on holiday with you – as a ‘secondary contact’ on the microchip; this can also be done at your council or online via petregistry.nsw.gov.au and there is no cost.
  3. Ensure your animal has a collar with a tag with your contact details and that of the temporary minder; do it yourself don’t rely on the carer to add their details.
  4. Leave the carer with the number of your local impound facility as well as contact details of your local vet; you can find contact details of your local impound facility from your council or via a google search.

Additional advice for people leaving their dog in someone else’s care:

  • double-check the carer’s fencing to ensure it is secure with no means to escape;
  • brief the carer to leave the dog’s collar on at all times;
  • advise the carer to only ever walk your dog on lead – even at the off-leash dog park; and
  • ask the carer to stick to your routine as closely as possible (e.g. feeding timing, walking, etc.).

Tips for people leaving their cat in someone else’s care:

  • never let the cat out whilst it is being minded by someone else, even if  it is in your own home; and
  • ask the carer to stick to your cat’s routine (e.g. feeding, toys, litterbox cleaning, etc.) as much as possible.

Accidents can happen and if you reside in one of the eight council areas (i.e. Bayside, Fairfield, Georges River, Inner West, North Sydney, Randwick, Waverley, Woollahra) service by Sydney Dogs and Cats Home please go to the lost page of our website if your pet is missing.  Nothing can ruin a post-holiday high faster than finding out your pet is lost.  We hope the above can help safeguard that from happening or at least ensure that if it does you and your pet are reunited.

 

 

Gopher’s Journey from Ringworm to Rehomed

In late March, Gopher was brought into Sydney Dogs and Cats Home as a stray.  The beautiful one-year-old Staffy X was covered in ringworm lesions.  They were on his face, head, legs and even his paws.

Ringworm is a contagious fungal infection that causes hair loss, skin ulceration and itchiness.  Not only can ringworm spread from one dog to another but it can also spread from dog to human.

So poor Gopher had to spend his first weeks at the Home completely quarantined and isolated.  Gopher couldn’t go out on walks because of the risk he would spread the fungal infection to the other dogs living in and around the shelter.  Also the team members who interacted with Gopher had to be covered from head to toe in disposable protective clothing to ensure they didn’t becoming infected or pass on the fungal infection to the other animals in our care.

The team put together a treatment plan for Gopher which addressed not only his ringworm infection but also a way to keep this young boy entertained and happy whilst in isolation.  For the first two weeks Gopher’s lesions were treated twice daily with the application of an anti-fungal cream. Gopher was also given a weekly bath with an anti-fungal shampoo over the quarantine period. To keep Gopher occupied while his skin slowly healed and his coat grew back, the team provided this big boofhead with lots of enrichment games, toys and treats to keep him busy.

Finally, after five weeks, Gopher was given the all clear.  Our volunteer photographer Peter from Tame & Wild Studios captured some amazing images of Gopher which went up on our website.  And in no time at all a wonderful human came forward to adopt Gopher and give him the forever home he deserves.

Team Cat Leader Holly Shares Her Story

Loving cats and dogs equally, Holly is proud to be leader of fundraising group Team Cat in the upcoming City2Surf. “I love all the different personalities of cats,” Holly said, “from too-cool-for-school cats to loving little darlings like Gracie.”

Holly has been a supporter of Sydney Dogs and Cats Home for several years.  It was back in 2015 while helping out behind reception that Holly fell in love with and adopted Gracie, the office Cat.

“With a full-time job involving lots of travel and living in an apartment, a cat is the perfect companion for my living situation. Gracie is just awesome – she has enriched my life no end.  Such a loving and affectionate little lady.”

Holly has run the City2Surf three times and this will be her second time running for Sydney Dogs and Cats Home.  “It’s such a special event, with such a good vibe to it.  Raising money for the Home really enhances the experience on the day, and it is really satisfying to see your fundraising bank increase; it gives you such purpose.”

Holly continues, “I chose to run for the Home as I believe it’s a wonderful and essential service for lost and abandoned animals – I can’t imagine a cause more worthy!  It is also great to know that my funds raised will contribute to the new shelter.  Feedback from those who sponsored me also echoed what a great cause it is, and who doesn’t love helping animals!?”

To sponsor Holly or to join one of the running teams click here.

Purr-fect New Home

Since 1946, Sydney Dogs and Cats Home has been providing refuge to lost and abandoned pets. In early 2015, we received the devastating news that our facility in Carlton was slated for redevelopment rendering the Home – homeless.

Thanks to the support of the State Government, this place of refuge now has a much brighter future, after securing a long term community lease at a site in the Sutherland Shire Council area of Kurnell.

It has been a long road to get us to where we are today and without the support of the State Government, and the greater community, we would not have been able to achieve this wonderful result. So a big thank you to all of our supporters from all of us, especially the many animals we care for each year.  The future of Sydney Dogs and Cats Home is now secured.

We look forward to building a state-of-the-art combined animal shelter and community facility, allowing us to continue our vital lifesaving service for many years to come and to increase all our community-based activities.  These programs include aged and disability care initiatives, a student reading program as well as a rehabilitation program in conjunction with the Australian Army which supports injured trainee soldiers.

Thanks to this positive progress, we look forward to continuing our partnerships and service to our current 8 local council areas of Sydney, providing their communities, with a best-practice pound services option.

Our focus, as it has always been, is to be a front runner in animal welfare practices and responsible reuniting and rehoming options for lost and abandoned pets. Through the nature of our work, we have also found that we can provide meaningful opportunities to support those people in the community that need it most.

The team has begun extensive research into best practice animal sheltering and community facilities both in Australia and Overseas, to ensure what we build today will stand the test of time and enable us to provide a world class service to the Greater Sydney area for many years come.

The Home, has received nearly $1.5 million in donations since announcing the need to relocate in 2015, that will go towards our initial $3 million target to start stage 1 of the build. With the ambitious target to raise over $8 million by 2020, we are now calling on the community to get behind their great work and make a tax deductible donation to the build of our new Home.

$15K Away – Senior Pet Project

When we launched the Senior Pet Project back in May, we knew that we were highlighting a special group of animals that need our help, sometimes more than most.

What we weren’t prepared for was the outpouring of support, we’ve received from you, our supporters.  Thank you so much!

As soon as we introduced our first senior, Betty White, we were overwhelmed with the number of visitors, messages, phone calls, letters of support and donations that has not only been incredibly heart-warming, but has put us on the right path to be able to provide what is needed for the senior cases that WILL need us tomorrow.

We did set ourselves the ambitious target to raise $100K by 30 June. With only a number of days to go we are so excited to say that we are only $15,000 away from reaching this incredible goal, thanks to the support of our donors!

Thank you so much if you have contributed to our Senior Pet Project, if you would like to have a recap of the senior cases we’ve highlighted over the past month, please visit here

On behalf of all of us at Sydney Dogs and Cats Home thank you so much for your ongoing support of the work that we do and our special case seniors.

Licks and Sniffs
TEAM SDCH

P.S. We also promised to provide news on our future and our quest for a new site when it became available. Please keep an eye on your inbox in the coming weeks as we edge closer to announcing where our new home will be….

Eight Reasons to Adopt Two Kittens

Thinking about adopting a kitten?  Maybe you should consider adopting two!  Turns out cats may not always be the solitary creatures we believe them to be and there are many good reasons to adopt two kittens together rather than one.  Some of the benefits of adopting two kittens include:

1. Healthy mind, healthy body! Kittens that are raised in pairs exercise with each other, with the same play styles and develop better social skills. It’s proven that cats who have had their siblings as playmates are much more adaptable when they are older.

2. Peace of mind! Two kittens keep each other busy and out of mischief, and you can rest easy that they are safely bouncing off each other (and not the TV!).

3.  Never lonely! Nothing can compare to having another kitten for company when you’re out at work.

4. Learning life lessons! Kittens can play rough with nails and teethies! With a sibling play partner, they are taught how to play gently with people and save their playfulness for their sibling.

5. Fun, Fun and more Fun! Kittens romp, leap, wrestle, clean each other and then curl up next to each other to snooze. Hours of entertainment to watch!

6. Boredom breeds insanity (with kittens anyway!) Out of boredom kittens start entertaining themselves – chewing plants, exploring electrical cords and sockets, climbing legs. Two kittens prevent boredom!!

7. Avoid being “preyed” on at night! Kittens are most active at night and a good night sleep is valuable – the last thing you want is your toes to be attacked! With two kittens, their night stalking and hunting will happen between the two of them!

8.  Older cats are past their play years! Older cats don’t really want a toddler under their feet! Two kittens bouncing off each other will let the older cat do their own thing (and enjoy their twilight years in style).

So if you are thinking of adopting a kitten consider the advantages that come with adopting two… or three.

Senior Pet Project: Rambo’s Road to Recovery

Rambo entered Sydney Dogs and Cats Home just two weeks ago.  A nine-year-old Maltese X, Rambo was found on the street in Allawah in a very sorry state.  He was underweight, his coat was full of burrs and extremely knotted restricting his movements and impairing his vision.  He had missing and rotting teeth and a massive build-up of tarter.  To make matters worse, poor little Rambo also suffered from a permanently dislocated knee cap on his right hind leg causing him further discomfort and a permanent limp.

Concerned for his welfare, our Vet Team quickly stepped into action giving Rambo a thorough examination to determine if there were any additional health issues or concerns.  Thankfully there were not and to alleviate his suffering the Team gave Rambo an anti-inflammatory to reduce his pain, clipped his coat completely and put him on Hill’s Science Diet Youthful Vitality to help him gain weight and improve his overall condition.

Rambo has not been reclaimed by his owner, and our Vet Team would now like to give Rambo the surgery he needs including a major dental and an operation to fix his dislocated knee cap, greatly improving his quality of life.

The vet treatment Rambo requires will cost approximately $2,500.  It is the funds raised through the Senior Pet Project that will help to cover the cost of Rambo’s surgery.  By donating to the Senior Pet Project you will be helping senior pets like Rambo to get the much needed veterinary care they deserve.

Our goal is to raise $100,000 by 30 June in order to fund the Senior Pet Project for the next 12 months.  Donate now to support the Senior Pet Project and give a senior a new leash on life.

P.S.  Rambo (below) is already starting to look better, and please don’t judge our Vet Team’s grooming ability.

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