RextheRunt

Garnali...the wait list hovers between four and six weeks and often is based on a case by case basis and need and urgency. yes, we recommend a range of alternate options that includes the pound, rescue groups, private advertising, social media etc.

Hi everyone. Michael Linke, CEO RSPCA ACT here. I'd like to share some facts about surrenders at RSPCA ACT. All animals, except adult dogs, are accepted immediately into care. With regard to adult dogs we operate a surrender wait list to assist manage the overall volume of dogs entering our shelter and to maintain our commitment to allowing dogs to stay with us for as long as it takes to rehome them. In addition to surrenders we also take in strays at all times and work with our local dog pound moving stray dogs between facilities to give them the best chance of being reunited with their owner, being adopted or going to one of the rescue groups here in Canberra. In the financial year just concluded we received 1735 dogs. 282 surrendered, 1316 stray, 52 emergency long term boarding (owners suffering form mental health etc), 46 from NSW Council pounds brought to us and taken off death row in those pounds, 25 puppies were born here, the remaining 14, were seized by our inspectors and form part of ongoing legal proceedings (most will be in care for 12 to 18 months). We have 40 day to day kennels for dogs, 4 whelping kennels for bitches and litters, six quarantine kennels and four emergency kennels. Of the 1706 leaving our care, 117 were put to sleep, 244 dogs were transferred to the local dog pound (25 stray dogs were transferred in form the local pound), 910 strays were reunited with owners, 58 emergency boarding dogs were returned to owners, 12 were stolen, 7 died from injuries sustained prior to arriving at RSPCA, 358 were adopted. Our average length of time in the sheltering environment for dogs is 30 days. Of adoptable dogs the average length of stay is 20 days. We have found that price isn't a barrier or a reason dogs stay with us for long periods. We recently homed a little of standard poodles for $950 each. It took about seven days for all of them to be adopted. The dogs that stay with us for a long period of time are unattractive and reactive dogs that present poorly in our environment. Hamish is one example, check him out on our website. In these cases we offer a range of value adds to potential adopters. I think in Hamish's case we are offering to build a dog enclosure to the value of $1,500. So I think the comments about costs effecting adoptions is not valid. With regard to pricing we have recently introduced a variable price model for all of our adoptions. This model allows us to charge higher prices for dogs and cats that can attract a higher price and discount other animals that generate less interest. The philosophy behind this is that it allows us to undertake more welfare work and spend more time on less desirable animals as more desirable animals are generating more income. This model is used in some USA shelters to great effect and success, and our use has also proven successful. Similar to the wait list and working with people to find other options, these strategies are designed to help keep animals alive and place them into suitable homes. If we return to the outdated model of accepting all animals and not engaging with owners, rescue groups etc, what would happen to the over flow and excess volume of dogs? I hope this explanation answers some of the questions above, feel free to email me or RSPCA whenever you have a question about how we do things. Thanks Michael

Hi. Its Michael Linke here, CEO RSPCA ACT. Thanks for the support everyone. You are all pretty much on the ball. My comments were meant generically to point out breed and colour confusion, one reason (of many) why BSL fails. I am, as is current RSPCA national policy, opposed to BSL.