Food/bedding Donations Please

[Red Fox]

The animals are desexed if someone else pays for it. It isn't sustainable to desex 100 animals and then only charge $50 for them. The only option I see is increase the adoption fees and have less available for adoption so they don't sit at the shelter forever. I feel so sorry for some of them it takes all my strength not to go get some out of there.

I wasn't aware of this I dont think that an adoption fee of $50 plus the cost if desexing is to much to ask at all. $50 is VERY cheap too.

I understand that the vets are a business and can't help for free, though a slight discount couldn't hurt?? I guess it depends on the numbers though.

There is a greyhound that has been at the shelter for over 2 years now

[Robbi]

Oh dear, I didn't mean to open a can of worms, I just thought it would help the dogs and cats at the shelter if the food /bedding donations could be made and it seemed a sensible way to help by placing donation boxes in high profile places around Adelaide.

After speaking to the woman on the phone I felt she was very pro-active in wanting to de-sex the animals in her care and was aiming for a 100% de-sexing rate.

I am sorry if I have done the wrong thing by trying to collect food for the animals, I feel I have come across as naive and gullible which I hope I am not, but if we do nothing to try and change the situation for these animals is that the right thing to do either, I just dont know

[harley]

I'm with you Robbi, what do we do???

[Are You Serious Jo]

Don't get me wrong, I think it is great you guys want to help, I just think you'll be able to be more effective if you know the whole story. I don't know the solution though, it's hard to change the mind of someone who feels the need to keep everything alive no matter what. Keep brainstorming though, might be able to think of something.

[Red Fox]

Oh dear, I didn't mean to open a can of worms, I just thought it would help the dogs and cats at the shelter if the food /bedding donations could be made and it seemed a sensible way to help by placing donation boxes in high profile places around Adelaide.

After speaking to the woman on the phone I felt she was very pro-active in wanting to de-sex the animals in her care and was aiming for a 100% de-sexing rate.

I am sorry if I have done the wrong thing by trying to collect food for the animals, I feel I have come across as naive and gullible which I hope I am not, but if we do nothing to try and change the situation for these animals is that the right thing to do either, I just dont know

You haven't done the wrong thing Robbi. Trying to help out is never a bad thing :D

The shelter obviously needs help with desexing their animals and attention has now been brought to that fact. Doesn't make you naive or gullible in the slightest.

[Trishm]

Surely help with food and bedding will mean that there will be more money left to help with the desexing.

Have you been involved with them, trying to help etc jdavis?

[Are You Serious Jo]

I haven't directly been involved but have been talking to others who have and also those who gave up. Obviously donations could be used to help pay for desexing, but since previous donations have not lead to this it doesn't seem likely that more would either. We are talking about a major shift in philosophy of rehoming, that no animal goes out undesexed. If the belief in the importance of desexing is not getting through then I doubt giving more supplies will change this, otherwise it would already have occurred.

Not saying people shouldn't try to make change here, obviously it is needed in a big way, just need to make sure people are informed. We do need a shelter in this area, so I hope things can be improved for the sake of the animals.

[Red Fox]

What about donating directly into the account of the vet who does the desexing? Surely something like that could help?

[Are You Serious Jo]

I guess that would be similar to the sponsorship deals they have. If it prevents a dog going out undesexed then that is a good thing.

[Robbi]

I have decided to continue with my food/bedding donation drive, I will tell people that it is a shelter needing help, I dont know the answer to the de-sexing program there other than using positive, pro-active encouragement. I do know by not doing anything to help the animals the only ones to suffer at the end of the day are them.

Donating money to the shelter would probably not be the best, but a direct donation to the vet at Two Wells(I can pm people his name) towards de-sexing costs would maybe be the best if that is what people would like to do

I realise I am helping a shelter with big issues but putting aside all the facts and problems, it is the dogs and cats in there at the moment I want to help, they have no choice in being there and until we can do any thing else we need to be sure of their welfare.

[Pete.the.dog]

I have decided to continue with my food/bedding donation drive, I will tell people that it is a shelter needing help, I dont know the answer to the de-sexing program there other than using positive, pro-active encouragement. I do know by not doing anything to help the animals the only ones to suffer at the end of the day are them.

Donating money to the shelter would probably not be the best, but a direct donation to the vet at Two Wells(I can pm people his name) towards de-sexing costs would maybe be the best if that is what people would like to do

I realise I am helping a shelter with big issues but putting aside all the facts and problems, it is the dogs and cats in there at the moment I want to help, they have no choice in being there and until we can do any thing else we need to be sure of their welfare.

Good call Robbi - I'm still more than willing to help.

Just a thought - maybe if we get a fund of donations we can 'sponser' dogs individually, so say we got donations to cover 5 discount desexes - we should sponser 5 dogs and get those 5 desexed - as well as food/bedding?

[casowner]

It is a very charitable act Robbi to do what you are doing, when I read your post I was waiting for the non desexing issue to come up, which it should obviously. I think it is fantastic that people like you go the extra mile for the animals, it is a rare quality . I have been there myself (not with Moorook), I have organised garage sales etc, seen the donations come in from the public after "whoa is us" publicity including Super Premiums Brands only for it to be sold to staff members at a fraction of the cost. I hope the organisation has as strong good beliefs as you do.

[sparkycat]

Hi Robbi I think your intentions are great however I also feel that this rescue place needs some good organisation and education. I have had a bit to do with them and think that the sale of adult undesexed dogs to anyone willing to pay $50 is not really achieving anything positive in fight to reduce unwanted dogs.

I like the sponsorship for desexing idea -also temperament testing and better selection of new homes would help.

You're doing a great job Robbi -don't give up.

[Red Fox]

I have decided to continue with my food/bedding donation drive, I will tell people that it is a shelter needing help, I dont know the answer to the de-sexing program there other than using positive, pro-active encouragement. I do know by not doing anything to help the animals the only ones to suffer at the end of the day are them.

Donating money to the shelter would probably not be the best, but a direct donation to the vet at Two Wells(I can pm people his name) towards de-sexing costs would maybe be the best if that is what people would like to do

I realise I am helping a shelter with big issues but putting aside all the facts and problems, it is the dogs and cats in there at the moment I want to help, they have no choice in being there and until we can do any thing else we need to be sure of their welfare.

Small donations certainly add up, $5 here and $10 there do make a difference and this is a way that everybody can help

[Robbi]

After recieving some VERY negative pms (and some positive ones) I feel I have to state my position.

I believe in 100% de-sexing and vaccinations of the cats and dogs at Moorook, no animal should be rehomed until this is done No exceptions!!! However if I go in to this situation with all guns blazing I will be no help to the animals at all, food and bedding is an neccessity to those in need at the shelter right now.

If the situation is as grim as it has been suggested it wont help at all if we are seen as the enemy, so lets take small steps and hope that we can help them improve conditions

[Are You Serious Jo]

Are you able to make a trip up there robbi, might help you see what everyone is facing.

[yellowgirl]

I'm sorry people have felt it necessary to PM you with negative input. That's so unhelpful, especially when it sounds like Moorook needs more people like you to be a voice for the animals that are there. I agree with some of the other posts that at the moment the dogs that are there need food and bedding and I will still try to help with donations. But long term I can't support a place that rehomes undesexed animals.

Perhaps if the Moorook management is made aware that more people would be willing to help if the animals are only rehomed desexed, they may change their policies. It hardly does the poor dogs any good being dumped, then kept in substandard conditions, only to be rehomed undesexed chancing more unwanted puppies, again adding to the already overloaded rescue shelters. Sounds like a complete re-think is needed.

Good on you Robbie for trying to help these dogs. You could be the person who makes a difference to the future of the animals at Moorook. I am happy to support you in your quest to improve the conditions and policies there.

[lovemystaff]

I'm sorry people have felt it necessary to PM you with negative input. That's so unhelpful, especially when it sounds like Moorook needs more people like you to be a voice for the animals that are there. I agree with some of the other posts that at the moment the dogs that are there need food and bedding and I will still try to help with donations. But long term I can't support a place that rehomes undesexed animals.

Perhaps if the Moorook management is made aware that more people would be willing to help if the animals are only rehomed desexed, they may change their policies. It hardly does the poor dogs any good being dumped, then kept in substandard conditions, only to be rehomed undesexed chancing more unwanted puppies, again adding to the already overloaded rescue shelters. Sounds like a complete re-think is needed.

Good on you Robbie for trying to help these dogs. You could be the person who makes a difference to the future of the animals at Moorook. I am happy to support you in your quest to improve the conditions and policies there.

The Moorook Animal Shelter have managed to successfully home over 2000 unwanted dogs which is an outstanding achievement for South Australia animal rescue.

All adult dogs are C3 vaccinated upon arrival, the pups are assessed over a short period of time before being administered vaccinations - the pups are immediately placed on a herbal remedy to increase their immune system.

Almost all dogs are now desexed, previous issues prevented this from happening to all animals and hopefully this has now been rectified. Sourcing veterinary care at reasonable rescue / shelter rates proved to be difficult and we are now fortunate and grateful to have found this assistance. If a dog finds a home before being desexed the shelter obviously encourages this take place and offer to transport the chosen animal to the vet - please keep in mind that the shelter is 3 hours away from Adelaide and they still offer transport. It is very easy to state that all dogs must be desexed but I am not sure that I could put a dog to sleep because his or her previous owner didn't bother to do this, I could not look into the eyes of a dog and put him/her to sleep over a few miserable dollars. We encourage people to donate specifically to desex the animals, we welcome sponsorship. Please...choose a dog and round up the funds from family, friends and work colleagues and donate, it is amazing how many people are willing to contribute a few dollars to this cause and it adds up very quickly. Money can be paid directly to the Adelaide Plains Veterinary Surgery at Two Wells - name the dog - this scenario works well.

The dogs at Moorook are not selected from local pounds, often they are left broken at the gate. The manager will return on her many veterinary trips to find pups in cardboard boxes in the sun with no water... then the frantic mother to the pups appears and she is in a terrible frightened state. Not a day goes by with only joy, there is so much heartache, what some people do to these animals in incomprehensible. Recently a little dog was actually thrown from the car as they were driving by - they didn't even stop (a 10 month old pure bread chi)! The shelter rescue dogs from people that have been sent to prison - many of these dogs are so gorgeous - is this their fault? Often a dog arrives as their owner has passed away - is this their fault? Often a dog arrives as they have been literally dumped at the waters edge, their owner didn't even bother to dump them at the gate of the shelter, if left they have to survive like savages, if they are fortunate, they find their way to the shelter - should they be put down - is this their fault? Some are so traumatised that they will not find a home but, the shelter is far better than where they have been. Dogs dumped at the gate do not have a history for us to work on, the lucky ones are actually delivered in person to the shelter - they have a head start in providing information to their new potential owner.

The shelter is certainly not an ideal environment for these dogs to be in, it is not the Hilton, it is a half way house, providing them the time and a means to the find a forever loving home. All dogs at the Moorook Animal Shelter have an endless supply of food, a massive tub of water (some of the smart ones use as a swimming pool in this heat) and they all have overhead protection from the weather. It is a sad place of survival. These dogs need positive proactive people helping, supporting, funding and finding homes for them. Negative comments will have such an awful impact on their future, they are there whether we like it or not but we can affect their duration of stay and their journey

We do not live in this world, ours lives are protected from this. We love our animals so much, they are our happiness, but not everyone thinks like this. These dogs are relying on the compassionate people to help them find a better life.

The volunteers of the Moorook Animal Shelter will no longer be responding to the comments on this site. All our spare time will be spent constructively assisting the shelter - please remember that we are all non paid helpers attending our daily employment, managing our homes, loving our families, loving our pets, trying to find time to visit friends etc, there is simply not enough hours in our day.

We hope this post clarifies some of the inaccurate information posted on these forums.