Brisbane Lost Dogs Home-giving Away Long Termers

[Mila's Mum]

http://dogshome.com/paw-mate-club/

The Lost Dogs’ Home Warra Shelter is launching the Paw-Mate Club this week in hope of urgently finding new homes for their long-term shelter animals.

As part of the launch, all Paw-Mate Club members will have their adoption fee of $328 for dogs and puppies, $153 for adult cats and kittens waived until all are adopted.

Shelter manager Debra Bell said she was concerned for our long-term adoption candidates, some of which have waited over one-hundred days to be adopted.

Edited September 12, 2014 by Mila's Mum

[Mila's Mum]

http://dogshome.com/brisbane-announcement/

[gillbear]

I am wondering now that the RSPCA is backing away from pound contracts whether the LDH is also following suit due to the poor publicity of euthanasia rates for both organisations.

[Mila's Mum]

Hopefully AWLQLD will get the contract this time - LDH got the tender last time bec their price was so low. And when it comes to local and State Govt, it's all about lowest price is best - regardless of whether or not the job can be done properly at that price.

[mita]

I hope AWL Qld puts in a tender. They're fantastic at gathering in community support & interest, which is needed when running a dog shelter.

[Rosetta]

I really hope AWL takes over in Brisbane. I am not surprised LDH has trouble rehoming animals - most people have never heard of them. A bit of marketing would go a long way to making the public aware of the fact that they actually exist and have animals available for adoption.

[Mila's Mum]

From October last year

http://www.theweeklyreviewboroondara.com.au/story/1791263/lost-dogs-home-under-pressure-in-two-states-over-kill-rates/

Melbourne’s Lost Dogs Home has been accused of euthanising an unacceptable number of animals, with pressure mounting on councils in two states to drop the pound operator.

Animal welfare groups have called on Brisbane City Council to dump the Lost Dogs Home organisation as figures reveal kill rates for unclaimed animals at its two Brisbane pounds are higher than any other facility it runs in Australia.

The allegations come after the Lost Dogs Home came under fire for its euthanasia rates and lost its contract with Melbourne Council, worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The Lost Dogs Home’s figures show it killed 1867 unclaimed dogs and cats, almost four times as many as it re-homed, within nine months of taking over Brisbane’s Bracken Ridge and Willawong pounds in October 2011.

The majority of animals taken in by the shelter were reunited with their owners, but kill rates for unclaimed dogs and cats in Brisbane are now the highest in the country – 63 per cent of dogs and 83 per cent of cats were put down in 2011-12.

According to new figures obtained from Brisbane City Council under freedom-of-information laws by advocacy group Saving Pets, in three months earlier this year six times more dogs were killed than were re-homed.

The Lost Dogs Home’s general manager Kate Hoelter said the figures were misleading because they accounted for only those animals brought in by the council and did not include strays or animals surrendered by the public (believed to be about 30 per cent of dog admissions and 75 per cent of cat admissions).

Ms Hoelter said the Lost Dogs Home’s most recent records showed higher adoption rates over 2012-13 – an average of one dog a day – but said the figures would not be publicly available until later this year. She also refused to provide the shelter’s most recent euthanasia statistics.

Brisbane Council maintains it is “satisfied” with the shelter’s performance of re-homing healthy animals and there are no plans to review the three-year $2.4 million contract, which is up for renewal next year. Cr Krista Adams said the arrangement “paid off for both ratepayers and these pets that now get a second chance”.

But Saving Pets founder Michelle Williamson described Brisbane’s pounds as a “disaster”. “The Lost Dogs Home is the last bastion of the high-kill model and Brisbane needs to prioritise saving animals’ lives.”

A petition on Change.org calling on Brisbane Council to “tell the Lost Dogs Home to stop murdering our Brisbane pets and start working with rescue groups” has attracted 6000 signatures. The campaign comes as the shelter’s critics report a groundswell of support from councils considering dumping it over high kill rates.

The Lost Dogs Home runs animal management services on behalf of 22 councils in three states, but was recently dealt a major blow in Victoria after the Melbourne City Council severed a 14 year relationship with the shelter. The council opted not to renew its $450,000 contract despite having an option for a three-year extension. A spokesman said the council enlisted the RSPCA because it was “the recognised leader in humane animal treatment”.

Other metropolitan councils in Melbourne are also considering dumping the Lost Dogs Home, with some confirming they are conducting internal reviews into whether it would be resigned for another term. Other councils are believed to be “seeing out” their contracts.

Tarsha Andrews, from anti-euthanasia Pound Reform Alliance, said Brisbane needed to follow the lead of Melbourne City Council, alleging, “the Lost Dogs Home doesn’t have the capacity to care for animals”.

“Brisbane needs to take back responsibility for the community’s pets and implement a new shelter system like other progressive communities are doing,” she said.

Former employees from Brisbane’s pounds said the shelter’s euthanasia figures were inaccurate and did not account for all animals that were put down. They criticised the Lost Dogs Home for failing to work with foster groups to re-home animals.

Ms Hoelter denied the allegations, saying the official figures were accurate and that decisions about euthanising and adopting animals were based on assessments from an in-house vet who considered their health and behaviour.

Brisbane Council spokesman Troy Bilsborough said the council investigated claims of higher euthanasia rates last year following a complaint from a former staff member and determined the shelter had “no case to answer”.

Edited September 14, 2014 by Mila's Mum

[Boronia]

AWL have gotten the contract

from Brisbane Times

http://www.brisbanet...bnr=MTAxMzU1ODU

Animal Welfare League named as new operator for Brisbane pounds September 19, 2014 - 12:01AM Kim Stephens

Journalist

Volunteers with the Animal Welfare League. Photo: Rob Williams/The Queensland Times

After three controversial years in charge, the Melbourne-based Lost Dogs Home will soon relinquish control of Brisbane's two animal shelters.

Brisbane City Council has been forced to defend the pound operator against claims of a high kill rate in its three-year tenure, after an animal advocacy group claimed it turned the city into the country's "stray pet-killing capital".

However, the claims by Saving Pets, which the advocacy group alleged came from a Freedom of Information request, were proven to be false by official figures.

The council's lifestyle chief Krista Adams said the council had engaged the Lost Dog's Home in 2011 in a bid to improve re-homing rates of the city's stray animals.

"The Lost Dogs Home was engaged to improve re-homing rates for healthy and suitable cats and dogs and they have successfully delivered on this goal," Cr Adams said.

"They helped improve re-homing rates and since taking over management in 2011, no healthy and suitable dogs and cats have been euthanised."

In a statement, the Lost Dog's Home said it had made the decision not to recontest the contract when its current one expired due to the tyranny of distance.

"After long and careful consideration and with extensive, external developments planned for the Bracken Ridge site, we have decided that the remoteness of the shelters, comparative to our headquarters in North Melbourne, Victoria, was ultimately not conducive to continue running two busy facilities efficiently and effectively," the statement read.

Cr Adams announced on Wednesday that the Animal Welfare League of Queensland had won the new three-year contract and would assume responsibility for the shelters on October 17.

"Brisbane City Council is pleased to announce that it has secured a thee year contract with animal welfare experts, Animal Welfare League of Queensland, to ensure that all healthy and suitable cats and dogs in Brisbane continue to have the best opportunity to be re-homed," Cr Adams said.

"The Animal Welfare League of Queensland has built a strong reputation for being dedicated to providing high quality animal management services and are also a great value service for residents."

This year's council budget documents showed the Lost Dog's Home dramatically improved re-homing rates among the city's stray cats and dogs after the council outsourced operations of its Bracken Ridge and Willawong shelters to them in a three-year $270,000 contract in 2011.

The number of dogs re-homed increased to 400 dogs (or 83 per cent) in the 2013/14 financial year, up from just 71 dogs in the 2010/11 financial year, just prior to the pound operator assuming operational responsibility.

Cat re-homing rates remained problematic however and the kill rate high, due to a feral cat trapping program.

Cr Adams said 60 per cent of cats were euthanised last year, down from 76 per cent in 2010/11, while 17 per cent of dogs were killed.

[mita]

That is wonderful! AWL Qld works in such a way that they get heaps of community support... like volunteers willing to help. Businesses are often happy to provide support, too. I'll be looking out for further ways to help. We've always given an annual donation & I'm a Life Member. So good to have them in Brisbane, at last.

Edited September 19, 2014 by mita

[Boronia]

That is wonderful! AWL Qld works in such a way that they get heaps of community support... like volunteers willing to help. Businesses are often happy to provide support, too. I'll be looking out for further ways to help. We've always given an annual donation & I'm a Life Member.

yes, they are a good rescue group and they acknowledge efforts. At the beginning of winter I put a notice on the local noticeboard asking for cosy dog coats, over 40 new and used were donated and I got an email thanking all the detonators which I put printed out and put on the noticeboard.

[mita]

they are a good rescue group and they acknowledge efforts. At the beginning of winter I put a notice on the local noticeboard asking for cosy dog coats, over 40 new and used were donated and I got an email thanking all the detonators which I put printed out and put on the noticeboard.

Yes, that's the kind of attitude which encourages support. They've been good, genuine & warm people from the very early days when they were a tiny rescue group on the Gold Coast. Have never lost it!

[Rosetta]

Great news for needy dogs around Brissie! An organisation that actually cares about trying to rehome animals!

[Rosetta]

AWL have gotten the contract

from Brisbane Times

http://www.brisbanet...bnr=MTAxMzU1ODU

Animal Welfare League named as new operator for Brisbane pounds September 19, 2014 - 12:01AM Kim Stephens

Journalist

Volunteers with the Animal Welfare League. Photo: Rob Williams/The Queensland Times

After three controversial years in charge, the Melbourne-based Lost Dogs Home will soon relinquish control of Brisbane's two animal shelters.

Brisbane City Council has been forced to defend the pound operator against claims of a high kill rate in its three-year tenure, after an animal advocacy group claimed it turned the city into the country's "stray pet-killing capital".

However, the claims by Saving Pets, which the advocacy group alleged came from a Freedom of Information request, were proven to be false by official figures.

The council's lifestyle chief Krista Adams said the council had engaged the Lost Dog's Home in 2011 in a bid to improve re-homing rates of the city's stray animals.

"The Lost Dogs Home was engaged to improve re-homing rates for healthy and suitable cats and dogs and they have successfully delivered on this goal," Cr Adams said.

"They helped improve re-homing rates and since taking over management in 2011, no healthy and suitable dogs and cats have been euthanised."

In a statement, the Lost Dog's Home said it had made the decision not to recontest the contract when its current one expired due to the tyranny of distance.

"After long and careful consideration and with extensive, external developments planned for the Bracken Ridge site, we have decided that the remoteness of the shelters, comparative to our headquarters in North Melbourne, Victoria, was ultimately not conducive to continue running two busy facilities efficiently and effectively," the statement read.

Cr Adams announced on Wednesday that the Animal Welfare League of Queensland had won the new three-year contract and would assume responsibility for the shelters on October 17.

"Brisbane City Council is pleased to announce that it has secured a thee year contract with animal welfare experts, Animal Welfare League of Queensland, to ensure that all healthy and suitable cats and dogs in Brisbane continue to have the best opportunity to be re-homed," Cr Adams said.

"The Animal Welfare League of Queensland has built a strong reputation for being dedicated to providing high quality animal management services and are also a great value service for residents."

This year's council budget documents showed the Lost Dog's Home dramatically improved re-homing rates among the city's stray cats and dogs after the council outsourced operations of its Bracken Ridge and Willawong shelters to them in a three-year $270,000 contract in 2011.

The number of dogs re-homed increased to 400 dogs (or 83 per cent) in the 2013/14 financial year, up from just 71 dogs in the 2010/11 financial year, just prior to the pound operator assuming operational responsibility.

Cat re-homing rates remained problematic however and the kill rate high, due to a feral cat trapping program.

Cr Adams said 60 per cent of cats were euthanised last year, down from 76 per cent in 2010/11, while 17 per cent of dogs were killed.

I just find that statement impossible to believe!

[Lasareina]

oh that's great news ... I was looking into a traineeship with the local council here in animal management, but got a bit discouraged when I found out about the high kill rate. I think it would be a much better place to work if it was in association with AWL rather than lost dog home :)