June already, time certainly flys when there's animals to be rescued!

The past few months have been a very productive time for South West Animal Rescue. We have expanded further and taken on a new volunteer role - Adoption Coordinator. Tanya comes on board with a wealth of knowledge of animals, and most importantly a keen desire to see them rehomed to loving forever homes. Tanya's role is to liase with potential adopters to establish the most appropriate home for the animal to go to. This is done via a home visit where Tanya makes an appointment to come to the potential adopters home. Fences are checked and an informal interview is conducted to make sure the people know as much about the animal as we know, for them to make an informed decision as to whether it is the right one for their family. The potential adopter then views the animal and has the opportunity to ask the foster carer more information. An application form is filled out and reviewed and a decision is then made. Most people understand our desire to see the animals go to loving families who understand the responsibilties of pet ownership, however some people do get angry at our adoption process and question why they cant just "have" the animal. The reasoning behind this is simple - these beautiful, special animals have already been dumped once. They have either been taken and surrendered to the pound by their humans who they trust and love. Or they have been dumped in the bush or on the side of the road, like a pile of rubbish and ended up wandering the streets, again by the people they love and trust. This is extremely traumatic for them. We dont want to see that happening again and if it means screening people to find the most appropriate home, then we make no apologies for that.

We have some wonderful animals in our care at the moment. Misty is a overly loving, overly happy and overly affectionate dog! She is a wonderful girl that leaves you in no doubt the appreciation she has at  receiving attention and I know with the right family would make a loyal and still overly affectionate dog!  Angus reminds me of a Mr Mom. He is the sweetest, friendliest dog that makes me wonder why he hasnt found a new home. He came to us already trained, he loves to fetch a ball and bring it back and is really hoping his new life will begin on a larger property as he doesnt like being in a small surburban block.  Maggie is also a wonderful young lady who last time I visited her at her foster carers home, I was amazed at how far she had come. She was really getting the hang of the obedience training and her foster carers have done a wonderful job at teaching her. These wonderful dogs and others animals listed on our Animal page are all desperately looking for a loving new home, where they will be treated with love and respect, kindness and compassion - this is our hopes and dreams for these animals and many more like them who we know will face an uncertain future after being abandoned, in the months and years to come.

South West Animal Rescue is looking for more foster carers. The number of animals we can rescue is based on the number of foster carers we have. If you are thinking about becoming a foster carer, or know someone who is thinking, please ask them to contact us urgently. We are still turning away a number of animals each week. The desperate and confused stares of dogs and puppies in pounds and cats and kittens dumped at vet clinics that don't have happy endings and are destined to be euthanased are a community concern that we should all be focusing on.

"I saw deep in the eyes of the animal, the human soul looked upon me"    (Edward Carpenter)