Pets Haven Dog & Cat Shelter | Warcom

Hi everyone,

I've started this thread as I'm trying to raise awareness for an awesome charity organisation known as Pet's Haven .. located in sunny Melbourne.

Pet's Haven is a not for profit charity, run by volunteers.

What set's Pet's Haven apart from any other pet rescue centre in Australia is; they are "pro life". Their policy is 'The first option is adoption'

Where as many places like the RSPCA and Lort Smith will just euthanize animals, if they are unable to find a home for them between 7-14 days.

I've put my money where my mouth is and Warcom's (and I'm struggling big time myself at the moment), my staff have also chipped in so far we've donated around $1500, not to mention countless hours of time and effort we've put in, and will continue to put in - but we're desperate now and we need your help.

Our good friends at http://www.campaignmonitor.com have also come to the party by helping us our with access to their email marketing system for free - so we're extremely thankful to Ben, Dave and all the staff there.

Things are getting pretty rough down at the shelter at the moment though, and they may be forced to close down, as they simple can't afford to pay their vet bills, their feed bills and all the other associated bills surrounding running everything.

Before I say much else, I'd urge everyone to simply watch this video - it will explain the plight of what these amazing ladies do and the lady who started it all, more so than I ever will.

Some people may find it distressing though, so man-to-man (albeit it, I'm more sensitive than most guys) .. I'd suggest you have a tissue handy.

Tomorrow:



I'm not really asking for much - but if all of us can chip in $5 or $10 bucks (heck, donate as much as you can really) the shelter will be able to stay open for at least another month or two, whilst we try and seek government funding, or funding from some place else to assist.

Anything you can donate at all, will be great fully appreciated by all the volunteers at the shelter and I'm sure if the animals at the shelter could talk; like these guys: (we had them in our office last week).




Ryder was about 3 days away from being destroyed, before Pet's Haven rescued him.



Midnight was also rescue by Pets Haven - despite being blind in one eye, from a pre-pets-haven day, he's now a happy dog!

They'd be eternally grateful.

Your $5 or $10, could help save an animals life...

Donate here: http://www.petshaven.com.au/



nb: If there's any like minded business people out there on OCAU who would like to jump on board with me, and help out - please feel free to give me a call Monday and we'll have a chat: 1300 927 266, or my personal email is: paul@warcom.com.au

Sincerely & thank you.

Paul Warren.
Founder & CEO.
Warcom.

 

Just donated $20.

will also Spam on FB and other sites

and now seriously considering volunteering there.

 

Where is sunny melbourne? is that a small town in north queensland that shares the name of the dark, cold victorian city, much in the same way that london, alabama borrows its name from the UK city of the same name?

donated $10.

EDIT - god dammit watching this video has made me miss the open fields and sunshine that i took for granted in australia for 22 years.

 

Will not watch.

 

Great work so far guys! I'll update a list of those who donate.

 

Thanks to those who have donated so far guys.

 

Popped $20 through. Good work fellas.

 

We got both our cats from there. They do great work and have bought things from them many times.

 

Euthanasia is not the worst thing in the world. Whilst I applaud the ideals of trying to save every animal, it is simply not possible. The problem with not euthanasing animals is that it becomes a massive welfare issue. The poor animals end up living out their lives in institutions, often receiving only the minimal amount of care required.

The real issue which I am sure regulars have seen people like Melza and myself push is societies reluctance to properly control animal breeding. (not speaking here for Melza on the no kill thing). Until society steps up and accepts that it is responsible for there being too many animals, the welfare industry is going to have to keep euthanasing ex pets.

No kill shelters are not an answer, in fact they prolong the issue, with people knowing that if their little fluffy has puppies and can't find homes, they can sleep easy knowing the pups won't be killed.

Until people go to shelters and ask "where are all the animals" we will continue to need euthanasia to clean up societies mess.

Do donate to help out animals, the cause is a great one. I would however think more about supporting larger animal charities such as WASPA, RSPCA - groups working towards real change in animal welfare, not just "feel good" stuff.

 

Sorry mate but where do you get your information from? RSPCA will euthanize an animal only due to injury or is unsafe to rehome.

My dog was at the RSPCA for 6 months until we adopted him.

 

Their policy also states that they'll euthenase animals if there aren't enough homes for dogs (link). This is necessary, of course, due to their policy of accepting any animal if the owners cannot care for it.

Other pet rescue groups tend to be more choosy (in that they will refuse to take animals if they don't have space available, or only adopt dogs from the Pound when they do have space). Of course, all of these smaller groups have a no-euthenasia policy, stated or unstated - they only take dogs that have a good chance of being adopted.

Just to prove that Pet Haven are not unique in this regard, I will provide an example of another shelter that has a clearly stated no-euthenasia policy:

(from Greyhound Rescue).



Anyway, I agree with Millhouse - by all means support the smaller rescue groups, because they provide invaluable service. However, don't disregard the financial needs of the 'big' groups (RSPCA etc).

 

I never knew that. I used to volunteer at there main shelter in Sydney and they shipped animals off to regional shelters all the time when Yagoona got full.

 

RSPCA have freaking terrible euthanasia rates. RSPCA NSW being the worst - 12 million dollar profit last year and killed 51% of the animals in their care. Victoria is a little better from what I understand but still unacceptable rates of euthanasia.

I know and work with people who have worked at the RSPCA. They kill animals for all sorts of reasons. Jump up too much? Mouthy? Unsure in a shelter environment? Death sentence.

They also maintain such disgustingly high euthanasia rates while continuing to refuse to work with rescue. Disgusting.

I pretty much agree with everything, especially re: the animals becoming Institutionalised. I've seen dogs in shelters for three years. Euthanasia would have been kinder.

However - low kill or 'getting to zero' can and has been proven to work. This means no euthanasia of healthy or medically and behaviorally treatable animals. When done correctly it is achievable and many pounds and shelters are not starting to adopt these strategies and achieving great results. One of the biggest key points is working directly with rescue groups such as pet haven and utilizing them.

 

I disagree Melza. The whole concept of zero kill cannot work on a logical premise. Simple undeniable facts:
- there is a finiite amount of caring homes for animals.
- currently there is a continuous supply of new animals into the system (uncontrolled breeding from all quarters)

Therefore if a finite amount of homes are filled, what happens with the new animals coming into the system? It's basic maths. If the population of animal owning people kept up with the breeding rates of dogs and cats in Australia we would be OK.

I do have real issues with these organisations who proclaim no kill, and carry on with all the moral smugness that entails, when the reality is is that the "problem" of euthanasing animals has just been shoved to someone else. Claims to not kill anything are true on their behalf, but other welfare agencies who are being pushed towards utilising theses smaller groups to shift their animals end up filling them. So what happens then? The bigger agencies call up and ask if they have room for one more dog - nope, we are full. So the larger agency who is also full euthanses the animal. No blood on the small agencies hands, because they didn't kill it.

Euthanasia rates are a silly way of deriding an orgnaisation. Was the RSPCA NSW at any time last year devoid of animals? Did anyone come in and was shocked to find that there were no animals for adoption? My guess is no they weren't. So therefore there were not too many animals euthanased. The ones that would of been kept alive to reduce that rate would still be institutionalised and suffering welfare issues. Their potential new owners aren't sitting at home thinking that their one opportunity to own a dog is gone. If they wanted a dog they will have one. There are always new animals coming into the system to fill up the adoption places available.

The big question is: If euthanasia were to stop tomorrow (which there are some people advocating (not here)) where would all the animals go? All the new animals being born would need to find homes. Where would they go?

As unpalatable as it is, dogs and cats are still going to need to be euthanased whilst Australian society continues to create more and more unwanted kittens/puppies. Cry all you like for the dead kittens, but it is not the welfare agencies doing - people who do not desex their pets, and unregulated breeding are to blame. The welfare agencies are just cleaning up the mess.

 

curious as to where you got these figures?
quick google turns up articles saying they needed a cash injection from the state govt last year to upgrade the yagoona shelter

Agree with Millhouse's statements above, there really needs to be more regulation of the puppy/kitten farm type breeders
2 of the 3 dogs I have owned over the last 20 years have been rejects from people or families who didn't know what they were getting themselves into.

 

I wont be donating, but thought it would be good to point something out. We were left with a $3500 vet bill after rescuing a cocker spaniel from Pets Haven.

Now I am not saying that they do not do a fantastic job. We haved Cadel from this place http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eFD0B6sYf8&feature=share (Very GRAPHIC!)

We adopted him from Pet's Haven, and while they did a lovely job of saving him, they did not do blood tests to diagnose his Lymphoma, we collected him from the shelter and he lasted 4 weeks before he died. He had been sick for months.

From my post here: http://forums.overclockers.com.au/showpost.php?p=13521665&postcount=1263

Since then we have had some pretty heated debates with pet haven. I would love to post some of the back and forths we have had. But I wont. Its not needed, lets just say, they were more interested in vet reports to press charges against original owners then both the financial and emotional pain that we had been through.

Its a shame that a organisation that does so well in saving animals, does very little to assess them once saved. Even a simple $85 blood test is avoided, which would have identified the issue at hand.

It has stopped us completely from even entertaining rescuing another dog. It was simple far to traumatic.

 

Yeah, I wasn't going to say it here but if you've opened it up Humblebum, I have heard horrendous things about Pets Haven. I haven't seen them with my own eyes so I can't confirm their truth but it's enough to ensure that I don't donate.

Millhouse - on my phone so can't write as good a rePly as I'd like to.

Getting to zero can and does work if the organization follows a multi-faceted approach. One organisation on their own cant do it - but working with the community they can do it WITHOUT holding onto animals for years and years on end.

I don't agree with the true definition of 'no kill' - that you never kill anything, ever. But you can achieve only euthanasia for untreatable animals (medically or behaviorally).

The proof is in the pudding - open admission pounds in NSW are achieving it (the ones that are embracing it are now down to about 12% euthanasia for dogs), open admission pounds and shelters in the US are achieving it... The proof is in the pudding - it can be done if you want to do it.

I don't agree with your statement RE the RSPCA. Euthanasing animals for having no space while simultaneously refusing to work with rescue is disgusting and completely unacceptable. They can achieve a low euthanasia rate just like every other pound or shelter can if they want to. Rescue groups are literally begging them to let them take animals from them and they refuse. You can't claim you're euthanasing animals for space reasons and the refuse to allow people to take them - this freeing up space. They also euthanase massess of animals based on behavioral reasons when most are easily dealt with by training - especially if you allow the animal to go out to foster so they can have personal one-on-one training in a home environment.

In contrast - RSPCA ACT aren't stuck in the dark ages and are embracing foster care, advertising, cheap pet days, social media (the list goes on) and have achieved fantastic rates of adoption - off the top of my head 90-something percent are saved.

 

I think its wonderful that they attempt to save these animals, but we have been left tarnished by the whole process. It still pains me today to remember what we had to go through.



Ill leave it at that. I have said enough. If people feel the need to donate please do. They really do need the money.

 

Best to save those that have the best chance. I suspect the smaller RSPCA centres have a bit of an easier time than the sheer numbers the ones in the big cities have to deal with.

It's getting harder to live in a home that allows pets in the big cities, the supply of pets is never ending and the number of homes is finite. "Zero kill" is a fantasy.

Saw this happen overseas in asia where a 'zero kill' shelter was started up, funds were spread so thin that animals were suffering in care instead, and those that went out had little to no quality control.

Unstable animal goes nuts, owner rejects it and then refuses to go back through the adoption system ever again. I know I'm a little wary these days even thinking about adopting another animal with an unknown history.

There's only so many you can have in foster care too.

 

I agree with you that zero kill is a fantasy. That's exactly what I've been saying. I'm talking about working towards not killing any healthy or treatable animals. This means a rehoming rate of 90% or more.

Ok, if you want to say that the only reason AWL ACT were able to save so many animals was that they're smaller (not because of their progressive strategies and visionary CEO), then how about a much, much bigger shelter.

Animal Welfare League QLD. Have a read of this page:

http://www.awlqld.com.au/about/position/pet-rescue-gold-coast/

Direct link to the G2Z model:

http://www.awlqld.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/AWL_Qld_Getting_to_Zero_Model.pdf

Quote: "AWLQ only had to save another 1% of dogs and 15% of cats (all treatable) to be at zero euthanasia of all healthy and treatable cats and dogs for a whole city."

They are open admission and used as a pound by the Council. They turn no animal away and do not hoard them for years on end.

AWL NSW has now joined this initiative (I'm good friends with the new CEO who is incredibly proactive and has implemented this recently) and are well on the way to acheiving the same. They have a much, much better euth rate than RSPCA NSW despite being exactly the same in almost every way bar the fact that they didn't make as much profit ($12 million dollars and you've only saved 51%?? come on!), and they follow the strategies that are proven to significantly reduce euthanasia.

(From memory here so don't quote me exactly) - Wyong and Musswellbrook pounds in NSW are now hovering at around the 12% saved, Singleton Pound - 17.5%. All are open admission pounds and do not hold onto dogs for a long time. They have acheived this simply by working with rescue groups - something the RSPCA still refuses to do.

Please everyone don't think I am supporting the kind of 'No kill' shelter that picks and chooses the animals they take in and then warehouses them for years on end. I am so against those kinds of places it's not funny and think that euthanasia is much kinder then sitting in a shelter for the rest of your life. I do not support them in any way.

I do support initiatives such as the above that actually DO work and are proven to work without detriment to the animal. The attitude most have posting here is the 'old school' attitude to pounds and unwanted animals, which is a normal attitude to have and one that I had myself until I got more involved in this side of things. But just like anything - as time goes on better models come about that work really well and it's up to the people who are in the pounds to get with the times and stop killing animals when they don't have to. The fact that the RSPCA which are supposed to be for all creatures great and small continue to refuse to even do the bare basics - work with rescue - is completely unacceptable.

RSPCA- for 51% of creatures great and small.