Dog Rescue Association of Victoria Inc. | Businesses

Dog Rescue Association of Victoria Inc.

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24.01.2022 What do you call dogs and cats in general - he/she/it?

21.01.2022 This is an interesting article from the Dogs Trust in England. We are particularly concerned for puppies in Melbourne that may have missed out on that important socialization period. There are certainly enough dog reactive dogs already who have never had proper socialization. They have little chance when they go to a shelter.

20.01.2022 Be Kind to Animals Week (1-7 October). Support Edgar's Mission. Take the fun pledge and receive inspiring tips and recipes in your inbox each day through Be Kind to Animals Week (1-7 Oct), and a free Kindness Kit in the mail. Plus a chance to win a Kind Cookbook Collection. www.bekindtoanimalsweek.org

11.01.2022 All over the world dogs’ lives are a lottery. Will we survive? Will we find a good home? Rescue groups in Victoria have made a difference. The major shelters have had to accept that the public do not want these dogs and cats to die unnecessarily. Rescue groups offer a viable alternative so that the Lost Dogs Home and RSPCA can no longer say there is no choice.... Thank you to those who adopt rescue dogs and cats, who volunteer and foster for community-based rescue groups, for those who support us and raise their voices. We have made a difference and thanks to you there are now more than 100 rescue groups in Victoria. We can see already that the next step will be that there are those from the animal welfare establishment who will try to pressure the government into making us become more like them, hedging us in and again forcing us to fit into a square hole that suits them. We welcome accountability, but not being forced to be something we have never wanted to be, something we established ourselves to not be. They tried to destroy us when we began, they didn’t succeed. We have grown and are now stronger and better known. The review of our sector still sits on the Minister’s desk two years later. Another Minister has come and gone without it being looked at further, despite promises made by then Minister Pulford. Meanwhile our volunteer groups will continue to be the compassionate face of animal welfare in Victoria. And we repeat our mantra. We do this because we care, not because we have a hidden agenda, want better administration buildings, or higher salaries. What other sector can say this? Let’s see what 2021 brings.

09.01.2022 Well done, Switzerland. Meanwhile in Victoria it is perfectly legal to tether your dog - there is a voluntary code that says the dog must be off the chain/leash for one hour a day. Does he have food/water and a tin roof over his head? Don’t ring the RSPCA because they won’t be interested.

08.01.2022 What do you consider cruelty to domestic pets? The revision of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, long overdue, raises serious questions. Is it cruel to leave a domestic pet, a puppy or a dog you have adopted, outside 24 hours a day with no other dog, fed and given water, perhaps even walked every day or second day? This is not to ask if this is how you treat your dog. But what is our obligation to our pets, especially our dogs, who seem to be foolishly more dependent on us. What is more what should be our ‘legal’ obligation to them? What do you think is the minimum that should apply, beyond which a council or other body should be able to intervene? Just lack of food and water or taking into account their other needs. What do you believe is appropriate?

07.01.2022 Brilliant speech by Andy Meddick saying what all the readers of this page would know, but sadly those in power continue to ignore. For fifteen years we have been asking for change. Sadly it took Dash being killed by the RSPCA and Claire Harris, the foster carer, who didn't accept that this had to be the case, to give impetus to this terrible situation. After the puppy farm amendment fiasco, our sector was promised a erview by the then Minister Jala Pulford. This happened. We pleaded for changes, for the very basic changes that Andy Meddick has now presented to Parliament. Where is the review? Buried on the current minister's desk we imagine. Sadly the dogs and cats that have continued to die in that time are decomposing at the tip. #stopconveniencekilling #poundreform

05.01.2022 Scotland has increased the penalty for animal cruelty to five years. Let’s hope when the revised POCTA finally comes out it follows the same path. So many magistrates just impose fines on cruelty cases. Studies show there is a correlation between the length of maximum sentences and how the offenders are sentenced that is, if there are laws with a long maximum sentence the court will take the offence more seriously. What is your view on the current treatment of animal cruelty?

04.01.2022 How wonderful to see! The Bidens will be bringing the first ever rescue dog into the White House. It just goes to show that all dogs, shelter or otherwise, deserve the finest things in life. Even if you have the money for a puppy farm dog, is that the best choice for you and the animals? Good luck, Major! Don’t dig up the rose garden.

04.01.2022 Rescue groups have been saying for 15 years that the laws need changing. The last rewrite of the Code of Practice for the Management of Shelters and Pounds was a joke. A sad one. We see what is happening because we work at the coalface and we see how we are denied dogs and cats, often for petty reasons like the management may not like that person or that group. We are expected to keep quiet about what we see. We are expected to curry favour so we are 'allowed' to take do...gs. We have seen individuals refusing to take phone calls from a group desperate to save a dog or cat. We see shelters hiding what happens to produce better figures, like the shelter some years ago that was notorious for not vetworking any animal as unless an adopter appeared they would send back to the pound to be killed. That way that death did not appear on their figures. Others would/do cherry pick from pounds. Now the RSPCA is taking the easy way - don't publish figures at all. Why are the RSPCA stepping back from so many of their pound contracts/running rural shelters? Is it because now that questions are asked about their kill rate and there is an expectation that dogs and cats will be held, that they are no longer profitable? Sadly the Minister for Agriculture is badly mistaken in her comment that 'euthanasia' can only occur after a full health assessment. The Code which had its last substantial revision in 2011 clearly states that "anti-social animals or an animal with known vices such as excessive barking, or habitual escapees must not be made available for sale" How sociable would your pet be in a pound? Was the habitual escapee leaving a farm through an open gate? Or barking because they were neglected in a back yard 24 hours a day. These and other elements of the Code give so much leverage to those from the dark side who do not want to rehome, who do not want to deal with rescue, who basically see the pets as a commodity which it is their right to dispose of as they wish. Healthy dogs are often killed. Of course there are good and bad shelters. We know who they are. Do you? A very simple way to control this is to make it easier to rehome a dog than it is to kill the dog. Let the pound or shelter have to write to the Minister to give a reason for each death. In some European countries a dog or cat cannot be killed without official approval. Then let these records be open to public scrutiny and decide where you want your donations/support to go. We can more than dream of a Victoria where these pets do not die needlessly. We can let the government and these shelters and pounds that your taxes and rates pay for, know that it is just not good enough. See more

03.01.2022 Puppy farms are still ongoing in Victoria. What we do NOT need are more unsocialised staffies! They are great dogs but they deserve better than this and unlike the ‘cute’ breeds who have a very good chance of being rehomed second time around, a high percentage of these puppies will end up being killed in pounds and shelters when they are no longer wanted. If you are in the area do please object.

02.01.2022 Thanks to the Australian Charities and Not for profits Commission for the reminder that today is International Volunteers Day. A big shout out to all foster carers, past, present and hopefully future, on this day designated to recognise the incredibly important contributions made to all animal rescue charities by volunteers. DRAV acknowledges the vital contribution made by all foster carers (without who rescue groups simply would not be able to rescue and rehome all the dogs... and cats they do) and is deeply grateful that these kind and generous people open the doors to their hearts and homes to ensure each of these precious animals achieve a 'happily ever after' story. We know it can be hard to foster - even though there are great joys, fun and happiness involved too - and we know sad tears can be shed on saying goodbye to the foster pet as it goes to its forever home, but foster carers can take comfort knowing that their short-term tears are a comparatively small price to pay for the monumental lifetime of happiness given to these animals - voluntarily. Bless you all.