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Having travelled the world visiting non-profit organisations, this time Nomadic Hands decided to concentrate on a charity a little closer to home: Sydney Pet Rescue and Adoption Inc (SPRA).

To look at their photos, no one would guess that Remus and Robbo (pictured left) hadn’t spent their entire lives with Melissa and her two other cats Geordie and Chanel (pictured right).  However, if it weren’t for Melissa, the brothers probably wouldn’t be alive now.

Melissa volunteers for SPRA, and fosters cats on a regular basis.  The charity was registered in 2007, on the initiative of Michelle Alber who is now its President, and works to rescue unwanted pets from death at the pound, including dogs, cats, rabbits and occasionally mice and birds.  Michelle had previously volunteered for other animal charities, but felt that more needed to be done.

It is little known that more than 60,000 unwanted Australian dogs are put down every single year, and on average 10 kittens are euthanised at RSPCA pounds every day.  Most of these unwanted animals are the result of non-desexed pets and overwhelmed owners.  Thanks to the work of Sydney Pet Rescue, not all of these animals must die a needless death.

The charity functions by keeping in daily contact with the local pounds, all of which are usually full to capacity.  Sydney Pet Rescue then makes an effort to save animals which are due to ‘check out’ (be put down) that day.

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Melissa has fostered over 30 cats and kittens in the past four years.  Due to their neglected backgrounds, many of the animals are initially very nervous, spending most of the time hiding under her bed.  Munchkin (pictured below right) however was a troublemaker, stalking and attacking Melissa on a regular basis.  Thankfully Melissa persevered with him, and after an eight month behavioural program, he became a well behaved little boy and was re-homed with a good family.  Another rescue cat, Otto (pictured below left), was a Persian whose fur was so matted and dirty that he had to be shaved all over.  After spending three weeks nestled in Melissa’s laundry, he recovered well enough to be happily re-homed.  These animals and their new owners would have missed out on a happy life together if it were not for SPRA.

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The adoption process is thorough.  Potential owners are carefully vetted and their needs are coordinated with the needs of the animals to ensure the best match.  Giving away an animal after fostering can be a sad process, however Melissa sees it positively – not only will the cat be going to a loving and permanent home, but it is also an opportunity for her to save another cat’s life in its place.

Everyone involved is an unpaid volunteer and money is raised through donations and raffles.  This money is used to fund vet care for the animals and to buy bedding and litter on behalf of the foster carers.  If foster carers are unable to afford food for their pets, then the charity will help pay for that too.

Melissa stresses that the way forward is through education: “people need to be better informed about what will happen to an animal thatthey surrender to the pound.”  Animals will not sit there forever waiting for new homes – if they are not re-homed within just seven days (14 days for micro-chipped animals) then they will be put down.

Not only this; many people are unaware of the help they can receive for looking after animals.  So many pets are not desexed because of the cost, but there are ways of subsidising this.  DABS charity offers help with paying for desexing, and in fact you’d be surprised how many vets will do it for free if asked.

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There are plenty of ways to get involved if you too would like to help the animals.  If you like pets but are unable to commit long-term, then foster caring could be for you.  SPRA currently has about 35 active foster carers for cats, 12 for dogs, and just one person fostering rabbits.  There is always need for more.  By fostering a pet for as little as a few days before finding it a new home, you can save an animal’s life.

If like me, after a heated – but ultimately unsuccessful – debate with your estate agent, you find yourself unable to foster a pet, there are still other options.  As a volunteer for Sydney Pet Rescue and Adoption you can help out at adoption days, generate awareness and take part in fundraising events.  All the money raised goes straight towards the animals.  If you can convince just one person to foster an animal, then that’s one animal you have saved from an untimely death.

Visit www.sydneypetrescue.com to get involved.

Article by Charlotte Hawkins