Dogs of all shapes and sizes will be available for adoption from the Epping Animal Welfare Facility for just $100 on Sunday, August 20, as part of RSPCA Victoria’s ‘Hundred Dollar Hounds’ adoption promotion.
The promotion is being held to ease capacity pressure on shelters and is running at all of RSPCA Victoria’s animal care centres. While walk-in appointments are welcome, they are subject to availability, so people are encouraged to make an appointment online before heading into a shelter.
RSPCA Victoria Animal Care Manager Nadia Peiris said RSPCA’s shelters are currently operating at capacity due to a number of factors including fewer reclaims of stray and lost animals that come to RSPCA via councils, more animals with behaviours that require retraining prior to adoption and a decline in adoption applications.
“For us, it really is a perfect storm that is impacting our ability to move animals into their forever homes, which we know is the best place for them,” Ms Peiris said
“We hope that this ‘Hundred Dollar Hound’ adoption promotion will encourage those thinking of welcoming a dog into their family to take that step.”
Ms Peiris said that while RSPCA Victoria operates at capacity for cats annually during kitten season, the organisation has not been at capacity for dogs since the introduction of The Domestic Animals Amendment (Puppy Farms and Pet Shops) Act 2017.
“The last time RSPCA Victoria operated at capacity was prior to the introduction of The Domestic Animals Amendment (Puppy Farms and Pet Shops) Act 2017 which introduced a range of amendments to the Domestic Animals Act 1994. These amendments reformed the dog breeding and pet shop industries in Victoria, as well as better regulating the sale of dogs and cats,” she said,
“The amendments included restricting pet shops to selling dogs and cats sourced from shelters, pounds or enrolled foster carers, resulting in fewer dogs and cats being bred in Victoria, a decrease in the number of illegally bred and then seized by RSPCA Victoria’s Inspectorate and more space for RSPCA Victoria to house other animals in need of our care.
“In fact, while dogs and cats make up the majority of the animals in our care, RSPCA Victoria is currently operating at capacity for all animals. The public can help us by coming into our shelters to adopt dogs, cats, rabbits or guinea pigs.”
Ms Peiris said that these adoption prices are amazing value, with all dogs vet and behaviour checked, microchipped, vaccinated and desexed. RSPCA’s team follows the same careful adoption process to ensure every placement is the right decision for the animal and their new owner.
“Our adoptions staff will make sure to understand a potential adopter’s lifestyle and match them with a dog to ensure a long and happy life match.”
To book an appointment as part of Hundred Dollar Hounds, visit: rspcavic.org/hundred-dollar-hounds/
