Dog shelters and animal shelters are facing an overpopulation crisis, where the volunteers of these shelters are crying out for help.
Dakota Power of Shenton Park’s Dog Refuge Home, says, “[Their] refuge is running over 100% capacity and has been for a number of years.”
Currently, the home contains around 200?dogs and puppies in care with them being spread out across various refuge and foster homes.
There are many reasons for the cause of this overpopulation crisis, but the most pertinent are cost-of-living, the rental crisis, lower rates of desexing and backyard breeding.
This overpopulation means dogs that aren’t taken are likely to be euthanised.
The RSPCA provides a report at the end of each financial year which addresses the statistics of dogs that have been reclaimed or rehomed.
In the most recent report from 2023-24 (shown bellow), it was revealed that the RSPCA received 17,468 dogs, of which 68.7 per cent were rehomed or reunited with their owners.
This is number has decreased each year since 2020-21, demonstrating an issue surrounding the breeds of dogs that are sent to shelters, and the struggle it can be to find them a new home, which commonly leads to euthanasia.
The most common breeds of dog available for adoption on the Shenton Park’s Dog Refuge Home website are Staffys, mixed breeds and Bull Terriers.
All of these types of breeds can be linked with erratic, unpredictable and in extreme cases, dangerous behaviour.
These are the main reasons why over 30 per cent of euthanasia has occurred within 17,468 dogs in 2023-24, according to the RSPCA.
The RSPCA says that these behaviours are typically linked to aggression and severe anxiety, which are then not able to successfully treat through behavioural modification programs.
These issues compromise the dog’s welfare and quality of life, as well as being a safety risk to adults, children and other animals in the community.
Bruce Jackson, a Carine resident and German Shepherd-owner of over 60-years, got his most recent dog Jess, through a shelter in 2016 and was hesitant to do so after his previous five were all purchased as puppies.
Jess was three-years old when Mr Jackson got him and was consistently tied up in an all-concrete backyard, leaving her with little-to-no exposure to other dogs.
Mr Jackson says “[It was] very hard to deal with initially, if she didn’t have the leash on, she was would likely severely injure or possibly kill any dog she could get access to.”
“[Jess is] a wonderful dog who although doesn’t like other?dogs, loves people which is so great.”
According to Mr Jackson, Jess is a great dog who does not like to be among other dogs; however, she loves to be with people.
“I will walk her with a short leash, at quiet times in the day with to my local park and luckily enough we have a big backyard so lots of play sessions is enough for her.”
Ms Power says, “We always ask people to consider a rescue rather than going through a backyard breeder.”
Ms Power expresses that appropriate desexing measures are imperative, saying, “When litters of puppies are surrendered into [their] care, whenever possible [they] try to desex the parents as a part of our ‘Last Litter’ program to prevent more unwanted litters of puppies ending up in rescues.”
The home also currently works to educate the public on responsible pet ownership and the importance of desexing your pets as well as never purchasing an animal through a backyard breeder.
