Meet the woman saving Sydney’s abandoned dog population
The future is bleak for unloved dogs with hundreds of thousands abandoned to shelters and the streets. But Monika Biernacki provides hope.
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Most of us are aware of the plight facing pound dogs.
Each year, hundreds of thousands of animals are abandoned to shelters or the streets.
Left alone and facing a potential death sentence, the future for these unloved pooches is uncertain and bleak.
Thankfully, a handful of selfless individuals across the country are offering glimmers of hope for these down-on-their-luck pups, by helping find them forever homes.
Enter Monika Biernacki.
Founder of registered charity Monika’s Doggie Rescue and patron saint to Sydney’s unwanted canine community, Biernacki’s path was set after an encounter with a pair of rescue dogs in the late 1980s.
“I was at my vet with my own dogs when a family brought in two healthy dogs to be euthanised as their owner – a relative – had died, and the family didn’t want them,” she said. “I said I’d take them and try and find a home, which I did.”
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After she saved the two pooches from doggie death row, Biernacki became a go-to for unwanted dogs in her area. In the pre-internet years, searching for new homes required more legwork.
“I’d have to put signs on telegraph poles (and get into trouble for doing it) and put ads in the local papers,” she said. “All the vet costs, food, and advertising, my husband and I paid for.”
A geologist and mineral economist by trade, Biernacki’s rehoming operation quickly swelled and became a full-time job.
Left with more dogs than she could handle, a generous supporter offered use of some acreage – “a godsend,” Biernacki said – and Monika’s Doggie Rescue was born.
The organisation became a registered charity in 2001 and now operates from Ingleside in NSW.
“I work at the shelter as a volunteer six days each week,” Biernacki said.
“A typical day starts at 6am, often earlier. I have a few foster dogs at home, usually young pups, who need early morning meals and puppy milk, as well as some geriatrics and post-surgery patients, all on particular medication regimes.
“Being a charity working on a shoestring basis, I don’t have the luxury of having much support,” she said.
“The whole day is just multi-tasking and things happening, drivers arriving with dogs from vets, grooming help, kind people arriving with donations, people just wanting to say ‘hi’ with a doggie they got from us years ago, keeping the website up-to-date with all the animal profiles, checking health of animals and lots more.”
Ultimately, the main focus for Biernacki and her small team of volunteers is to find homes for their continually growing population of dogs.
“We’re contacted regularly by a number of the major pounds about animals that need help from rescue groups such as ours to train and rehabilitate,” she said.
In the world of rescue dogs, every day counts. Pounds in Sydney keep stray and surrendered animals for between seven and 14 days before destroying them.
“Fifty-thousand dogs lose their lives this way in NSW alone every year,” Biernacki said. “Most are perfectly healthy and the majority are under 12 months old. We pick up dogs every week from the pound just before they are to be destroyed. We get litters of newborn pups, pregnant females, pure breeds and much-loved pets whose owners have likely passed away.”
There is still a staggering number of furry friends looking for a family to love them.
“Adopting a rescue dog is such a rewarding experience,” Biernacki said.
“Watching the changes that occur in the dog and seeing them lose their fear is such an incredible feeling.”
Witnessing this transformation is what keeps Biernacki going – despite the all-consuming nature of the work, and the constant battle to make ends meet.
“Sometimes it’s so hard,” she said. “It’s a rollercoaster of emotions – from happy times when long term pets are adopted, to needing to put animals to sleep when they’re suffering.”
Biernacki has helped to adopt more than 12,700 dogs in the past 20 years.
It’s a legacy she’s proud of, even though it hasn’t come without sacrifice.
“Personally, I have very little time with my family, no holidays, no time to shop or even to eat some days,” she said.
However, I am so passionate about this. People who love animals understand it – other people think I’m crazy. But the updates and stories I get from families who have adopted from us keep me going. These are a constant reminder that the animals need me and I can’t let them down.”
To find out more about Monika’s Doggie Rescue, to donate, or to see the animals currently available for adoption visit doggierescue.com.
Originally published as Meet the woman saving Sydney’s abandoned dog population
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