Pounds, dog rescues overwhelmed with unwanted lockdown pets

A Sydney rescue has been forced to leave ‘kill list’ dogs behind, stretched to the max by abandoned lockdown pets. This is their last ditch attempt to find the mistreated pups loving new homes.

Sydneysiders are dumping their pandemic pooches at already full council pounds, stretching dog rescue services to breaking point.

Monika’s Doggie Rescue volunteer, event and fundraising manager Jen Barbour said while the group was initially overjoyed by the amount of adoption interest during the lockdowns, things have taken a dramatic turn for the worse.

“A lot of people have gone back to the office and realised the dog that did great when they were home all the time no longer copes,” Ms Barbour said.

James Lean and partner Rosie Van Der Meer pictured with their dogs at St Ives Showgrounds, ready for the Sunset Cinema. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

“Unfortunately people haven’t put the time and effort into training their dogs to be okay on their own, and they are ending up back in the pound system.”

With the sudden increase of dogs already stretching the group’s resources, Monika’s Doggie Rescue was sent reeling after 90 huskies were seized from a hoarder on the Central Coast and 28 ended up in their care.

Volunteers are getting the malnourished and mistreated dogs ready for loving homes, with Ms Barbour pleading with prospective dog owners to consider adopting.

Baz is one of the many huskies up for adoption. Picture: Supplied

“We can’t take dogs from the kill list because we have no space, so more dogs are passing away … people just aren’t adopting anymore,” she said.

The charity has teamed up with Sunset Cinema in St Ives for a special one-night fundraising screening of Clifford The Big Red Dog in a bid to save more dogs and get the “adopt don’t shop” message out.

Volunteers will bring along some of the rescued huskies for moviegoers to meet and greet, and ticket holders are also encouraged to bring along their own fur babies (and spare change for donations).

The screening is in St Ives Showground on Saturday, with tickets on sale at sunsetcinema.com.au.