Bowen Collinsville Pet Rescue start urgent fundraiser

A North Queensland charity pet rescue is on the brink of closure due to rising vet costs, threatening vital services for vulnerable animals in the region.

Kate and Charlie from Bowen Collinsville Pet Rescue. Photo: Contributed

The only registered animal rescue charity between Giru and Mackay is facing the prospect of closing down as mounting veterinary bills push the small volunteer-run organisation to breaking point.

Bowen Collinsville Pet Rescue is a no kill rescue providing foster care and facilitating veterinary care before adoption but with the number of animals and the associated vet bills increasing, it is getting harder to keep the doors open.

Treasurer of Bowen Collinsville Pet Rescue, Leanna Teorike said their monthly vet bill had more than doubled to over $15,000.

“As a small not-for-profit charity pet rescue, we just do not have the funds to be able to pay for all of it,” she said.

With no government funding they are relying on fundraising and donations to get them through.

Ms Teorike said the entire operation was run by a tiny group of volunteers who dedicated themselves to caring for and rehoming animals across the region.

Maria and Morrigan from Bowen Collinsville Pet Rescue. Photo: Contributed

“It’s very stressful because we obviously all have day jobs, family commitments, lives, and we do all of the rescue stuff outside of that,” she said.

Unlike traditional shelters, Bowen Pet Rescue operates without physical facilities so they rely heavily on foster carers who she said are run off their feet.

“[They] are the backbone of our rescue. Without them, we wouldn’t be able to do what we do,” she said.

“A lot of the time we don’t have enough foster carers. That’s a heavy strain that we have when we don’t have enough foster carers to support the number of animals that we need to be able to take in.”

Sir Timothy Montgomery is one of the pets looking for a home through Bowen Collinsville Pet Rescue. Photo: Contributed

Ms Teorike said they rescued animals regularly anywhere from Townsville to Mackay, and sometimes even further afield.

“The public do rely on us for support when they are wanting to rehome their animals,” she said.

“If people find an abandoned dog on the side of the road or cats that have a broken leg on the side of the road, we are the only registered charity resource that can assist with those situations.

“Covering a huge area with all volunteers and not much money, it does put quite a strain on us, but we do have that real community focus and we are wanting to stay open so that we can continue to do this work.”

Rhea and Stormie from Bowen Collinsville Pet Rescue. Photo: Contributed

Mackay Pet Rescue secretary, Janet Ambrose, said if the organisation closed, neighbouring services would struggle to fill the gap.

“If Bowen was going to close, that would certainly put us under pressure,” she said.

“We don’t have enough foster carers to bring in more … We don’t get any government help or council support.”

Despite the challenges, Ms Teorike said all of the volunteers are passionate about the charity.

“The reason why we do it is because we get so much reward and satisfaction from seeing these animals who have come to us who may have been abused, neglected, abandoned,” she said.

“We rehabilitate them and we send them off to these forever homes where they have amazing lives.”

Originally published as Bowen Collinsville Pet Rescue start urgent fundraiser