Record number of puppies arriving at Dogs’ Home of Tasmania prompts urgent fundraising push
The Dogs’ Home of Tasmania is bursting at the seams with puppy love — but the huge number of them has prompted an urgent fundraising push.
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There are some new faces lending a hand at the Dogs’ Home of Tasmania — and they arrive on four paws.
Along with the nine other Staghound cross puppies in their litter, eight-week old Patty Bouvier and Santa’s Little Helper are donning their ties and manning the phones as part of the charity’s urgent tax appeal.
They are among the sixty puppies currently being cared for by home – the highest figure seen in at least eight years.
“Numbers are going through the roof at the moment,” CEO Mark Wild said.
“As we get more dogs we have more work to do, so it’s a compounding problem.”
The exact reason behind the spike remains unknown.
But with the shelter entirely funded by community donations, Mr Wild said it was facing “a lot of pressure”.
“This puppy crisis has certainly been driven by cost of living and housing issues, but fundamentally the majority of puppies are unwanted,” he said.
“We’re funded purely by the generosity of the Tasmanian community, so we’re really pushing for this fundraiser.”
Donations will go towards general operations, including covering rising veterinary costs and supplies.
Mr Wild also hopes the funding push sends a strong message around the importance of de-sexing.
“With dogs living together the chance of having a litter is fairly high, so through encouraging responsible pet ownership we want to try and stop that a little bit,” he said.
The shelter, located in Risdon Vale, has been operating for more than 70 years.
A former local adopter has also pledged to match donations dollar for dollar up to $10,000 for 48 hours starting Wednesday.
For more information go to dhot.com.au
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