Frankie the American Staffordshire Terrier spent months in a dog shelter before Sarah Fleming and Ben Macaulay spotted her almost three years ago.
The Lost Dogs’ Home says prospective adopters normally favour young pups, but the Lilydale couple instead picked Frankie, who is now 11.
Sarah Fleming and Ben Macaulay with Frankie, their 11-year-old American Staffordshire terrier.Credit: Chris Hopkins
“We both work full-time, and we didn’t really have the time to train a puppy,” Fleming says. “It’s quite an undertaking. So we opted for a senior dog.”
Her review? “You couldn’t ask for a more loyal companion.”
Figures from the Lost Dogs’ Home, shared with The Age this week, showed the staffy is the most common dog breed in the organisation’s shelters.
Melissa McCarthy, the Lost Dogs’ Home local government and service delivery manager, says a pandemic-era surge in dog ownership had also resulted in larger breeds, such as German shepherds, increasingly being put up for adoption as they grow to full-size and become more difficult to manage.
In the 12 months to June 2020, the Lost Dogs’ Home found new homes for 33 German shepherds. In 12 months to June this year, the charity recorded 113 German shepherd adoptions – a 242 per cent increase.
McCarthy says the breed was one of the few whose price didn’t become astronomical during the COVID-19 years.
“They are cute and fluffy when they’re little, but require a lot of care when they get older,” she says.
McCarthy says the prevalence of staffies at the Lost Dogs’ Home matched their popularity in the community as a cheaper breed that was readily available on websites such as Gumtree.
Bereack, a German shepherd at the Lost Dogs’ Home who is up for adoption.Credit: Justin McManus
Lost Dogs’ Home statistics report the larger American staffy was the most common dog in its shelters over the past year. The organisation adopted out 175 of the breed.
Second was a broad range of dogs recorded as a “staffy”. Among those, 151 adoptions were recorded.
The Lost Dogs’ Home says breed classification is an inexact science because most dogs are brought in without any details about their background.
Many were likely cross-bred, hence the broader staffy category includes a wider variety of dogs that could not be easily placed in a more specific breed type.
Rosie the American Staffordshire terrier and Bereack with handlers Laura (left) and Abbie.Credit: Justin McManus
“But we have broadly seen an increase in staffies – both coming in and going out for adoption,” McCarthy says.
“They are incredibly smart dogs. They want to be sitting inside with their family, going on walks and socialising.”
Her theory on those who gave up their staffies was the owners perhaps “weren’t quite aware of what goes into caring for them”.
“They are not aggressive by nature,” McCarthy says. “We absolutely don’t see it any more in staffies than we see it in, say, a Labrador.”
Rosie is up for adoption at the Lost Dogs’ Home.Credit: Justin McManus
Janice Hutton, the president of the Stafford Rescue Victoria, which rehomes smaller Staffordshire bull terriers, agreed.
“They get a bad rap, but they shouldn’t,” Hutton says.
“The people who should get a bad rap are the backyard breeders, and those who aren’t educated in their purchases and are not socialising any breed of dog.”
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